Sunflower

Sunflower

Bird watchers know the value of offering sunflower seeds to the birds in feeders. So why not offer sunflower seeds in a natural setting? Black oil and striped sunflower seeds for planting different varieties are easy to find at local stores. Planted early enough, mature plants will offer a new perspective to your landscape for birds. Keeling the heads intact will challenge nuthatches, chickadees, and woodpeckers craving the seeds, and will provide good entertainment for you as long as the seeds last. As with sunflower seeds purchased for feeders, the shells can inhibit growth of grass and other plants if left on the ground, so cleaning up from under the stalks may be necessary.

Spruce

 

 

Colorado Blue Spruce

Excellent cold hardy, and drought resistant, Colorado Blue Spruce is also attractive as a food source for grouse, and various finches including crossbills, siskins, and nuthatches. Like most conifers, it provides excellent nesting, roosting, and winter cover for numerous small birds. Grows 60 to 100′ high with a 15 to 35′ spread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Hills Spruce

Black Hills Spruce is a slow-growing, compact tree, but don’t let that stop you. Slow growth equals dense growth, making it perfect for privacy screens and windbreaks. It’s short bright bluish green needles and a dense, conical shape make it a landscaper’s dream. Black Hills Spruce is virtually immune to the most common spruce pests and is very tolerant of drying winter winds. It is a truly cold adapted tree and is very resistant to winter injury.

Silver Lace Vine

Silver Lace Vine

Botanical name: Fallopia aubertii – or Polygonum aubertii, growing best in full sun to patrial shsde as a 20-40′ vine with good spread

Caution: This plant is often sold as a zone 4 plant, though some companies list the same botanical name as a zone 5. Zone 4 might need additional care and winter cover.

This is one of my favorite plants for birds, because of how it attracts them. Silver Lace Vine comes into bloom late in August or early September – when most plants have already experienced their peak bloom – and is an insect magnet at a time when southerly migrating insectivorous birds are passing through.

Best planted in full sun to light shade in well drained soil, though Silver Lace Vine tolerates most soil types, and drought well; grows extremely well even in poor soils. It is a very vigorous climber with fragrant flowers, and requires strong support from a trellis.