Every week I decide that this will be the week I get my flowers and yard in shape. Well it still has not happened! I always have eight or nine projects going at the same time. I plant for a while, then dig up something to transplant, then I pull a few weeds and maybe, if I'm having a good day, go back to the beginning! I really wish I were more organized but my time in the yard is still enjoyable. While in the garden, I can forget that the house needs cleaning, the laundry needs doing and dinner is late.

Yesterday while transplanting flowers, I noticed two baby birds in a nest, which brings me to this week's article!

Attracting birds and butterflies into your garden isn't hard -- just provide water, shelter and plenty of food. There is such a variety of plants, whether they are shrubs, trees, perennials, annuals or ground covers, which are beneficial for birds.

Ground covers to consider for fruit and seed eating birds are Virginia creeper, Boston ivy, honeysuckle, American bittersweet and wintercreeper euonymus.

Shrubs for birds would be barberry, beautyberry, cotoneaster, firethorn, holly, photinia, privet, rose, spicebush and viburnum.

Beneficial trees to consider are birch, crabapple, dogwood, fir, hawthorn, hemlock, holly, magnolia, maple, oak, pine and spruce.

One of my favorite birds to watch is the hummingbird. Nectar plants that attract them would be butterfly weed, bee balm, canna, cardinal flower, columbine, coral bells, four o'clock, foxglove, iris, phlox, snapdragon and zinnia. Hummingbirds also love vines and ground covers, some of which are bean scarlet runner, honeysuckle, cypress vine, morning glory and trumpet creeper.

Butterflies add color and interest to all gardens. Choosing the right plants will attract and encourage them to stay. Butterfly larvae (caterpillars) need food plants and adult butterflies need nectar-bearing flowers. The most welcoming areas are sunny and sheltered for the wind. Always check before using any pesticide in the garden so you are not harming butterflies or their larvae.

Perennials, annuals and biennials to encourage butterfly larvae are asters, bleeding heart, butterfly weed, hollyhock, joe-pye weed, snapdragon, sunflower or dill.

Vines butterflies enjoy are passion vine and wisteria. Shrubs and trees for larvae are hibiscus rose, spicebush and viburnum.

Trees to encourage larvae are birch, crabapple, dogwood, hawthorn, honey locust, oak, pine, sycamore, tulip poplar and willow.

Adult butterflies are attracted to annuals, perennials and biennials such as aster, astilbe, bee balm, black-eyed susan, blanket flower, butterfly weed, cardinal flower, coreopsis, cosmos, globe thistle, lantana, lavender, Mexican sunflower, purple coneflower, shasta daisy, spider flower (cleome), verbena or yarrow. Shrubs for adult butterflies are honeysuckle, lilac, rhododendron, spiraea and, of course, the butterfly bush. Examples of trees would be apple, cherry, plum or peach.

As you have noticed, many of the same plants encourage birds and butterflies into the garden. The plants alone are beautiful, but the added beauty and interest that birds and butterflies bring are a bonus.

As an example of my lack of organization, I will refer to the beginning of this column about the two baby birds in the nest. Well, I have several of the above-mentioned plants or trees in my yard for food and shelter for birds and butterflies, and I'm sure they enjoy them, but this particular dove built her nest in my wreath on the front door. I think I will put a copy of this article on the porch for her to read!

Happy gardening!