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Where do the plant recommendations come from?

USDA PLANTS for native ranges, Doug Tallamy's research and the National Wildlife Federation's Native Plant Finder for ecological value, plus Audubon's Plants for Birds database and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center for regional fit.

Are these all native plants?

Yes. Every recommendation is genuinely native to the area associated with your ZIP code.

Why is this bird-driven instead of plant-driven?

Most planners start with your climate zone and give you a generic native plant list. This one starts with the birds you actually want to attract, then filters plants to the ones that support those species.

Plants for Birds in Maryland

Native Maryland plants that genuinely support the birds you want in your yard.

Maryland packs every Atlantic habitat — from Appalachian forest in the west to barrier islands at Assateague — into a small state. The Chesapeake Bay holds the East Coast's largest waterfowl wintering grounds. Baltimore Orioles — the state bird — flash through suburban backyards every spring. And the Eastern Shore hosts breeding warblers from May through August.

Native Maryland plants do work that lawn grass and big-box ornamentals can't. They host the caterpillars and insects that 96% of Maryland songbirds rely on to feed their chicks. Oaks, sweetgums, hollies, dogwoods, and the wildflowers of the Piedmont and Chesapeake watershed are still the plants Maryland's birds depend on.

Enter your Maryland ZIP code in the tool below. The planner will filter every plant in our database to the ones genuinely native to your part of Maryland — Allegheny, Piedmont, Coastal Plain, or Eastern Shore — and useful for the birds you actually want. Pick the species — Baltimore Orioles, Carolina Wrens, hummingbirds, or all of them — and we'll give you a plant list that does the work.

Native Maryland plants that genuinely support birds

A few of the most useful native Maryland plants for birds:

White Oak (Quercus alba) — Maryland's state tree. Hosts hundreds of caterpillar species; acorns for many birds.
Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) — Spring blooms then fall berries pulled in by waxwings, robins, thrushes.
American Holly (Ilex opaca) — Bright winter berries for robins, waxwings, mockingbirds.
Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) — Year-round cover; winter berries for waxwings, bluebirds.
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) — Red autumn berries for migrating Wood Thrushes and Veeries.
Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) — Summer fruit for waxwings, Catbirds, thrushes.
Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea) — Spring nectar, summer fruit for waxwings, Catbirds, robins.
Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera) — Coastal native. Waxy berries feed Yellow-rumped Warblers through winter.
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) — A hummingbird favorite along streams.
Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) — Summer nectar for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and pollinators.
Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium fistulosum) — Late-summer pollinator favorite; seeds for finches.
Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) — Coastal-plain native. Fragrant blooms; seeds for towhees and waxwings.

This is a state-wide overview. For a list tailored to your garden:

Enter your Maryland ZIP and pick the birds you actually want. The planner filters every plant in our database down to the ones native to your part of Maryland and genuinely useful for your birds.

What's your ZIP code?

We'll show you native plants that are genuinely native to your area and rank them by which birds they support.

US ZIP code

Free. No email. We'll filter every plant in the database to those actually native to your state and suited to your USDA zone.

Better With Birds

Shop the birds you love

If you're already this excited about Maryland birds, you're going to like the apparel, prints, and stickers we've designed around them.

Baltimore Orioles, Carolina Wrens, Northern Cardinals, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds — all illustrated and designed by Jaymi at Better With Birds. Made-to-order, never mass-printed.