Attracting backyard birds.

Dealing with drought.

Using soil soup. Mulch. The newest in planters.

Here are tips for making the most of spring and summer gardening.

Water-wise gardening

You'll hear this term a lot if the Northwest drought continues between June and September. Summer is usually relatively dry, but this year's water supply may be significantly decreased, says Pam Sinclair, a perennials buyer for Emery's Garden in the Lynnwood area.

Water conservation is an environmentally responsible approach to gardening overall, she says, and many plants have low water requirements. Examples include sword ferns, red-twig dogwoods, most conifers, vine maples and Mediterranean plants such as lavender and rosemary. Also good are black-eyed Susans, hellebores, ground covers, rock roses and ornamental grasses.

Check with a garden store and ask for "drought-tolerant" or "xeric" plants, those that don't require much water. Sinclair will be part of a weekend of free water-wise-gardening classes at Emery's in May; the times and dates have yet to be announced.

Container gardening

Lighter-weight materials for pots include hypertufa (peat moss, portland cement and perlite) and the newest: zinc and galvanized aluminum, which provide a sleek and modern look.

Anything can be planted in a container, Sinclair says. Gardeners can feature one plant or a combination of colors, textures and forms.

"I've seen the most amazing thing in containers," Sinclair said. "A plant that is beautiful in a container is New Zealand flax. It's a very bold, architectural-looking plant, and it comes in a lot of colors."

Mulching

Organic matter put over the top of the soil surface — compost, bark, pine straw, even grass clippings — helps retard weeds, provides nutrients, holds moisture in the soil and slows evaporation.

Fertilizing

Supplements encourage growth, and fall is a better time to apply them, except for starter fertilizers, which encourage deep-root development, Sinclair says.

Soil soup — an aerobic compost tea used within 24 hours of purchase — has microorganisms that encourage root systems.

Backyard habitats

One of the best ways to attract birds and wildlife is with water. Next to food, it's the primary thing they're looking for, says Bill Fredricks, who owns the Wild Bird Center, a Lynnwood shop, with his wife, Deborah.

"In winter, they still need to drink water," he said. "Having misters, drippers, running fountains and birdbaths is important."

It's important to feed birds year-round for different reasons.

"In the spring, the mommas need extra food to build their nests and eggs, so it's important to have good sources of food and water," Deborah Fredricks said. "In the fall, birds are building up fat to last through the winter. And in winter, it's survival."

High-quality foods help birds recuperate from taking care of their young, and in fall and winter, suet is important because it's high in calories and fat. Fredricks says good bird-attracting plants include columbines, butterfly bushes, fuschias, lavenders, sages, honeysuckles, sunflowers, wild azaleas, dogwoods, silverberries, salmonberries and chokeberries.

Cedar waxwings are particularly fond of blueberries, she says, and towhees like Oregon grapes.

"It's good to have some conifers," she said. "Birds like chickadees, nuthatches and woodpeckers like the seeds of the conifers."

Diane Wright: dwright@seattletimes.com or 425-745-7815