13 Beautiful Ground Covers That Will Have Birds Flocking To Your Yard

Having your own yard means you don't have to trek to a park or trail to see a variety of species of birds. That said, your success in attractive the feathered visitors depends on what your yard looks like from a "bird's-eye" point of view. Does it have food, water, or shelter? Replacing some or all of your lawn with a ground cover that attracts birds is one easy way to improve your chances. There are tons of options to choose from, from chokeberry to switchgrass to creeping mahonia.

The ideal plants provide food for birds in the form of seeds, fruits, and insects to forage. They also provide nesting materials, spots to hide from predators and escape bad weather. Traditional mowed lawns, on the other hand, aren't abundant in these essentials, so you're less likely to see birds if grass is all you've got on offer.

Ground covers have other benefits. They help prevent erosion and are often lower-maintenance than lawns since they don't require mowing and are more water-efficient. That's all especially true if you use a ground cover that's native to your area — and native plants happen to be the ideal type to add to your yard to attract birds year-round. Native varieties tend to provide food sources at the times of year when birds need them most. They also serve as a habitat for local insects and caterpillars, which some bird species survive on. Ideally, your bird-friendly yard will have a range of native plants including trees of various heights, wildflowers, shrubs, and, of course, ground covers.

Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), native to the northern U.S., grows just 4 to 9 inches tall, making an ideal and attractive ground cover that does well in the shade of trees. The white flowers appear from May to July and provide nectar that attracts hummingbirds. Then bright red berries ripen in August, serving as a food source for birds such as martens, ruffed grouse, and vireos. Bunchberry is winter hardy in USDA zones 2 to 6; it will die back to ground level in the winter and then grow back in the spring. This ground cover doesn't tolerate foot traffic.

Creeping mahonia (Berberis repens) is an evergreen that can be used as a ground cover because it only grows to about 1 foot tall. A tough, hardy plant, it is drought tolerant and isn't picky about lighting conditions. It attracts a range of birds with its early spring flowers and sour summer berries. Hummingbirds, juncos, sparrows, pheasants, waxwings, and robins, are all known to feed on creeping mahonia. You can also use the berries to make jelly. It's cold hardy in zones 5 to 8.

Trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) has gorgeous trumpet-shaped blooms in various shades of red. Native to the southeast U.S., it is hardy in zones 4 to 9 but will only stay green year-round in zones 8 and above. Technically this plant is a vine, but by allowing it to sprawl across the ground, it can be grown as a fast-growing ground cover that attracts hummingbirds and pollinators to your yard. Ruby-throated hummingbirds drink the nectar from the spring flowers, and robins, hermit thrushes, quail, and finches all eat the red berries that appear in the fall.

Also known as kinnikinick, bearberry is an evergreen that boasts pretty white blooms and is native across the northern and western U.S. Low-growing forms like Arctostaphylos uva-ursi can be used as ground covers, growing a few inches tall in dense mats. Bearberry provides visual interest in all seasons, with evergreen foliage, white or pink flowers, and red berries that stay on branches into the winter. It's cold hardy in zones 2 to 6 and can thrive even in difficult spots with poor or sandy soil. The spring flowers attract hummingbirds, while the berries invite fruit-eating birds.

There are around 400 species of Cotoneaster, and many different low-growing forms can be used as ground cover, including creeping Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster adpressus) and Rock Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster horizontalis). The berries are highly nutritious and popular with birds, such as blackbirds, waxwings, and thrushes. The berries become ripe in the late summer and stay available through the winter. Some Cotoneasters are evergreen, while others lose their leaves in the winter. In general, Cotoneasters are fast-growing plants and will need to be pruned in the spring to prevent legginess. The hardiness ranges from zones 4 to 10 depending on the species.

Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinqefolia) is a perennial vine, native to the eastern U.S. and Great Plains, that looks similar to poison ivy but has harmless leaves (although the fruits aren't safe for human consumption). The blue-black, fat-rich berries are a hit with fall-migrating birds and an important winter food source. Cedar waxwings, bluebirds, robins, warblers, mockingbirds, woodpeckers, and nuthatches are a few of the birds you can expect to see feasting. Virginia creeper is hardy in zones 3 to 10 and can be an aggressive grower, so the vines must be cut back regularly.

Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) is a popular ingredient in many cuisines that also happens to be appealing to many birds, including geese, ravens, grouse, mockingbirds, robins, thrushes, scarlet tanagers, eastern bluebirds, and more. In fact, such a wide variety of wildlife eats lingonberry that it has developed a ton of different nicknames, like cowberry, foxberry, and cougarberry. In cooler growing conditions that get snow, it can work as a groundcover at up to 1 foot tall, though it doesn't tolerate foot traffic. It's hardy in zones 3 to 7.

Native and wild grasses are a great choice of ground cover to attract birds — their seeds provide a food source, the grass offers shelter for nests as well as nesting material, and birds can forage underneath for insects. One species to consider is Northern sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium), a shade-tolerant grass that grows between 2 and 5 feet tall and is hardy in zones 5 to 9. Its appealing bluish-green blades take on a gold hue in the fall, and the oat-like flowers hang from the stems and work well in bouquets. This grass can be a weedy, aggressive grower, so it will require some upkeep.

Another native grass to consider is switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), also hardy in zones 5 to 9. It's found wild all over the U.S. and grows well in a range of different soil types with year-round appeal — its pretty pink flowers bloom in the late summer, and the seedheads turn red or purple in the fall. Since the grass remains upright even in winter, birds will seek it out for shelter in addition to feasting on the seeds. Birds that are attracted to switchgrass include mourning doves, American woodcocks, cardinals, and many types of sparrows.

Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), another native grass, is so popular with birds that Audubon North Carolina says it's like a "living bird feeder." It grows throughout the U.S. and is hardy in zones 3 to 9. It tolerates a range of soils as long as it's not soggy or too dry and there's plenty of sun. The blue-green blades grow up to about 3 feet tall, and the fall-ripening seeds feed birds through fall and winter, including finches, towhees, grosbeaks, buntings, and cardinals. Little bluestem also provides nesting areas for field sparrows and common yellowthroats, thanks to its signature clumps and blades that are fine at the base.

Lyreleaf sage (Salvia lyrata) is a highly adaptable herbaceous perennial that can grow in any medium, from gravel to clay soil, and withstand both drought and flood. Growing 1 to 2 feet tall, it can withstand mowing and foot traffic and stays green year-round. Its ripe seeds attract American goldfinches and mourning doves, while its blue-purple, nectar-rich flowers attract hummingbirds in the spring and early summer. Plus, it can deter deer and rabbits since they don't like the taste. Lyreleaf sage is native to eastern and central U.S. and is hardy in zones 5 to 8.

Purple passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) is a trailing vine native to the eastern U.S. It's popular for its flowers and can make a unique blooming ground cover. It flowers in the summer and early fall, providing nectar to hummingbirds, and produces fruit in the fall that orioles, warblers, and finches enjoy eating. The fruit is also edible to humans and can be made into jelly. Passionflower is hardy in zones 5 to 9. It can be a nuisance in the southeast U.S. with its prolific growth, which you can control by removing suckers.

Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) is a deciduous shrub that's native to the eastern U.S. Look for a low-growing variety, such as 'Ground Hug dwarf chokeberry or 'Low Scape Mound' chokeberry, to use as a low-maintenance and striking ground cover with year-round interest. Enjoy flowers in the late spring, red leaves in autumn, and berries through the winter. The berries are edible but very tart, hence the name. But birds, including cedar waxwings, bluebirds, gray catbirds, and chickadees, love eating them in late winter. Black chokeberry is hardy in zones 3 to 8.