I had really good luck with the dwarf butterfly bush “ lo and behold” for attracting butterflies last year.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oOuujn4rCHw

Visit Xerces.org. They have regional lists of native plants, as well as tons of information on attracting wildlife. Doug Tallamy also has a site that will tell you which plants are used by the most pollinators. I think it’s called “Plantfinder,” but I am not sure. That’s a huge area to fill, so I would look into wintersowing to get multiple plants inexpensively.

I will definitely look into the fennel. I get a lot of black swallowtails. Anything to make them happy!

Considerations :

Money?

Ordinances? (incl height limit)

Salt? (snow /ice mangement)

Trampling? (human, dog, bicycle)

Pilfering?

My largest concern is deer. I had very good advice from Summersweet Native Plants NJ, that said to plant larger, more mature plants because if the deer nibble on those, they hopefully will survive, but if deer nibble on a single young plant, well then, you may have just lost a lot of money.

Good advice since I live right next to a nature preserve and the deer wander up & down our street eating plants like they're at a salad bar.

But thank you for your concerns to ponder.

Safe space means where they are given concealment from all the other birds, or safe from the rain or winter. Having shrubberies and short trees that will serve as a cover as well as a possible nesting place for them. Scatter few things they need to build their nest, such as little twigs or leaves near the feeder.

Check out gardenwithwings.com

Correction, Gardens with wings.com

Birders like you need to attract different types of birds. And one of them is the mockingbird which is known to sing non-stop and has the ability to mimic the voice of other birds and insects. Having these bords provides a unique satisfaction as a bird watcher as they provide unique entertainment once they enter your area.

How does one attract mockingbirds? I never see them at a feeder. Don't they eat insects almost exclusively?

I have mockingbirds here. I have raised bluebirds and many overwinter in my birdhouses that i fill with perches after cleaning out thoroughly. I have cardinals, bluejays, catbirds, goldfinches, flycatchers, 2 types of nuthatches, 3 types of woodpeckers, chickadees, an occasional siting of thrashers, etc. Its a very busy yard. my biggest challange is trying to find something to plant along the sidewalk to border my growing area. I do have sprinklers there. But all I get now is unattractive weeds.

>"How does one attract mockingbirds?" ___ One requisite would be not to have a male already, because it is aggressively territorial.