Your garden looks amazing! It might even win awards from the neighbors. But does all of that beautiful landscaping starve the local birds?

In your effort to fight back against "weeds" and maintain a flawless lawn, you've actually created a biological desert.

The truth?

The HOA has expressed their concerns about your plants. To the local wildlife, your plants are probably five-star restaurants! Ready to take on the HOA, and learn about the different plants that will attract birds to your yard?

🌿 Click here to get a personalized bird attracting native plants garden plan! For free!

1. Your neighbors likely dislike 'weedy' thistles. But they are also amazing for the goldfinches.

Before You remove that native thistle, consider this plant is a goldmine for goldfinches and pure pandemonium for your poor HOA president. These bright yellow acrobatic performers will act like Christmas ornaments on the seed heads and will do stunts that Cirque du Soleil performers would envy. The fluffy down is also top notch nesting material, so you basically run a bird supply construction store. Just be sure to place it where the neighborhood garden police definitely can’t cite you.

2. The ‘Dead’ Plant You Neglected to Trim Back Provides Winter Bird Insurance

Congrats on making an unintentional deposit in your garden's seed bank by not deadheading those coneflowers! Each flower head contains hundreds of seeds and is sealed up by Mother Nature. Chickadees and Finches fish for seeds like slot machines and dangle from the head to grab every last bit. Take that, overpriced bird feeders that need constant refills!

3. Migration Central Station Takes the Cake for the Most-Hated Vine by Your HOA

Virginia Creeper might give your HOA president a heart attack, but to migratory birds, it's a highway truck stop with gourmet coffee every 500 miles. The energetically packed purple-black berries give a boost to energy for woodpeckers, cardinals, and other birds as they migrate south for the winter to help them fly further than a double shot espresso. Better yet, the Virginia Creeper plant is maintenance free. Even your black thumb neighbor would have no problem with it.

4. Grandma's "Messy" Pokeweed was an Amazing Move for the Birds

Pokeweed may look silly and weird, however, your grandma probably knew that modern gardeners tend to forget, those purple stems and berries are very attractive to birds. Mockingbirds and thrashers are among the many competitors for the food. Although the plant looks messy, it is actually a very organized structure for feeding birds.

5. Weed From Gas Stations Outperforms Your Fancy Bird Feeders

Surprisingly, the Black-eyed Susan plant blooming at the side of the road is a better source of bird food than your $200 bird feeder. Goldfinches are crazy for the seeds that form on the thousands of flower heads of a single Black-eyed Susan. What makes these plants even better is that a single goldfinch plant can feed dozens of birds daily and requires zero upkeep. Black-eyed Susan flowers feed birds all summer long after being planted.

6. What is this \"dandelion battlefield\" that your lawn service is fighting? Let nature win!

Before you consider using harsh chemicals on your dandelions, keep in mind that dandelions are one of the first to bloom, and feed early emerging spring birds. House finches and sparrows eat both the dandelion seeds and the insects attracted to the flowers. The seed heads are great nesting materials. Your lawn service might hate them, but to birds looking for food and nest building materials, dandelions are a five-star buffet!

7. Winter Bird Restaurants: The unattractive brown seed heads

Ever wonder why by November Sedum 'Autumn Joy' looks dead and brown? While the Sedums might look dead to us, they still are providing food for the birds. Other plants die back for the winter, but Sedums keep their spent flowers. These flowers hold seeds which provide food for the birds. While most people are putting out bird feeders for winter, your dead plants are feeding the winter visitors.

8. The Winter Food Source For Birds That Looks Dead – It’s A Native Plant

By fall, Joe Pye Weed will probably look like something from a Tim Burton movie, but it supports a complex ecosystem for birds. Although the tall stems may look lifeless, they will attract a ton of bugs for the birds to eat. They serve as natural hunting perches for aerial predatory birds such as fly catchers. Essentially, it is a bird apartment complex with a grocery store, and the best part is that no work is required from you!

9. Your Neighbor's Tree Stains Sidewalks and is also a Bird Grand Central

Of course, it's messy and there may be stains on your sidewalk or even your car. But that tree attracts many more species of birds than any cultivated ornamental could. From orioles to tanagers, it's an avian Grand Central Station. Just move your car during the berry season and embrace the natural tie-dye look!

