Rose Gardening for the Birds

Planting shrubs for bird nesting can help your rose garden

But it is possible for garden birds, such as the Thrush family, robins, wrens, the tit family, the finches, flycatchers, warblers and others to be attracted to nest around our rose gardens, however small and wherever situated.

We only need to provide the correct type of natural nesting site in the form of shrubs or climbing plants. There is often no need to add artificial nesting devices, such as nest boxes.

Garden birds have clear requirements

Their nesting tree will usually have:

Good leaf cover, either evergreen or deciduous, as a protection against heavy storms, hot sun and predators;

Strong and correctly shaped fork structures to hold the nest firmly;

Twig texture which is neither too thick nor too thin, allowing the bird to move about freely within the tree;

A height of between 5 – 10 feet from the ground. The majority of garden birds prefer this height range.

Most vigorous trees will work when pruned

Ironwood Tools expanding ratchet lopper with aluminum handles

Fork structures matter to Momma Bird

Laurel, yew, or rhododendron, for example, if allowed to grow freely, will produce lanky branches with poor fork structures or closely knit foliage that won’t be used by nesting birds. But if pruned back to strong growth, they’ll produce the necessary characteristics.

Fork structures with angles of about 70° are ideal for nests and will be naturally formed by side sprouting branches created when the leading shoot is cut off. (Fork structures can also be made in any suitable tree, using a strong pair of ratchet loppers.)

Picking the right nesting tree . . .

Many conifers such as cupressus leylandii, c. lawsonii and c. macrocarpa are useful for nesting birds as they have the right branch structures and can be lightly pruned. If a creeper, such as honeysuckle, rose or ivy, is also trained round the trunk, an excellent, all-purpose nesting site will be formed.

. . . And avoiding the rest

To the gardener, large trees, particularly ash, elm, beech, poplar, and sycamore are of very little use to nesting garden birds because they do not have the necessary characteristics. All the weeping varieties are virtually useless for nesting garden birds too.

A 9 in. tall band of linoleum tied around the trunk at about shoulder height will discourage cats and squirrels.

Many flowering shrubs will do nicely too

rhododendron

pink hawthorn

bougainvillea

escallonia

hedging rose

hardy fuchsia

pieris japonica

berberis

English laurel

Climbing shrubs are easier nesting sites

Climbing plants are most useful to birds when grown against thick trellis on a wall.

Examples are:

Climbing rose

Clematis

Honeysuckle

Jasmine (winter)

Jasmine (white)

Loganberry

Polygonum

Blackberry

Outdoor vine

Climbing 2 story rose on a home facing the street

One of my own favorite combinations is when a yellow rose is grown with a clematis, yielding a pleasant mix of colors, and at the same time, increased cover for the nesting bird.

Wall climbing roses or others are perfect

The wall of a house can be made the safest nesting site in a garden, especially in urban areas.

Common climbing plants and shrubs such as pyrocanthus, ceanothus and pieris japonica provide good nesting sites and food right in the bush.

We can also break from tradition, and plant a comparatively quick-growing shrub such as holly, rhododendron, flowering plum, or hawthorn.

All these can be neatly trained to the wall if needed, and if pruned sensibly – are not likely to cause any house damage.

Don’t forget hedges

To attract birds, hedges must be at least 5 ft. high and 1 to 2 ft. wide and the twig texture must allow nesting birds freedom of movement within them.

Where space allows, a small patch of brambles or rambling roses on a rough patch of ground will attract smaller birds such as warblers and hedge-sparrows.

However, the low, closely clipped privet or boxwood hedge popular with gardeners is absolutely useless for nesting birds, being too low and impenetrable.

Special plantings for hummingbirds

The number of hummingbirds that frequent your yard is closely linked to the abundance of food, water, nesting sites, and perches.

Hummingbird favorites usually but not always have long, tubular blossoms that are red, orange, yellow or blue, especially blue Salvia species; the shape limits insect access to the nectar inside.
The Hummingbird Society

Brightly-colored flowers that are tubular hold the most nectar, and are particularly attractive to hummingbirds.

Particularly:

Perennials, including columbines and day lily

Bi-annuals like lupines, foxgloves and hollyhocks.

Green hummingbirds drawing nectar from hanging purple flowers

And Roses . . . especially red ones.

Once a hummingbird family discovers your property, the same individuals are likely to return each year at similar times. They are remarkably smart and are creatures of habit.

Hummingbirds love water if it’s moving. A gentle, continuous spray from a sprinkler is perfect for a bath on the fly, but they will bathe in a shallow dish too.

Hummingbirds do not have a keen sense of smell and rely on bright colors to find their food. They are particularly fond of red flowers, especially fluted ones. They often investigate red plant labels, red thermometers, and even red garden clothes as well as the flowers.

Do not use red dye in a hummingbird feeder; there is concern that it may harm the birds.

Just use plain, clear sugar water (1 part white sugar mixed with 4 parts water).

If your feeder does not have red on it, attach a red label or other item to attract them.

In conclusion, it can be said that if we provide the right conditions for birds around our rose gardens, a surprising number and variety will come to breed.

Birds aren’t frightened by bricks, nor mortar, nor by man – provided he does not persecute them or disturb them.

Here’s another view of this subject from our friends at Garden Design

And in their feeding habits, they probably do more good than harm.

One thing is quite certain: they provide a background of song, color and movement without which even the most perfectly kept garden would be very dull.