I have been away again!!!!!!!!!

I am sorry for my continued absence.
I have had unusual demands on my work schedule the last six months.
Will be making several posts this coming weekend..

Please have patience with me.. I miss my blogging time

Leslee

Best Berry Plants for Birds

I spend a lot of time trying to find the right wild bird feeder and keeping those squirrels away from my feeders. With planting season at hand it seemed time to change my focus. I want to add some bushes or trees to my backyard that will also attract birds.

So today I found a helpful article on Better Home and Gardens website: "The Best Berry Plants". One of these bushes will be a great addition to my outdoor space while serving my backyard friends. I need to remember to not plant them near my garden bird bath though. Don't want to give predators a place to hide. Anyhow I am beginning to ramble..haha

Below I have listed those berry plants that attract birds.(click link to see picture of bush)

1. American cranberry bush viburnum (Viburnum trilobum) i
   
   • has white springtime flowers, maple-shape leaves that turn bright colors in autumn, and red fall berries..Berries last well into the winter months.
     
   • Brown Thrashers, Cedar Waxwings & other songbirds love this bush.
2. Red-twig dogwood (Cornus stolonifera)
   
   • clusters of small white flowers in spring, white fruits in summer and fall, and bold red-orange autumn color.
3. Chokeberries (Aronia arbutifolia)
   
   • It spreads by suckering and is a good choice for a hedge
   • Brown Thrashers, Cedar Waxwings & other songbirds love this bush.
4. Wahoo (Euonymus atropurpureus)
   
   • It produces bright scarlet berries in autumn. It bears red fall color and makes for an attractive informal hedge.
5. Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana
   
   • provides birds with a great source of shelter, and female plants offer blue berrylike cones eaten by many birds
6. Staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina)
   
   • ferny leaves that turn bold red in fall and clusters of furry dark red fruit that hold on through the winter
   • a variety of birds including robins and vireos like this bush
   • may be too aggressive of a spreader for most gardens. Be sure it is in a spot where it can create a thicket.
7. Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)
   
   • branches laden with bright red fruit
   • attract mockingbirds, robins, and other birds
   • needs a pollinator to produce berries, so plant both a male and female
8. Crabapples (Malus selections)
   
   • To attract the greatest variety of songbirds, select cultivars with small fruits that hang on through the winter
9. Highbush blueberry (Vaccinum corymbosum)
   
   • Bluebirds, robins, and many other birds love this bush
   • offers bright red-orange fall color
10. Beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma)
    
    • Showy clusters of purple fruit
      
    • provides nutrition and moisture for birds in winter
    • produces more berries in a sunny spot.
11. Serviceberry(Amelanchier selections)
    
    • Robins, thrushes, and other birds are quick to eat this fruit
    • pretty springtime blooms and great fall color
12. Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis)
    
    • pretty little ground cover native to areas of North America
    • thrives in moist, shady spots
    • the berries turn red in autumn and are a favorite of vireos
13. Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum)
    
    • particularly good shelter plant for birds
    • late summer and autumn, bunches of blue-black berries appear
    • plant near other viburnums to ensure good pollination
14. Pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia)
    • Downy Woodpeckers, Brown Thrashers, Eastern Bluebirds, and many other backyard birds are attracted to the dark fruits
    • a small tree suitable for the edges of woodland areas or partly shaded landscapes.
15. Nannyberry(Viburnum lentago)
    
    • berries ripen to blue-black and last well into winter to feed overwintering birds
    • can be pruned to form a hedge or grown at the back of a border
      
16. American Elder(Sambucus canadensis)
    
    • spreading, 12-foot-tall thickets give excellent shelter and are favored nesting sites.
    • purple berries in fall that attract dozens of different birds
17. Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica)
    
    • berries stay on the plants well into winter, providing food for birds during the cold months
      

Don't forget to check out my website for many things for your backyard. Wooden Outdoor furniture, Outdoor bench, Decorative Birdhouses, Wild bird feeders, garden birdbaths, tuned wind chimes, Poly Recycled Furniture, Outdoor Lanterns, Garden Water Fountains, and much more.

Other posts that may be of interest:
March Gardening Tips for your Region
Your Birdhouses Ready for Nesting Season?
Water will Attract more Birds to Backyard

March Gardening Tips for Your Region

It is time to get out into the garden. How great it is to be talking about the outdoors. I will be getting my outdoor wooden furniture ready to be put out on my deck. Starting to think about cleaning my decorative birdhouses. But thoughts of cleaning are being replaced with the desire to get in my garden.

So upon surfing about on the web I found great information on Better Homes and Garden's Website. I am summarizing below the tips for the Northeast Region. The other regions I have put link for you to go to.

1)Planting Vegetables

• Plant cool season vegetables such as radishes, peas, cauliflower, lettuce and broccoli as soon as you can work the ground this month
• Plant seeds of warm-loving varieties such as such as tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers indoors under fluorescent lights.

2)Clean up Your Garden

• Perennials or grasses that you did not cut back last fall or winter, cut back the dead stems before or as the plants put out new growth- cut back to 3 or inches so you know where to expect new growth

3)Prune

• Fruit trees (including apples, pears, and cherries) and fruits such as raspberries and grapes.
• Summer-blooming shrubs such as butterfly bush and rose of Sharon. DO NOT PRUNE SPRING BLOOMING BUSHES.
• Roses. Typically, you'll want to cut back to about 6 inches tall. Tips for pruning roses
• If your trees need pruning, now's the month to do it, all except oaks.

4)Tool Care

• Make sure your tools are in good working order before you need them. Using a metal file, sharpen the edges of your shovel.

5)Divide Your Perennials

• Divide later this month as they start to emerge from the soil. Most perennials do best when divided every two to three years or so. (more info on dividing perennials)
• Do not divide peonies until fall.

6)Early Spring Lawn Care

• If annual weeds such as crabgrass are a problem, apply a pre-emergence herbicide. Watch for your forsythia to bloom -- a good indicator of when it's best to treat your lawn for crabgrass.
• Even though your grass may be starting to green up, it's probably too early to fertilize. Wait a month or so until your grass is actively growing before feeding it.

Below is the links to the March Gardening tips for the other regions of the country

If you live in a different region of the country go to Better Homes and Garden's Gardening by Region... select region and then select month

Don't forget to check out my website for many things for your backyard. Spring is around the corner!Wooden Outdoor furniture, Outdoor bench, Decorative Birdhouses, Wild bird feeders, garden birdbaths, tuned wind chimes, Poly Recycled Furniture, Outdoor Lanterns, Garden Water Fountains, and much more.

Other posts that may be of interest to you:
It is Time to Plant your Seeds Indoors
16 Bugs gardeners should love
Care for your Poinsetta and it will Bloom Next Year