Most of us approach our garden purchases with one criterion… that’s pretty, I want one, or two, or more. While this is an approach that satisfies our inner gardener, what if we were to be more deliberate in our purchases? What if we had a plan to purchase plants that are not only beautiful, but also help provide a natural habitat for pollinator insects or perhaps birds. Pollinating insects get a lot of attention but sometimes I feel like gardening to provide for our local bird population gets overlooked. So, today let’s talk about purposefully creating garden spaces that will support and attract our local birds.

The first thing most of us probably think of when we want to attract birds to our home is that we need to add a bird feeder. Bird feeders don’t need to be fancy, a simple tray type hanging feeder works great. However, when filling your feeder with seed, be sure to provide a variety of seeds if you want to see a variety of birds. Finches like those special feeders that are filled with thistle. So, if you want more varieties of birds, provide a variety of seed types.

Bird feeders are great, especially when natural foods are scarce during the winter but there’s no reason to look at a bird feeder as the best year-long plan. A better strategy to attract and support birds in your landscape would be to provide them with a well thought out habitat in which they can live. Here’s some examples that will help get you started.

Hollies are a good shrub choice since they provide both shelter and berries for food. We don’t often think of providing shelter, but a nice holly gives your birds a place to hide when they sense danger, such as a hawk flying overhead. But the berries are the real star. Once area cedar waxwings and robins find the berries on your hollies, you’ll soon have many visitors as your crop of berries is devoured.

If you are a vegetable gardener, more specifically a tomato grower, you know the dangers associated with the tomato hornworm caterpillars. These caterpillars can devour a tomato plant in short order, but birds love them. They must be delicious. If you are a vegetable gardener, think about placing your bird feeder close to your vegetable garden. They will come for the seeds but will also dine on the caterpillars that are dining on your garden vegetables.

This may not be one of the first things you think of when trying to attract birds to your garden, but if you have a turf lawn and plan on keeping it, keep it healthy and vibrant. Healthy lawns encourage the development of worms and birds such as mockingbirds, flickers, and robins all love worms. While this next piece of advice will rile lawn aficionados, consider leaving the dandelions. They are one of the first food sources available for bees, but sparrows and finches among others will enjoy eating those seeds.

I mentioned holly’s providing shelter, additional shelter plants would include clematis, honeysuckle, or grapes. These viney plants on a fence or trellis provide a place for birds to retreat to safety.

Also, if you have some branches from recently pruned trees and shrubs, rather than disposing of them, consider a pile in an acceptable place. These piles will also provide a place to shelter for cardinals, towhees, wrens, and sparrows. Evergreen plants also make good shelter plants since they don’t lose their leaves in the winter, providing them with a place to retreat to during the winter.

And let’s not forget a water source for your birds. When you are shopping for a bird bath, be sure to select one that is not more than two inches deep. It’s also a good idea to place a few rocks in these bird baths to provide a place for the birds to stand while getting a drink. These rocks will also provide a place for butterflies to rest while getting a drink as well. Just remember, you will need to hose out your birdbath a couple of times a week to help keep it clean. A good, thorough cleaning a couple of times a year with a 10% bleach solution will also help to minimize the chance of disease transfer for your birds.

Now this is an important tip, be sure to place your bird feeder and bird bath about 10 feet away from trees and shrubs. This will give your birds a good field of vision so that a local cat won’t be able to sneak up on them.

Birdhouses can be fun, and they can be purchased or built from scratch. We have more information of building bird houses and bird habitats on our website (www.tulsamastergardeners.oirg), just click on the Hot Topics section.

I mentioned how a healthy lawn can help provide worms as a good food source for birds. If you would like to learn more about how to take better care of your turf grasses, you can join us for this week’s Lunch and Learn at the Tulsa Central Library and the Hardesty Regional Library. For more info, just visit our website. See you in the garden.

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org. Photo: OSU Ag. Comm.