More ideas about how to create your Backyard Wildlife Habitat
What kinds of wildlife do you want to attract?
I live in a urban-suburban residential area adjacent to Syracuse, NY. I feel most comfortable attracting birds, insects such as bees, dragonflies and butterflies as well as some small animals like chipmunks, frogs, and toads. This is not only probably the most appropriate choices for my residential area, they also happen to be the creatures I'm most naturally interested in. (There will be squirrels and occasional rabbits, skunks and raccoons regardless of anything I do.)
Once you decide what you want to attract, it will help you in your overall planning.
Select suitable plants
Native plants have lots of advantages, but it's hard to get information about what is native for your area. Here's some information and resources on native plants as well as some suggestions based on my current (always incomplete, but growing) state of knowledge about plants for Central New York.
Be aware that many plants are poisonous
One thing you will want to consider - especially if you have young children in the area - is that many plants have poisonous parts. This could be the seeds or berries, the leaves, the roots, or anything else. In fact, some fairly common plants are poisonous. Most surprising is that some fruits and vegetables are poisonous until they are processed in some way. I learned this the hard way: I gave my 3-year-old some nice fresh lima beans to eat from our garden one year, and when I started to prepare the rest for dinner, the cookbook noted that fresh lima beans are poisonous until cooked! (Syrup of ipecac to the rescue!) Last summer, I decided to sample the elderberries, which I had actually planted for the birds. When I was reading some recipes, I found that these, too, are poisonous until cooked. (I had eaten only one and survived.)
Of course, the most important thing is to teach children early and often that plants can be poisonous and are not to be eaten unless an adult says it's okay.
Offer other things in your habitat besides plants
Add some log piles, stone piles and brush piles. Most of all, don't tidy up your yard so much! (Don't you wish someone would tell you this about the inside of your house?) Leave some leaf litter and dead plant stalks. They're great places for insects, which are an important source of food for birds and other creatures.
Water features
In 2002, I finally added a waterfall, stream and pond. The previous fall I had written, "The most important thing will be the stream since I'm not interested in stocking the pond with fish or growing many plants." To my surprise, I've found that now that we've built our pond, I've become really interested in growing a variety of aquatic plants ... and I really love our little fish!
UPDATE: Since I wrote the above paragraph, I've discovered that fish may not be the best thing for other water creatures such as dragonfly nymphs or tadpoles. Our Aquascape pond kit considered fish to be an important part of the whole pond ecosystem, so we left them in (and we do still enjoy them.) Our solution was to build an additional wildlife pond with no pump and no fish and which has a sloping beach.
Budget
There are many ways to economize. Here's what I've done:
I've started many perennials from seed. Some perennials are surprisingly easy to start from seed. I've had good luck with gloriosa daisies, monarda (beebalm), penstemon, butterfly weed (asclepias - 3 varieties) and others. For pricey perennials I've really wanted, I've been content to buy just one and patiently divide it year after year, sometimes dividing one plant into as many as four sections. After just a few years, you'll have be giving the extras away. Sometimes, as with my coneflowers and some others, just one plant produces seeds so freely that you'll soon have dozens.
If you wait until late October or early November, bushes and perennials go on sale - commonly at 50% off or sometimes at 75% off. I can't resist these sales, and I've had good luck with them surviving and thriving - even when they've started out looking pretty bedraggled. (One danger is that I have given into the temptation to buy plants without adequate research and found that it wasn't a desirable choice.)
Do the work yourself. Not the easiest or fastest way, but definitely the cheapest. Another advantage is that you can do it the way you want. If you're trying to create a natural landscaping look in your yard, chances are that most people you could hire won't really understand what you want anyway. Most are still into digging a kidney-shaped mound in the front yard and then using the Chinese menu approach to landscaping: one bush from column A, one from column B, and one from column C, all surrounded by a (usually red) bark mulch. They'll generally add a big boulder as well. If you look around at most of your neighbor's properties, you'll see what I mean! I'd rather do it my way.
Respect your neighbors
Everyone isn't ready for "the natural look." Rather than confront, let your yard evolve. I especially try to keep neat borders around my planting beds, and I save the most familiar and most ornamental flowers for the areas most visible to the public. Share your enthusiasm and reasons for doing what you're doing with your neighbors. Point out some of the more interesting birds or butterflies when you see them.
Above all, if you're in a neighborhood setting like mine don't just stop taking care of your property (or have it look like you've just stopped) and let it go wild. Think of your long-term goals - they'll be much easier to achieve if you don't have to confront angry neighbors along the way! As people become comfortable with your new approach to landscaping, they may see the advantages and start changing their yards as well.
