Plants in Your Garden that Produce Seed for Birds

Black-Eyed Susan seed heads are gorgeous and bird-friendly.

As you clean up your garden this fall, don’t forget the birds! Leave some seed heads to dry on your perennial flowers, to provide winter food for finches, cardinals, and other year-round birds. Not only will you be providing much-needed nourishment and shelter for birds, but your winter garden will be graced with the striking shapes of dried stems adorned with colorful plumage.

You can also harvest the seeds for later spreading or using in feeders. If you’re adventurous, try scattering and watering a handful of birdseed mix, and see what sprouts!

The most popular flowering plants for feeding birds are:

Most native plants
Black-Eyed Susans and other plants with daisy-like blooms
Coneflowers
Ornamental grasses (all varieties)
Safflowers
Sunflowers
Zinnias

Birds are also attracted to:

Pink Muhly Grass is good for birds.

Asters
Bergamot
Calendula
Columbine
Coreopsis
Corn
Cosmos
Dill
Evening Primrose
Goldenrod
Lavender
Millet
Poppies
Rose of Sharon (Althea)
Salvia
St. John’s Wort
Teasel
Thistles

Further Information

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