is your backyard…

Is Your Backyard…WILDLIFE FRIENDLY?

What would you like in your yard?

Singing birds

Splashing fish

Fluttering butterflies

Butterflies, birds, fish, and moreAll these add sensory sparkle to

any size garden be it your back yard, front yard, or even

a balcony.

Wildlife quickly arrives when…

• Food• Water• Shelter

are available.

You’ve heard, “Build it and they will come…”

When you keep wildlife in mind

Even • balcony/patio gardens• raised beds or containers just

outside the door• curbside beds

will lure local critters when they are designed with wildlife in mind.You don’t have to have a

large area!!

Checklist according to

National Wildlife Federation Backyard Wildlife Habitat

•Food•Water•Cover•Places To Raise Young

Certified Wildlife Habitat

By 2006, more than 74,000 yards, schools, and communities had been certified, including more than 12,000 in the last six months. Each of them can feel good that they have done something special for wildlife by providing the four elements animals need to survive – food, water, cover, and places to raise young.

How to certify:

Go to:http://www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife/

You can print out a form to certify a wildlife friendly space in your yard or anywhere in your community.

NWF will make suggestions to help you fill out the forms or to help you meet the requirements.

• If your habitat meets the requirements, you'll receive a personalized certificate suitable for framing and become a member of the National Wildlife Federation (a $15 value), receiving our award-winning National Wildlife magazine. For questions call 1-800-822-9919.

Why apply for certification?

Although, there is a $15.00 application and processing fee, you become a member of National Wildlife Federation and receive their magazine National Wildlife and a quarterly newsletter called Habitats, providing you with a steady supply of tips and projects to maintain your Backyard Wildlife Habitat site year after year.

Other reasons…It’s fun You'll attract beautiful

songbirds, cheerful butterflies and other interesting wildlife to your yard. Watching wildlife can be fun for the whole family.

It’s relaxingThe natural environment of your habitat will provide a peaceful place to relieve stress and unwind, day or night.

It makes your yard more attractive.

Replacing barren lawns with beautiful wildflowers and other native plants will increase the appeal of your property and will provide a nurturing place for wildlife.

It nurtures and supports wildlife

ALL YEAR!!

Habitat restoration is critical for wildlife where commercial and residential development has eliminated most natural areas. Wildlife especially need your help during the cold winter months.

And… It benefits the environment!

Gardening practices that help wildlife, like reducing chemicals and conserving water, also help to improve air, water and soil quality throughout your neighborhood.

History of the Wildlife Habitat Program

This is not a new program!! It has just become more and more popular and accepted.

This was the American Dream…having a huge lawn

• By the middle of the last century, human population booms and economic prosperity led to the spread of suburban development into once rural or wild areas. At the same time that the trend in landscaping began to favor close-cropped lawns, exotic ornamental specimen plants, and a desire for neatness and uniformity, new chemical fertilizers and pesticides were rapidly becoming available that made an insect-free, perpetually green yard an obtainable goal.

Unfortunately we still have that…

It started back in 1973!!• the National Wildlife Federation (NWF)

ran an article in the April 1973 issue of National Wildlife magazine encouraging people to landscape and garden in a more sustainable, natural way, with wildlife in mind. Response to the article was so overwhelming that NWF began the Backyard Wildlife Habitat program that same year to educate people about the benefits, for both people and wildlife, of creating and restoring natural landscapes. Since that time, the practice of natural landscaping has grown in popularity.

Food??

• What do you do to provide food for wildlife?

FoodServe up a smorgasbord of wildlife-minded plants. Berry- laden trees or shrubs, such Barbados Cherry or Duranta, supply a juicy feast for songbirds. Also supply a mix of seed bearing flowers in plantings. Nectar laden blooms romance bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

Bringing life to your garden

http://www.abnativeplants.com/

The American Beauties™ collection of native plants makes it easy to use trees, shrubs, vines, grasses and wildflowers that are beautiful and good for wildlife. Native plant experts and wildlife experts have teamed up to create four gardens guaranteed to bring life to your landscape by providing food and habitat for a variety of desirable critters.

Why Choose Native Plants?

Native plants provide the best source of food and cover for wildlife and are ideally suited to the soils and climate they evolved in. Because of this, they generally require minimal fertilizer, little supplemental water after they are established and no pest control.

Please check out Andy and Sally Wasowski’s information

http://www.botanicalmissionaries.com/index.htm

The Bird GardenThe plants in this collection provide seeds, berries, nesting places and cover for all kinds of songbirds. Plus, there are lots of plants in this collection that provide interest four seasons of the year.

Great web site for birding in TEXAS:http://www.passporttotexas.com/birds/links.html

Switchgrass Panicum virgatum

Sisyrinchium angustifolium

• Blue-eyed GrassCardinals, song sparrows, house finches and other songbirds eat the seed.

