Some of the best plants to attract birds to your yard. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
By planting fruit-bearing trees and shrubs in your landscape, they will attract berry-eating birds such as bluebirds and robins while also creating a beautiful display with their flowers, fall & holiday colors, and fruits.
American cranberry bush viburnum has white springtime flowers, maple-shape leaves that turn bright colors in autumn, and red fall berries. Brown thrashers, cedar waxwings, and other birds feast on the long-lasting fruits, which can provide a source of food even in winter.
The red-twig dogwood is also a standout in winter because of its bold red stems, and also features clusters of small white flowers in spring, white fruits in summer and fall, and bold red-orange autumn color. Brown thrashers are fond of chokeberries and so are cedar waxwings and other songbirds.
A North American native counterpart to burning bush is the wahoo which produces bright scarlet berries in autumn, and has red fall color that makes for an attractive informal hedge.
Listen to Cathy Isom’s This Land of Ours program here.