Native Plants
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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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Tuesday - May 25, 2010
From: Lovettsville, VA
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Wildlife Gardens
Title: Plants for bird garden in Virginia
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I am expanding on a bird attracting garden and would like to know what plants to plant. It is a shade to partial sun area, in an approx. 9' circle, both small shrubs and flowers would be nice.ANSWER:
Here are some plants native to Virginia that attract birds and do well in shade or part shade.
Herbaceous Plants:
Aquilegia canadensis (red columbine)
Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed)
Comptonia peregrina (sweet fern)
Lobelia cardinalis (cardinalflower)
Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum (cayenne pepper)
Small Shrubs:
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus (coralberry)
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (kinnikinnick)
Ceanothus herbaceus (Jersey tea)
Sedges and Grasses :
Carex cherokeensis (Cherokee sedge)
Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge)
Chasmanthium latifolium (Inland sea oats)
Elymus canadensis (Canada wildrye)
You can visit our Virginia Recommended species page to see more possibilities.
Here are photos of the plants above from our Image Gallery:
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