Many of us look at gardens as a way to create something, enjoy the outdoors, and restore our spirit. As a landscape designer and contractor I am often asked, “How do I draw more birds and butterflies to my gardens?” I have always looked at attracting them from the point of view of what plants they eat. However, I think I have been missing several vital parts of the puzzle. What if we looked at everything they need and not just the pretty flower filled with nectar? Just like humans, birds and butterflies need food, shelter, and water. Here, I’ll explore each of these needs individually, although they are often interconnected.
FOOD: What do birds eat? Well, a lot of things: nectar, worms, insects, berries, and other fruits. When trying to create an ecosystem that is hospitable to birds, we should create places that are also hospitable to worms and invertebrates, as well as adding plants that provide nectar and berries. The diet of butterflies is simpler: generally nectar from flowers.
SHELTER: What do birds need for shelter? This varies widely between species. Often a nest in a tree works, but some like shrubs, and yet others nest on the ground. Some birds like the protection of evergreens, and some like our small native trees and shrubs with thinner branches that keep ground predators away. Many birds need standing dead trees, which we often clear from urban areas. Consider leaving the trunk of a tree on your lot next time a tree dies.
Butterflies need structure as well to keep them out of potentially fatal rains and to provide a place to roost at night. They also need places to safely lay eggs and a place for their larvae to feed and eventually pupate and complete the life cycle.
WATER: Finally, both birds and butterflies need a clean and safe water source. For example: Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum) holds water in its leaves after rain events and often dries up before mosquitoes’ eggs can hatch, therefore making a great source of water for birds and butterflies without breeding pesky mosquitoes. Birdbaths and butterfly water dishes will also work. Be sure to keep these filled with fresh water.
Creating an Ecosystem :
Looking at all these needs makes this task seem very complex, especially when you consider all of the species. Essentially, you just have to supply the basic needs of the species you would like to attract. Following is a list of many plants that are good for butterflies and birds as well as some cultural practices that can help create a healthy ecosystem for them, even if on a small scale. Again we need to create an ecosystem, even if it is on a small scale, providing all the necessities for their existence.
I always start any landscape design with trees or at least one tree. Trees are vital for most songbirds of the upper Midwest, as well as being good shelter for butterflies. Then I look at small understory trees and shrubs. They provide the layer that is often completely missing in our urban environments, because we have been trained to like park-like landscapes. In much of the Twin Cities, this layer has been replaced by invasive buckthorn, which has very little, if any, habitat value for our native feathered friends. Finally, I try to integrate native grasses, sedges and flowers. For most gardeners this is the part we focus on already, but we can do better by sticking to native plants.
When selecting plant species, locally native species are the best for creating habitat for our native fauna. It seems obvious that our native fauna has evolved with our native flora, but we have overlooked this and opted for pretty exotic cultivars instead. The nursery industry has pushed for bigger, brighter, and showier in our cultivated plants and this has resulted in a large-scale replacement of native plants, especially in urban and suburban environments. The result is habitat loss for our beloved native fauna because many of these non-natives cultivated plants do not provide them quality habitat.
The following list contains species that have significant habitat value for our native birds and butterflies. Some species of birds and butterflies need specific plants, called host plants. Many of the plants below are host plants for specific species, while others will attract a wide range of insects to feed our bird populations or supply nectar to many species. When selecting plants for your bird and butterfly garden, the more diversity of native plants you use, the more animal diversity you will be privileged to experience.
Landscape Plants for Birds and Butterflies
Trees & Shrubs:
Bur Oak – Quercus macrocarpa
White Oak – Quercus alba
Red Oak – Quercus rubra
Northern Pin Oak – Quercus ellipsoidalis
Swamp White Oak – Quercus bicolor
Bebb’s Willow – Salix rostrata
Pussy Willow – Salix discolor
Prairie Willow – Salix humilis
Black Willow – Salix nigra
Black Cherry – Prunus serotina
Pin Cherry – Prunus pensylvanica
America Wild Plum – Prunus americana
Chokecherry – Prunus virginiana
River Birch – Betula nigra
Paper Birch – Betula papyrifera
Yellow Birch – Betula alleghaniensis
Bigtooth Aspen – Populus grandidentata
Quaking Aspen – Populus tremuloides
Prairie Crabapple – Malus ioensis
Sugar Maple – Acer saccharum
Red Maple – Acer rubrum
American Elm – Ulmus americana (Dutch Elm Disease Resistant Selections)
Hackberry – Celtis occidentalis
Downy Serviceberry – Amelanchier arborea
Saskatoon Serviceberry – Amelanchier alnifolia
Black Chokeberry – Aronia melanocarpa
Pagoda Dogwood – Cornus alternifolia
Red-osier Dogwood – Cornus sericea
American Hazel – Corylus americana
Downy Hawthorn – Crataegus mollis
Showy Mountain Ash – Sorbus decora
Bush Honeysuckle – Diervilla lonicera
Ninebark – Physocarpus opulifolius
Grasses & Sedges:
Little Bluestem – Schizachyrium scoparium
Big Bluestem – Andropogon gerardii
Indian Grass – Sorghastrum nutans
Side Oats Grama – Bouteloua curtipendula
Bebb’s Sedge – Carex bebbii
Fox Sedge – Carex vulpinoidea
Bottlebrush Sedge – Carex hystericina
Longhair Sedge – Carex comosa
Flowers/Forbs:
Anise Hyssop – Agastache foeniculum
Giant Hyssop – Agastache scrophulariifolia
Pearly Everlasting – Anaphalis margaritacea
Wild Columbine – Aquilegia canadensis
Swamp Milkweed – Asclepias incarnata
Butterfly Weed – Asclepias tuberosa
Whorled Milkweed – Asclepias verticillata
Smooth Aster – Aster laevis
New England Aster – Aster novae angliae
Lance Leaf Coreopsis – Coreopsis lanceolata
Prairie Coreopsis – Coreopsis palmata
White Prairie Clover – Dalea candida
Purple Prairie Clover – Dalea purpurea
Pale Purple Coneflower – Echinacea pallida
Fireweed – Epilobium angustifolium
Purple Joe Pye Weed – Eupatorium purpureum
Sneezeweed – Helenium autumnale
Sawtooth Sunflower – Helianthus grosseserratus
Maximilian Sunflower – Helianthus maximiliani
Rough Blazing Star – Liatris aspera
Northern Plains Blazing Star – Liatris ligulistylis
Thick Spike Blazing Star – Liatris pycnostachya
Marsh Blazing Star – Liatris spicata
Scaly Blazing Star – Liatris squarrosa
Cardinal Flower – Lobelia cardinalis
Great Blue Lobelia – Lobelia siphilitica
Wild Blue Lupine – Lupinus perennis
Bergamot – Monarda fistulosa
Smooth Penstemon – Penstemon digitalis
Yellow Coneflower – Ratibida pinnata
Orange Coneflower – Rudbeckia fulgida
Compass Plant – Silphium laciniatum
Cup Plant – Silphium perfoliatum
Ohio Goldenrod – Solidago ohiensis
Showy Goldenrod – Solidago speciosa
Blue Vervain – Verbena hastata
Hoary Vervain – Verbena stricta
Ironweed – Vernonia fasciculata
Culver’s Root – Veronicastrum virginicum
Trees and Shrubs of Minnesota, by Welby R. Smith, University of Minnesota Press, 2008.
Ecoscapes Sustainable Landscaping, ecoscapes1.com