Plants that Provide Food for Birds

In addition to putting out feeders, you can also grow plants that bloom and produce fruit, seeds or nuts - attracting even more birds to your backyard.
When possible, use plants that are native to your area. Talk to your local nursery or agricultural extension agency to find out which plants grow best in your region.
Many perennials, grasses, vines, shrubs and trees provide food for birds. Here's a list of some of the best ones to plant.

Shrubs and Trees:

• American Elderberry: juicy fruit in mid-summer
• Black Cherry: fruit
• Chokecherry: fruit
• Crabapple: flowers, fruit and seeds are attractive to many species
• Dogwood: red fruits appear in late summer, and bear until fall
• Mulberry: juicy berries ripen in July and August
• Northern Bayberry: berries attractive to bluebirds, catbirds and tree swallows
• Raspberry: fruit Serviceberry: fruit appears in summer
• Viburnum: red, yellow, blue or black berries

Vines:

• Virginia Creeper: blue berries in late summer
• Wild Grape: fruit is attractive to many species

Grasses for Seed:

• Big Bluestem
• Buffalograss
• Gama Grass
• Little Bluestem
• Prairie Dropseed

Perennials:

• Black-Eyed Susan: seeds
• Blazing Star: seeds
• Common Evening
• Primrose: seeds
• Coneflower: seeds
• Fireweed: nectar
• Helianthus: seeds
• Phlox: nectar
• Strawberry: fruit
• Sunflower: seeds