Make your garden come alive by inviting winged wildlife to stop by and stay awhile amid the flowers in your landscape. Wildlife gardens that attract songbirds, hummingbirds and butterflies are a great pleasure on many levels. They’re a sensual feast, full of color, texture and fragrance. One of the most appealing aspects is the active element of motion that birds and butterflies bring to the landscape. While trees, shrubs and flowering plants – however striking they may be – are static, these wild visitors are the extra jewels that catch our attention with their movement. They flit here and there, free and always unpredictable, constantly changing; they’re tremendously enjoyable to watch as they weave their colorful lives through our gardens.
No, this isn’t a birdhouse for “narrow sparrows” – it’s a butterfly shelter. Opinion is mixed regarding the benefit that such “houses” offer butterflies. You may want to add one to your garden just for its whimsical/decorative value – and if a butterfly or two should move in, even better!
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/Donna Krischan
Using seed to entice birds to visit your garden is a tried-and-true technique. A boulder in the yard serves as a junco’s dinner table in this natural garden setting.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Welcome signs are nice, but if you really want your garden to take flight, you’re better off creating a natural habitat to bring in the winged wildlife. (Science has yet to determine if butterflies can read, anyway.)
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Butterflies find a field of open-faced flowers irresistible thanks to their bright colors, pollen and nectar. As the flowers fade, seed will form for birds to gather and feast.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/Donna Krischan
As you learn more about birds and butterflies, you’ll come to realize they have unseen behaviors and traits that extend beyond their beautiful wings or musical calls. The plants, shrubs and trees you choose for your garden will transform your landscape into a beacon for many wildlife species.
You can enjoy birds and butterflies anywhere around your home: in the flower garden, on the patio or deck, at window feeders or anywhere else you choose. When you invite wildlife into your landscape, you’ll be much richer for the experience. In turn, you’ll also make your garden an extension of the native environment that provides your winged visitors a place to rest, food to restore their bodies and sites to rear their young.
You can increase the enjoyment of songbirds, hummingbirds and butterflies in your yard by understanding their natural habitats and how to adapt your garden to encourage these jewels of living color to visit – and hopefully stick around.
Birds, hummingbirds and butterflies may randomly visit any garden, but by planning habitats that draw them, it’s easy to increase their number and the frequency of their visits. Once these amazing creatures discover the delights of your garden, they’re likely to return to it again and again.
The requirements of birds and butterflies are simple: reliable sources of food, water, safety and shelter. Create welcoming environments by choosing and growing plants that are likely to attract them – and by including water features, feeding stations, protection from predators and areas of privacy. Whether designing an all-new garden or adapting an existing landscape for wildlife, you your bird and butterfly garden can fill just one area of your garden or you can choose to include wildlife-attractive features throughout your yard.
Regardless of the size and scope of your garden, an environment near fresh water and filled with welcoming plants is sure to attract wildlife.Layered plantings – plants of various heights and differing growth habits – provide visual interest and offer variety in both food and shelter. Incorporate plants with seed heads, nectar flowers or berries, or plant vines to cover a wall or post. Try a few large containers of flowers or add a few hanging baskets on a patio. Plant groundcovers, both to provide shelter and to harbor the insects on which many birds feed.
Gardens to attract birds and butterflies can be any style or form. You can plant a formal foundation, grow a meadow of brilliant annual flowers or plant some fruiting trees and shrubs. Whether tiny, huge or somewhere in between, the haven you create will entice and welcome wildlife.
As you plan and bring your wildlife garden to fruition, sure enjoyment is in store as you watch all your hard work take flight!
