Feathers, fur and flights of fancy – May is Garden for Wildlife Month

“Green” gardening and wildlife habitats go hand in hand. Some people learn the pleasures of sharing their gardens with wildlife after they have begun to create a more eco-friendly landscape and the birds, butterflies and other critters just start showing up in the native plants and chemical free, critter safe zone.
Other gardeners make a concerted effort to create habitat for wildlife, which by its nature and definition, results in a more environmentally friendly landscape.
Since May has been designated as Garden for Wildlife Month, now is the perfect time to learn how to make your own landscape more wildlife friendly.
To create a wildlife friendly landscape, a property should provide wildlife with food, water, shelter and places to raise their young. Other sustainable gardening practices which help to create a more environmentally friendly habitat are:

• the use of rain barrels
  
• water-wise landscaping
  
• mulch
  
• rain gardens
  
• integrated pest management
  
• removal of non-native plants
  
• use of native plants
  
• reduced lawn areas
  
• elimination of chemicals
  
• composting

You can learn more about creating wildlife friendly landscapes by visiting some of the links at the bottom of this post.
I would also like to thank Donna Williamson, a fellow wildlife lover who contacted me about the photo I used  of hornworms in a bowl of soapy water as a form of eco-friendly pest control. Donna, author of the book The Virginia Gardener’s Companion, pointed out that hornworms are the caterpillars of the sphinx moth, and instead of disposing of them, another option is just to grow enough plants to share with them! Donna said:

“I wanted to share some info about the sphinx moths/tobacco hornworms - it was disconcerting to see them drowning in a bowl on your blog which I usually enjoy so much and I applaud your effort to get folks to realize the danger of homemade pesticides! I grow lots of tomatoes so the hornworms and I can share, and I also support the wasp predators that lay their eggs in some of the caterpillars.”

Thanks Donna. I really appreciate it when our readers share what they have learned to do around their own eco-friendly gardens.
Now, for more information about creating eco friendly landscapes:
May is Garden for Wildlife Month (NWF website)
10 Tips for Creating a Wildlife Friendly Garden
The Proof is in the Planting

Butterflies help remind us to be good environmental stewards

Eco-friendly gardeners say "Let me tell you about my garden critters"
Gardening for Hummingbirds

The proof is in the planting

We just got the April/May issue of National Wildlife Magazine in the mail and I was excited to see that this issue is dedicated to Gardening for Wildlife.

If you have followed this blog for long, you probably know that my strong interest in eco-friendly gardening started because of my desire to attract more birds, butterflies and other creatures to my yard and gardens. AND my efforts to garden for wildlife became more focused after I learned about the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Certified Wildlife Habitat (CWH) program. I really wanted to get my yard certified.

My favorite article in the issue is called Certified Success, and it is about a woman named Stephanie Widows who did a study, as part of her master’s program, to determine how successful the NWF Certified Wildlife Habitat program is in providing habitat.

For the study, Widows visited 50 homes that have certified habitats and evaluated them to see the quantity and quality of wildlife habitat that each yard had. She compared both the habitat elements and the number of wildlife species on these properties to nearby properties and to other, randomly selected properties in the same neighborhoods.

Her study concluded that the certified properties did, indeed, provide more beneficial habitat AND had more wildlife species than the neighboring yards which were used for comparison. In fact, the certified yards had more than TWICE as many species present as the other yards which were visited.

Most people who garden for wildlife can attest to the fact that their eco-friendly gardening definitely does bring in the wildlife. I am sitting outside while I am writing this and can see several species of birds and butterflies and even hear a hummingbird up chittering away in the trees. I know that most of that wildlife is here only because I have made a concerted effort to attract it.

I also know that there haven’t been many official studies done to PROVE that gardening for wildlife makes a difference. I’ve looked for research on the topic before and know it was very limited. So I was excited to read about Ms. Widows ' research.

