Gardening for Birds & Other Wildlife

I was surprised and happy to see an Indigo Bunting in my yard for the first time since fall migration in 2009. One reason I was so excited was because when we moved from the Atlanta, GA area I left behind a wonderful habitat for wildlife for a yard with no habitat. I traded a yard with 30+ trees and multitude of shrubs and flowers to a yard with 2 pine trees and a scrubby small oak tree.



I was used to seeing Northern Cardinals, Robins, Brown Thrashers, Eastern Towhee’s, Carolina Wrens & Chickadee’s, Eastern Bluebirds and Redheaded woodpeckers nest in my yard. I wasn’t sure how to start when the Master Gardener coordinator from Gwinnett County, GA emailed me about the NWF Backyard Habitat program. So I went to the NWF website and started implementing their 4 steps for creating a wildlife friendly garden/backyard. When I look at my yard 9 years later it is hard to believe it is the same yard.



I attribute seeing more variety of birds in my yard to the maturing of my garden. My work over the years seems to be paying off. So I thought I’d blog about gardening for wildlife again and encourage you to give it a try if you haven’t tried it yet. I've added and rework my planting areas over the years to incorporate Food, water sources, cover from predators and nesting areas. My bluebird box was immediately occupied in Feb. 2005 when first installed and has been used every year since. Carolina Chickadees and Carolina wrens have also nested in the yard. Ruby throated Humming birds, Cardinals, Brown Thrashers, Brown headed nuthatches, Red headed woodpeckers, Downy woodpeckers, Tufted Titmouse visit my feeders and bring their babies to feed and bathe in our garden.



It's not hard to get started at all. One of the easiest things to do is just add a bird bath. This can be especially important in dry months or droughts. Here are some ideas for getting started in your own yard.





FOOD: I relied heavily on bird feeders early on and still use them to feed birds when natural food in not available and as a supplement. But I have added Native forbs*, plants, shrubs and trees provide the foliage, nectar, pollen, berries, seeds and nuts many wildlife species require to survive.Blueberries are a favorite food for the Mocking birds who visit our yard.






WATER: All wildlife needs a clean source of water for drinking and bathing and reproduction. Since I don’t have a natural lake, river, pond, ocean, stream or wetland in my backyard I use man made water sources. The easiest way of course is to use a bird bath. I have several in my yard set a different heights including one at ground level. One is a small fountain with recirculating water that small birds love. The ground level is a favorite with some of my shyer and larger visitors. We even see occasional opossums visit our 250 gallon pond with waterfall. One pool of the waterfall is shallow with flat rocks and birds will bathe and drink from it as well. The sound of that pond can attract the wildlife as well. I have recently created a small rain garden I’m hoping to create a puddling area for butterflies.





COVER: I didn't have a lot of cover when we first moved to this house. I had to wait for trees and shrubs to grow up. After 9 years they are producing a fair amount of cover and shade that was missing from my landscape. Wildlife need places to feel safe from people, predators, and inclement weather. Behind my back fence is a small wooded buffer area that provides some cover now and early on. Thickets and brush piles offer great cover with bushy leaves and thorns. I started and keep a brush pile that can be used by birds and other wildlife. Our pond is home to several frogs and we have a toad abode as well. The rock of the waterfall is home to several skinks and anoles.





PLACE TO RAISE YOUNG: Wildlife need places to reproduce, bear and raise their young, and see their young survive to adulthood, all safe from predators, bad weather and human interference. Forming a wildlife habitat creates a place for the complete life-cycle of a species to occur, from tadpole to frog, from caterpillar to butterfly. Many of the cover features in your habitat can also serve as a place for raising young. Consider a wildflower patch for butterflies to lay eggs, constructed birdhouses for nesting birds, ponds for amphibians and fish are places for raising young.





I'm also adding a host plant garden for butterflies to complement what I've been doing for the birds and other wildlife that visit our yard. I'll talk more about that in a later blog.



