If you have a little plot of land around your home, or a patio or a porch, you can make it a habitat for your wildlife neighbors and benefit the environment. In fact, why not replace your lawn with a habitat garden, so you won’t need to use chemical fertilizers and pest control? You can make a habitat garden and make a difference in the health of our planet.
What’s a habitat garden?
Habitat gardens are a form of rewilding. Gardeners create wildlife habitats to provide healthy, balanced ecosystems in which creatures in their area may thrive. These gardens emulate a natural environment that attracts birds, insects, reptiles, mammals, and other lifeforms to feed and reside there. They promote a healthier environment for all by creating environmental equilibrium, biodiversity, natural pest control, native plantings, and a generally healthier Earth. Once established, these gardens take very little maintenance and less water.
“You get used to the overall look of a wild garden, which is very different from a manicured garden. If something does die, you don’t mourn it — there’s not a great big hole left because there’s so much richness, so much variety, so much more life overall.” ~ Sara Stein, author of the classic book Noah’s Garden
Habitat gardens have a dual purpose. They attract wildlife, but they also provide enjoyment for the gardener. There are so many benefits to creating a habitat garden when you practice sustainable gardening – improved water and air, pollination, esthetic pleasure (good for the heart and soul), greater species diversity, healthier ecosystems, and so much more. Using native plants in your garden helps to protect the local watershed, too.
Welcome your wildlife neighbors to your home.
Build it and they will come. Somehow, wildlife knows where to go for the best food and lodging. They will find your garden.
The best habitat gardens offer multiple places for wildlife to nest and hide, such as log piles, bird feeders, bird houses, bug boxes, and bee hotels. These creatures also need a water source, and food from your plantings, like nectar, seeds, and fruit. Plant diversity is important, especially native plants, since they’re best suited for local wildlife and will attract a greater variety of species.
What if I don’t live in a house?
You don’t have to have a plot of land to make a difference. I live in a rental apartment, but I’m blessed to have a large, open porch on the front of my unit. I planted a container garden a few months ago and watched the ecosystem around my porch come alive with bees, butterflies, and birds. If you don’t have a porch or patio and you’re a renter, you can still put a pot of flowers or even tomatoes out on the doorstep. Every little bit counts.
“We stand at a critical moment in Earth’s history, a time when humanity must choose its future. As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and great promise … It is imperative that we, the peoples of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations.” ~The Earth Charter
Plan your habitat garden.
When planning your garden, the first consideration is to do no harm. The second decision is to identify plants that are native to your area. They can include trees, shrubs, berry bushes, perennial flowers – anything that grows naturally in your local environment. They will be the most inviting to your wildlife guests and will thrive without much maintenance. It’s important, too, for you to enjoy the aesthetics of your garden, so think about colors, textures, fragrance, etc. Will this garden bring you pleasure?
There are different types of habitat gardens, including rain gardens (see Channeling a Rain Garden), water gardens, shade gardens, meadow or prairie gardens, and pollinator gardens. The type of garden you choose will be dictated to a certain extent by the region in which you live and by the existing trees and landscaping present on your property.
One of the easiest ways to start a habitat garden is to create a pollinator garden. Pollinators are animals, such as bees, birds, and butterflies that transfer pollen (the sperm of the plant world) from the male parts of a plant to the female parts of a plant of the same species as they gather food for themselves and their family. This activity fertilizes the female plant and begins the formation of seeds, nuts, certain vegetables, or fruit.
The plants you choose will influence the type of species attracted to them. Plants that produce seeds, fruit, or nectar provide food for pollinators, so these are the plants you’ll want to focus on when deciding what to plant. Do some research and decide what kinds of pollinators you’d like in your garden. Identify the native plants that provide food for those species. If you want to attract birds, add a birdbath as a water supply and some shrubs for shelter.
When you promote the health of pollinators, you help to ensure life on our planet. Healthy ecosystems depend on pollinators to propagate the next generation of plants. 80-95% of species of plants in nature need pollinators to reproduce, and plants are the foundation of the food chains on land. Without pollinators, the food supply for humans and all other animals would virtually vanish, because the plants would not be fertilized.
If you live in an urban environment, it’s even more important to build a habitat garden. Wildlife lives in little pockets of wild space all around cities – green deserts. These creatures are there, even if you haven’t seen them. Habitat gardens can help to connect these wild spaces and create a corridor for wildlife to flourish. These places become an urban oasis for creatures who are struggling.
You’ll be a good neighbor and part of the solution for a better life for all creatures when you create a space in which wildlife can thrive. It will benefit you, too, with a more balanced and healthier environment for yourself and your loved ones. While you’re at it, encourage your friends, neighbors, and family to make their own habitat gardens and share the fun on social media. The more we all participate, the more we can bring our planet back into balance and health.
Thrive.
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