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Re: Planting for Birds (fwd)



One of the best books we have seen is 'Attracting Birds to Southern
Gardens'. The volume deals with specifics of the area rather than most
gardening books that are more northern/central generic in terms of planting
season(ours is primarily in the fall) soil (the south is mostly clay) etc.
The photos are great and there are some model layouts for a natural garden.

Ted Zoller
Outdoor Bird Co
Raleigh / Durham
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joshua Stuart Rose" <jsr6@duke.edu>
To: <carolinabirds@duke.edu>
Sent: Monday, January 24, 2000 6:40 AM
Subject: Re: Planting for Birds (fwd)


> Hi C-birders,
>
> By popular demand, here is a repost of Will's message about planting for
> birds. Note that there is also a number of books available on this
> subject; I fondly remember one I had years ago called "Gardening for
> Wildlife" which I think was published by the National Wildlife
> Federation.
>
> Happy planting!
>
> Josh
>
> Joshua S. Rose
> Duke University
> Department of Zoology
>
> jsr6@acpub.duke.edu
> http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 13:04:03 -0500
> From: Will Cook <cwcook@duke.edu>
>
> Here's what I'd recommend:
>
> For privacy/windbreak, plant our native Eastern Redcedar instead of
Leyland
> Cypress (which isn't native anywhere!), unless you have apple trees.
(Cedar-
> Apple rust is the problem.)  Birds love it and it doesn't get huge like
the
> Leyland does.  Cedar Waxwings were named for their love of it.  It
provides
> food and dense cover for many species.  Excellent habitat for Saw-whet
Owls.
> :-)
>
> For hummingbirds:
> *Salvia guaranitica - hummers just love them, even though the flowers are
not
> red.  Hardy here.
> *Salvia splendens - many cultivars are available at any grocery store or
> garden center (and seed catalogs).  Plant tall red ones.
> *Salvia vanhouttei - spectacular 3'x3'x3' plant covered with burgundy
flowers
> all fall.  Killed below 28F but very easy to propagate and keep indoors
for
> the winter.  Just stick a cutting in a glass of water, give it some light,
> and in a few weeks you'll have a new plant with lots of roots.  You can
get
> this from Niche Gardens.
> *Salvia greggii - small bush, blooms much of the year, many cultivars
> available.
> *Salvia microphylla - similar to S. greggii
> *Salvia coccinea - blooms late into the fall, killed below 20F.  The best
> cultivar may be 'Lady in Red', which is available (seed) from Burpee's and
> others.
> *Salvia elegans - Pineapple Sage.  Attracts Anna's Hummingbirds. Just
barely
> hardy here.  (None of these Salvias is native to NC)
> *Lonicera sempervirens - Trumpet Honeysuckle
> *Bignonia capreolata - Crossvine
> *Albizia julibrissin - Mimosa Tree
>
> Other good cover/food plants:
> *Ilex vomitoria - Yaupon (as well as any other holly)
> *Myrica cerifera - Wax Myrtle
> *Pines - need these for Brown-headed Nuthatches and Pine Warblers
> *Celtis spp. - Hackberries, Sugarberry
> *Malus spp. - Apple trees - nice and buggy, so lots of food.  Don't mix
with
> Junipers unless you don't mind the disease.
> I'm sure there are many more that I can't think of right now.
>
> Good cover/food plants to AVOID:
> *Lonicera japonica - Japanese Honeysuckle.  Birds love it, but it's a
nasty
> weed, second only to Kudzu as "the vine that ate the South".  Plant our
> native Lonicera sempervirens instead.  I'd sooner plant Toxicodendron spp.
> (Poison-Ivy, Poison-Oak, Poison-Sumac).
> *Eleagnus spp. - The Army Corps of Engineers is in love with these weedy
> plants, but there are plenty of better native alternatives.
> *Ligustrum sinense - Chinese Privet.  Very aggressive weedy shrub.  Birds
> love it, but you'll soon have thousands of seedlings in your yard.  Plant
> Yaupon instead.
> *Photinia spp. - Redtips.  Birds love it, but it's tremendously
overplanted,
> susceptible to disease, and there are better native alternatives.
> *Hedera helix - Ivy.  Provides excellent cover for mice and rats that
forage
> under your birdfeeder.  Also, it'll take over your yard if you don't pull
it
> up regularly.
> *Trumpet Creeper - hummingbirds love it, but it'll take over your yard.
>
>