Bird Garden Plan

Bright and colorful birds will flock to this garden built especially for them. It's filled with seed-bearing flowers and pluming grasses as well as nectar-producing flowers for hummingbirds. Besides its birdbath—water is a powerful attractant for birds—it also has two birdhouses atop a colorful trellis.  There's always something for the birds to eat and drink, from spring until autumn.

The garden is designed for a narrow space next to a driveway or fence. From fence to front, it is 6' (1.8 m) deep at its widest point and narrows in a gentle curve to 3' (90 cm) wide at its tip. The bed is 12' (3.7 m) long. For longer beds, repeat the plantings at 12' (3.7 m) intervals.

1. Build the birdhouses and arbor first.
2. Set two level, concrete stepping-stones for a plant support column and the birdbath.
3. Plant tall background flowers and bushy shrubs: use single-stem and branching cultivars of annual sunflower, pea shrub, and shrub lantana.
4. Next, plant the fountain grass and a morning glory vine to grow up the arbor.
5. Then set in the mid-ground plants: use cosmos, lupine, gloriosa daisy, and black-eyed Susan.
6. Finally, plant the foreground with mixed zinnias and set a pot of petunias on the column. Install a bird feeder on the arbor.

When first planted, the garden may seem sparse. It will take four to six weeks to grow in completely and, by midsummer, it will be crowded with blooms.