There are many ways of welcoming birds into your garden over winter. Winter flowering plants, such as Sophora Dragon's Gold (mini Kowhai) and Camellias. Another is to keep some of the perennial seed heads in place for them. The Verbena bonariense I grow in my gravel courtyard is purple over summer and attracts bees, birds and butterflies. I leave some of them untrimmed for winter, and am fascinated by the amount of time the small birds spend in them, picking out the seeds. Sooner or later I will trim them back, but if you do have a space in your garden to keep the seed heads on, you be rewarded by the bird life they attract. Trim them as the new growth on surrounding perennials starts up.
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| Seed eating birds love the Verbena seed heads in mid winter |
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| And butterflies, birds and bees love them in summer |
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| Sophora Dragon's Gold in August - flowers for at least 5 months, and the birds love them. |
