Garden Plan to Attract Wisconsin Songbirds
There are a few things that are so beautiful like waking up to a beautiful songbird on your
bedroom window sill.
If you want to enjoy them yourself, there is no need to keep them trapped
in a cage — just plant the native plants they thrive on!
This guide features regional native plants for the Great Lakes that are highly
attractive to our native songbirds and are well-suited to small-scale plantings in gardens,
on business and school campuses, in urban greenspaces and farm field borders.
In planning your garden, be sure to have something blooming all season so
there is always a food source for songbirds.
How To Attract Songbirds
Provide a water source near protective shrubs during the summer months.
Create a songbird border along your property edge by planting trees and
shrubs that meet the needs of birds throughout the year.
Reduce your lawn by at least 25% to favor meadow plants and taller grasses.
Rake leaves under shrubs to create mulch and natural feeding areas for ground
feeding birds.
Clean tube feeders by taking them apart and using a dishwasher on a hot setting
or hand wash either with soap and boiling water.
Keep your cat Indoors.
See the KEY at the bottom for details on the 'Soil' and 'Moisture' codes.
| EARLY
|
Columbine
|
Aquilegia canadensis |
Red, Yellow |
1-3' |
|
L,S |
D,M |
|
Downy Phlox
|
Phlox pilosa |
Pink |
1-2' |
|
L,S |
D,M,Mo |
| MID
|
Black-eyed Susan
|
Rudbeckia hirta |
Yellow |
1-3' |
|
L,S,C |
D,M,Mo |
|
Blue False Indigo
|
Baptisia australis |
Blue |
3-4' |
|
L
| D,M |
|
Pale Purple Coneflower
|
Echinacea pallida |
Purple |
3-5' |
|
L,S,C |
D,M |
|
Purple Coneflower
|
Echinacea purpurea |
Blue |
3-5' |
|
L,S,C |
D,M |
|
Smooth Penstemon
|
Penstemon digitalis |
White |
2-3' |
|
L,S |
M,Mo |
| MID-LATE |
Bergamot
|
Mondarda fistulosa |
Purpl |
4' |
|
L,S,C |
D,M,O |
|
Cup Plant |
Silphium perfoliatum |
Yellow |
3-10' |
|
L,S,C |
M,Mo,W |
|
Dense Blazingstar
|
Liatris spicata |
Pink, Purple |
3-5' |
|
D,L,S |
M,Mo |
|
Prairie Dropseed
|
Sporobolus heterolepsis |
White |
2-4' |
|
L,C,S |
M |
|
Stiff Goldenrod
|
Solidago rigida |
Yellow |
3-5' |
|
L,C,S |
D,M |
|
Yellow Coneflower
|
Ratibida pinnata |
Yellow |
3-6' |
|
C,L,S |
D,M,Mo |
| LATE
|
Little Bluestem
|
Schizachyrium
scoparium |
Purple, Bronze |
2-4' |
|
L |
D,M |
|
New England Aster
|
Symphyotrichum
novae-angliae |
Blue, Pink, Purple |
3-6' |
|
L,C,S |
M,Mo |
|
Smooth Aster
|
Symphyotrichum
laeve |
Blue |
2-4' |
|
L,S |
D,M |
|
Indian Grass
|
Sorghastrum
nutans |
Straw, Gold |
5-7' |
|
L,C,S |
D,M,O |
SOIL:
L = Loam
C = Clay
S = Sandy
R = Rocky
MOISTURE:
D = Dry
M = Medium
O = Moist
W = Wet
Bee Garden Plan
Butterfly Garden Plan
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Plan
Cut Flower Garden Play
Dried Flower Garden Plan