Fading Flower Is For The Birds

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - As summer wears out and plants go to seed, you may not think the browning flowers on your Echinacea plants are very pretty, but lots of birds sure find them attractive. Echinacea purpurea are daisy-shaped flowers that bloom on tall stems in various shades from pink to purples to oranges to tomato red. Also called 'purple coneflowers,' these native plants are easy to grow, they like lots of sun and are very drought tolerant - helpful in hot summers like this one.

By August, as their flowers are finished, the center of each becomes a big brown knob - a bit boring and ugly to us maybe, but the birds love them because they're full of seeds. If you plant a patch of Echinacea, beautiful finches and other birds will be drawn to your garden to feast on them - it's nature's free bird feeder - and you can just sit back and watch as lovely goldfinches bring new life and color to your fading flowerbed.

Reported By Phran Novelli, KYW Newsradio