Garden As Habitat

A Different Way of Thinking about Gardening

It's important to understand a few things about using native plants in your landscape. Native plants provide either food or habitat for wildlife.  

Food

You might find some nibbling or browsing on leaves. Some people have enough garden space that some damage is permissible. In smaller spaces, the damage might ruin the appearance of the garden. In these instances we might do some intervention. Where there is an abundance of hungry herbivores, we will either protect young plants until they can handle some browsing and/or plant non-native, non-invasive xeric plants such as lavender, ornamental yuccas, etc. (which wildlife find less palatable).

Habitat

On branches, you may find some galls. In stems of grasses, you might find larva. On leaves you might find eggs. This might be evidence of native pollinators and invertebrates at earlier stages of their lives. In the ground, you may find tiny holes, which are most likely native bee homes. We've also found quail nesting in grasses.

Soil

Our soils tend to be alkaline; however, in flood plain areas, more neutral. The plants we install are suited for our soils, so we don't use a lot of fertilizer or soil additives. In projects where we remove the lawn, we tend to find the soil in poor health. Healthy soils are very complex and full of activity. The planting will be an invitation for native animals to return. Also, the less cultivation, the better. Cultivation disrupts native bee’s and other ground dwelling invertebrate’s homes.

Another way to help with soil health is to leave the soil bare after planting. This encourages native bees, which is easier for them to dig into. It also allows native mosses to become established and crust to form. This will eventually also help keep weeds out.

Timing

We only plant in the spring or the fall. Harsh summer conditions can be too stressful. We try to follow nature's cues for plants' life cycles to dictate when we do our work: when they grow, flower, and then go to seed.

Certified Wildlife Habitat?

Go to this link to get information on qualifications for certifying your garden! https://www.nwf.org/CertifiedWildlifeHabitat

Or Pollinator Habitat?

https://xerces.org/pollinator-resource-center/mountain-region