3 bird-attracting flowers to plant in your garden this summer

Want to attract birds to your garden this summer? Simply planting these three flowers may help keep it teeming with life all season long

Vita Molyneux Travel reporter

11:34, 30 Apr 2026

Bright colourful feathers of starlings shimmer in the autumn sunshine while they wait to feed on meal worms in a garden

Birds will flock to your garden with these flowers(Image: Wendy Lucid via Getty Images)

A truly stunning garden is made up of many elements — verdant lawns, blooming rose bushes, or a sun-drenched patio perfect for relaxing. Yet one aspect that is frequently underestimated is the role of wildlife in creating a truly spectacular outdoor space.

Few things bring a garden to life quite like an abundance of birds, butterflies and bees making it their home. Whether you hang a bird feeder or simply plant the right flowers, attracting nature to your garden is easier than you might think.

Here are three blooms that birds simply cannot resist — and that will keep your garden looking stunning and buzzing with life throughout the summer months.

Sunflowers

Striking and straightforward to grow, sunflowers are a garden showstopper with their vivid yellow petals and impressive stature.

Crucially, birds are particularly fond of them.

Once the flowers begin to fade, resist the urge to cut them back — finches and other garden birds will flock to feast on the seeds, reports the Express.

Echinacea

Now is an ideal time to get echinacea in the ground.

Producing delicate pastel-purple blooms reminiscent of daisies, this plant is a firm favourite among British birds — particularly when left to go to seed.

Bright colors amid summer greenery in the sunlight

Birds love the seed left over from these flowers(Image: Getty)

Also known as cone flowers, echinacea thrives in sunny spots and, once established, is remarkably resilient in dry conditions, adding a welcome burst of colour to any border.

Alliums

Technically a member of the onion family, alliums offer considerably more visual appeal to your garden than their culinary cousins.

decorative onion allium purple color, floral background

Birds love alliums(Image: Getty)

Their distinctive round flower heads blossom in attractive purple hues, and they appear stunning when interwoven amongst decorative grasses to form an eye-catching border.

After the blooms have withered, retain the seed heads for birds to feast upon.