Winter Interest in the Pacific Northwest

Inviting birds into your garden is one of the easiest ways of enjoying the beauty of winter. Winter dormancy is an ideal time for bird watching, because the bare branches provide a clear view of their antics. While most people think of using bird feeders to attract birds, a more natural way is to plant shrubs and perennials that provide food for them during this time of year. By attracting birds through planting, you get a double whammy of interest - gorgeous winter color and a feathery scurry of activity and life.

Ornamental grasses are a great place to start. Almost every ornamental grass creates seeds for the birds to eat. Evergreen varieties like Graceful Grasses^® Toffee Twist Sedge have brilliant chocolate tones even in winter. Varieties that go dormant, like Graceful Grasses^® Red Riding Hood Pennisetum provide beautiful structure and striking maroon tones in the winter landscape. I love watching small birds scratch and peck around the base of ornamental grasses in winter.

Conifers are another type of plant that provides both beauty and winter food for birds. Conifers either have cones with tasty seeds inside, or berrylike cones which are a treat for robins and sparrows. Soft Serve^® False Cypress has fluffy green foliage flecked with silvery-blue underneath. Because it can reach 10 feet tall, it also doubles as a habitat for birds where they can hunker down and hide in the midst of winter storms. Good Vibrations^™ Juniper is another that birds love. Place it in the foreground of a garden bed for a year-round pop of golden foliage color.

Last but not least, shrubs that produce berries provide a fall and winter feast for birds. While most shrubs produce berries in fall, birds often don’t eat them until the winter cold sets in and they need that extra nutrition. Golden Lanterns^® Pheasant Berry produces vivid chartreuse foliage tipped with orange. It has white bell-shaped flowers, which give way to hanging black berry clusters in fall and winter. This is true only in warmer areas as this plant dies to the ground in colder climates. Another bird favorite is Blue Muffin^® Arrowwood Viburnum, a dwarf shrub with ample blue berries in fall and winter.

Winter interest has many facets, and if you plant for both beauty and to encourage birds, you’ll find winter has a charm all its own.

^© Proven Winners, LLC.