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Birds - Attracting Them With Flowers
Michael Russell
In this second article about birds, bird watching and how to get
them to flock to your humble abode, we're going to focus on how
to get a flock of birds by planting certain flowers in your
garden.
It isn't so much the flowers themselves that the birds are after
but the seeds that these flowers produce. After all, this is
what these birds eat and a hungry bird will never turn its back
on a tasty seed. Well, there are certain flowers that produce
seeds that birds are most after. We'll take a look at some of
these.
Probably the most popular flower for attracting birds and the
most successful is the King sunflower. Birds are absolutely
crazy about sunflower seeds. That's why passionate bird feeders
go out and buy bags of this stuff that are so heavy they can
just about carry them.
Sunflowers themselves have become a very big business because of
this. A bird flying over North or South Dakota would literally
see thousands of acres of sunflowers, a very large portion of
which is grown especially for bird seed. People from all over
the United States buy these seeds, which makes this one of the
largest industries in the Dakotas.
When planting your sunflowers at home try to plant them in an
area that will get full direct sunlight. If possible try to make
this also close to a window. You'll get a steady view of hungry
birds coming down to feast.
If you don't want to use all your seeds in the summer and want
to save some for winter to feed what birds may still be around,
what you do is put a paper grocery sack over each seed head and
tie it around the stem. Leave some of the flower heads uncovered
so that the hungry birds will not try to peck through the paper.
After the seed heads have dried cut them from the stems and
place them in metal containers. This keeps the mice from getting
to them. This will keep your seeds safe for winter feeding.
Other garden flowers that birds love are cosmos, snapdragon,
zinnia, cockscomb, aster, and larkspur. After these flowers have
bloomed don't cut off their heads. Let them dry right where they
are. When winter comes your flowers will bloom again and with
them will come a flock of finches and cardinals.
Now, if you're trying to attract hummingbirds the best flowers
to plant are any nectar producing flowers, especially if they're
red, pink or orange. Some of the hummingbird's favorites are
honeysuckle, columbine, coral-bells, impatiens, foxglove, and
red penstemon. In the summer, hummingbirds go crazy over scarlet
bergamot, cardinal flower, hosta, gladiolus, salvia, and trumpet
vine.
Hummingbirds like a nice drink with their seeds so make sure you
have a bird feeder near by where they can quench their thirst. A
good feeder is one that attaches to your window with suction
cups. And don't worry about standing at the window when they
come. They'll plop down for a drink even with you staring right
at them.
So if you're into bird watching and gardening this is a good way
to kill two birds with one stone. No pun intended.
About the author:
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Birds
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