Can We “Out Nature” Mother Nature in Our Gardens?

Arizona Garden (c) 2009 Carole A. Brown

I am honored to be host today for an article from Carole Brown, otherwise known as The Conservation Gardener. Carole Brown is a Conservation Biologist with a passion for Ecosystem Gardening–giving a little back to wildlife by creating welcoming habitats for them in our gardens, gardening sustainably, and conserving natural resources. I am a frequent visitor to Carole’s blog Conservation Gardening where I learn about birds, bugs and the native plants which support them. I thoroughly recommend Carole’s work.

How come the natural areas I visit seem to be all grass and trees and not many flowers?

I’ve been asked whether active nature gardening can produce a greater diversity of plants and wildlife than a similar sized natural area, or to put it a different way, how come the natural areas I visit seem to be all grass and trees and not many flowers?

Let’s look at the state of natural areas first.

There is very little land in this country that has not been impacted by human action in some way. We have chopped wild areas into smaller and smaller pieces with our constant development and resource extraction.

Because of this, what we now think of as “natural” areas are really areas in recovery. They are going through the process of succession from farmland to forest or prairie. And many of these areas are pretty far from “natural.”

Most of them have become over-run with invasive plants which out-compete native plants. Native plants are a necessity for the survival of wildlife. So, more invasive plants means less wildlife. This argument for using native plants has been best expressed by Doug Tallamy in Bringing Nature Home, and I strongly urge every homeowner and gardener to read this book. It’s really important! (I, Alison, second Carole’s recommendation. This is one of the most enlightening books about nature I’ve ever read).

Many natural areas are also subject to “multiple use” clauses which means they may also be used for logging, mineral extraction, hunting, fishing, and recreation, such as boating, snowmobiling, and ATV use. These activities aren’t usually compatible with protecting the needs of wildlife.

For these reasons, most of our natural areas have much less diversity than one would expect.

The role of our gardens

The status of our wild areas gives us as gardeners and homeowners a great opportunity, and also a great responsibility. We can choose to create welcoming habitats for wildlife in our gardens. We can choose to eradicate all invasive plants from our landscapes. We can create beautiful gardens for our own enjoyment that also provide much-needed habitats for wildlife in a vast sea of development.

Our gardens can become an oasis in the desert for our local wildlife, including birds, butterflies, pollinators and other insects, reptiles and amphibians, and mammals who will disappear from our country unless we create more habitat for them.

We can accomplish this in our gardens by planting a wide variety of plants that bloom at each season, and are locally native and appropriate for the conditions in our gardens. Here are some other suggestions:

• Start by choosing early spring flowering ephemerals to start the season off. Choose as many species as you have room for, and plant several of each kind.
• Plant a wide variety of wildflowers that will bloom throughout the summer. These will attract native pollinators and butterflies.
• Butterflies also need to have specific host plants because each species of butterfly will only lay its eggs on particular plants. Check a field guide to see which butterflies you can expect in your area and which plants they need as a host plant.
• Choose several species of late summer through late fall flowering plants. These are very important to help fall migrants on their journey south.
• Be sure to include fruiting shrubs with berries that persist through the winter. These fruits may mean the difference in survival for migrating and over-wintering birds
• Tell your neighbors what you are doing and enlist them to create habitats for wildlife in their gardens, too. The more people who choose to create gardens to support wildlife, the better.
• Join your local native plant society. Many plants are disappearing from our landscapes because we have destroyed their habitats.

When all of us choose to become stewards of our land to help wildlife, we can make a big difference. Happy planting! What are you doing to help wildlife in your garden?

Related posts:

1. Natives vs Invasives
2. Nine Reasons to Nature Garden
3. Bringing Nature Home