Gardening for the Birds and the Bees

 

Gardening used to be about taming the environment and shaping it into beautiful extensions of our homes. Now, more and more gardeners are keen on creating a space they can share with little creatures native to their neighborhoods – like birds and bugs.

So here is how to do it:

Favor Native Plants

Some exotic plants look amazing in our gardens. But if you really want to make native insects and birds feel at home, you want to grow native plants.

Deciding to work with native plants might seem restrictive at first. I mean, you want to grow have a choice of shapes, colors, as well as arrangements. But it is still possible to achieve a work of beauty with native plants.

The best thing about it is that native plants are well-suited for the climate and therefore often easier to grow.

Every native plant has evolved to play a unique role in your native ecosystem.

Should you work with Exotic Plants?

The most eco-friendly gardens favor native plants. But does that mean doing away with exotic plants altogether?

Exotic plants have the potential to create ecological problems in your garden because they are new in that environment. Some native plant species provide food for some vital insects and birds.

If an exotic plant crowds out the native species without fulfilling the same role that the native plant did, there will be consequences felt across the ecosystem.

Plants that provide food for native insects are indirectly feeding the birds. Both year-round residents and migratory birds rely on the local flora for food directly or indirectly.

The birds and insects that most interact with native plants are pollinators. If they do not prosper, this will hurt other organisms, like fruit trees.

One of the best examples of this is the monarch butterfly which specifically feeds on Milkweed and also cocoons on milkweed.

Without milkweed, monarchs cannot survive.  Golden Alexanders also host insects, while hummingbirds rely on cardinal flowers.

Like all living things, birds need food and shelter. They take shelter at different levels: low level, as well as medium and high.

By feeding insects or caterpillars, you are providing food for baby birds. Some baby birds eat around 6,000 caterpillars by the time they fly off the nest.

Sumac and holly produce bellies that directly feed birds.

 

But some exotic plants are not necessarily harmful to the local flora and fauna. Lavenders, crab apples, or mints are good for pollinators because they flower heavily all through the season.

Any plant that is likely to reproduce beyond the garden is invasive. Shrubs and vines tend to escape, as do perennials.

Matters Bird Feed

Popular wisdom has it that you should feed your birds in winter, but experts advise feeding birds even in spring. Birds have already eaten their winter stash of food and they have to get busy rebuilding their nests. It is harder to find food at the beginning of spring because there aren't too many insects crawling or flying around.

Bird Feeder Positioning

A bird feeder needs to be well-positioned as well as well-stocked. Elevate the feeder a little higher up, near a bush where a bird can easily take cover from predators.

Birds are more likely to use a bird feeder if it is as high as a tree canopy. If it is made of metal and equipped with a spring-loaded trap, this will keep squirrels out of your bird feeder.

If you want to see birds at close range, set up a plastic one that sticks to your windows. Birds won’t collide with the plastic feed trays. They are more to fly into glass windows when you hang the feeder way off from the window.

Cheap is Expensive

This rule applies to bird feed as well. Be careful about cheaper bird seed mixes, which tend to contain more hard wheat. Birds are not particularly fond of hard wheat.

Birdbaths should be shallow and out of reach of cats. Cats are the natural enemies of birds.

Lady Birds are your Friends

A good garden is well supplied with pretty butterflies and ladybirds. The enemy of your enemy is your friend, and Ladybirds are natural enemies of aphids, which are garden pests.

To keep ladybirds happy, invest in some marigold, dill, yarrow, or chives. Aphids can damage plants by sucking the sap out of them.

This is why you need a healthy ladybird population to keep your aphid population under control.

Invest in a Log Pile

Log piles and fallen leaves might not seem very useful, but they are an excellent investment for someone who wants to have a bird-friendly garden.

Leaf piles and log piles provide worms, millipedes, woodlice, and centipedes with somewhere to hide. Log piles may also attract animals like hedgehogs.

The best gardens are not 100% groomed. When you allow a section of your garden to grow wild, you allow leaves, stones, and twigs to become a home not only for insects but also for other wildlife forms.

You can also consider building a compost heap that will feed and shelter insects as well as feeds your soil.

Hedges

Hedges don’t just mark spaces; they are entire ecosystems in themselves. Hedges provide safe spaces for butterflies to lay eggs, and some plants that grow in hedgerows are good for them too.

Plants like hazel, hawthorn, field maple, and blackthorn are good for butterflies. Hedges also provide cover for hedgehogs as they move from field to field.

Birds also nest in hedges because they feel safer there.