Aster oblongifolius

• Fall AsterNot only is the Aster beautiful, wild turkey and other game birds eat the seeds and foliage in the winter. It is also a nectar source for butterflies and bees.

Aquilegia ‘Blazing Star’ Columbine

Cross between native A. canadensis and A. chrysantha hinckleyana. Attracts hummingbirds.

Echinachea purpurea-Cone Flower

Lobelia cardinalis Cardinal Flower

Grows easily in wet soil

Plant in sun to moderate shade

Lonicera sempervirens

TrumpetHoneysuckle

Coral Honeysuckle

Birdhouse with Coral Honeysuckle

The butterfly gardenMany of these plants supply nectar as well as serving as the host plant for butterfly and insect visitors.

Aristolochia macrophylla

• Dutchman’s Pipe

Pipevine Swallowtail

Asclepias tuberosa

Butterflyweed

Not native to Texas…but?

Asclepias currassivica

Tropical Milkweed

Another tropical milkweed

Selecting hosts plants will bring…

Monarch on Mexican Flame Vine

Asclepias incarnata

SwampMilkweed

Smells like vanilla

Others to mention

• Eupatorium greggii Gregg’s MIST

• Buddleja davidii (Buddleia)• Plant alongside pentas (Pentas

lanceolata), lantana (Lantana camara) and zinnias Zinnia elegans) for non-stop butterfly activity, and find a place nearby for parsley (Petroselinum crispum), passion vine (Passiflora incarnata) and other butterfly larval food plants.

Nice photo of pentas

New Gold Lantana is a great

Native Lantana

Check out the caterpillar on vine

And one of my favorites…

Recipe for a Butterfly Banquet

Plant a window box or raised bed and cram it full of these winner!

A. Lantana camaraB. VerbenaC. PentasD. Creeeping zinnia SanvitaliaE. Bachelor’s Buttons –GomphrenaF. Zinnia ‘profusion’ whiteG. MarigoldH. Calibrachoa-Million BellsI. Gaura lindheimeriJ. Extra triple curled parsley

Window box…

WaterA steady water supply rolls out the welcome mat. Consider a large pond, or simply install a fountain or birdbath. The sound of trickling water proves irresistible to birds and will draw more species to your yard.

Birdbaths• Recommended that you change the

water every other day to keep fresh and keep mosquitos away.

• Clean thoroughly with wire brush when and vinegar in water. Using bleach can harm the environment.

Ponds and Water Gardens

• Ponds can bring in the birds, frogs, fish, dragonflies, and YES, snakes.

FrogsIf you want to attract frogs, leave fish out of your pond because they eat frog eggs and tadpoles. You might be able to have fish and frogs if you make lots of hiding places for frogs using leafy branches. These provide cover as well as nutrients. Piles of rocks, emerging as islands, and vegetation also give frogs and dragonflies a place to perch. Don't make the sides too steep. Make sure you provide a sloped or stepped escape route for frogs or other animals if they fall in.

Toad Abode Anyone?

Toad Abodes provide cover

To make one, get a medium-size clay pot and saucer. Put the saucer on the ground and keep it filled with water. Nearby, put the pot upside-down with an edge resting on a rock. That makes room for a toad to fit through and hide inside. (If you have a broken pot with a chunk missing at the rim, you have an abode with an instant doorway - no need to prop it up.)

Fancy Toad Abode

Cover• Hedgerows and dense plants such

as Trumpet Vine (Campsis radicans) and Hawthorn, provide shelter from predators and the elements. Native plants, which thrive without much attention, offer excellent cover for birds, insects, and other critters.

Brush piles could be a NO NO?

• Consider creating a brush pile in a corner of your yard to give creatures a safe retreat.

Head for cover

Wildlife need a place to hide in order to feel safe in your yard. They also need a more long-term shelter to raise their young.

Easiest way to provide cover…

Use existing vegetation, dead and alive. Many shrubs provide great hiding places within their bushy leaves, and dead trees are home to lots of different wildlife. You can also construct hiding places using logs, brush or rocks.

Ponds are the perfect cover

• If you have a pond you are providing cover for many water dwellers.

Places to Raise Young• Shrubs and trees offer suitable

spots for tending and raising young. Even the thick tangles of a perennial pea vine carefully conceal nesting birds. Include bird houses to entice nesting pairs to raise a brood under your watchful eye.

Nesting boxes for birds

Another popular way to provide cover is to put up a nesting box for birds to raise their young.

Depending on what types of birds come to your area, you would provide the right kind of nesting box.

