Attract birds to your garden with Indigenous Shrubs

Plants attract birds with their nectar, flowers, fruit, seeds, and by attracting insects which are another food source for the birds.

Here are a few of our favourite bird magnets :

• Aloes – provide nectar for a wide range of birds and the larger plants are also popular with birds as nesting sites.
• Cape honeysuckle (Tecoma capensis) – is a very popular shrub that produces masses of flowers which attract nectar-eating birds and insects.
• Bushman’s poison (Acokanthera oppositifolia) – is an evergreen shrub which produces white flowers in spring, followed by purplish black berries. Both the flowers and berries attract birds.
• Cross-berry (Grewia Occidentalis) – is an evergreen shrub which produces lilac-pink flowers followed by cross-shaped fruits (which resemble miniature hot cross buns). The fruits remain on the shrub for many months and this shrub is therefore a dependable pantry for birds in the summer months.
• Lion’s ear (Leonotis leonurus) – produces orange or white flowers in autumn. The nectar of these flowers attracts birds and insects.