Please join the Beltsville Garden Club for a Zoom presentation on Wednesday, April 22, 2021, at 7:30 pm. Speaker Claudia Ferguson of the Prince George’s Audubon Society will present “Creating Bird-Friendly Gardens with Native Plants”. A Zoom invitation will be sent to you before the date.
April 22, 2021, marks the 51st anniversary of EARTH DAY!
Planet Earth is the home we all share. If you have been considering how to honor this special day as a gardener, your moment has come. You can bring life and beauty to your gardens while enhancing local biodiversity, by attracting butterflies, pollinators, and birds. Most of America’s original natural habitats have been lost to agriculture and urban development. Birds are threatened by loss of habitat and climate change. By growing native plants, each patch of habitat you create in your backyard joins a collective effort to sustain local and migratory birds. Gardening with native plants can provide essential bird food in the form of nuts, seeds, fruit, and nectar. Native plants are adapted to local precipitation and soil conditions. They generally require less upkeep, save water, pesticide use, maintenance efforts, and money.
Audubon experts have selected optimal plants for birds that would grow well in our local area. Audubon’s database is free and available at www.audubon.org/native-plants. For our local area, there are 133 optimal native species to choose from to create bird-friendly gardens. The plant list includes trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials, grasses, and evergreens. Any of these optimal native plants would help birds by providing them with the food and shelter they need to thrive through the change of seasons.
Wherever you live, wherever your garden is located, some careful choices of native plants can make a difference by attracting the birds you would enjoy, and protecting them in the face of habitat loss. Please visit www.audubon.org/native-plants and enter your 5 digit zip code to explore the best plants for birds in your area, as well as local resources and links to more information. Gardening, watching bird behavior, and enjoying their beauty all contribute to a sense of well-being, and fosters connection with nature. Gardening in this way also prompts gratitude for the biodiversity we can create around us.