Organic Gardening Secret To Attract Birds

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Our organic gardening secret to attract birds is to grow black- eyed Susans. We love to have birds come to our garden, for their beautiful songs as well as for their insatiable appetite for bad bugs.

So we encourage them every way we can- and one of those ways is planting perennials with lots of seeds that birds like to eat.

We have found that one of the best of the bunch is black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta), a spectacular summer bloomer with glorious golden yellow flowers.

Black-Eyed Susans attract birds for their seeds. In addition standing stems of the Black-Eyed Susan will help shield birds from predators in the winter garden.

The seeds of these delightful daisies are a favorite food of goldfinches and purple finches, as well as cardinals, sparrows, and nuthatches, to name a few. Common Redpolls and other seed lovers will work at the seed heads until all the seeds are gone.

Butterflies, bees, flies, and other insects visit flowers for nectar. When they drink nectar, they accidentally move pollen from one plant to another. This allows the plant to grow fruits and seeds, which are lightweight and travel by wind.

Several butterflies frequent this plant, but the Pearl Crescent is one species that takes advantage of the high center perch and is attracted to the yellow color.

Black eyed Susans are pollinated by bees, wasps, beetles, flies, and many other insects, but have developed a strategic method for keeping away unwanted pests such as ants. The bristly hairs on the stems make it uncomfortable, if not impossible, for ants to pass.

The trick to growing black eyed susan plants is to give them full sun in decent soil. Rudbeckia are easy to establish, naturalize well and require little maintenance other than deadheading.

Flowering begins about mid-June and continues until plants are killed by frost, but removing flowers as they fade throughout the summer will enhance blooming.

Black-Eyed Susans are also quite drought tolerant, and as such makes a welcome and useful addition to the garden in very hot, dry areas.

They self seed freely, and the roots of perennial specimens can be divided in the fall for more plants.  They can be started easily by seed in the fall, in flats 6 weeks before the last frost, or early in the spring for bloom the next year.

Black-eyed Susans are biennial, which means they live for two years. In the first year, the plant grows a rosette, which is a group of leaves growing from the center, low to the ground. In the second year, the plant sends up flower stalks. At the end of the second year, the plant dies.

Since they are a short-lived perennial or biennial, divide them every year in late winter or early spring.  Lift the clump, shake loose the soil and with a sharp knife or clippers cut though the crown making several divisions.

Make sure that each new division has some vigorous roots.  Cut back some of the foliage to reduce water loss, replant and water at once.  Divisions grow rapidly and are fun to share with your friends and neighbors

Long before Europeans discovered them as a garden favorite, black eyed Susan was a popular plant among Native Americans for their medicinal value.

The root was used for tea to treat worms, colds and as an external wash for sores, snakebites, and swelling.  The root juice was used for earaches.

Some people have developed contact sensitivity to the plant, so be a little careful when first using this plant for cut flowers.

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Yours truly, Polly – Organic Gardener

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