How to Attract Birds to Your Garden

1. Provide habitat. The best way to attract birds to your garden is to provide them with habitat. Even if you don’t have a lot of space to work with, a small bush (such as a serviceberry or American beautyberry) instantly gives songbirds a place to hide from predators. If you have extra space, consider planting groups of shrubs or trees in your garden.

2. Provide food. If you feed them, they will come! Besides setting out feeders, planting seed-producing plants is a great way to attract more birds into your yard. Some of my favorites seed-producing flowers are coneflower, black-eyed susan, cosmos, liatris, zinnia, and black oil sunflower. Check out my top summer perennials here!

3. Provide water. Waterworks are often neglected when attracting birds, but they are just as important as habitat and food. Adding a birdbath or fountain is a surefire way to attract more birds to your garden! A word of caution: Don’t put birdbaths directly beside shrubs or bushes because housecats orother predators can hide and catch birds unaware.