Gardening Galore

The first garden – the Garden of Eden was a bird garden. For many people the only contact with birds is in their gardens. Most gardeners enjoy their company. Birds are more than just aesthetic beings; they are great environmental indicators; their presence is a tribute to its quality. In this day and age of self destruction using chemicals, pesticides etc, a garden offers a haven for some of natures refugees. All gardens attract some birds but much can be done to increase both numbers and diversity.

All birds have their niche and unique habitat and the habitats overlap. The three B’s need food, cover, water, shelter and nesting materials and sites.

There are limiting factors however. Different factors may limit bird numbers but at any one time only one limiting factor will operate e.g. plenty of food for resident birds; providing more will have little effect, whereas more nesting sites will . Most gardens have a shortage of cover and nest sites followed by a shortage of natural food, especially insects.

Bird seed and crumbs cater only for the seed-eaters. Specialised feeding birds respond to chopped fruit for the fruit-eaters which also attracts fruit flies for the insectivores. Bonemeal for the insectivores can be fed as well.

The real task for bird gardeners is trying to create the features which are limiting their numbers by creating different habitats.

The simplest natural garden to create is a bushveld garden. Most gardens resemble bushveld to a degree which typically has open grassy areas with clumps of herbs, shrubs, bushes, small trees and the odd specimen tree, normally with thickets under the trees. Because of this, most garden birds are bushveld species. You don’t have to have bushveld plants for a good bird garden. Use plants suited to the area.

It is simple to create a forest by planting different species of trees close together so their canopies overlap and you get your under storey growth with shade loving plants.

Creating forest and bushveld in the garden will help attract forest birds.

Most activity by birds is in the margins. Create as much margin as possible by planting plants along boundaries and have winding strips and clumps of mixed plants. This also offers good viewing opportunities. If space permits, create grassland but you a need a mixture of grass species and heights with weeds etc; ‘a rough area’ that can be burnt or slashed once a year. Annual weeds provide much of the food in this habitat, so let them flower and seed.

All bird foods, insects, seeds, fruit, nectar, flowers are provided by plants. Nectar flowers also feed the butterflies and the bees.

Indigenous plants produce more food than exotic plants generally, and, over the millennia, have evolved with insects and they co-exist, especially plants occurring in the immediate surrounding area. To start your BBB garden, plant nectar flowering plants and for nesting material, plant palms and tall grasses.

Next month we will let you have info on the plant species to attract the different birds.

The author is a horticulturalist who can be contacted on email at pete@kantemba.com for any of your gardening queries.