Favorite Fruits

Make your garden more bird-friendly with top picks for berry-filled trees and shrubs.

1. Highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), Zones 3 to 7, yields a fruit cherished by people and birds alike. Just cover the plants with bird netting if you want the fruit all to yourself. Look at the hardy northern highbush blueberry or the more heat- and drought-tolerant southern highbush. Bonus: It has pretty foliage in summer and fall.

2. Serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.), Zones 3 to 9, varies by species, but most have white flowers in early to mid-spring followed in midsummer by purple fruit that dozens of bird species enjoy. Its bright fall foliage makes serviceberry a multiseason standout that rewards you for taking care of the birds. Half a dozen popular species range from small shrubs to medium-sized trees.

3. Viburnum (Viburnum spp.) is available in a range of species, so there’s likely one to fit your growing conditions. Birds love American cranberry bush viburnum (V. trilobum), Zones 2 to 7, which bears masses of bright red berries lasting into winter. Other viburnum species to try: Doublefile (V. plicatum var. tomentosum), Zones 5 to 8, southern blackhaw (V. rufidulum), Zones 5 to 9, and arrowwood (V. dentatum), Zones 3 to 8.

4. Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis), also called American elder, is a highly adaptable shrub with showy flowers and small, dark blue berrylike fruits in late summer. The fruit is eaten by dozens of bird species, like catbirds, robins and bluebirds. Zones 3 to 9.

5. Dogwood (Cornus spp.) takes many forms. Trees include flowering dogwood (C. florida), Zones 5 to 9, and Kousa dogwood (C. kousa), Zone 5 to 8. Or try shrubs like red twig (C. sericea), Zones 2 to 7, and Tatarian dogwood (C. alba), Zones 3 to 7. People like the blooms, birds love the berries. Robins, bluebirds and thrushes are among the many dogwood fans.

6. Washington hawthorn (Crataegus phaenopyrum) has showy clusters of white flowers in spring and glossy red berries in fall. Finches, grosbeaks, thrashers and dozens of other species gobble the berries, so there’s seldom any fruit litter to contend with and minimal cleanup for gardeners. Zones 4 to 8.

7. Holly (Ilex spp.) offers bountiful clusters of the classic brightly colored fruit in winter. Among the many bird-attracting species are the American holly tree (I. opaca), Zones 5 to 9, and the winterberry shrub (I. verticillata), Zones 3 to 9. In short, there’s a holly for every backyard.

8. Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) is adored by several bird species thanks to blue-gray fruits that resemble berries but are actually cones made of fused scales. The trees’ pyramid shape provides dense nesting and roosting cover for many songbirds, including sparrows, robins, mockingbirds, juncos and warblers. Birds sometimes use the bark to build their nests. It grows best in Zones 3 to 9.