Creating your own garden oasis can help ease the stress of modern day city living, especially in a city growing as fast as Seattle.  But if you are like many of the people who love the outdoors, you may also love the sounds of a bird’s song and want to invite that into your garden space more permanently.  Birds use garden plants all season long for feeding, bathing, sleeping and raising their young.  Many northwest plants are great assets to gardening and boast spring flowers, beautiful foliage, and summer fruit and seeds with winter color to add contrast to the gray.  If you want to transform your garden into an avian oasis, provide food, shelter, and water for the birds who may become permanent inhabitants of your space.  By adding water and changing it every few days, you will avoid mosquitoes and avoid algal growth.  Adding a rough surface at the bottom of the feeder helps small birds stay firmly upright and helps the grip while they enjoy the bath.  Having the water at a shallow height can also help attract birds of all sizes.  If you have a larger garden, adding features like a pond or waterfall can keep the water in motion to keep it clean while creating welcoming spaces for birds.  Native plants are great food sources for birds since there are so many species that have inhabited the area far longer than our ancestors.  Avoid pesticides at all costs since it is harmful to both birds and insects.  In creating a perfect garden you may also need to choose native plants according to your aesthetic sensibility.  Northwest plants are hearty and more drought resistant than most varieties in addition.  Plants that produce fruit or seed and harbor insects that birds like to eat are key to a bird friendly garden.  As the city grows, having a refuge is key to maintaining a calm state of mind.  As writer Loouisa thomsen Brits wrote: “…the art of building sanctuary and community, of inviting closeness and paying attention to what makes us feel open hearted and alive… In our overstretched, complex, modern lives, hygge is a resourceful, tangible way to find deep connection to our families, our communities, our children, our homes and our earth.”