Basic features of nesting boxes• Constructed of natural untreated wood (pine, cedar, or

fir)

• Lumber for walls that is at least ¾ of an inch thick to provide insulation

• An entrance hole of the appropriate size to allow desired birds to enter but keep larger birds out

• An entrance that is the correct distance from the floor to accommodate the nest

• An extended and sloped roof to keep the rain out

Basic features continued• A recessed floor and drainage holes to keep the

interior dry

• Rough or grooved interior walls to help fledglings exit

• Ventilation holes to allow the interior to remain cool

• A side or top panel that opens to allow easy access for monitoring and cleaning

• No outside perches, which aid predators and other harassing birds

Where to place nesting boxes

Do some research for the kind of bird…

Placing the box on a pole with a predator baffle to protect the birds is often more successful. Make sure that the box is attached securely enough to withstand severe weather and winds.

Remember…

Also take into consideration the direction your box is facing and how much direct sun it receives. Many birds will reject boxes that face due west, for example, because the box may stay too hot.

Before placing your box, research habitat, nest height and direction preferences for the species.

Monitor your nesting boxes

• If an invasive bird moves in, you may want to move him out

• If the birds have already left, remove the old nest and you may get 2 or 3 broods per season

Condos for Purple Martins

Gourds for Purple Martins

Homes for Blue Birds

Arbors with vines

• Often arbors with vines will provide safe havens for doves to nest.

Dove nest in jasmine arbor

Best protection for birds nesting

KEEP THE CAT IN THE HOME!If you can’t do that, prevent the bird from ambushing the bird

HERE ARE 3 ways!

3 Ways to Prevent ATTACKS

• Eliminate the cat’s hiding spots in the yard, especially near bath and feeders

• Give the birds a good inspection perch to look for cats. A small tree works. Really special for ground feeders like doves.

• A fence can be a barrier between where the cat usually attacks from.

Bat Houses

• Bats kill many, many mosquitos• They like warm places up high,

but near water• Eliminating forests have

eliminated bat habitats• http://www.batcon.org/bhra/econo

myhouse.html• http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/learnin

g/webcasts/caves/battypes.phtml

Bats in Texas

Gardening in an environmentallyfriendly way!

How you manage your garden or landscape can have an affect on the health of the soil, air, water and habitat for native wildlife - as well as the human community. Following are some sustainable gardening techniques that you can use to help conserve resources.

Mulching

Mulch helps keep water in the soil and available to the plant, rather than evaporating into the air. This can help you reduce your watering time. Also, as mulch breaks down, it provides nutrients to the soil. This can help reduce the need for fertilizer.

XeriscapingXeriscaping is an approach to landscaping that minimizes outdoor water use while maintaining soil integrity through the use of native, drought-tolerant plants.

Rain BarrelsRain barrels are used to collect rainwater for use during dry months. Besides helping the environment, an obvious reason for harvesting rainwater is to save money. Depending on the size of your house and the amount of rainfall in your area, you can collect a substantial amount of rainwater with a simple system.

Rain Barrel at VEG

Rain barrel with pump/recycled

Whiskey Barrel Rain Barrel

Reducing Lawn AreasLawns often require chemicals and if you used a gas-powered lawnmower, the engines in these machines are often very polluting. Since lawns are often made of only a few types of plants, they do not provide a lot of value for wildlife who benefit in ecosystems with diverse plants.

Removing Invasive & Restoring Native Plants

Native plants are better for the environment than exotic plants, generally requiring less fertilizer and other additives, less water, and less effort in pest control. They stabilize soil and reduce erosion; they more effectively filter storm water than exotic plantings, thus improving water quality; and they promote biodiversity.

Tips and Projects for Sustainable Gardening

• Build a compost bin • Organic gardening tips • Cut your lawn in half • Have a chemical-free lawn • Friendly fertilizers • Conserve water in your garden • Cope with drought

• Do NOT:• Use traps to kill moles. Moles don't eat plants, but rather

earthworms - or beetle grubs that can damage lawns. Reduce your lawn instead.

• Do not worry about killing tent caterpillars in a habitat garden. These are native species that typically don't do long-term damage to their host plants, which are limited to cherry, apple and pear species.

• Do not put weeds or diseased plants in your compost pile because the temperature might not be high enough to kill them and then you'll spread them out again.

• Do not introduce ladybugs or other predator bugs. Doing this properly requires a keen knowledge of predator/prey relationships and most of the insects you purchase are non-native.

• Be wary of methods which suggest boiling plant parts or grinding them up in a water solution to use as a spray on vegetables. This spray solution can be very poisonous. For example, boiling rhubarb leaves or soaking tobacco stems in water is apparently practiced by some gardeners. Both of these plants contain extremely toxic poisons and should be dealt with carefully.

Get your Community Involved

It's exciting when you certify your own backyard and it's even more exciting when your whole community joins in!

Play and Observe OutsideGardening for wildlife is a great way to spend time outside. Get more inspiring ideas for ways you and your family and friends can connect with nature.

Enjoy yourself!

And take time to smell the roses

Presentation on Wildlife Habitat

by Nancy KramerVictoria County Master Gardener