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Birdscaping for Wisconsin and the Great Lakes Region
The 50 Best Native Plants to Attract Birds to Your Midwestern Garden
Mariette Nowak
“You may have thought you knew how to landscape your yard for birds, but I guarantee you this wonderful book will teach you something new.”
—Douglas Tallamy, University of Delaware
Everything you need to know to create a healthy habitat for birds
Want to turn your yard into a bird paradise? Mariette Nowak, gardener, educator, and ecologist, has a simple suggestion: think beyond bird feeders. Her indispensable guide for gardeners throughout the Upper Midwest and parts of the Northeast highlights the fifty best native plants for attracting such beloved bird species as ruby-throated hummingbirds, American goldfinches, eastern bluebirds, indigo buntings, cedar waxwings, and wood warblers.
The book explains the value of particular plants for birds and other wildlife, not only as food sources but as nesting sites and cover. Each plant is described in depth, with details on color, height, blooming time, light requirements, and soil preferences, along with planting tips and suggested companion plants. Nowak offers closer looks at the intriguing features of these diverse plant species and their intertwined relationships with birds, complemented by 150 color photos that showcase the beauty of the plants and birds together. Novice gardeners will also find essential information on birdscaping basics, site preparation, management guidelines, and safeguarding songbirds.
Mariette Nowak is an active leader and volunteer for Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes. She is also a public speaker on landscaping, native plants, and birding, and is the former director of the Wehr Nature Center, a unit of the Milwaukee County Parks in Wisconsin. She is the author of Birdscaping in the Midwest.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 The Basics of Birdscaping
2 Site Preparation and Planting
3 Safeguarding Your Songbirds
4 Top 10 Plants for Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds
Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans)
New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus)
Orange Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis)
Blazing Star or Gay Feather (Liatris species)
Michigan Lily (Lilium michiganense)
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
Pussy Willow (Salix discolor)
Royal Catchfly and Fire Pink (Silene species)
5 Top 10 Plants for Goldfinches and Other Prairie Birds
Native Thistle (Cirsium species)
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea species)
Sunflower (Helianthus species)
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)
Yellow Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata)
Silphiums (Silphium species)
Goldenrod (Solidago species)
Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans)
Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis)
American Aster (Symphyotrichum species)
6 Top 10 Plants for Bluebirds and Other Savanna Birds
Serviceberry (Amelanchier species)
Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa)
Hawthorn (Crataegus species)
Sunflower (Helianthus and Heliopsis species)
Juniper (Juniperus species)
Oak (Quercus species)
Rose (Rosa species)
Little Bluestem Grass (Schizachyrium scoparium)
Elm-Leaved Goldenrod (Solidago ulmifolia)
American Aster (Symphyotrichum species)
7 Top 10 Plants for Indigo Buntings and Other Shrubland Birds
Dogwood (Cornus species)
Hazelnut (Corylus species)
St. John’s Wort (Hypericum species)
Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)
Cherry Shrubs (Prunus species)
Bramble Berry (Rubus species)
Willow (Salix species)
Elderberry (Sambucus species)
Blueberry (Vaccinium species)
Viburnum (Viburnum species)
8 Top 10 Plants for Warblers and Other Woodland Birds
Maple (Acer species)
Birch (Betula species)
Hickory (Carya species)
American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)
Crabapple (Malus species)
White Spruce (Picea glauca)
Pine (Pinus species)
Poplar (Populus species)
Cherry (Prunus species)
Oak (Quercus species)
Appendix: Top Wetland and Rain Garden Plants for Birds
Bibliography
Websites Consulted
Index
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