To draw birds to your garden, it’s essential to provide them with shrubs that offer both food and shelter. Native plants, in particular, supply nectar, seeds, and berries while also offering protective cover from predators. By planting the right shrubs, you can create a sanctuary where birds can thrive, while enhancing your garden’s beauty. Here are three natives suited to thriving in Canberra gardens:
1. Correa ‘Dusky Bells’
This low-growing Australian native is a winter feast for nectar-loving birds, especially Honeyeaters. With its dense foliage and dusky-crimson, bell-shaped flowers, Correa ‘Dusky Bells’ provides both beauty and sustenance during the colder months. Hardy and tolerant of frost and heat, it makes an excellent ground cover or compact shrub, offering a delicate touch of winter color and a subtle cinnamon fragrance that will charm any garden.
2. Grevillea ‘Robyn Gordon’
Known for its striking red, spider-like flowers, Grevillea ‘Robyn Gordon’ is a favorite for attracting birds, butterflies, and bees. This evergreen shrub is admired for its year-round blooms and compact growth. It thrives in full sun to part shade and is adaptable to a variety of soil types. Ideal for erosion control, screening, and as a windbreak, it’s a hardy option that tolerates frost and dry conditions, making it a perfect bird-attracting feature in your garden.
3. Callistemon ‘Captain Cook’
Also known as Bottlebrush, Callistemon ‘Captain Cook’ is a robust and waterwise shrub that attracts large nectar-feeding birds with its bright red, cascading flowers. Flowering in late winter, spring, and summer, this variety adds spectacular color to any garden. Growing to about 1.5 meters, it’s ideal for hedging, screening, or as a feature plant. Its ability to tolerate both heat and cold makes it a low-maintenance, bird-friendly choice for any landscape.
Here is an additional list provided by the ACT Government
1. Acacia species including; A dealbata, A. howittii, A. implexa
2. Banksia species including; B. integrifolia, B. marginata, B. spinulosa
3. Bursaria spinosa – Prickly Box
4. Callitris rhomboidea – Port Jackson Pine
5. Casaurina crisata – Black Oak
6. Casuarina cunninghamiana – River She Oak
7. Correa reflexa – Native Fuchsia
8. Dianella species including; D. revoluta, D. tasmanica
9. Epacris impressa
10.Eremophilla maculata – Spotted Emu Bush
11.Eucalyptus species
12.Lomandra species including: L. longifolia, L. hystrix
13.Poa species such as; P. labillardieri, P.poiformis, P. seiberiana
14.Leptospermum lanigerum
15.Melia azedarach var. australasicus – White Cedar
16.Stipa species – Rough Spear Grass
17.Themeda australis – Kangaroo Grass