Six Plants to Include in a Garden for Birdwatchers This Father’s Day

For relaxation, your dad likes to go out and watch the birds. You want to surprise him with a birdwatching garden for Father’s Day. You’re not sure where to start. Here are six plants birds love that take little effort to maintain.

Caregiver in Northbrook IL: Creating a Birdwatching Garden

Caregiver in Northbrook IL: Creating a Birdwatching Garden

Easy to Grow and Maintain Flowers and Flowering Vines.

Echinacea, also known as purple coneflower, grows in clusters in almost any soil. Look for varieties that can handle your dad’s growing zone. They’re popular with hummingbirds throughout the summer. By fall, small finches flock to them to eat the small seeds.

Towering sunflowers may need support against the wind and weight of the flowers. They’re very popular with birds in the fall. As sunflower seeds dry, they provide plenty of food for a wide variety of birds. You can also collect the seeds yourself after drying the sunflower heads and put them in bird feeders near a window during the winter.

Trumpet honeysuckle is an easy-to-grow vine that produces bright red flowers. Hummingbirds flit around the vines collecting nectar from the tube-shaped flowers. The flowers lead to red berries that are popular with birds like Baltimore orioles and hermit thrushes.

Easy to Grow and Maintain Bushes and Shrubs.

Chokecherry trees always draw birds. While chokecherry shrubs tend to look dull in the summer, fall, and winter, their spring blooms are attractive. Those blooms lead to the cherries that many birds love. You’ll find everything from bluebirds and grosbeaks to thrushes and woodpeckers eating the berries.

Crabapples often have showy blooms in the spring that make them a garden favorite. If your dad makes jellies, crabapples are both useful to him and ideal for birds. In addition to having plenty of cover for birds that build nests, the apples are a good source of food. Cardinals, cedar waxwings, and certain varieties of grosbeaks love crabapples.

Northern bayberry is a shrub with year-round silvery berries. Many swallows love the berries. If your dad is looking to have bluebirds and swallows around his home, this is a good choice. It also provides protection for nesting birds.

Your dad will love watching the birds that flock to his birdwatching garden. For maintenance, there’s really not a lot to do. The plants, shrubs, and trees should be watered if rainfall is scarce. Trim dead branches as necessary. Those chores are easy for you to do when you’re visiting.

When your dad is inside, caregivers can help him complete indoor chores. Caregivers can wash and dry dirty clothes, change his sheets, and keep up with light housework. To learn more about the services caregivers offer, call us today.

If you or an aging loved one are considering caregiver services in Northbrook, IL, contact the caring staff at Companion Services of America today at (847) 943-3786. Our home care service area includes Northbrook, Highland Park, Deerfield, Glenview, Buffalo Grove, Evanston, Des Plaines, Skokie, Lake Forest, Wilmette and the surrounding areas.

Jamie Shapiro