wildlife gardens
today’s focus is on wildlife gardens
What are wildlife gardens? Simply put, it is a garden that benefits the wildlife of the area in which you live. Ideally it is a garden where animals can visit, live, and reproduce without being exposed to harms such as pesticides and traps. A wildlife garden provides a safe haven for wildlife and a retreat for humans. It should reflect the native habitats surrounding it and be alive with animals.
Where to start? First of all, take a look at your existing landscape and look for signs of wildlife. Do you often see birds, insects, mammals and reptiles in the yard? Are there certain places you see them more often? Do your plantings include natives? Home landscapes often include numerous non-native plant species. Often times the plants have aesthetic value to humans, but do not provide animals with food or shelter. Try including some natives in your yard and invite the wildlife in. Select native plants that produce berries, nuts, seeds and or nectar, and evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs. A water source such as a birdbath or a small pond will draw animals into your garden. Rock walls, wood stacks and brush piles provide refuge for amphibians, birds, insects and small mammals. Fallen limbs and decomposing leaves provide moist places for salamanders.
If you use pesticides, discontinue their use and prevent pests with organic and biological controls. If you absolutely insist on using pesticides, first correctly identify the pest and use a pesticide specific to that pest. Non-selective insecticides such as Sevin will kill every insect - wanted or unwanted. Apply the pesticide at the labeled rate and apply early in the morning when the wind is minimal and insects such as bees are not present. Sprays are less persistent than powders and granules and are less rub off onto to wildlife. However, your best pest control is a garden in balance, where the pests get eaten by their predators.
If your yard is a high maintenance, manicured landscape, leave an area that doesn't conflict with your aesthetics alone and see what grows and what wanders in. An easy and inexpensive method for creating a hedgerow on your property is to set metal or wooden fence posts every ten feet and run rope along the top of posts. Birds will perch on the posts and rope, depositing seeds onto the ground beneath them, which in time, will create a thick evergreen fence. If you live near a farm that has livestock, look at the fence lines and you will see these bird-created hedges. Dead trees can pose a danger if they are near power lines, building structures or drive/walkways. But if you have a dead tree (snag) in an area where it will not cause harm if it falls, leave it standing. Woodpeckers, bluebirds, owls, squirrels, bats, beetles, and fungi (to name a few), will happily live within the snag.
