In addition to having plants that provide seeds and berries, it is equally important to include plants that provide perching, cover and nesting areas to attract birds to your garden, according to Colorado State University Plant Talk.  “Birds require the security of nearby cover so they will repeatedly return to an area to feed. Many birds like to look for food on the ground under the protection of dense, twiggy shrubs,” reports the website) https://planttalk.colostate.edu/topics/trees-shrubs-vines.

A previous column discussed native plants that attract birds (http://www.alamosaflowers.net/pdf/2019-04-03-alamosa-landscapes-web.pdf) so I won’t discuss the following plants here: black-eyed Susans, chokecherry, common sunflowers, golden currant, and showy milkweed.

I don’t have many grasses in my garden but am considering buying some Little Bluestem ‘Prairie Blues’ (Schizachyrium scoparium ‘Prairie Blues’) this year. It is a colorful cultivar of a native prairie grass and mostly spreads by rhizomes while providing seeds for birds.  I don’t want grass cropping up all over in our yard so have often avoided seedy grasses. It has gray-blue foliage and a strong, upright habit. A xeric plant, it is drought resistant and grows 32 – 35 in. high and is rated for growing zones 3 – 9.

I have several trees and shrubs in my garden that attract birds. The most familiar fruit bearing tree in Alamosa is the crabapple (Malus) of which there are many varieties.  Most attract birds.  I love our Canada red chokecherry (Prunus virginiana   ‘Shubert’) that sprouts green leaves that turn purple during the summer.  It produces small fruit that is all eaten by birds before the end of summer.  It reportedly is known to sucker, but I’ve only had one tree come up from its roots.

Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) is a medium sized shrub that is fairly drought tolerant and tolerates alkali soil. It does sucker and ours has formed a fairly dense clump. This native to Colorado and New Mexico has white berries that birds like.

Three-Leaf Sumac (Rhus trilobata) provides important fall and winter food for 32 species of birds according to the birdconservancy.org website. We have a low growing variety ‘Autumn Amber’ that is about 18 in. high and has a nice compact form and red fall foliage.  No berries are left at the end of the season.

The same site also recommends blue rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus). It says seed heads are appealing to house finches and pine siskins. I haven’t seen birds spend time on our plants, however.

Buffaloberry (Shepherdia argentea) or silverberry is another hardy shrub that one web site includes in its ‘bird pantry’ list. Ours is about 7 ft. high after many years.  It’s rated down to zone 2. Ripe fruits are edible, but sour tasting. They ripen in the fall, but mine are mostly gone by late August. Some sites suggest using buffaloberry in place of the banned Russian olive trees.

Another shrub I discovered online but don’t know is the New Jersey tea plant (Ceonothus americanus) that the “Sunset Western Garden” book calls California wild lilac. It grows 2-3 ft., is rated down to zone 3, and has glossy leaves and bright white flowers that attract hummingbirds. The High Country Gardens (HCG) website says this is native to the northern New Mexico area.  The company is mostly mail order now.  I’d never heard of the plant before but will look into it!

One plant I have gotten to know in the last few years and love is Kannah Creek buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum v. aureum Kannah Creek) According to HCG, “Kannah Creek Buckwheat hails from western Colorado. With a showy display of yellow flowers in late spring, the flowers age to shades of orange and rust by late summer, providing months of low care color.”  It’s rated down to zone 3 and grows 12 – 15 in. high.

It has seemed like a long winter to me – I think due to covid concerns!  However, soon it’ll be time to get out and enjoy the garden.

“No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.”  Hal Borland