Eleanor Clarke

GARDEN DESIGN

5 Best Plants for Birdlife

If you’re thinking of some new plant additions to the garden this winter, why not make them bird friendly? There’s nothing more cheering than sharing your outdoor space with a bunch of feathered friends. Here are a few shrubs, climbers and perennials they’ll love:

English ivy (Hedera helix)

Its black winter berries are a nutritious, calorie-rich winter food source for thrushes, blackbirds and woodpidgeons. The dense evergreen foliage, meanwhile, is a great place for smaller birds to shelter and forage.

Wild hedging roses

The most common of these is probably Rosa rugosa, known for its glossy red autumn hips, which are popular with mistle thrushes and blackbirds. The thorny mass of a hedge is a happy place for sheltering birds too.

Hawthorn

A brilliant shrub for shelter and autumn berries. Hawthorn is the favourite berry of many of our native bird species, including greenfinches, blackbirds and starlings.

Guelder rose (Viburnum opulus)

Bullfinches in particular love the shiny bright-red autumn berries of this shrub, one of the national symbols of Ukraine. Its huge flat heads of summer blossom are glorious.

Teasels

They’re gorgeous to look at, and the seeds inside the dried winter flower heads are a huge draw for goldfinches, blue tits and great tits.

Remember, if we don’t have specific plants in stock, just come and ask one of the team. We’ll be happy to suggest an alternative or order it for you, if we can.