Stokes Bird Garden

Entryway through the Amalanchier "Autumn Brilliance" trees which attract Cedar Waxwings, robins and thrushes.

Entryway border with catmint, yarrow, roses, foxglove and Prairie Fire crabapple trees.

Across to the hummingbird gazebo.

Long border next to hummingbird gazebo has a solar bird bath. Red Bee Balm attracts hummers.

We spend a lot ot time in our garden and have planned it to be bird-friendly, with well-designed hardscape and aesthetically pleasing plant combinations. It is chock-full of plants that attract birds and butterflies. Lillian does the plant combinations that bring color from early spring to late fall. We enlisted the design skills of our friend Gordon Hayward to help define the spaces, paths and "rooms" of our garden that are so well integrated with the house. We get immense joy from our garden and are happy we do not have to travel far in these days of high gas prices to find an "away place or vacation spot." We have created that for ourselves right here. We're are especially pleased by all the bird species we have attraced our property list stands at 182 species.
Here are some tips from our Stokes Bird Gardening Book to help you make your garden bird-friendly.

1. Plant evergreens for cover.

2. Choose shrubs, small and large trees that provide fruits and berries for the birds: Amalanchier (shadbush), crabapples, dogwoods, viburnums, hollies are good choices.

3. Use flowers such as Coneflower, Asters, Liatris, Salvia, Helenium, Coreopsis, Catmint, Heliopsis, Verbena, to attract butterflies, then leave their seed heads on for the birds to enjoy in fall.

4. Attract hummingbirds with red tubular flowers such as Bee Balm, Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera brownii or Lonicera heckrotii), Trumpet Vine (Campsis radicans), Cardinal Flower, Foxglove, Wild Columbine (Aquelegia canadensis), red Impatiens and red Salvias.

5. Don't use pesticides!!! They can be harmful to the birds! Instead use organic methods of insect control and plant cultivation.