GOOD! And I want some hollies.

Rita, you have posted some lovely photos of your berry bearing bushes.

Mostly I have the Winterberry type Hollies. They drop their leaves but you still need both a male and female plant to get berries, just like the evergreen hollies. But those Winterberries are just loaded with berries now. And the berries really stand out without any leaves on the shrubs. Birds really love the berries.

I have grey dogood, Mountain Ash, crabapples, serviceberry, nanking cherry, goumi, cherries, red and black aronia, beautyberry, all sorts of viburnums. red currants, tons of blueberry shrubs and much more. All kinds of berries for the backyard songbirds. Plus the shrubs make good nesting and cover. Really, I always have lots of songbirds around the yard. Squirrells too. Racoons and possums and red fox. Who knows what else.

A wildlife haven indeed.

In the winter I do feed the birds, with seeds and cracked corn. But I don't feed in the summer except for suet. Lots of birds love suet all year long. The squirrells and morning doves love the cracked corn the most but there are other birds that must eat it. The junky English Sparrows eat anything.

Wow Rita you have an amazing number of great shrubs to feed our feathered friends. I can't put suet out in the summertime it is just too irresistible to the bears.

Yikes! I imagine you have to be very careful on many counts.

I keep meaning to get some Serviceberries. Maybe this spring.

I'm kind of limited by my horses - no pit fruits, therefore none of the Prunus genus. No Red Maples. Have to be careful about fruit trees, because if they get into them they can founder. Blah blah blah. Good thing they're such good listeners.

Why not Red Maples?

Well, fortunately no bears around here so I can keep the suet out all year round! Serviceberries are great. If one could only plant one summertime fruit bearing shrub or type of shrub to attract birds I would say Serviceberries should be the one. Birds just go bonkers for serviceberries. You can get them in (small) tree form or shrub form. From small to very large shrubs, depending on type. I would recommend REGENT variety, which is a heavy fruited small shrub.

Ann, I am not sure who the why not red maple comment was adressed to but if one is planting trees to attract birds there are much better choices out there than maples.

My, my, what can I say .... I go away to do some things and get some sleep ... and missed all this!

Rita, spectacular!!! I can only hope my yard looks anywhere near that in the years to come. WOW!!! However, what I think you really need are more daylilies.

Margaret, wonderful shot of the Waxwings. You have a lovely variety of birds that visit you there. ♥ BTW, I've been meaning to ask you what you are doing up there on the roof in your avatar??

My hollies are young but they have berries already.

I back up to woods so there is much shelter and many nesting places and so forth for birds. And they love my 40+ year old Noway Spruce in the backyard. I have maples out front and there is a white dogwood in the front. Now that the leaves are all down, I can see clearly the nests that have been built in them.

I can't leave out my suet feeders ... no bears, but raccoons and deer.

Rita, the Red Maple comment was for Sheryl cause she said she couldn't have them something to do with her horses & I was wondering why.

Oh Tee! I'm jealous. Norway Spruce.....ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.........

The birds love that tree.

Thanks Tee. I was pruning the willow tree, the branches had been laying on the roof.

Ann - there's a substance in the fall leaves of the red maple that can do a horse in if ingested - no one seems to know exactly what it is, but it causes red blood cells to burst. Even those that just eat a toxic (as opposed to deadly) amount usually have to be put down. Horses are incredibly delicate animals, I'm afraid.

I remember when I was a kid my grandfather had a horse, one day she got loose and went into the potato field and ate the green stalks, boy was she sick, had to call the vet, thought she was going to die.

OMG Sheryl! Wow!

Yeah - I've never known another animal (other than guppies) that can literally eat themselves to death.... founder, colic, lamninitis - the list goes on and on.

And they cows are stupid.

Tee, daylilies and roses and lilies are my favorite flowers so I have lots and lots of them, especially the daylilies. But I truely love that the backyard birds hang out here and love my feathered friends. Back in 2001 I had a pretty typical looking suburban backyard with afew shrubs and a negected flower bed along the side of the house. I decided to change things. The first things I wanted were plants to attract butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. From that I branched out into redoing the south property line into a shrub border to hide my neighbors driveway and supply habitat to attract the songbirds and supply berries for the berry eating birds. This border continues in an unbroken u shape around about half my property. It is just loaded with shrubs and small bird attracting trees. It wasn't until much of this was done that I branched into more of the flowers. First off were the roses and then the lilies and finially the daylilies. So it all works together and the yard really is very pretty and very welcomeing to songbirds, butterflies, bees and small wildlife. I even have three small ponds so that there is always water for the birds and animals to have. Frogs often visit.

Rita, you give me hope to carry on with my yard. I've been here two years and trying to revamp a 40+ year old property. Sometimes I look at it and think I'll never make a dent. Other times I see the difference just two years have made and think in another two or three I might actually get somewhere with it.

How large is your property?

If I recall correctly Rita's home & yard was the one where she grew up --- it was her parents house ---- so I'm figuring it's older than 40. Correct me Rita when you read this if I'm wrong.