Attracting Wildlife With Your Landscape – Your backyard can be a miniature wildlife sanctuary, attracting a wide variety of birds and wild animals. To be a haven for wildlife, your yard must provide the animals’ basic needs: shelter, water, and food throughout all four seasons. The key to success is providing all the elements in the appropriate arrangement. Below are ways to improve existing areas on your property such as gardens, lawns, and natural areas. Contact our horticulture consultants at Tanya for additional advice.
Plant native plants – These plants provide a natural food source and shelter for birds, small mammals, butterflies, and beneficial insects. Native plants offer ornamental value and adapt to local environments. Once established, these plants require less water, maintenance, and fewer chemicals. Include a variety of evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs, ground covers, vines, grasses, and herbaceous perennials in your garden. Some good choices include American holly, serviceberry, persimmon, and oak species.
Attracting Wildlife With Your Landscape
Consider replacing part of your lawn (Grass Alternatives) – Grass provides little support for wildlife. Plant islands (groups) of native vegetation. Connect plant islands close to each other to reduce open space that animals must pass through to find food or rest. Include a mix of evergreen and deciduous trees of varying heights, surrounded by shrubs, ground covers and perennials. Plant diversity attracts a diversity of wildlife. Consider native plants first, but it’s OK to mix them with non-invasive plants.
Inviting Wildlife Into The Garden
Provide water – A backyard pond or stream provides water for wildlife and encourages amphibian reproduction. Provide birdbaths and shallow water containers on the ground in shady areas. Birds also benefit, as do toads, frogs, turtles, spiders and beneficial insects. Rocks placed in the bottom of the container provide a firm footing and allow the insects to drink without drowning. Change the water frequently to prevent mosquitoes.
Create natural areas – Plant a wildflower meadow or pollinator garden to provide food (nectar, seeds) and shelter for birds, butterflies and beneficial insects.
Leave the edges of your lawn unmowed. Insects are attracted to weedy areas that provide food for birds and other wildlife.
Build brush piles to provide shelter for ground-dwelling birds and small mammals. Pile up prunings from your yard near the edge of a wooded area.
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Leave dead trees (snags) standing in wooded areas unless they pose a danger. Old trees can provide homes for woodpeckers and other cavity-nesting birds. Insects in the wood provide food.
Create a vertical habitat – Plant climbing plants on arbors and fences. Native trumpet honeysuckle and annual climbers such as red bean and cardinal climber are nectar sources for hummingbirds.
Small spaces – Plant window boxes and containers on decks and balconies with a mix of shrubs, annuals, perennials and herbs to attract butterflies, bees and hummingbirds.
Plant a butterfly garden – Butterflies add beauty and help pollinate flowering plants. Various nectar plants for adult butterflies and host (food) plants for caterpillars will attract their attention. Milkweed species are popular nectar plants and hosts for Monarch butterflies. For more information on butterfly gardening, nectar and host plant choices, and a list of local butterflies, see the Washington Area Butterfly Club.
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Attracts pollinators and beneficial insects – Many beneficial insects such as flower flies and parasitic wasps prey on garden pests. Grow plants that provide food and shelter.
Plant a variety of flowering annuals and perennials that will bloom throughout the growing season. Good choices are plants from the following families: daisies (marigolds, asters, daisies, mums), carrots (dill, fennel, anise, yarrow, parsley), and mint (all mint and thyme).
Provides food for bees – Due to insects and disease, honey bee populations have declined and native bees such as bumblebees, miner bees and sweat bees help with pollination. Bees collect pollen and drink nectar. Plant native trees, shrubs, and flowers that bloom throughout the season to support bees. Some plants that attract bees include Blackeyed Susan, goldenrod, New England aster, buttonbush, blueberries, milkweed, black gum, and serviceberry. Many of the above plants provide seeds and attractive nesting sites for birds and other wildlife.
Install a Bat House – Bats eat a variety of insect pests including mosquitoes. Bats prefer open areas and nearby water sources such as ponds, rivers or streams. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources provides information about bat habitat and bat house construction.
Attracting Wildlife To Your Backyard
Birds – To attract birds to your backyard, try recreating layers of native vegetation found in woodland environments. Plant tall trees, understory trees, shrubs, and ground cover plants in groups. Include a variety of deciduous and evergreen species. Greenery planted in groups provides protection from the wind during the winter. The diverse plant layers provide food and habitat for many types of birds and wildlife.
