To invite birds into your backyard, you simply need to meet their three basic needs: food, water, and shelter. Planting hardy, adapted species is the most natural and effective way to create a welcoming habitat for Quebec’s birds.
Birds are primarily insect-eaters or seed-eaters. By planting flowers that attract insects and trees that produce seeds or berries, you create a sustainable natural buffet. Furthermore, dense hedges, evergreens, and deciduous trees provide essential perches, protection from predators, and ideal nesting sites.
Top Plants by Category
Here is a selection of hardy plants for our Quebec climate:
- Deciduous Trees: Birch, red oak, maple, American ash, American beech, hazelnut, and decorative crabapple.
- Evergreens (Vital for winter shelter): White spruce, juniper, Canada yew, tamarack, white pine, Eastern hemlock, balsam fir, and cedar (thuja).
- Fruit-Bearing Shrubs: Serviceberry, black chokeberry, hawthorn, blueberry, cherry, honeysuckle, dogwood, cotoneaster, winterberry (Ilex), elderberry, and highbush cranberry.
- Perennials: Yarrow, columbine, aster, purple coneflower, heliopsis, blazing star, and bee balm (monarda).
- Annuals: Cosmos, fuchsia, sunflower, and zinnia.
How to Attract Hummingbirds
These tiny acrobats are drawn to bright colors (especially red and orange) and tubular flower shapes. Here are the best options to attract them:
- Perennials: Bee balm, bleeding heart, columbine, foxglove, phlox, bugleweed, and blazing star.
- Annuals: Fuchsia, dahlia, geranium, nasturtium, flowering tobacco, lantana, and zinnia.
- Shrubs and Climbers: Climbing honeysuckle, trumpet vine, hibiscus, and caragana.
Feeding Fruit and Seed Eaters
To keep birds in your garden, provide a variety of food sources throughout the seasons:
- The Fruit Buffet: Prioritize serviceberry, mountain ash, crabapple, elderberry, chokeberry, dogwood, and mulberry. Climbers like river bank grape and Virginia creeper are also highly prized.
- The Seed Reserve: Let sunflowers, coneflowers, rudbeckia, cosmos, and asters go to seed. Ornamental grasses (Miscanthus, Panicum) provide valuable food all winter long.
Three Simple Steps for an Even More Welcoming Garden
- Fresh Water: A shallow birdbath is essential. Change the water every two days to keep it fresh and prevent mosquito breeding.
- Promote Biodiversity: Avoid pesticides. Insects and caterpillars are the primary protein source for baby birds in the spring.
- Create Safe Shelter: Plant dense or thorny shrubs (like hawthorn or rugosa rose) near your feeding areas. This provides a quick escape for birds if they feel threatened by predators.
Ready to complete your setup? Check out our expert guide on bird accessories, baths, and birdhouses!
Expert Tip: Avoid pruning all your plants in the fall. Dried seed heads provide food, while dense branches and conifers offer vital protection against harsh winter winds.
