Native shrubs for birds

Birds make an important contribution to our ecosystem - so it's worth creating targeted retreats for the feathered garden inhabitants. We introduce you to 15 native shrubs for birds that expand their habitat.

For many people, birdsong is the most beautiful sound in their garden. But watching the lively musicians is also great fun. But the question quickly arises as to how you can attract birds to your garden. Native shrubs are ideal for birds: they offer hiding places, breeding places and a suitable supply of food. Which shrubs are particularly suitable for birds and what else you need to know when creating one bird-friendly garden You should pay attention to this in this article.

You are looking for bird-friendly shrubs for your own garden? Then take a look at our online shop – you can order various bird food plants there.

The ideal habitat for birds

The best way to attract birds to your own garden is to offer them a habitat that is as natural as possible with refuges and nesting places as well as various food sources. The best way to do this is with native shrubs for birds: in contrast to exotic ornamental plants These not only have a decorative value, but also an ecological benefit as food and Habitat donor. Hedges and bushes with thorns and dense branches are particularly popular with birds, as they offer reliable protection from predators such as birds of prey. Shrubs that provide natural food sources such as berries are also sought after by many animals. However, you should not forget to also rely on flowering plants: A insect friendly garden It also benefits birds because they need the beetles as food for themselves and their chicks. Seed mixtures like this are particularly practical for creating a bird-friendly garden Plantura beneficial insect magnet - The variety of plants it contains ensures a rich supply of food for birds all year round and thus supports feathered animals.

In addition to choosing the right hedges and shrubs for birds, other management in the garden is also important. Naturalness is particularly important here: uncut bushes, piles of leaves and clippings attract insects and birds alike and thus provide food and shelter. However, if you don't want to let your entire garden grow wild, you should consider creating a "wild corner" in the back of the garden. Even small natural areas can serve as a retreat for birds and thus increase the bird population throughout the garden. However, you should stay away from chemical pesticides and mineral fertilizers, as these often have a negative effect on the insects and therefore also on the birds in your garden. It is therefore better to use harmless alternatives like those we have in the Plantura shop offer. To make your garden even more attractive to birds, you can hang up incubators and set up small bird baths. A feeding station, such as a homemade bird feeder, and offering bird food also make the garden more attractive for birds.

If you want to offer bird food, you should keep some distance from hedges and bushes. The low-growing vegetation allows predators, such as domestic cats, to sneak up unnoticed. It is better to set up a feeding station two to three meters from the hedge so that the birds can keep an eye on their surroundings while eating. And if a predator actually sneaks up on the free-standing feeding area, the birds will quickly find refuge in the nearby hedge. Since most hedges produce juicy berries in late year, the best way to complement the wild birds' diet is with grain food. Our Plantura scattered food For example, species-appropriate, energy-rich winter food with an extra load of important nutrients.

Native shrubs for birds: These hedges are suitable

Bird-friendly shrubs are an absolute must if you want to make your garden more attractive to feathered animals. Here you will find a list of the shrubs and hedges for birds that have proven successful in the garden.

1. Common barberry (Berberis vulgaris): The Barberry attracts numerous insects with its flowers and offers an excellent retreat for birds thanks to its long, strong thorns. The red berries of the hedge plant also provide excellent food for birds in winter.

2. Black elder (Sambucus nigra): The berries of the black elderberry are a popular food source for over 60 species of birds in late summer. The bird-friendly shrub is also often used as a nesting place and is also considered a magnet for insects.

3. rowanberry (Sorbus aucuparia): The rowan is a bird-friendly shrub, thanks to its attraction to numerous Insects and, thanks to its red berries, an excellent source of nutrition for up to 60 species of birds offers.

4. Pfaffenhütchen (Euonymus europaeus): This tree is particularly popular with birds because of its pink-orange fruits. Its dense thickets serve as a nesting site. More information about the Pfaffenhütchen – also known as the common one Spindle bush – can be found in our special article.

5. Common juniper (Juniperus communis): This native shrub for birds provides food for 43 different species and attracts all kinds of insects with its flowers.

6. sea ​​buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides): The berries of this bird-friendly shrub are often despised, but its defensive thorns make it a good retreat.

7. hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna): The Hawthorn is probably one of the most bird-friendly shrubs, as it provides food for 32 species of birds and is very popular as a nesting place due to its protective thicket. In addition, its flowers attract numerous insects.

8. wild roses (Rosa spec.): Care from winter to spring Wild roses with theirs rosehips for a good supply of food for birds. But their great flowers and thorns, which make the plants a perfect shelter, also ensure that wild roses are bird- and insect-friendly shrubs.

9. hazelnut (Corylus avellana): The nuts of the hazelnut are not only very popular with us humans, but also with some bird species. In addition, the particularly early-flowering shrub attracts numerous insects.

10. honeysuckle (Lonicera xylosteum): Making a hedge bird-friendly can be achieved with the honeysuckle: its bright red ones Berries are often eaten and their densely branched growth is ideal for shelter Birds.

11. Liguster (Ligustrum vulgare): As a hedge for birds it is liguster Highly recommended: Its branched growth makes it an ideal breeding place and its flowers and berries provide plenty of food for birds and insects.

12. blackberry (Rubus fruticosus): Due to its convoluted growth and small thorns, it is blackberry a particularly bird-friendly shrub. In addition, it is particularly insect-friendly and its berries are a good source of food for birds.

13. buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula): The native buckthorn, with its rich range of flowers and berries, is an important food plant for both insects and birds.

14. raspberry (Rubus idaeus): It's not just people who like them raspberry: The bird- and insect-friendly shrub attracts beneficial insects with its flowers and provides food for birds with its berries. In addition, the thorny growth of the raspberry offers ideal shelter.

15. holly (ilex): With its serrated leaves and striking red fruits, the Holly Not only a particularly beautiful decoration, but also a great shelter and source of food for birds.

16. buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica): While buckthorn berries are poisonous to humans, many bird species readily consume them as food. At the same time, the plants are good sources of food for caterpillars, bees and bumblebees and, as a hedge, offer birds a good retreat thanks to their dense growth.

17. yew (Taxus baccata): Hardly any other coniferous tree is as versatile as this yew – whether as a hedge, as a free-growing tree or as a topiary, the plant always cuts a fine figure. The bright red berries of the yew not only provide decorative accents in autumn, but are also gratefully accepted by birds. The bird-friendly hedge serves as food for over 25 native bird species. It is also often used as a nesting place and retreat.

18. hornbeam (Carpinus betulus): Decorative, robust and extremely easy to cut - no wonder that the hornbeam is so popular in German gardens. Birds also love the plant, which can easily be grown as a hedge or as a free-growing tree. The nuts of the evergreen, bird-friendly hedge serve as food for them, but the hornbeam is also a popular nesting place.

19. dogwood (Cornus sanguinea): With its lush flowers, the dogwood is not only very popular with people, but also attracts numerous insects. Birds also value the shrub as a nesting and nutritional tree because of its berries and dense growth.

20. Common snowball (Viburnum opulus): The berries of the common viburnum are not suitable for human consumption, but birds like them even more. The hedge is not only bird-friendly, but its flowers also attract numerous insects.

These shrubs are not suitable for birds

Not all plants are suitable as bird-friendly hedges and shrubs - especially exotic species often inappropriate because they are neither visited by many insects nor do they provide food for birds serve. The following plants are unfriendly shrubs for birds:

1. Chinese juniper (Juniperus chinensis): In contrast to its native relative, the common juniper, this shrub only provides food for a single species of bird and is therefore extremely unsuitable.

2. scarlet thorn (Crataegus pedicellata): Despite its close relationship to the hawthorn, the fruits of the scarlet thorn are only eaten by two species of birds, which is why it is better to use its native counterpart.

3. breeding roses (Pink): Because of their opulent flowers, cultivated roses are not only uninteresting to insects - since most varieties are sterile, they do not form rose hips, which serve as food for birds.

4. cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus): One of the most famous hedge plants is probably the Cherry laurel. However, it is extremely unsuitable for birds: it offers neither food nor particularly good protection.

5. tree of life (Thuja): The tree of life is also known as a hedge plant. However, because it has neither thorns nor fruit for birds, it is not considered a bird-friendly hedge.

Would you like to further support the birds in your garden? You can find out how you can do this in our article “Bird friendly garden“.