Plant food for birds. Choose a variety of native trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, and perennials that produce edible fruit, seeds, and nuts year-round. Some good choices include: Evergreen trees such as spruce, eastern red cedar, and American holly; summer-fruiting plants such as serviceberry, blueberry, elderberry, raspberry, and choke cherry; fall-fruiting plants such as winterberries, and persimmons; and winter-hardy fruits such as crabapple, sumac, and American cranberry bush viburnum. Oak trees produce acorns and perennials, while grasses provide seeds that are eaten by many birds.
Insects make their homes in native plants and provide food for birds. Sweep some leaf litter under shrubs and trees to provide a home for insects and food for ground-feeding birds.
Provide a water source for birds. You can use birdbaths, plates, shallow basins, and trash can lids on the ground under large plants. Place some rocks in a container, if it is plastic, it should have a foothold on it. Keep it clean and fill it with clean water, Change it often to prevent mosquitoes.
Planning A Wildlife Garden Design
Install birdhouses (nest boxes) in your yard to encourage nesting. You can watch birds raising their chicks. Make sure your yard provides the right habitat. Some types of birds that use bird cages (nest boxes) are Bluebirds, Purple Martins, Tree swallows, and wrens.
Clean and inspect bird cages in your yard to ensure they are in good condition for the breeding season.
Feeding birds – Supplement natural bird food with purchased seeds, suet, etc. Winter through early spring is a popular time to feed when natural food sources are less available. Birds can be fed all year round. It’s okay to stop breastfeeding for a short time or permanently. Birds have evolved to adapt to different types of food sources. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a great resource for feeding birds. Wild bird sheds are also good sources of information, feed and seed. Make sure to keep all feeders clean.
Hummingbird – The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is the only species of hummingbird found in Maryland. Their diet consists of small insects, spiders, tree sap, and nectar. Many plants are pollinated by hummingbirds. Plant a variety of trees, shrubs, vines, and flowers that bloom from mid-April throughout the summer to attract hummingbirds. They love tubular flowers that come in orange, red, and pink. Some good sources of nectar are: azalea, coralberry, rose of Sharon, bee balm, columbine, cardinal flower, trumpet creeper, and tulip poplar.
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Provide nectar to supplement the hummingbird’s natural diet. Place your feeder in a shady area to delay nectar spoilage on hot summer days. To make nectar, add one part sugar to four parts boiling water and stir. Let it cool. You may need to change the nectar every 3-4 days and more frequently during the summer. The fermented liquid can harm hummingbirds. Clean the feed bin before refilling. A backyard oasis for wildlife uses native plants and other features such as water or feeders to provide for the wildlife’s needs from their habitat. Click here to learn more about this backyard landscape or download our article on Attracting Birds to Your Yard.
Attracting wildlife to your backyard is easy by providing them with what they need: Habitat. Habitat consists of four factors: 1) food, 2) water, 3) shelter, and 4) space. Each of these factors is important for good habitat and varies by wildlife species and season. To ensure the greatest diversity of wildlife species, provide your yard with the greatest variety of food, shelter, and protection by providing a variety of plants, feeders, and homes.
Natural food sources can include flowers, seeds, fruits, berries, and insects that contain nectar. Planting a variety of herbaceous plants, shrubs and trees provides species diversity and structural diversity. This ensures a wide variety of insects and other food sources.
To observe wildlife up close, you may want to provide additional food, especially in the winter months. Different types of feeders at different levels and locations, filled with different types of food (e.g. sugar water and insect larvae in summer) attract the widest diversity of species. Visit our Feeding Wildlife page for more information on attracting wildlife by feeding.
The Birds And The Bees. Quick Tips For Attracting Wildlife To Your Garden. — Eco Balance Landscaping Ballito
All animals need protection to shelter, roost, and raise you. Some species require more special protection than others. Plant trees and shrubs for nesting birds, and add evergreen trees for protection from winter storms and winds. Dead and fallen logs are important to more than 50 species of Iowa wildlife. If not available on your property, you can provide housing built for multiple species. Our wildlife woodworking page has a simple design