May is Garden for Wildlife Month and it is a great time to make your yard friendlier to wildlife. It doesn't matter if you’re a first time gardener with only a small space on your patio for containers or if you are an expert gardener with acres to plant. If you take the challenge and turn your yard, garden or outdoor spaces into a habitat for wildlife consider becoming a certified wildlife Habitat with National Wildlife Federation.

*Forb: A broad-leaved herb other than a grass, especially one growing in a field, prairie, or meadow

Adding A Butterfly Garden

When I started landscaping my yard I used the NWF Backyard Wildlife Habitat model concentrating on encouraging birds to my yard. I have a number of nectar producing plants because I planted them to attract the Ruby throated Hummingbird. So Butterfly Bush, Purple Coneflower, Marigold, Aster, Zinnia, Butterfly Weed, Lantana, Daisy, Hibiscus, Glossy Abelia, Yarrow, Black-eyed Susan, Coreopsis, Daylilies, Redbud, Rosemary, Lavender, Verbena, and Phlox have been in my yard for a while (and others too many to name). Different species of butterflies have different preferences of nectar, in both color and taste. By planting a wide variety of food plants I hope to attract a larger diversity of visitors.

Last year I decided I would add some host plants to my garden this year in order to increase the amount of butterflies that come to my yard. Partly from spending time working in the Butterfly House at Cypress Gardens I learned host plants are as important as nectar plants. It will be a slow process to add host plants; but I made a start this year by adding Milkweed, Cassia, and Passion vine for butterflies to lay eggs and provide food for the caterpillars. Some females are picker than others about the plant they will use as host for their eggs. It turns out that my Tulip Popular tree I brought from Georgia is a host plant for the Tiger Swallowtail and the parsley I plant for my own use (and extra) attract the Black Swallowtail as does Queen Anne's Lace that is already in my plantings.

There are other ways to attract butterflies to your yard.

Fruit Feeders:
I've started using overripe fruit, allowed to sit for a few days to attract some butterflies. Some species that like rotting fruit: Red Spotted Purple, Question Mark, Mourning Cloak, Green Comma, Malachite, Red Admiral, Hackberry and Tawny Emperors, and the Viceroy. There are many ways that you can serve up the fruit to butterflies. Some people use a bird suet feeder to hold over-ripe rotting fruit hanging from a tree branch. Others have taken a plant saucer or flat bird feeder and used a plant hanger to hang the saucer/feeder from a tree branch. You could also place an old dish or flat bird feeder out on a deck railing or table with some old fruit cut or lightly smashed in it. I put my fruit in a flat bird feeder tray and hang from my bird feeder in the sun/shade away from the house; because the fruit will also attract insects. The fruit has sun part of the day and shade part of the day. The fruit needs to remain moist so I add a little water, Gatorade, fruit juice or even beer to the plate of fruit. I don't a flood the plate, just make a moist fruit mush.

Mud Puddles:
Butterflies, especially the males, are attracted to moist mud where they will often congregate to find minerals and salts that supposedly increase their fertility (this is called "puddling"). I've tried making a puddle by filling a plant saucer with sand, rocks and water. Not making a "lake" of water but rather a moist muddy type spot. Adding some compost (or a little bit of manure) can help attract butterflies. The biggest challenge is keeping it moist during the hot summer. I've never seen the butterflies there but just this week I saw them at a natural puddle in the yard after a hard rain.

Basking Stones:
Butterflies need heat to fly and they use the sun to warm themselves. If you see a butterfly just "resting" with its wings open toward the sun, it is almost certainly basking in the warmth. I haven't had to add these to the yard because our waterfall and paved paths already provide this type of resting place. I've only seen butterflies basking on the stone occasionally though but the rocks and paths do add some visual interest to the garden.

I don't uses butterfly houses for over wintering butterflies or for providing protection. They can be quite beautiful, but they are rarely used. Butterflies prefer to use trees, shrubs, logs, wood piles and other natural settings for winter and storm protection. This doesn't mean you shouldn't add a butterfly house since they can be a thing of beauty and interest in a garden, but don't be disappointed if it is never used.

