One of the joys of having a garden is getting to enjoy the natural landscape. Part of that landscape can be the wildlife. You can transform your backyard into a bird spa by incorporating a birdbath into your landscaping. By attracting birds to your yard, not only do you get to enjoy their beauty but you also get the benefits of their presence. This includes insect control, plant pollination, and soil aeration.
Choose the Birdbath
The first step is to choose the birdbath itself. The traditional style is a bowl on top of a pedestal. Made of stone or a stone-look material, this typically includes flourishes and other designs. However, you can choose more colorful styles, such as painted ceramic or mosaic tile. Some birdbaths are sleek and modern, while others offer a touch of whimsy. It's even possible to choose an upcycled birdbath, meaning one made of a salvaged material. Your landscaping style and your own preference should drive the choice.
Decide Between Formal and Informal Placement
The next step is to choose how you want to place the birdbath. With a formal placement, the birdbath will take center stage. You'll add symmetrical landscaping and hardscaping around the bath, and you may even design a path to the structure.
With informal placement, the goal is to make the birdbath become a found item. You'll tuck it away in foliage so it's only visible from certain angles.
Add Hardscaping
Either style of birdbath placement calls for a little more hardscaping. A common accompaniment is adding a border of stones, bricks, or rocks around the birdbath area. This is especially true for formal placement. You can also add another decorative element, such as a planter spilling over with flowers. Another option is adding a pathway to or by the birdbath. In fact, if you've chosen an informal placement, devising a simple stone path around the birdbath can serve as a purpose for a curve in the walkway.
Plant Landscaping
The landscaping you choose has two purposes. One is to further beautify the area around your birdbath. The second purpose is to attract and keep the birds in your yard. If you have a formal placement, you may just want a few pretty flowers in rows around the birdbath. Birds and Blooms recommend planting blanket flower, coneflower, black-eyed Susan, and coreopsis to provide food for the birds.
With informal placement, you could start with a bird-friendly bush, such as buttonbush or elderberry, as a backdrop for the birdbath. You could also add taller bird-friendly flowers such as honeysuckle and sunflowers.
Turn your backyard into a bird oasis with a birdbath as your centerpiece. Contact a company like Land Craft for more information and assistance.
Share8 September 2017
When my husband and I bought our house years ago, we thought it would be our "starter" home and we would move in a few years. We soon had two children, and we then decided against moving since we live in a great school district and we love our neighbors. However, I was growing very tired of the appearance of our home. We painted it a different color, and it still seemed like the "same old house" that we were tired of. We finally deciding that maybe good landscaping would "do the trick" and make our home more enjoyable to use again. We were right, and I now love our home! I now love spending time in our yard and just enjoying the scenery. I have such a passion for landscaping now I decided to create a blog about it. I plan to share many landscaping tips, so come back!
