I'm a stumped about what to do with the 12' deep by 17' wide swath between my front porch & the sidewalk. Can you recommend some bird-friendly foundation plants for a north-north-west facing spot? I'm making a concentrated effort to help out the birds in my super-chem-sprayed suburban neighborhood, but of course I'd also like to have a little privacy on the porch and a bit of color over each season if at all possible.
The front 6' of the plot gets at least a half day's sun and the back 6', aligning the porch, is part shade to shade. The soil is sandy loam, slightly acidic. I'd like get as much diversity in there as I can to encourage wildlife. Thanks so much.
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The Helpful Gardener
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Got it; the plant you want is blueberries!
Flower in spring, berry for the birds in summer and a great foliage show in fall (the twigs look nice and green all winter). LOTS of different cultivars around so you can get variance in heights as well
Use a pieris or two and inkberry for evergreen and mix in winterberries, native viburnums and bayberry for a bird-feeding border that offers shelter food and a nice landscape for you...
And tell those ChemLawners around you to start asking for the Material Toxicity and Data Sheet (MTDS) for the crp they are spraying and look at the side effects listed. Not to mention the fact that they are junky lawns that can't survive hardship; all the junkies in my neighborhood have been asking how I've greened up my lawn. I STOPPED fertilizing, overseeded some clover, and mowed regularly. Period. They are all stupefied...
Scott
Flower in spring, berry for the birds in summer and a great foliage show in fall (the twigs look nice and green all winter). LOTS of different cultivars around so you can get variance in heights as well
Use a pieris or two and inkberry for evergreen and mix in winterberries, native viburnums and bayberry for a bird-feeding border that offers shelter food and a nice landscape for you...
And tell those ChemLawners around you to start asking for the Material Toxicity and Data Sheet (MTDS) for the crp they are spraying and look at the side effects listed. Not to mention the fact that they are junky lawns that can't survive hardship; all the junkies in my neighborhood have been asking how I've greened up my lawn. I STOPPED fertilizing, overseeded some clover, and mowed regularly. Period. They are all stupefied...
Scott
belated thanks for your reply! I'm new to the garden forum & it took forever for me to find my way back here. about the lawn chem issue: what boggles my mind is using chemical treatments and bird feeders in the same yard. to me that's like leaving a bowl of apples out while your house is being fumigated, and then offering the apples to unsuspecting guests.
I love the blueberries & viburnum idea especially. just one more question and I'll go my merry way: can these shrubs go at the back by the foundation, which will begin to lose some of its sun in a month or so? right now this north-north-west facing spot gets great sun from 9am on: but by august those back 6' will be pretty shady. I've read that arrowood viburnums are better for shadier spots, but I'm eyeing a small tree-form "lantana" that's affordable and attractive.
thanks again for your help!
I love the blueberries & viburnum idea especially. just one more question and I'll go my merry way: can these shrubs go at the back by the foundation, which will begin to lose some of its sun in a month or so? right now this north-north-west facing spot gets great sun from 9am on: but by august those back 6' will be pretty shady. I've read that arrowood viburnums are better for shadier spots, but I'm eyeing a small tree-form "lantana" that's affordable and attractive.
thanks again for your help!
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The Helpful Gardener
- Mod
- Posts: 7491
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 9:17 pm
- Location: Colchester, CT