The most beautiful bird shrubs for the garden
Shrubs not only delight our garden birds and insects, but also enrich every garden. They form the framework of the garden, so to speak, and offer a wonderful variety of design possibilities. Shrubs provide reliable backdrops for colorful perennial borders and vegetable plots. Shrubs can be used to create very personal garden spaces, protect garden corners from prying eyes, beautify compost heaps, and create green boundaries between neighboring properties and the street. Shrubs mitigate noise, wind, and exhaust fumes – important in urban and rural gardens. "Exotic" shrubs or specially cultivated varieties also provide this, of course, but for the sake of the birds, choose native wild shrubs: Not only do they adorn our gardens with attractive leaves, flowers, and fruit, and are also robust, undemanding, and easy to care for, they also provide many bird species with abundant habitat, shelter, cover, nesting opportunities, and plant and – thanks to the insects they attract – animal food. Whether in a standalone plant, as a free-growing hedge or as a strictly shaped hedge – you will easily find your bird-friendly favorites among the flowering and fruiting shrubs.
Flowering stars among the native wild shrubs are the common serviceberry, red honeysuckle, dog rose, wild cherry, black cherry, common viburnum, and woolly viburnum. They stand out with their beautiful blossoms, attract countless insects, and offer birds delicious fruit in the fall. They also thrive in virtually any garden location. The red dogwood displays magnificent color in the fall, and the bright orange-pink fruits of the spindle tree also shine at the same time. Buckthorn and alder buckthorn are rather inconspicuous shrubs that thrive among the magnificent flowering shrubs, as birds love both. The black elderberry, with its fragrant flower umbrellas and its healthy (cooked) fruits, is a must-have in any garden; our ancestors planted it around their houses. Finally, a coniferous tree belongs in the garden, where early-nesting birds like greenfinches can find a protected nesting site in early spring – how about a juniper? If you have plenty of space, consider planting a blackberry, which, if kept under control, is one of the most valuable shrubs for birds and insects. With every new wild plant species in your garden, ten new native animal species find a home—now that's something!
