| WHAT TREES & SHRUBS ATTRACT MORE BIRDS & BUTTERFLIES? |
| Birds can be attracted by providing a range of plants to provide shelter and nesting areas as well as food and even a windbreak in winter. Garden fruits and berries are popular with birds as any gardener can tell you: raspberries and blueberries along with cherries are real favorites. Native plants are often attractive to the birds that tend to be in your local area as well. You might look at shrub dogwoods along with serviceberry (Amelanchier), arborvitae, juniper and pine for example. The butterfly bush is very attractive to butterflies as you might imagine. Among perennials, the butterflies seem to love Echinacea (purple coneflower), Nepeta, Lobelia, Sedum, and Phlox. Some common annuals that attract them include Salvia, Zinnias and Verbena among many others. Butterflies also need larval food sources such as the Virginia creeper vine (Parthenocissus virginiana), parsley plants, and the wild milkweed. I hope this gives you some ideas. |