6 tips for Starting a Wildlife Garden

Now is a great time to start planning your garden and making additions. While you are in the planning stage consider starting a wildlife garden. Have you wanted to see more birds and butterflies in your yard year-round but don’t want to spend a lot of cash? Here are some tips on how to get started with out breaking the bank.

I developed my wildlife habitat over many years having to start with a nearly blank slate. Only 2 pine trees, one spindly oak tree were left by the builder and a large area of newly planted grass. Not much in the way of food, water or shelter for birds, butterflies or other wildlife in the yard. I started planting trees and shrubs adding feeders and nesting boxes all at once when I moved in but you can start on a smaller scale for a lot less money.

1. If your not sure this type of gardening is for you start small by planting a container garden filled with nectar-rich plants like lantana, floss flower and fuchsia. Then later you can add plants to your landscape on a larger scale.
2. Birds are attracted to water so build a small size pond using a whiskey barrel or something of similar size. If you can add a bubbler or something else to make movement in the water you will attract more birds. To use as a bird bath you will need to have a shallow area for the birds and a place for them to perch.
3. As you add to your landscape take advantage of late-season sales to acquire perennials, trees and shrubs as a discount price in the fall. Buy and plant wildlife favorites in the fall and you will be able to attract more birds and butterflies for next year.
4. Try and rescue native plants from local construction sites when you see them. Ask the developers if you can remove them before they are bulldozed. They are often happy to oblige. We had a house in Georgia that had plants rescued from a neighboring lot under construction.
5. Avoid insecticides whenever possible. This will allow beneficial insects to your backyard. You may suffer a little more damage in your garden but its worth it when you consider many birds like wrens, bluebirds and robins look at bugs as their favorite food.
6. Save money by not buying seed. Plant your landscape with seed- and berry- bearing plants like sunflowers, viburnums, coneflowers, zinnias, black-eyed Susan’s, blueberries and Cosmos.

Try one or all of these tips and in no time you will be attracting more birds, butterflies and other wildlife to your yard or garden.

Parsley in the Garden- many uses

The first time I planted parsley in my garden was in Florida. I did it to have on hand to feed my husband’s cockatiels. At the time we had an aviary of breeding birds and they liked to eat parsley as a source of greens. Caterpillars found it and ate more than half of my plants!

Then we moved to Georgia and no longer had the birds. This time I planted the parsley as a landscape plant in my garden. Both times I had plenty of extra to use in cooking. Then we moved again this time to South Carolina. This time I was working on a Backyard habitat for birds and butterflies and wanted to attract the black swallowtail butterfly caterpillar I planted a lot of parsley including curly, flat leaf and cilantro along with dill, fennel and Queen Anne’s lace from seed. Once again I had a lot of extra for cooking but no caterpillars this time!

Most of my plants over wintered and were really huge. One day in late spring I went to pick some parsley for cooking and discovered my plant was stripped and I saw 5 or 6 fat caterpillars. Checking my other plants I discovered caterpillars on most of my plants. Since that time I always plant extra parsely, dill and fennel just to feed the caterpillars. Once in a while I’ll see a Black Swallowtail Chrysalides, and when I’m really lucky I see a butterfly recently emerged and drying its wings before flying off to find a flower.

Butterfly Gardening: A host plant for the Black swallowtail butterfly

Landscape uses: For small gardens, parsley makes a great edging for flowerbeds and borders. When used for this purpose, it is best to sow parsley seed thickly in late October or November in twin rows close together (3 or 4 inches apart).

Kitchen uses: Parsley is perhaps one of the most commonly used herbs in the kitchen. From a culinary standpoint, parsley can be used as an ingredient or garnish for most any dish.

Parsley Root: Parsley root can be served as a boiled vegetable.

Leaves: Whether fresh or dried, parsley leaves can add a touch of flavor and color to most any dish. Minced green leaves are often mixed with other vegetables just before being served. Parsley transforms plain, boiled potatoes to a new level particularly when young, red potatoes are used.

Whether you like to cook or just attract butterflies parsley is a good choice for your garden.