Attract MORE Birds! BERRY-Producing Shrubs They LOVE! 

Awesome, thank you for sharing! I also see bare root plants and seeds available from private sellers, on Etsy for example. (Always good to double check they’re sourcing ethically)

I think about this often - if everyone would plant just a few, it would make such a difference! Thank you for your support for the cause! 💓

That’s a wonderful idea - adding more natives into the landscaper’s pallette would make a huge difference! I’ve been noticing more inkberry holly, penstemon and little bluestem in some large landscaping projects near me - looks beautiful!

Yes! I’ve got plans for a mass planting of it - cannot wait!

That’s wonderful! I hope you get many bird visits!! I find it’s so fulfilling watching them eat from our gardens! 💓

I find it all too fascinating! I actually enjoy a bit of weather, as long as I’m dressed warm, but I did get pretty soggy on this run 😅 Thank you for watching!

Thank you, and thanks for watching!

Wow, what an amazing story! The spicebush swallowtail caterpillars are so cool - they are patterned to mimic a snake, and can even stick out a false tongue when they feel threatened! Just found this video that shows an example, and the video says they even absorb chemicals from the spicebush leaves that they can use to emit a "foul odor" when threatened! So cool! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uQhWDBzlLCM.html

Thank you for watching!

Hollies never cease to amaze me with the number of pollinators they attract! I’ll check out sabal minor, I’ve never heard of that one before - thank you for the suggestion!

I’m so glad it’s useful! And excited you are planning a habitat garden - I’ve found mine amazingly rewarding, and I’m still new at it! It’s amazing how fast life fills up the garden when it’s planted with them in mind!

You’ll enjoy the process of converting lawn to native plants! This video is a great assist.

Thank you, glad to hear!

I'm excited to read what you're doing! Great suggestion for how to source plants! And those are all awesome species - I would love to plant both spicebush and hazelnut soon! Thank you for the lovely comment! - also, I noticed yesterday that Direct Native Plants has added one species of American burning bush for sale: directnativeplants.com/product/bursting-heart/

Here are a few other suggestions someone listed in a separate comment for where to find American burning bush: "Arbor Day Foundation, Chief River Nursery, TyTy Nursery for strawberrybush."

Thank you so much, and thank you for watching!

Thank you for watching! So glad it might be useful!

Thank you so much! Happy to do it - I don’t mind the weather so much, can be refreshing to get out for a bit!

Thank you for the kind words, and for watching!

Thank you!

Thank you for watching!

Thank you for watching!

Very interesting! That’s a great question - I’ve been really impressed with how different plants coordinate like that, so wouldn’t be surprised if you’re right about the Spruce! As I’ve read, I saw that the saponins were mildly toxic for humans and pets but beneficial for birds - have you seen many birds eating your berries? I wonder if they have a relationship with other plants similar to the Highbush cranberry that maybe we don’t know about yet…I wonder if they eat the berries alongside something else to make them more digestible (also, apparently snowberry will attract hummingbirds when in bloom!)

Thank you! Oh wow, that sounds like quite something to watch! I’ve never seen Pileateds go after fruit, very cool - they’re stunning to watch! Love their calls too, such cool birds!

@@gardenforbirds It was nice! Of course, I now have some Staghorn Sumac planted in my front yard. We have a pair that nest in some big Sycamore Trees. Something else I saw a Pileated feeding on while sitting in my deer stand one season was berries from - believe it or not - a Poison Ivy Vine.

@@outdoorztime2923 I’ve read about this! Only a few species of primates (like us 😅) apparently have an allergic reaction, and I’ve read lots of species use the berries! I’ve not seen it yet for myself, but I do let a vine grow in one area where the kids don’t go, so I’ve got a shot at witnessing one day!

That’s a lot of action - love it! I’ve been seeing 2 pairs of bluebirds on our property but a bit further from our house, maybe going after some of the Virginia creeper if there are any berries left. I’m just starting to plant fruiting shrubs but very excited for them to get going and to plant more!

Holy Cow! 😅 I hope you have some help getting all those in the ground! Prairie Nursery has a nice diversity of shrubs - would be curious to hear what you picked out!

You asked, so here goes: button bushes, serviceberry, pussy willow, elderberry,, pagoda Dogwood, Blackhaw viburnum, Downey arrowwood, red osier Dogwood, and highbush cranberry. I’m thinking about adding some snowberries to the order. What’s your experience with them? I would describe this area as on the dry and partial sun. Yes, I’ve reached out for help. We planted 1800 plants this past spring and I learned my lesson.

