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Birdsong in the morning delights the gardener's heart. Find out here which bird-friendly plants you can use to attract songbirds.
Blackbird, thrush, finch and starling - these songbirds not only delight children, but are also extremely popular with adults. No wonder, after all, the birds inspire us with their beautiful singing and are also wonderful to watch. Unfortunately, birds rarely get lost in many gardens. The reasons for this can be varied: insufficient food supply, too few nesting sites or a lack of hiding places are just a few of the factors that ensure that birds avoid a garden. Fortunately, plant selection can help - we show you ten plants that have proven to be particularly bird-friendly.
Ideally, bird-friendly plants have a densely branched habit, making them suitable as nesting sites and hiding places from predators. In addition, berry-bearing plants are perfect for birds because they provide a good source of food. But many birds also depend on insects for food - an insect-friendly garden is therefore automatically very bird-friendly.
1. Common Snowball
With its ball-shaped, snow-white inflorescences, the snowball viburnum (Viburnum opulus) is a real beauty and draws everyone's attention in the garden. But not only people are enthusiastic about the impressive flowers - birds also love the dramatic plant. The dense growth of the plant, which can grow up to four meters high, offers a great hiding place for the animals. The numerous red berries that the viburnum bears in autumn are also very popular with birds. In addition to the snowball, the woolly snowball (Viburnum lantana) has also proven to be very bird-friendly.
With a height of up to 15 meters and a very dense crown, the whitebeam (Sorbus aria)admittedly not suitable for small gardens. However, if you have a large enough garden, you will find a versatile garden plant with the hardy wood that has numerous advantages. Their high attraction to birds in particular should not be underestimated. With its densely leafy crown, the whitebeam offers a protected nesting place, and the small size of its berries makes it an attractive source of food for smaller bird species too. Incidentally, the plant also owes its unusual name to its berries - which used to be crushed and used as an ingredient in bread.
3. Berry bushes
Delicious berries should not be missing in any garden in summer. But not only people are impressed by the sweet treats - birds also benefit from numerous berry bushes in the garden. Blackberries (Rubus fruticosus) and raspberries (Rubus idaeus) are particularly popular with birds because they provide them with a great source of food. But currants (Ribes) and blueberries (Vaccinium myrtillus) are also real bird magnets - but you should be careful to use old varieties here, as new breeds not well accepted by many birds.
Whether as jam, liqueur or syrup - the sweet and sour berries of the sloe (Prunus spinosa) can be wonderfully processed in the kitchen and therefore have many fans. But birds are also impressed by the sloe fruits and use them with particular preference as a source of food. In addition, the sloe offers another advantage for birds: its densely branched growth and its long, dark thorns, which have also given the plant the name "blackthorn", make it an ideal nesting opportunity in which the songbirds are protected from natural enemies.
5. Wild Roses
Cultivated Roses (Pink) may look adorable in the garden, but are often of no value to insects and other animals. If you still don't want to do without the queen of flowers, you will find an ideal solution with wild roses: They have the same unmistakable charm as their cultivated relatives, but at the same time offer all kinds of creatures food and shelter. Dog roses (Rosa canina) and potato roses (Rosa rugosa) are particularly specialBird-friendly, because they attract insects with their flowers and open up an important food source in winter with their rose hips.
Tip: If you don't want to choose a bird-friendly plant, you can sow a whole mix at once. Our Plantura Beneficial Magnet is a seed mixture of more than 20 annual and perennial plants that offer beneficial insects such as garden birds and insects a rich supply of food and a habitat.
6. pear pearThe pear (Amelanchier) is a rather unknown type of fruit that has been forgotten in many areas - wrongly so, after all the plant has numerous advantages: It is considered to be particularly undemanding and frost hardy, their fruits convince with a fantastic aroma and many varieties have an impressive autumn color. In addition, the plant is also considered to be particularly bird-friendly because it is an ideal source of food. In spring, the flowers of the plant attract countless insects, which are eaten by many species of birds. In autumn, however, their fruits are a popular meal.
7. Holly
The holly (Ilex aquifolium), also known by its botanical name Ilex, is probably one of the most popular Christmas plants and is very popular Used in gardens as an ornamental tree. Its distinctive red berries, which stay on the plant all winter, are what make holly so decorative. But birds are also fond of holly: while the small berries are poisonous to humans, they provide a richly laid table for birds. However, the plant is also popular as a nesting place, especially for smaller birds, because its prickly leaves are a reliable protection against larger predators.
8. Cornus
The Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) has made a name for itself as a bee-friendly plant in recent years, as it is an important food source for pollinators with its early flowering in March and April forms. But the plant is also a godsend for birds: in addition to insects, the numerous small fruits in autumn are also an important food source for birds, which are magically attracted to the cornelian cherry. Even humans find pleasure in the aromatic onesfruits - the cornelian cherry is particularly popular as a jam.
9. Barberry
Hedges can be found in almost every garden, after all they offer protection from prying eyes and ensure sufficient privacy in the garden. Hedge plants are not only a blessing for people - songbirds also like to use them as a protected nesting place. The barberry (Berberis vulgaris) is particularly attractive: The dense wild hedge offers an ideal shelter and is therefore often used as a place for the brood. The red berries of the hedge are not only attractive, but also good food for birds. Incidentally, the attractive berries are also absolutely non-toxic for humans - with their slightly sour taste, which also earned the plant the name "sour thorn", it is not for everyone.
10. Rowanberry
The name says it all: there is probably no other plant that attracts birds as reliably as the rowan berry (Sorbus aucuparia). A total of 63 bird species can be directly associated with the plant - either they use the dense foliage of the plant as a nesting place or they eat its distinctive red berries, which are on the tree from the end of October. Another special feature of the rowanberry is that it is also suitable for small gardens: some varieties of the robust rowanberry, for example the Chinese rowanberry (Sorbus koehneana), are also ideal for planting in containers.
And if you want to support your garden birds even further, you can of course offer additional bird seed. Our Plantura sunflower seeds with extra vitamins, iodine and honey provide plenty of energy and nutrients, even in winter. Find out how you can offer the seeds in your own, self-made bird feeder in our special article.
In addition to the right plants, there are other things you can do to create a bird-friendly garden. We have prepared 10 tips for you to turn your garden into a bird paradise.