Birds are a nuisance in my garden when my plants are young. They will pull up or peck off all my seedlings if I don't cover everything with bird netting. Now that things are established, my netting is gone. I see them hopping around the beds, but they don't bother anything. I've never had them peck at my tomatoes, but I've heard from people who think they do. So...take your pick. I do have a bird bath in my garden. I don't keep it full at planting time, as I don't care to encourage them until my plants are big enough to handle having them around. As for putting feeders in your garden, on the opposite side of my house I have an actual bird garden, with several feeders, another bird bath, and shrubs and trees planted specifically with a bird habitat in mind. I absolutely love it--it's the view out my kitchen window. But the birds make a MESS. The area needs to be kept clean, I soak my feeders in a mild bleach solution every couple months. I sweep up and gather the seed shells. Birds carry disease and a poorly kept bird garden can help spread the disease to other birds and humans. The point of all this is that I would never want to put feeders near plants I'm growing for food. A few birds hopping around aren't a big deal, but birds in the volume I get in my bird garden, I wouldn't put anything growing out there in my mouth. They crap on everything. In fact, I garden with gloves and wash my hands after I've been out there. I also have to let my feeders stay empty for several days to keep the bird volumes down. I love them, but when there's a plentiful supply of food for a long period of time, it turns into an Alfred Hitchcock movie out there. Personally, if you're looking for something that eats bugs, I'd try encouraging other beneficial insects by planting marigolds, nasturtiums and other "gardeny" type flowers. And, of course, keep the use of pesticides down.

There is a pair of Western Kingbirds that arrive in May or June in our area...same tree in my neighbor's yard. After I got our yard cleared of all the junk and weeds about 4 years ago, I began to notice them sitting on the wires watching for bugs to feed the babies. This year they were a big help with the squash bugs...the parents were kept busy feeding as many as 4 begging babies. But they left earlier than usual (are we in for an early Winter? it's much cooler than normal and has been for the last month). When they left the squash bug population exploded and wiped out the squash and most of the cucumbers and some of my small melons. I resorted to squishing them with my fingers as I watered and pulling all the squash plants. I planted some Fall squash and I'm hoping they do not return! Peggy

meredith, I have a fairly young garden, so none of my shrubs are large enough to nest in yet. So a rose that would grow quickly into something that could provide a site for nesting would be great. I have a Honeysuckle Vine that is being used for a nest and that's it. What is a 'woods-eating monster rose' ?? [g] I'm looking for a very large rose that would also provide a screen of my neighbor's yard. I saw this photo of Cecile Brunner and this is the effect I would like to achieve. I also wonder if that is growing on it's own or on some support. Any thoughts? I wonder how much square footage a rose like that would need at ground level? yorkrose, Pyracantha have such a presence in the fall and winter. I've only seen them trained on a trellis that didn't seem like they would make good nesting sites. Was yours left on it's own? Rosa eglanteria is very pretty! I imagine any rose I try to grow as large as the above photo will need support of some kind. I have a Stockade fence in the area where the rose will grow and I wouldn't want it to come down from the weight of the rose. John Cabot is pretty athenainwi, I was looking for something a little larger. What kind of bird is nesting in it? buford, that Reve d'Or looks like a size I am looking for. I love Noisettes, but I don't think they are as hardy here. I was thinking that birds would like small hips like meredith suggested. Surprised that they would eat rugosa hips. I wonder which birds eat those. Lady Hillingdon is very pretty and I see it repeats. That is something that would be important for me because I want such a large rose, it won't really fade into the background when it is not in bloom. Olga, Yolande d'Aragon is a pretty rose. I haven't seen a photo of the plant but I did find your post describing yours. I am wondering if the large upright stiff canes would work for what I want. I couldn't find a photo of Vesuvius. Westerland and WBaffin are pretty. Couldn't find a photo of Bridal Wreath. I don't use insecticides or fungicides. I'm an organic grower. Thanks for all the ideas!

Hi Sam, we have a very small yard, too, but have plenty of birds. You're right about them killing pests, they eat them for free! Some of the plants we see bird activity in are; annuals (in our zone 5); -torch tithonia -petunia -sage, any sage or salvia (both have perennial varieties too) -zinnia perennials include; -liatris, esp. spicata, but really any liatris is attractive -aster, we have one I call thistle, it has tiny black thistle/niger type seeds, and the birds love it all winter long, they clean the plant out -ornamental grass, lots of seeds, bonus, very attractive all winter Also, if you can find a tiny corner, a little bit of scrubby brush is attractive to birds, for cover and a place to hide and for foraging nest material. This webpage goes into dif. types of birds & what they prefer, you can tailor your plants to the birds you want to attract. http://www.helpfulgardener.com/design/2003/bird.html Bees are also important, to me lots of bees is a good sign that my garden is healthy, often bees, butterflies & hummers enjoy similar plants, tho bees are more interested in pollen of course. Try to use minimal chemicals, don't want to poison the birds you're striving to attract, & they can be very sensitive to weed killers, etc. I am as close to organic as I can be, I do use fertilizer, but for pests, I really try to go organic. OK, have to admit, we feed, niger seed all year, niger, suet & safflower seed all winter. Cheating, yes, but we love the birds & it's a guarenteed way to get them to your yard! I'm sure others will chime in w/more suggestions, good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: list of plants to attract birds This post was edited by jomuir on Sat, Dec 1, 12 at 12:49