Catbirds and brown thrashers, eastern towhees and song sparrows…these are the songbirds that depend on the middle layer, the shrub layer, for food, shelter, and nest sites. Because this is the layer most ignored in urban and suburban landscaping, these birds are rarely seen in town. For shrubs to be effective for wildlife, they should be planted in small groups. Filling in corners of the yard softens the view and decreases the amount of lawn that must be maintained. Running shrubs along the lot line provides a friendly living fence for privacy and sound abatement.
If shrubs are planted in areas where they would naturally grow, they are hardy, relatively disease-free, and do not need fertilizing. Plants that prefer sun to partial sun and moist to moderate soils are American highbush cranberry (Viburnum trilobum), black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa), nannyberry (Viburnum lentago), American hazelnut (Corylus americana), and red osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera). Shrubs that can tolerate a wider range of soils and sun to partial shade are gray dogwood (Cornus racemose), pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia), mapleleaf viburnum (Viburnum acerfolium), arrowwood viburnum (V. dentatum), snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus), dwarf bush honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera), juneberry (Amelancher laevis), and chokecherry (Prunus virginiana).
Shrubs come in all sizes. Snowberries and dwarf bush honeysuckles range from 2 – 5 feet. Another two-foot “shorty” is a cultivar of fragrant sumac, Gro-low sumac, useful for stabilizing slopes where it can spread to a diameter of 5-10 feet. Native shrubs that reach between 5-10 feet are red osier and grey dogwoods, black chokeberries, and most of the viburnums. Taller shrubs that can grow to 25 feet are nannyberries, serviceberries, chokecherries, and pagoda dogwoods.
Shrubs are perfect choices for impatient gardeners. While it takes decades for trees to mature, shrubs can mature in five. From spring flowers and summer fruits to flaming fall leaves and red berries that hang on through winter, native shrubs add beauty and birds to the landscape.
Mary Jo Fleming
I’m an old birder, and I misnamed the towhee before I edited my post. The rufous-sided towhee is now the eastern towhee. Its cheery call, “Drink your tea,” easily identifies this middle layer song bird.