Many different sources of food
Although people usually think of bird feeders when they think of providing food, there are many sources of food. I have bird feeders, but I try to provide as much natural food as possible. My plants are described below, but there are more descriptions and photos of different sources of food on the following pages.
My plants
I started many of my perennials and annuals from seed. I also bought a number of bushes, some of which I bought in early- to mid-November at up to 75% off. My plantings have become increasingly productive as they mature.
I've been disappointed to find that some of the bushes I purchased because I thought they were native are not really the native plants I expected. Some were cultivars of native plants, Eurasian varieties, or hybrids between native plants and Eurasian varieties. Some of these named varieties don't have the characteristics I bought them for. For example, I have a Serviceberry, but it's the Glennform cultivar, not the plain species serviceberry. At least so far, it doesn't have nearly the number of berries that my other just plain Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis) is producing. (For a photo, see my Mistakes page.) I also was sold what turned out to be a Eurasian type of elderberry even though I had asked for a native elderberry. And I just recently found out that one of my winterberry bushes (Sparkleberry) is actually a hybrid between the native Ilex verticillata and the Eurasian Ilex serrata. I've finally learned that I have to do a lot of research before I purchase anything.
One of the plant breeders' motivations for producing cultivars often is to increase their ornamental value or make them neater (e.g. by not having berries to clutter up the sidewalk etc.). Unfortunately, plants often lose some of their habitat value in the process. I've made more of an effort to find out about true native varieties before buying. The problem, of course, is that local nurseries are often more likely to carry and promote exotic bushes from the other side of the world than they do native varieties.
