Monday 28 September 2015

8 Ideas to Design a Bird Friendly Garden

When it comes to keeping your garden looking good there are certain pests you want to keep away. These include snails, slug and spiders. Whilst you can get pesticides to deal with these insects, a much better way to deal with them is to make your garden as bird-friendly as possible.


Birds not only help to get rid of unwanted insects that can do harm to your plants but they also help to give you garden a more appealing and organic look. With this in mind, below are 8 great ideas to make your garden attractive to birds.

Re-create Natural Plant Growth
If you observe natural habitats where birds are commonly found then you’ll learn a lot about how to create a bird-friendly garden. The way that plant life is arranged in nature is beneficial to birds in a number of ways. Large trees of course give them somewhere to perch and nest, whilst the shrubs underneath provide them with a source of food. The mud, twigs and leaf litter give them the materials to build their nests with.

You should aim to mimic this sort of plant hierarchy in your garden if you want to make it attractive to birds. 

Select Plants that Provide Nutrition Year Round
When you want to attract birds to your garden, you need to ensure that they have access to nutrition year round. This means selecting plants that will support the different types of birds that visit your garden at different times of the year. 

Plant Conifers
Conifers provide shelter for birds in harsh weather conditions, therefore you should have at least one clump of conifers in your garden.

Group Trees by Species
Grouping trees by species will help to increase fertility and fruit yields. It will also make your garden more attractive to birds when they can clearly see the different types of fruit that are available.

Avoid Non-Native Plants
It might be tempting to introduce exotic plants into your garden and although they might look striking, they’re usually not good for birds. They can easily take over the other flora in your garden and crowd out native plants that are valuable to birds. 

Provide a Source of Water
Although birds get a lot of their water from food, they’ll still seek out water sources for drinking and to bathe in. You can purchase bird baths to place in your garden to make it more attractive to birds. Just be sure to clean them regularly and also ensure that the water isn’t too deep.

Don’t Make Your Lawn Too Big
A lawn is often seen as being the classic centrepiece of any garden. However the truth is that lawns provide little value to birds and can actually become harmful when you have to start using pesticides to control pests in your garden. You should therefore consider limiting the size of your lawn, if you even have one at all. 

Place Nest Boxes
Placing nest boxes is a great way to diversify the species of bird that you attract to your garden. They mimic the natural cavities found in trees that can be scarce in nature. 

About the Author:
 David has a keen interest in birds and wildlife. He is also associated with Total bird control. His articles cover topics such as how to make your garden bird-friendly.

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