Now that you know the most important things about the ideal crop rotation, there is certainly still some space between the beds and borders, which is an excellent source of food for the songbirds in the garden. Such seed plants do not have to be used on a large scale, individual specimens are often sufficient, with which the feathered musicians can be easily lured into your garden even over winter. Especially since the sunflowers - which brings us to one of the most important sources of food - not only cut a splendid figure in the garden, but are also extremely easy to care for.

Sunflowers are very popular with birds

Sunflowers - cold buffet for flying garden guests

Thanks to the comparatively large and very productive seed heads, sunflowers are particularly suitable as natural feeders and can even replace an extra bird house. The huge flowers also provide nectar-gathering bees with plenty of food throughout the summer. In a detailed article in the Garden Journal, we have described how to dry the sunflowers and properly preserve the flower heads for the winter. But there is another method that is used very often.

The second life of sunflowers

Even if the plants are close to wilting and the leaves are turning brown, they would be far too good for the compost. That being said, by the start of the following growing season, the seeds would take root and deprive the compost of valuable nutrients. Therefore, cut off the flower heads just below the stem, later you will need some binding wire and a screwdriver.

  • The removed heads can be dried outside in a sunny spot or in a well-ventilated room so that no mold can form later. The flower heads will turn dark brown and the back will turn yellowish.
  • After successful drying, two holes are drilled into the heart of the flowers with the screwdriver, which are about two to three centimeters apart.
  • Finally, place two blossoms back to back and carefully stabilize them like a loop by tying the two ends of the wires together.

Finally, hang the sunflowers on a hedge or a tree that you can see from the house. It will only be a short time before the first feathered guests arrive at the sunflower seed buffet and enjoy the delicious seeds.

Grain amaranth - was good for the Aztecs!

Due to their high protein content, the small seeds of the foxtail family are particularly suitable as bird food in winter and are very easy for the animals to digest. Although the amaranth is one of the undemanding plants, it is very decorative in the garden and can grow to heights of between 30 cm and several meters. The millet-like seeds are in a capsule that can be easily opened at the top. Wild birds enjoy the unharvested seed pods throughout the winter, so you can do without a possible autumn pruning of your amaranth hedge with a clear conscience. The infructescence can also be cut off when ripe in mid-October, dried and later, towards winter, hung in the trees, similar to the sunflower seed buffet described above.

Convinced natural gardeners leave thistles standing

And if you prefer things to be “tidy” in your garden, you should at least collect and dry the mature infructescences or flower heads so that the birds can use them as a source of food over the winter. For this reason, natural gardeners even plant certain varieties with very intense colors in a targeted manner and thus ensure particularly beautiful flowers and additional bird seed over the winter. Very suitable are:

  • Field Sowthistle
  • ordinary creeping thistle
  • Vegetable and Rough Sowthistle
  • globe thistle

Most of these species also tolerate extremely dry locations without damage and are very decorative, especially in smaller rock gardens, due to their strong colors.

Marigolds: natural health for humans and animals

A very interesting article in our garden journal describes how you can use the marigold as an edible and medicinal plant and what possibilities natural medicine has been using successfully for centuries. The cultivation of the daisy family is very easy and can be done on almost any soil, the location should be a bit sunnier. From June to October you will be spoiled with very colorful flowers, whereby you are doing something particularly good for the songbirds in the garden with the fruits. Just leave a few specimens of the marigolds in the garden for the birds to serve themselves. Otherwise, the flower seeds can be dried after harvesting and later scattered in the bird feeder.

Buckwheat, the wholesome fruit for garden birds

Because of their slightly nutty taste, buckwheat grains are one of the feathered fellows’ favorite foods. With 71 percent carbohydrates mixed with 9.8 percent protein as well as 1.8 percent fat and 4 percent dietary fiber, the seeds of the knotweed plant are among the particularly nutritious feedstuffs, which, however, contain a lot of moisture. After the harvest time in September, it is therefore important to dry them very thoroughly to prevent mold from forming.

Category:

Animals in the garden