10. The 'Ratty' Bramble Patch is Premium Real Estate for Birds

The wild blackberry bramble at the edge of your property isn't just giving you free cobbler ingredients, it's also giving you free wildlife habitat for catbirds, thrashers, and wrens! The thorny branches create impenetrable fortresses for nesting which are safe from cats and other predators. Over the summer, the berries will feed several generations of birds. Your gardening "neglect" is actually an act of advanced wildlife conservation!

11. The 'Unkempt' Prairie Grass That Outperforms Any Fancy Birdhouse

While the Little Bluestem may be perceived as messy, it creates a habitat for sparrows. All summer, Little Bluestem hosts and offers nesting materials and a habitat for insects that are rich in protein, which are vital food sources for young birds. Additionally, Little Bluestem offers seeds that nourish birds who are about to migrate for the winter or need to stay and endure the winter. Furthermore, Little Bluestem stands will be more visually appealing than the grass lawns that people seem to obsess over because they create habitats for birds and use much less water.

12. This "Overgrown" Shrub is the Ultimate Bird Construction

While most people may view American Beautyberry as chaotic, the striking purple berries serve as an important food source for tired migrating birds. In fact, many birds, cardinals, robins, and mockingbirds, make special stops during migration to these shrubs to refuel. Sometimes the most beautiful features in a garden are the ones that appear the most wild and messy.

What’s With Messy Gardens

Research indicates that native “weedy” plants support 10-50 times the diversity of bird species compared to non-native ornamental plants. Native plants have co-evolved with the native birds of their region, providing the best food sources. By selecting native thistles instead of exotic petunias, you are feeding birds and entire ecosystems, including the beneficial insects and soil microbes, as well as the intricate webs of food that compose healthy ecosystems.

Delaying Your "Neglect" for Full Advantage to Birds

Spring: Weeds like dandelions and violets that bloom early should be left. They are a great food source for insects that are foraging early. Summer: Allow some parts of the lawn to grow longer and set seed. This forms a very valuable space for feeding ground birds. Fall: Don’t be tempted to cut back flower heads until late winter. Winter: The "dead" plants that you cut back are feeding stations and are working while you are warm and toasty inside.

Strategic "Messiness": How to Keep Good Relationships with Neighbors

Start by developing lovely natural areas in the more inconspicuous sections of your property, while retaining more conventional landscaping in the front for the neighbors. Native plant species that provide an intentional look when they go to seed can be used. Black-eyed Susans and purple coneflowers are examples to choose from. For more explanation, you can also place a sign that reads “pollinator garden” or “wildlife habitat.” Once you do this, the area will be a “mess” and will be viewed as a statement for the environment that few will be able to criticize.

Convincing Family That Has Doubts

First, test out one experiment patch and document what you see in photos or by counting individual birds. Tell your spouse that 15 species of birds will be seen in the “messy” space compared to 3 at the tidy bird feeder. Look at it as a saving opportunity. You won't need to buy birdseed or clean the feeder and the birds will be attracted to the area year round.

The Economics of Wild: Save Funds and Aid the Birds

Think about the yearly expenses related to bird feeders including buying birdseed, doing feeder repairs, and lawn care chemicals. Now think about those expenses versus the one-time investment of planting native plants that will attract and feed birds. One mature coneflower will feed birds yearly for over 20 years and that will be more than the $50 you pay for the coneflower. Your water bill savings because of the drought-tolerant natives will also help justify your “messy” garden.

Setting Up Your First "Intentionally Wild" Spot

Try to find a 10×10 foot area in your backyard that is out of sight from the neighbors, to avoid complaints going foward, please stop mowing your grass and pulling weeds. Just see what comes up in that area. You may also add 2 or 3 native plants from the list that you feel will work in that area. A simple sign that says “Wildlife Habitat” is enough for you to then wait. In one growing season, you will see a significant increase in bird activity in that small patch compared to the rest of your yard with all of the regular mowing and maintaining.