Gardening for Birds Year-Round

If you're one of those people who runs to the window every time you see wild birds fly by, know that you've found kindred spirits here. When you garden to invite these birds into your life, you get a front-row seat to nature and enhance biodiversity in your slice of earth.

Bird-friendly gardening isn't just a one-season affair. Birds change with the seasons, but someone's always looking for a safe haven, whether it's winter, spring, summer or fall.

• Gardening for Birds in Spring
• Summertime Wild Bird Gardening
• Autumn Bird Garden Action
• Winter Gardens for Wild Birds

Insects are a major food source for baby birds in spring.

Gardening for Birds in Spring

Spring is a special season for birds and bird lovers, who get to watch as nests are built and baby birds arrive. You can attract wild birds and let them know they've come to the right place by providing the things they're looking for in springtime. The short list? Nesting spots and food.

Trees, shrubs and vines provide natural spots for nest building, but you can help the process along by adding birdhouses. Our Pennington Cedar House is perfect for bluebirds and others that prefer more permanent homes to keep their babies safe from weather and predators.

Unlike summer gardens, which tend to have lots of nectar, seeds and fruits around, natural wild bird staples are in short supply come spring. You can improve on Mother Nature's offerings and make sure your feathered friends find plenty of nutritious, whole-grain seeds with our Pennington Classic Wild Bird Feed. Perfect for year-round feeding, this premium mix provides nesting birds with the food and energy they need.  

By planting flowers, trees and shrubs that bloom early in the year, you provide nectar for birds and — more importantly — for high-protein insects that birds eat and feed their young.

Bleeding hearts, columbine and early-season wildflowers like our Pennington Organic Siberian Wallflower Seed go hand in hand with early blooming shrubs and trees like azaleas and maples — all perfect for attracting insects destined for baby birds. Pennington Rejuvenate Plant Food Evergreen & Azalea 4-3-3 helps keep your acid-loving plants beautiful and productive. (Come winter, birds sheltering in your garden's well-nourished evergreens will thank you, too.)

Birds need water for drinking, bathing and family frolicking.

Summertime Wild Bird Gardening

As summer takes over your four-season wild bird garden, the birdhouses you placed in spring keep providing much-appreciated shelter from sun and wind. You get the added treat of seeing babies from those established bird families mature before your eyes.

When birds are part of your garden life, you'll see babies take their first test flights. Just like human kids, some are fearless, and others take some coaxing — either way, you get to watch it all.

Water sources for bird families are especially important during summer heat. With our multi-functional Pennington Cedar Hanging 2 in 1 Bird Bath/Feeder, you get options for a birdbath or a bird feeder in one. Your backyard birds can get the water they need for drinking and bring the family in for a communal bath, too. For those birds that prefer dust baths, a small bare spot of earth carefully preserved between some garden plants will do.

Summer-flowering shrubs and other plants in your garden can help supplement the wild bird feed in your feeders and keep nectar and insects rolling as baby bird diets expand. With pollinator favorites like our Pennington Mixed Seashell Cosmos Seeds and Pennington Organic Cut & Come Again Zinnia Seeds, your backyard birds get what they need — and you get plenty of flowers for fresh-cut bouquets. And with Pennington Rejuvenate Plant Food Rose & Flower 4-6-3,  you can feed your plants, revitalize your soil, and grow bigger, more beautiful blooms.

As petals fade in autumn, seedheads draw birds in.

Autumn Bird Garden Action

Fall is the time when major shifts start happening in four-season bird gardens. Summer visitors head south, while migrations from the north bring new garden guests to town. As days grow shorter and nights grow cooler, nature responds with a buffet of fruits and seeds to complement the treats you provide.

Birdscaping with native plants like purple coneflower, black-eyed Susans and ornamental prairie grasses fill the garden with late-season color, movement and seeds. (The ornamental grasses will still be around in spring to provide next year's nesting materials, too.) Fruit-bearing trees and shrubs become a favorite attraction for wild birds hungry for a final taste of late-summer fruits.

Fall is the perfect time to take stock of your landscape and make some bird-minded additions for this season and for the seasons to come. Pennington Plant Starter at planting time helps fall-planted trees, shrubs, evergreens and perennials settle in without transplant shock, so they're ready when winter comes. Wild bird favorites like viburnums and Aronia shrubs provide multiple seasons of color, blooms and fruits.

Take time in fall to double up on your contribution to the health and well-being of your wild bird friends. Our Pennington Cedar Junior Pavilion Bird Feeder feeds birds from all four sides and ensures you always have a birds-eye view every season. (And it's the perfect garden-style complement to your cedar bluebird house and your 2 in 1 birdbath/bird feeder combo.)

Persistent fruit and bird feed help wild birds get through winter.

Winter Gardens for Wild Birds

When winter arrives in full force, your four-season bird garden has two priorities: safe shelter and abundant food. Shelter comes in the form of thick evergreen foliage, vines and shrubs, tree cavities, nesting and roosting boxes, and other places where birds can escape cold winds and huddle together for warmth. Snow drifts around the base of thick ornamental grasses and shrubs provide protection and shelter, too.

Obviously, insects and earthworms are in very, very short supply in winter months (at least above ground). The wild birds in your garden rely on persistent fruits or berries on junipers, winterberry and other landscape shrubs and trees — and the nuts, seeds and fruits you chip in.

High-energy food is critical to birds in cold winter months. With 100% real fruit, nuts, seeds and grains, our Pennington Ultra Double Nut, Nut & Fruit Blend contains walnuts, pecans, peanuts, black oil sunflower, safflower, sunflower chips plus real fruit. (What bird could resist?!) This nutritious premium feed has all the essential proteins and healthy fats your feathered friends need.

When you turn your yard into a four-season haven for wild birds, everybody wins: birds, biodiversity, the environment, Mother Nature and you. At Pennington, we love wild birds as much as we love plants, and we understand that gardens were meant to share — with people and with birds. Have a question? We'd love to hear it. Let us help you nurture your roots.  

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