THE COASTAL GARDENER:Bring birds to your garden

For many of us, birds are the most enjoyable animals in our gardens. Try to imagine a garden where the only thing that was alive was the plants. I certainly can’t.

One of the values of a well-planned, well-managed garden — even in urban Orange County — might be to attract birds.

This week, I will focus on seed-, berry- and insect-eating birds. Next week, I will discuss hummingbirds.

As an avid “birder” for more than 20 years, I’ve chased rare birds from Alaska to Florida and from the North Dakota-Canada border to the southernmost point of Texas. But it is the birds in my own garden that often evoke the fondest memories.

Birds, bugs, frogs, lizards, opossums, worms and plants are all integral parts of a garden; one depends upon the other in nature. But in a garden, it is the gardener who, with foresight, must allow nature to enter.

Perhaps the easiest way to “allow” birds in a garden is to maintain the garden with just a bit of wildness. Perfectly manicured lawns, clipped boxwood hedges and immaculate shrubbery may not be to the liking of our feathered friends.

Varied plant heights are important for attracting birds. Providing some open shrubbery and a loose canopy of trees allows birds to visit the garden without being nervous.

For example, house wrens are charming little garden birds, often being heard before seen due to their constant chatter, despite their tiny size. They search for bugs anywhere, especially among heavy shrubbery.

A mature tree — especially a sycamore, alder, oak or a large clump of birch — can be a huge asset to a bird-friendly garden. Small insect-eating birds, like yellow-rumped warblers and bushtits, will work the branches looking for a meal, while Black Phoebes and Cassin’s kingbirds dash out from an exposed perch to catch small insects, returning to the same branch, waiting for the passing victim. Colorful and comical, kingbirds call to each other frequently with a loud “chi-BEW” (maybe celebrating each bug they’ve caught).

Gardens should always be maintained in a sensitive manner regardless of your wildlife ambitions. It just makes sense to avoid harsh chemicals, systemic rose foods and overuse of ant and snail controls, which will eventually lead to a sterile, lifeless garden; one sparsely visited by birds. Like a contrived garden of tightly clipped plants, a garden of Ortho, Scott’s, Miracle Gro and Snarol may look pretty in a picture, but isn’t necessarily where a Nuttall’s woodpecker, brown towhee, song sparrow or Bullock’s oriole would like to live.

Birdhouses, more appropriately called “nesting boxes,” are another way to bring certain birds into a garden. Many gardeners may not know that specific houses are required for various birds. Subtle differences, including the size of the house, the elevation of the floor and especially the diameter of the entrance hole will determine which birds will use it.

For instance, house wrens need an entrance hole of 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Tree swallows: 1 1/2 inches. Western bluebirds: 1 9/16 . House finch: 2 inches and so on.

In my spare time, I maintain three bluebird-nesting boxes that I installed at a park near my house. When I began, three years ago, there were no bluebirds nesting in the park. With properly placed boxes, regularly monitored, I now have nests every year. In a couple of the boxes, I’ve even had two broods in one season. Usually four or five chicks are raised in each clutch. Because of the boxes, Western bluebirds are now common sights at the park and the surrounding gardens.

If you ever see a large flock of really tiny little grayish-brown birds in your garden that are peeping up a storm, then you’re probably seeing bushtits. These are about the cutest birds imaginable, and they always travel in groups. Because they feel safe in numbers, bushtits are rather fearless and will twitter all around you if you remain still. They are very focused on their relentless examination of your plants looking for aphids, scale, whitefly and other tiny bugs. When you see a flock of bushtits in your garden, you can bet that they’re ridding your plants of pests, and you should thank them for this valuable service!

As you can see, different birds have different food requirements. Another unique group of birds can be attracted by providing fruits and berries, like toyon or pyracantha. The sight and sound of a flock of sleek cedar waxwings descended on a plant laden in berries is unforgettable, all the while exuding their unmistakable high-pitched whistles.

The birds mentioned here are just the beginning. With a little planning and a few simple adjustments, your coastal garden can attract Northern flicker, cliff swallow, scrub jay, ruby-crowned kinglet, American robin, Northern mockingbird, Western tanager, mourning dove, Brewer’s blackbird, house finch, house sparrow, lesser goldfinch and many others.

Next week, we will talk about the various hummingbird species in Orange County and how best to attract them to your garden.

ASK RON

Help! When am I supposed to trim my hibiscus? They don’t bloom in the summer, but grow long and leggy, and form buds. They finally bloom in fall and winter. My backyard faces northeast, near Roger’s Gardens.

D. LEX

Newport Beach

Hibiscus are tropical plants and need heat to set buds. They bloom best in full sun and in a warm garden. From talking with you, these are only receiving six to seven hours of summer sun. Coastal gardens don’t heat up until summer, so the blooms may not appear until fall. A hint is to plant single-flowered and smaller-flowered varieties along the coast. They need less heat and will bloom more freely.

Bud drop is usually either a genetic result of the variety planted, heavily compacted soil or water stress; either too wet or too dry will cause the same result. I hope this helps.

your toughest gardening questions, and the expert nursery staff at Roger’s Gardens will come up with an answer. Please include your name, phone number and city, and limit queries to 30 words or fewer. E-mail stumpthegardener@ rogersgardens.com or send to Plant Talk at Roger’s Gardens, 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road, Corona del Mar, CA 92625.