Robins will visit gardeners daily in autumn if you have 1 food 7 experts recommend

Robins are a common sight in British gardens, but if you want to attract them to your yard, there is one step you can take to make sure they keep coming back.

Angela Patrone Senior Lifestyle Reporter

04:03, 27 Sep 2025

Robins will visit your garden daily in autumn if you have 1 food source 7 gardeners love(Image: Gary Chalker via Getty Images)

If you’re hoping to entice birds into your garden during autumn and winter, then you’ll undoubtedly want to welcome robins as well. With their distinctive orange-red chest and compact, sturdy build, the robin ranks among Britain’s most recognisable garden birds.

However, robins can be somewhat selective about the locations they choose to visit and establish their territory. Whilst mealworms and sunflower hearts are often used, specialists recommend planting fruit trees and bushes instead. This approach works because such vegetation offers plentiful nourishment and protection at the same time.

Lucie Bradley from Easy Garden Irrigation explained: “To attract robins into your garden during autumn, the best way is to include plants that will be both a food source and a shelter, so, as food sources diminish, you are providing a safe haven full of berries and insects where robins will become established.

Robins gravitate to fruit shrubs
(Image: Pauline Lewis via Getty Images)

“This allows you to create the perfect winter scene as robins can be attracted by the traditional winter staples of holly and ivy, which combine berries, shelter, as well as attracting the insects robins like to eat.”

She noted that pyracantha also delivers an “abundance of juicy red or orange berries”, whilst offering robins a secure, thick, spiky refuge, whereas a cotoneaster would similarly supply berries rich in sugar and fat, “perfect for robins” as they accumulate energy reserves to endure the chillier months ahead.

Another excellent choice is a crabapple tree, which produces small fruits that persist on the branches throughout winter, offering an easily reachable, dependable food source for robins alongside other wild birds.

Gardening specialist and proprietor of Soothing Company, Loren Taylor, revealed that each autumn he maintains the “same goal” for his garden – to populate it with glimpses of robin-red breast against the changing foliage. He explained: “After nearly two decades designing landscapes, I’ve learned that robins aren’t complicated guests. Give them a steady buffet of berries plus a bit of shelter, and they’ll show up day after day, even when the mornings turn chilly.”

Regarding which berry plant to cultivate, Loren also suggests pyracantha for two reasons. Brilliant orange-red berry clusters “catch a robin’s eye from across the yard”, whilst the plant’s spiky branches “create a natural fortress”.

Robins feel secure darting in and out to feed, knowing neighbourhood cats will think twice before giving chase.

Robins flock to the guelder rose shrub(Image: Serhii Zarev / 500px via Getty Images)

His alternative selection would be the guelder rose – its bunches of scarlet berries mature precisely as insects start to diminish, so “robins flock to the shrub” for dependable calories. As an added benefit, its foliage glows a rich burgundy before dropping, bringing drama to borders that might otherwise appear weary by October.

Petar Ivanov from Fantastic Gardeners suggested that “the most natural approach” to attract robins is to cultivate berry-producing shrubs such as hawthorn, holly or rowan. He maintained that they offer a reliable supply of fruit, whilst leaving patches of leaf litter encourages earthworms and beetles to flourish, providing robins with a “hunting ground they’ll revisit daily”.

He observed that the “crucial factor” in drawing robins is “consistency”. Once a robin discovers a regular, dependable source of food in your garden, it “will keep returning throughout autumn and can even continue to visit into winter”.

James Ewens, gardening and wildlife expert from Green Feathers, stated that berry-producing shrubs will help “keep them [robins] coming back”. He clarified that, as insects are limited at this time, berry-bearing trees and shrubs are a popular choice for robins.

James said: “Berries, holly and hawthorn are some fan favourites as they bear bright clusters of berries for robins to feast on. Cotoneaster shrubs and trees are very attractive to both humans and robins. They’re vibrant and festive, and the berries often last even through the coldest winter days. Planting one or two of these shrubs and trees ensures robins have a continuous food source.”

Cotoneaster shrubs and trees are very attractive to both humans and robins(Image: mtreasure via Getty Images)

Callum Halstead, head gardener at Cambo Gardens, has revealed several of his preferred plants that “truly draw these charismatic birds”. The first being elder, which delivers plentiful autumn fruit and tolerates our coastal conditions wonderfully.

Next come native wildflowers – these are certain to draw these birds searching for food into your garden, whilst the remaining two are pyracantha, which provides winter berries when sustenance becomes limited, and ivy, which forms ideal nesting locations and supplies additional valuable berries.

John Candlish, head gardener at Dabton House, on the Drumlanrig Castle & Country Estate, mentioned that he suggests cultivating fruit trees, but maintains that there is another method gardeners can use to entice robins without growing these plants. He explained, “If you don’t have fruit trees, use open-style feeding trays or lay out some fruit or native berries on the ground, as robins naturally feed on the ground, which will attract them.”

A gardening specialist working for Online Turf supported John’s view as she explained that you don’t need to plant anything fresh to draw robins into your garden; alternatively, you can offer them some fruits you have available, such as apples, pears, and plums.

Ensure these are cut into smaller portions, and you can include mealworms alongside crushed peanuts as well, to “create a food mix that no robin can resist”.

Peanuts contain high levels of fat, making them an excellent option to help robins survive the winter, whilst mealworms supply them with vital protein, fat, and fibre, supporting their muscle growth and general wellbeing.