Of course, you don’t have to have your yard certified in the NWF CWH program to attract wildlife. Certainly, anyone can create an eco-friendly landscape with wildlife in mind and provide the same benefits. But with almost 150,000 homes enrolled in the program (adding up to some 300,000 acres of habitat) the program did provide a great basis for Ms. Widows' study.

To qualify for certification in the NWF CWH program, a property must provide wildlife with food, water, shelter and places to raise their young. Other sustainable gardening practices which allow a property to earn certification are:

• the use of rain barrels
  
• water-wise landscaping
  
• mulch
  
• rain gardens
  
• integrated pest management
  
• removal of non-native plants
  
• use of native plants
  
• reduced lawn areas
  
• elimination of chemicals
  
• composting

Related Posts: Does eco-friendly gardening help local wildlife?
10 Tips for Creating a Wildlife Friendly Garden
How I Became a Bird Nerd

Landscape Hints from an Eco-Cool Remodel Tool

I found this really cool....I mean ECO-Cool...Remodel Tool through an article on Treehugger.com.

The Eco-Cool Remodel Tool is one of several green tools on the website for King County, Washington's Solid Waste Division's website.

This neat web-based Tool lets you select an area of a model green home to reveal ideas and tips for environmentally-friendly renovations.

Here are some of the tips listed when you select the landscape area of the drawing (I have provided some links to local, related articles):

Yard
Patios, walkways and paths
•Use permeable materials for patios, walkways and paths such as clay brick, rock or concrete pavers, broken concrete, recycled glass pavers, crushed rock, wood chips, nutshells, and tumbled recycled glass to help minimize runoff and flooding. Impermeable (non-porous) surfaces such as concrete patios and paths do not allow rainwater to naturally percolate into the soil.

Landscape
Designing your landscape to match its conditions, such as climate, shade and moisture levels will save you money and time, and will look natural and beautiful. Design your landscape so it requires minimal water and maintenance:

•Select native plant species. They are adapted to your area, many are drought-tolerant, and most do not need additional fertilizer.
•Certify your backyard as a Certified Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation. Create a backyard habitat that will attract beautiful songbirds, butterflies, frogs, and other interesting wildlife for viewing from your very own window.
•Install water-wise or drought-resistant plants.
•Use pest- and disease-resistant plant varieties.
•Put the right plant in the right place (e.g. installing shade plants in the shade, not the sun)
•Use mulch to protect plants and conserve water.
•If your house is on top of a hill or other breezy location, plant trees or shrubs to block the prevailing wind. This will help reduce cold air infiltration.
•Minimize the amount of lawn in your yard.

Irrigation systems
•Automatic sprinkler systems waste about 30 percent of the water they deliver. It is possible to design a landscape that minimizes the need for regular supplemental watering once the landscape is established.

◦Soaker hoses and drip irrigation are good alternatives to permanent in-ground irrigation systems. Soaker hoses are made from recycled plastic and are inexpensive. Drip irrigation systems apply water directly to the soil through tiny emitters so they allow for more precise watering to match the needs of specific plant types.

◦If you choose to install a permanent in-ground irrigation system, look for piping made from polyethylene, as opposed to PVC.
•Install a weather-based irrigation controller that automatically adjusts the watering schedule according to the weather.
•If your garden hose leaks at the spigot threads, try to install a rubber, round-edged washer instead of a flat-edged washer.

Rainwater harvest
You can minimize potable water use by storing roof rainwater for later use in the yard. Whichever system(s) you choose, you will be helping to reuse water that would normally go to waste in a storm drain. First, reduce your water consumption, then invest in harvesting systems.

•Water can be stored in rain barrels, cisterns or rain gardens.
•Cisterns are large tanks that can store hundreds to thousands of gallons of water, enough to significantly reduce or eliminate the need to use municipal water for landscape purposes.
•You can also put roof water directly to use in your yard with a rain garden. Rain gardens feature plants that thrive in wet conditions coupled with soils that allow safe ground percolations. Rain gardens must be carefully designed and located to avoid flooding.