Why You Want Wildlife in Your Garden
Bringing wildlife into your garden will bring you higher pollination rates, more food, less pest pressure and the joy that comes from watching an ecosystem thrive. The best part about it is that the ways to bring wildlife in are all tied together, kind of like nature itself. This is a great reminder that we and our yards are part of nature and not separate from it!
There are lots of specifics to follow, but it really comes down to diversity, and making all the things you want to live in your garden feel welcome. This is my take on companion planting in general as well. You can listen in on a companion planting conversation of mine on the Grow It Minnesota! podcast.
We started by deciding to not use synthetic chemicals in our garden. This is a first step that is truly the most important! Then we added a bird feeder and a bird bath and luckily had some beautiful mature trees on our property. Since then, we’ve added more wildlife features as we could, from more native plants they feed from, more watering spots and more cover, creating a little wildlife sanctuary. We actually went ahead and made it official with the National Wildlife Federation as a Certified Wildlife Habitat .
Getting Started
Think about the food chain- from the microorganisms on up- and you’ll be thinking like a master habitat builder. Along with planting certain things, like plants native to your area, there are some other simple steps to make your garden an oasis for lots of beneficial wildlife, from the soil dwelling microorganisms up to the birds flying above.
Tip #1 Keep things covered! From adding layers of compost, leaves or mulch, or growing living cover crops, the earth is more inviting to all living things when covered.
Michelle
Worms:
Inviting the underground microscopic players into your garden starts the chain off! Worms are an integral part of your healthy garden. Giving them food, leaves and/or decomposing organic matter keeps them happy. An easy way to invite them into your yard is to start composting. I’ve got a basic how to article HERE. Composting is one of the best ways to reduce food waste, lower your carbon footprint and create great garden food for your plants.
Tip #2 Composting will jump start your soil life and reduce your overall carbon footprint!
Michelle
If you want to keep composting year-round and harness the power of worms, look into Vermicomposting as well. We love being able to keep composting indoors over winter knowing that we’re creating ‘garden gold’ aka worm castings.
Beetles + Bugs:
We all know Ladybugs are beneficial to our gardens because of their voracious appetite for aphids and lots of other bugs. They do double duty, eating pest insects both as larvae and in their adorable red beetle form. Adding Dill and fennel will attract lady bugs, and most other beneficial insects. And there are so many other beneficial bugs you should want in your garden!
Tachinid flies, Hoverflies, Soldier beetles, Braconid Wasps, Lacewings, dragonflies… the list goes on. Each insect has a favorite prey, from aphids to cabbage moth caterpillars.
For a great beginner’s guide to bugs in the garden, check out Good Bug, Bad Bug by Jessica Walliser. Planting Herbs like dill, fennel, parsley, and letting cilantro go to flower all attract the flying bugs listed. The beetles appreciate a good leaf cover, or really any mulch to burrow under- another reason I love my leaf mulch! Simply collect leaves in the fall, shred if you can and keep either bagged or in a breathable pile to sit over winter. Next spring you’ve got nature’s perfect mulch!
Tip #3 WAIT! Give nature a chance to work. A plant sends out chemical signals once it is attacked by a pest. These signals attract the insects that prey on the pests. By waiting a day or two, you give the beneficial insects a chance to show up, eat their fill and stop the pest cycle!
Michelle
Another common practice that hurts our native bug population is laying down plastic or landscape fabric under mulch, this creates a barrier that keeps burrowing insects from laying eggs, stopping their reproductive cycle.
Frogs + Toads:
Frogs and toads are known for eating flies, but they also love slugs and snails, reason enough to make them feel welcome. Friend and local author, Sarah Nelson, shares the magic of frogs in the newly released children’s book, Frogness. Available online and locally at Lake Country Booksellers. So, I figured I’d let the frog expert chime in on this topic- take it away Sarah!
Although frogs may not leap across highways to explore your garden, if frogs share your general neighborhood, you can attract them to your yard by making it hospitable and healthy for them. Creating frog habitat starts with avoiding chemicals. Frogs also eat insects, so a bug-free, chemically-treated lawn or garden is no place for a frog. For these reasons (and a thousand others) avoid using synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
In general, frogs thrive where life grows wild. If you are ambitious, a rain garden—a low-lying spot where rain water collects and native plants flourish—is the perfect habitat for many types of frogs. Alternately, consider leaving part of your yard untamed. Plant shade trees, wild flowers, ferns, and other perennials. Let select grasses grow tall. Allow leaves and twigs to gather and compost where they fall. In addition, mulching below trees and shrubs and in the garden is helpful to frogs, who like to hunker down in the duff to hide from predators and (in winter) to hibernate.
