Native Plants
![](../_images/smarty_plants.gif)
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
![](../_images/mr_smarty_plants_logo_web_200w.jpg)
rate this answer
![](../_images/star_32.gif)
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:
More Wildlife Gardens Questions
Restoring the woods in Central Austin.
May 08, 2012 - I live in Austin, south central between Red Bud trail close to the low water bridge and Bee Caves road. My question: I want to make the wooded sections of my yard attractive. They have filtered sun...
view the full question and answer
Horse-friendly plants for Powell OH
September 24, 2010 - I am looking for horse friendly plants, i.e., shrubs, trees, bushes, etc. that can be planted in wet area in Ohio. Thank you in advance for your assistance.
view the full question and answer
Native Bird Feeding in Belton, TX
July 04, 2011 - We recently bought a bird feeder and a huge bucket of non-native bird seed (I'm not sure if the whole seed mix is non-native, but I believe most of the mix is). The birds go through the whole bird fe...
view the full question and answer
Hummingbird Attracting Plants for Shade in Smithville, TX
March 28, 2012 - I want hummingbird plants for shade.
view the full question and answer
Replacement for Globe Thistle in Virginia
June 15, 2013 - Hi,
We are trying to get our garden to be 100% North American Native and are at about 90% native to our region. One of the last plants we have to replace is our Globe Thistle. Do you have a good r...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |