Gardening for Wildlife (and Key Features for a Wildlife Garden)

This is the year our landscape will come together and become a safe haven for wildlife of all sorts -- not to mention a relaxation haven for my husband and I along with our dogs. Growing up in rural settings, I'm used to coyotes, opossums, raccoons, groundhogs and deer running around the edges of the property. While I'm not happy in the city, I am content with knowing I can still provide a habitat for smaller wild animals, birds and arthropods in my yard.

My lonely birdbath, cottonwood tree and some of our euonymus. This will
look greatly different (hopefully) by the fall of 2012

While my favorite plant is Russian sage, I'm going to stick with the five I have and not buy any more. There are plenty of native species that will complement the feathery-soft silver foliage and lavender-esque flowers.

My plan is to get a couple of low-growing native shrubs for cover. Maybe a few native junipers will do this for me, and a couple of honeysuckle bushes. I have this grand idea that trumpet flowers or native honeysuckle vines would look gorgeous growing up the exterior chimney and one spot on the back of the house. I might just go crazy with some native coneflowers. Coneflowers are excellent food sources and provide a bounty of color.


I'm also going to make quite a few birdhouses this year as well. I miss my birds. I hate to say it, but with money being tight, bird seed was one of the first things to get cut off our shopping list. This year, that changes. I always joked that I kept the bird feeders full to keep the hawks happy. This was only partially full, as I'm well aware of the dynamics of the urban ecosystem I live in. Keeping the bird feeders full attracts birds to our yard, helps them keep my insect populations down and yes, keeps the hawks happy as they routinely pick off birds from the feeders.

I also want to make a squirrel agility course. Squirrels we have, so why not get a little more entertainment out of them?

So what are some of the key features of a garden designed for wildlife? Here they are, in no particular oder:

• Cover. Cover = shelter and home space for various creatures. Birds prefer dense shrubs, small mammals prefer rock piles, low-growing shrubs and dense foliage. We have lots of rocks from our landscaping, but I plan on finding some larger ones to build an aesthetically pleasing, functional shelter place for small mammals. We also keep a rack of firewood that is ideal for different creatures.
• Food. Everybody needs to eat to remain happy. Sadly, there's not a lot of food for my creatures. Several birds eat the cottonwood fruit, but that's about all I've got. The coneflowers will add greatly to this, and so will my honeysuckle, trumpet vines and others I've got in the plan.
• Water. We have a birdbath that is frequently used by both birds and squirrels. I want a few more, and maybe another water feature like a fountain or small pond. Money's at a premium, so we'll have to review our options here.
• Diversity. To keep everyone happy, we'll need to have a bit of diversity to keep the food chain going strong. We plan on a butterfly garden, complete with watering stone, a hummingbird garden and the bigger, denser vegetation listed above under "Cover."
• Man-made shelter. This isn't a requirement for a wildlife garden, but it helps. As I mentioned above, I plan on building several birdhouses this year to give different birds their space to raise their young. I am going to start studying the various species I have in my yard to make sure I have the right dimensions for their new home.

For more information on gardening for wildlife, visit the National Wildlife Federation's "Garden for Wildlife" page.