For the Birds: Flowers to Plant for Their Seeds

by Sara Pitzer

You can attract more birds to your yard by planting a few flowers just for their seeds.  It's easy as planting a cutting flower garden and uses many of the same plants.  The main difference is that you need to plant a little closer together and allow the flowers to go to seed.

A Bed Just For Birds

Your Growise Center consultants can provide many healthy young plants that will thrive in your area and bring in the birds.  Try creating one area just for attracting birds and also scattering plants for seed throughout the rest of your garden and borders.  All these flowering annuals will do best in full sun.

Zinnias With Zing

One of the easiest plants to grow is also one with seeds birds like best-the zinnia.  The old-fashioned, cut-and-come again, tall varieties bloom on strong stems as much as three feet high and produce so many blooms you can cut them for arrangements and still have plenty left to go to seed.  The more dwarf varieties look nice planted in front of the taller ones.  Ask your Growise Center to help you make sure you've chosen the sizes you need.  

Quick and Easy

Another good choice is coreopsis, which blooms quickly and keeps going all summer in full sun.  Songbirds find coreopsis especially attractive and you'll enjoy the range of colors in the orange-to-rust pallete.  

Cosmos is so easy to grow it is sometimes called the beginner's plant.  Yellow cosmos mixes beautifully with coreopsis, while the pink, magenta and rose coreopsis complement the rich colors of the zinnias.  Cosmos comes in a variety of heights, from three or four fee tall to only about 20 inches.  Try several heights so you can mix them in the front and back of the beds.

Fertilizer for Flowers

Since you want ample bloom and will be planting densely to create a protective thicket for the feeding birds, it's important to loosen the soil and work in a good fertilizer to encourage strong growth.  The employees at your Growise Center will advise you on the best fertilizer for flowering plants.