Create a Bird, Ladybug and Butterfly Garden
A flower garden is a sanctuary for birds and butterflies. Designing your garden with birds, insects and butterflies in mind makes not only a great resting place for those animals.
You as gardener will be rewarded with a miracle like community of creatures
that is so interesting you won’t be able to resist it. Bird and butterfly
gardens are an island of peace in a sometimes over hectic world.
To attract birds plant annuals like sunflowers, and a lot of daisies. The birds
will flock to indulge in their seed heads.
It’s fairly easy to design your garden in a way that is perfect for birds,
butterflies, insects and little animals. And the great part about it is that
these animals and plants have a symbiotic relationship. This is also a great
learning experience for children.
In a bird garden, birds take care of pollinating blooms, protecting your plants
from insect pests and scatter the seeds even as they consume the plants fruits,
buds, flowers and nectar.
Most species of wild birds feed on the seed that your flowers produce, and
they are especially attracted to the seed bearing stems of ornamental grasses.
They need shelter and will love you if you leave some annuals dying off in
winter.
Your Flower garden also attracts ladybugs, and insects that prey on pests or
serve as dinner for the birds. You will have less chance of diseased plants and
a some favorable company as well.
Gardening Guides has a special on butterfly gardens but we can’t leave those
most lovely creatures out in this article. They are part of your mini ecosystem.
Attract them by designing your garden as full season nectar producing flower
bed.
Host plants like Milkweed, which is the common host for all of the monarch,
queen and viceroy butterfly species. Butterflies feed on nectar, their larvae -
caterpillars – feed on foliage.
The birds love the caterpillars. And that closes the circle.
With minimal effort you design a garden that is a little ecosystem on its own.
And you will be amazed by all the discoveries you will make in just observing
and tending your garden.
In our own garden we made a little pond, planted it and waited, now it’s the
home of generations of salamanders. Every spring the whole family is on the
lookout if they arrived yet.
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