Whether you live in the city or a more rural setting, maximizing your backyard for local wildlife is a relatively easy undertaking. Join landscape designer Doug Scott to learn how to attract birds, butterflies, and other wildlife to your yard with the help of a wildlife habitat plan.
Wildlife Plan Development
When developing an overall wildlife habitat plan, follow this logical progression of implementation steps.
- Research
Visit the USDA website for list of introduced, invasive and noxious plants, as well as search your state to see which invasive species are common to your area.
- Identify Invasive Species
If you find there are invasive species in your yard, replace them with native plants or ornamental grasses that are better suited to sustaining local wildlife.
- Include Nectar-Rich and Host Plants
Creating a habitat for butterflies is easy, and all about focusing on the flowers in your garden. Butterflies will be attracted with nectar-rich plants. In order to support their full lifecycle, you’ll want to also plant host plants for eggs and caterpillar habitat. For example, Monarchs love milkweed. Leverage your local knowledge base for the butterfly species common to your area, and the plants they prefer for habitat. Remember to reduce pesticide use to better support their healthy life and reproduction.
- Invite your Neighbors
Get your neighbors on board with your wildlife plans. This will increase the chances of them wanting to work with you toward common goals in their yards. Which, in turn, will increase the chances of more and more wildlife wanting to spend time in or near yours too.
No matter where you live, now you’re armed with the basics on how to attract birds and butterflies to your backyard or garden. Creating habitats like these make for easy weekend projects. And, the views of wildlife around you will be more than worth the effort!
