Shrubs for Birds

[greenjelly]

Has anyone got any good suggestions for shrubs for wildlife - we are taking out some horrid 'relentlessly green shrubs/trees' in our garden and want some lovely shrubs that fulfil the following:

flowers in spring/summer
berries in winter
any soil
sun partial shade
not fussy about size - space not an issue

all ideas gratefully accepted

Greenjelly

[rustylady]

Pyracantha is my best one, the blackbirds especially love the berries.

[SarzWix]

What about: Callicarpa Profusion - J Parker Dutch Bulbs

Which looks like this in the winter

Or this: Gaultheria procumbens (Partridge Berry) - J Parker Dutch Bulbs

Which looks like this:

[VirginVegGrower]

Any of the berries they will go for pretty much, hawthorn, blackthorn, holly, rowan, ivy, juniper, yew, mistletoe, rosehips from wild roses, whitebeam, elder, hawthorn, honeysuckle, cotoneaster, pyracantha, berberis - the list goes on.

[WendyC]

We have a winter flowering honeysuckle which is a lovely early flowerer but it also has a few berries. Bees love it too.

[alex-adam]

One of my favourites is Leycesteria Formosa.

Attractive foliage early in the year, followed by white flowers with red bracts, followed in turn by berry-like seeds which attract blackbirds, bullfinches etc., - Will grow anywhere.

See Link: RHS Plant Selector Leycesteria formosa AGM / RHS Gardening

[Stonewaller]

How about a spindle? Euonymus europaeus "Red Cascade".
You get boring green leaves most of the year, then red/pink in autumn (better in full sun) and berries for the birds which this year lasted until about beginning of December.

In my garden the birds don't go for the Callicarpa Sarzwiz linked to, plus the berries have faded to a nasty grey colour by December.

[Madasafish]

We have pyracantha: field fares like it as do thrushes.

Plus two huge mountain ash (rowan) - lots of berries...

Plus evodia - bee tree - for bees .

Hawthorn hedges, beech hedges (for cover), holly hedge (cover and berries), raspberries (blackbirds and humans). blackberries (humans and birds), viburnum (early insects), ivy (insects), virginia creeper (nests) etc

Not only do you need to give direct food and shelter to birds etc, you have to encourage insect life.

(And do NOT use any insecticides at all in my view especially neonicotinoids which are persistent and systemic as they kill everything)

You also need to give shelter to frogs etc so heaps of leaves etc in winter are a good thing .

Finally. lots of flowering opium poppies make a wonderful show and attract bees..

Perennial wallflower..ERYSIMUM BOWLES MAUVE HYBRIDS SEEDS - look great, smell nice attract bees and can be easily propagated by cuttings...

[greenjelly]

Thanks everyone - what a response! I like pyracanthus, blackthorn, virburnum and blackthorn but my absolute must have is leycesteria formosa - what a plant!

We had a huge flock of field fares in our garden this weekend with the thick snow so hopefully they will be back when our new hedge is in place for next year.

Greenjelly

[Two_Sheds]

I have resident blackbirds, and visiting robins, sparrows and starlings. They come for the bird feeders that I hang around the garden, and take shelter under the evergreens: hebe, pyracantha, holly and camellia.

Just because it's evergreen and "boring" doesn't mean it's no good for birds.

[WendyC]

Thanks everyone - what a response! I like pyracanthus, blackthorn, virburnum and blackthorn but my absolute must have is leycesteria formosa - what a plant!

Greenjelly

Watch where you plant the Pheasant berry, it does produce a lot of berries, which is great, but don't plant it where they will fall on a path as they are very soft and easily get trodden every where including the carpet! I know from experience!

[greenjelly]

Thanks for that advice - shouldn't be a problem though as the area we're replanting is along the boundary line between ours and our neighbours lawns.

Two Sheds - you're correct about evergreen's not always being boring, we do have several holly trees in our garden which we love but the trees we're taking out are 2 leylandi pruned into barrel shapes and a hugely overgrown laurel which is killing our lawn where it touchs - the birds don't like them and neither do we.

I'm sure the birds and our garden will benefit from the above sugestions.

Greenjelly