That's awesome, every little bit absolutely helps! I hope you have some good success with researching plants for your area - infrequent frosts should help you to have lots of options for container plantings!

Awesome! It's the best, always excited to hear others are supporting nature in their own gardens! 💓

@@gardenforbirds Thank you!

Thank you for the very informative comment! Is the idea with the soil ph that we plant more of the plants that can better compete with invasives?

Yes, exactly! The popular broad brush "wisdom" for planting native over non-native plants is often about them being thought to require less water or being lower maintenance, yet that completely ignores the human alteration of the environment. The Amur honeysuckle is non-native to the region, but "native" to the soil and pollution caused by the disturbed environment where it thrives. So my thoughts are on promoting plants that are native to the region, but also adapted to the soil conditions in people's yards. Out of all the plants mentioned in the video, the staghorn sumac seems to best imitate the invasive honeysuckle, as it can also be used for erosion control, grows quickly, re-sprouts readily, produces fruit for the birds, and can even form large colonies that exclude other plants. Add on that it tolerates the same soil conditions, and what do you know - it's invasive in Europe! I also mentioned the eastern red cedar because it is the only native evergreen tree (in my area) that tolerates clay soil (unlike eastern white pine) and is relatively pest resistant (unlike eastern hemlock). And although the Norway spruce isn't native, it isn't remotely invasive in northern Ohio, tolerates compacted clay soil, and still provides winter shelter through its evergreen structure. The northern cardinal was originally native only to the southeastern U.S., but today with an expanded native range, one can find them on a Norway spruce branch in northern Ohio in a suburban yard. @@gardenforbirds​​

Very interesting! I agree that combating invasive species will especially require new ways of thinking to "outsmart" the invasives! I've heard some interesting ideas to use a more "aggressive" native to smother out invasives, and then to gradually work on restoring diversity back in once the invasive seed banks are at least dormant and the soil disturbance is over. So while monocultures aren't a great end goal, using monocultures to do the initial reclaiming of land is an interesting step toward a restoring diversity in a habitat!

Thank you for watching!

Yay, that's awesome!! I hope they'll bring you lots of bird visits!

Sadly it sounds like you have a variety that is unpalatable to birds. There is not enough space here to list the ones that are good/not good choices for birds but if you Google it you will find varieties that birds love.

I haven’t had a crabapple of my own (yet!) but was reading that birds may prefer species that make smaller fruits. I’ve had good luck with our serviceberry tree, and there are also quite a few serviceberries that have more of a shrub form. The birds really like the fruit, and they’re edible for humans too!

I'm planting 5 service berries in backyard this year. An alternative to blueberries and I don't have to acidify the soil

The birds will love it! Hopefully you can get a berry or two for yourself, too! 😅

A video on seed starting is a great idea! I’ve read that the seeds like to pass through birds digestive systems to help scarify their seeds, which improve s the germination rate. I’ve been curious how they germinate without that process. You can sometimes scarify the seeds manually. Good to know about the cuttings! Where did you find yours? It seems like Euonymous americanus is easier (but still not easy) to find for sale than Euonymous atropurpureus - also, the number of native Euonymous species has surprised me!

I am a complete newby, but I've been reading 2 books, "Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation" and "Seeds of Wildland Plants" for trying to understand how to germinate. For example, I got a couple of Smooth Sumac seeds to sprout by bringing water to a boil, placing the seeds in it, letting it cool, and then placing the seeds into "winter sowing" containers (milk jugs that are left out during winter!). I got my cuttings from my friend's shrub. Thanks for being such an awesome advocate for this very important issue!!! ❤

I’ll check out those books, this is great information! Never heard of boiling them, very interesting! I, too, am a newbie! 😅

Yes! Pretty wonderful and magical, really!

Hello! The two large evergreens in the background are Canadian Yews (Taxus canadensis), and then there is a smaller shrub on the left that is a grumpy Mountain Laurel (Kalmia Latifolia). The Mountain Laurel was in too much sun, after we lost a tree that used to provide shade, so I transplanted it to that new bed in the fall and am hoping she can bounce back happier!

I’m in Maryland, kind of interesting because I’m often on the border of both the northerly and southerly species!

Yeah, that can be a hard task - probably deserves its own video!

I definitely talk too fast! I’ll hopefully get better about that as I go! 😅

Diversity in beliefs is as beautiful as diversity in nature! (For me, a loving God and evolution coexist 💓)