How to Create a Wildlife-Friendly Garden (National Wildlife Federation)
Animal-friendly Plants
Plants that supply nuts:
Oaks
Hickory
Beech
Black walnut
Pecan
Plants that provide seed:
Cattails
Coneflower
Goldenrod
Grasses
Hypericum
Milkweed
Sunflower
Sweetgum
Plants that provide fruit/berries:
Bayberry
Beautybush
Chokeberry
Cotoneater (not native)
Coralberry
Crabapples (not native)
Currant
Devil’s walking stick
Dogwood
Elaeagnus (not native)
Euonymus (not native)
Hardy orange
Hawthorn
Hollies
Honeysuckle (avoid invasive non-natives)
Junipers (not native)
Mahonia (not native)
Mountain ash
Mulberry
Nandina
Persimmon
Pyracantha (not native)
Redbud
Serviceberry
Sumac
Viburnum
Winterberry
Yew (not native)
Some especially good shelter-providing plants:
Arborvitae
Elaeagnus
Forsythia
Hawthorn
Pine
Rosa
Taxus
Plants that provide nectar:
see
butterfly & bee gardening
Plant parts that used for food:
Leaves
Twigs
Buds
Shelter:
A good mix of trees, shrubs and groundcovers planted to create some groups or massing of plants is a good way to provide shelter. Evergreen planted to screen cold northern winds and deciduous trees planted to provide shade from summer heat are effective ways to create desirable habitat.