Most frogs like to visit water and also lay their eggs in water. A frog pond can be a fun addition to your garden and can be as simple as a bird bath or plant saucer placed at ground level. Keep it filled with fresh, clean water and surrounded with plants and stones where frogs can hop, hide, and stay cool. A solar light nearby will attract insects and make night hunting easier for frogs. With a few simple changes, a yard and garden can be happy habitat for frogs.
*I never would have thought of solar lights, thanks for the tip Sarah!*
Pollinators:
Did you know that two out of three bites of food we eat is thanks to a pollinator!? Much of the garden food we grow requires a pollinator to move between plants to make a flower produce fruit or veggies. So naturally we want as many of them buzzing and flitting around as possible. The basic idea to attract pollinators is to have a source of pollen and nectar available in your garden area all season long.
Tip #4 Planting the original version of marigolds (the French Marigold) is much better at attracting and providing nectar and pollen to your visitors.
michelle
Some of my local pollinators’ favorites flowers include calendula, nasturtium and cilantro. For a deeper dive into bringing pollinators into your garden, you can dig in deeper, with two of my articles. One focuses on perennial plants for Pollinators and one focuses on annual flowers to companion plant in your veggie patch.
Also key during the hotter months is providing shade and a water source for bees and butterflies, adding some rocks to a shallow water dish provides the perfect perch.
*A note on raising monarchs
We love doing this, but only take in caterpillars or eggs once we see lots of predators, otherwise we let nature take its course. For a how to, read my Raising Pollinator Lovers.
Birds:
Besides adding beauty and song to your garden experience birds also earn their keep by swooping in and catching pesky bugs. Some birds (hummingbirds top the list) are great pollinators. By the way, when birds pollinate a plant it’s called ornithophily.
Birds love a good bird bath, especially when placed in a protected, shady location. If you’re into winter birding I’ll suggest a heated bird bath, it was well worth the money to be able to provide our chickadees and cardinals with water all winter long!
Tip #5 Locate bird feeders and bird baths away from each other so that the birds will fly between them where you are most likely to see them. This sets you (and the birds) up for a season of fun, watching them flit between the water and food sources.
michelle
Urban and suburban birds benefit from bird feeders as well, especially during the winter months. Of course adding a bird house to the mix is another way to create habitat for your feathered friends. Be sure to clean it out annually. Planting evergreen shrubs and trees like cedar or arborvitae, and any fruit bearing bush will invite birds in as well. Local podcast, Grow It, Minnesota! has an episode well worth the listen on Creating a Landscape for Birds.
Bats:
I have to include these misunderstood mammals in my list of animals you want in the garden! You had me at “eats mosquitos” but these little nocturnal wonders earn their keep so many times over! We recently added a bat house to our backyard as one more way we invite wildlife into our suburban yard. My boys worked with their Dad to make me one for a Christmas gift.
Bats eat mosquitos, pollinate food and create highly beneficial fertilizer with their droppings. Fun fact: Bat pollination is called “chiropterophily”. Mostly, we added the bat house because I’ve witnessed a decline in bats in the decade since we’ve been on this property.
Sadly, White Nose Syndrome (WNS) is a disease that has wiped out 93 – 94% of our Minnesota bats, chiefly the Little Brown Bat. As of last summer (2020) bats in 35 states have been confirmed with the disease. And there is no end in sight. WNS is a fungal disease that has killed an estimated 5.7 million bats in North America since arriving just over a decade ago. Providing habitat for bats can help them rebuild populations after these outbreaks. Click HERE for a PDF of Plans recommended by the MN DNR. Or if you’d rather skip the woodworking, you can buy a bat house from National Wildlife Federation designed by the Organization for Bat Conservation.
Welcome the Wildlife
Just enjoying what you do have in your yard is a great place to start, and see what you think is missing… There are so many ways to invite wildlife into your yard, pick your favorite and sit back and watch them flit, tweet and pollinate away! What steps will you take to welcome in the wildlife first?
Dig In,
Michelle
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