There are an abundance of beautiful birds here in the Pacific Northwest, and many stay around all year. Arranging your landscaping to provide them an inviting atmosphere can be done in any season, but is especially effective during the fall, when other sources of shade and food may not be as plentiful. If you’re looking to add more color and life to your landscaping, why not consider these five native plants that will make both you and your feathered friends happy?

Five Native Plants that Attract Songbirds

A note about using native plants: Native plants are especially attractive to birds, not only because they provide nectar and berries at the right times of year, but they also host the native insects which birds use as a major food source, especially when nesting and raising the baby birds who become next year’s flock. Using a variety of plants with different berries, seeds, and amount of foliage is key to creating the most bird-friendly landscaping. 

Elderberry

Elderberries are one of the most versatile plants in the garden world. This versatile shrub sustains many bird species with its dark blue fruit. You also might notice it attracting some beautiful butterflies as a bonus!

Trumpet Honeysuckle

Honeysuckles have long been a garden favorite, grown mostly for their sweetly-scented, nectar-producing flowers. Make sure to plant honeysuckle if you want to attract birds like flickers, robins, thrushes, bluebirds, waxwings, grosbeaks, and juncos and hummingbirds.

Snowberry

Snowberry works as a great shrub and groundcover and will especially attract grosbeaks, waxwings, robins, thrushes, towhees, and hummingbirds. The shrub blooms in spring, with small but dense clusters of bell-shaped, white flowers at the ends of the branches. In fall, the flowers are replaced by clusters of white berries, which provides a great winter source of food to birds.

Lupine

Lupine is a Pacific Northwest native flower that blooms mainly in the spring and early summer. The rich nectar stores of lupine blossoms make it a favorite of butterflies as well as songbirds and hummingbirds. 

Coneflowers

Coneflowers are popular perennials for a good reason. They are heat and drought resistant, easy to grow, bloom for months, make great cut flowers, and attract birds and pollinators. They also come in many vibrant colors to choose from as you decide what will best fit your landscaping.

A final tip: If you’re looking to attract birds to your landscaping, consider checking out our recent article on eco-friendly solutions for weeds and pests. Chemical pesticides are responsible for the death of over 67 million birds a year, and also kill some of the more harmless insects that birds feed on. Choosing native plants that do well in your climate should also reduce the need for spraying.

Interested in including some native plants in your landscaping, but don’t know where to start? At Mountain View Landscapes, we follow your unique vision, style and budget to create a gorgeous, functional landscape you can be proud of. Not only do our experts have over 25 years of knowledge and expertise, but we also ensure your complete satisfaction in every project we do. We’ll even do the maintenance so you don’t have to!

Whether you want to add some fine-touches to your already beautiful landscape (or need an entirely new look) our team of professionals is here to help your landscaping dreams come to life!

Contact us today to get started!