Turning your North Carolina garden into a bird paradise is easier than you might think. By planting the right flowers, shrubs, and trees, you can create a natural buffet of seeds, nectar, and fruits that birds love.
Plus, these plants provide shelter and nesting spots, giving our feathered friends everything they need to thrive in your backyard.
1. Cardinal Flower
Hummingbirds can’t resist the brilliant red blooms of this native perennial. The tubular flowers perfectly match a hummingbird’s long bill, almost as if they evolved together.
Cardinal flowers thrive in moist, partially shaded areas of North Carolina gardens. They bloom from July through September when many birds are actively feeding.
Plant them near a water feature for maximum bird attraction power!
2. Purple Coneflower
Goldfinches perform aerial acrobatics around purple coneflowers, landing delicately on the seed heads. Their cheerful yellow bodies create stunning contrast against the purple petals.
Leave the dried seed heads standing through fall and winter. They’ll provide a critical food source when other options become scarce.
Drought-tolerant and sun-loving, these native beauties require minimal care while delivering maximum bird benefits.
3. Serviceberry
Robins, cardinals, and cedar waxwings flock to serviceberry trees when their sweet berries ripen. The fruit turns from red to purple-black in early summer, creating a bird feeding frenzy.
Spring brings clusters of delicate white flowers that add beauty before the berries appear. Fall rewards with fiery orange-red foliage that makes this small tree a year-round garden star.
Native to North Carolina woodlands, serviceberry thrives in part shade.
4. Black-Eyed Susan
Finches perform delicate balancing acts atop black-eyed Susan seedheads, plucking tiny seeds with precision. Their cheerful presence adds movement and life to late summer gardens.
These sunny yellow flowers bloom for weeks, brightening North Carolina landscapes from June through October. After flowering, the cone-shaped centers become bird feeding stations.
Drought-tolerant and deer-resistant, black-eyed Susans practically care for themselves while feeding your feathered visitors.
5. American Beautyberry
Mockingbirds, thrashers, and catbirds can’t resist the vibrant purple berry clusters that encircle beautyberry’s stems in fall. The jewel-toned fruits persist well into winter, providing food when other sources disappear.
This native shrub grows 3-5 feet tall and spreads informally, creating natural cover where birds can hide from predators. The arching branches form perfect perches for birds to rest between berry feasts.
Beautyberry thrives in woodland edges throughout North Carolina.
6. Trumpet Honeysuckle
Ruby-throated hummingbirds zoom straight to these tubular red flowers, hovering as they sip sweet nectar with their specialized bills. Unlike invasive Japanese honeysuckle, this native vine behaves itself in the garden.
Trumpet honeysuckle’s coral-red blooms appear from spring through fall, providing a reliable nectar source for months. Later, red berries attract songbirds seeking fruits.
Train it up a trellis or fence for a beautiful, bird-friendly vertical element in your North Carolina landscape.
7. Dogwood Trees
Cardinals, bluebirds, and thrushes gather to feast on the bright red berries that appear after dogwood’s famous spring flowers fade. The fruits ripen in fall when birds are stocking up for winter.
Beyond berries, dogwoods provide nesting sites in spring and summer. Their horizontal branching pattern creates perfect platforms for bird nests.
As understory trees native to North Carolina forests, dogwoods thrive in dappled shade beneath larger trees.
8. Sunflowers
Goldfinches cling upside-down to sunflower heads, expertly extracting seeds while performing gravity-defying stunts. Their yellow bodies blend perfectly with the flowers, creating camouflage from hawks.
Growing sunflowers means providing an all-you-can-eat buffet for birds. A single flower head can contain hundreds of nutritious seeds packed with protein and healthy fats.
Plant several varieties with different blooming times to extend the bird-feeding season in your North Carolina garden.
9. Eastern Red Cedar
Cedar waxwings gather by the dozen on these evergreen trees, feasting on the blue berry-like cones during winter. The fruits provide critical nutrition when food becomes scarce.
Beyond food, red cedars offer dense evergreen protection where birds can shelter during harsh weather. Many species use the branches for nesting sites in spring.
Native to North Carolina’s diverse landscapes, these drought-tolerant trees grow in poor soils where other plants struggle.
10. Bee Balm
Hummingbirds zoom straight to bee balm’s spiky red, pink, or purple blooms, attracted by their bright colors and sweet nectar. Their long bills perfectly match the tubular shape of each tiny flower.
Butterflies and bees also visit these blooms, creating a lively ecosystem that attracts insect-eating birds like warblers. The aromatic leaves give off a minty-citrus scent when brushed against.
As a native North Carolina perennial, bee balm returns reliably year after year.
11. Elderberry
Over 120 bird species devour elderberry’s juicy purple-black fruits, from cardinals and catbirds to woodpeckers and warblers. The berries ripen in mid-to-late summer, creating a bird feeding frenzy.
Large, flat clusters of tiny white flowers appear before the berries, attracting pollinators and beneficial insects. Birds that eat insects will hunt among the blossoms.
This native shrub grows quickly in moist areas, making it perfect for North Carolina’s humid climate.
12. Virginia Creeper
Mockingbirds, bluebirds, and thrushes gobble up the blue-black berries that appear on this native vine in fall. The fruits ripen just as birds are preparing for migration or winter.
Beyond berries, Virginia creeper provides dense cover where birds can hide from predators. Its five-fingered leaves turn brilliant crimson in autumn, adding spectacular color to the garden.
Let it climb trees, fences, or walls for a beautiful, bird-friendly vertical element in your North Carolina landscape.
13. Asters
Goldfinches perform aerial ballets around aster plants in fall, landing delicately to extract tiny seeds from the flower heads. Their bright yellow feathers create stunning contrast against the purple, blue, or white blooms.
As one of the last plants to flower before winter, asters provide critical late-season food for birds and pollinators. Many beneficial insects also visit the blooms.
Native asters thrive in North Carolina’s climate with minimal care once established.
14. Holly
Cedar waxwings and robins flock to holly trees in winter, feasting on the bright red berries when food becomes scarce. The glossy evergreen leaves provide perfect backdrop for spotting colorful birds.
Females produce the berries, so plant both male and female hollies to ensure good fruit production. Birds spread the seeds through their droppings, helping more hollies grow.
Many native holly species thrive in North Carolina, from American holly trees to compact winterberry shrubs.
15. Chokeberry
Bluebirds, robins, and thrashers swoop in for chokeberry’s dark fruits after the first frost softens them. Though too astringent for human tastes without cooking, birds happily devour these nutrient-rich berries.
White spring flowers attract pollinators before giving way to either red or black berries, depending on the variety. Fall brings spectacular red foliage that rivals burning bush without being invasive.
These tough native shrubs handle North Carolina’s varied growing conditions with ease.