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pinepigs_gardenA couple goals of permaculture is to increase diversity & to build food chains and food webs. Bringing wildlife into your yard accomplishes both of these. Encouraging birds to visit your garden means you’ll have natural predators for harmful insects. Some birds play a role in pollination (hummingbirds! But we don’t have them in NZ) and propagation.
While decluttering some of the stuff in our computer room closet I came across a “Welcoming Wildlife” brochure from the Auckland Regional Council (www.arc.govt.nz). I must have picked it up years ago. It’s got some interesting points that I want to share with y’all. Keep these things in mind for your gardens, whatever it’s size. By providing both food and shelter for birds, beneficial insects and critters such as snakes and lizards you’ll have a healthy ecosystem and reap the benefits. You don’t need to plant a forest, but choosing shrubs and trees with the below in mind will make your garden more attractive to wildlife.
I won’t copy the whole brochure word for word but will reproduce the main concepts.
From the brochure
For birds –
1. Link native plantings to your next door neighbour’s trees or to neighboring street trees, parks or streams. Some birds will not fly large distances over open ground so create green corridors for them to move along.
2. Plant trees and shrubs that produce foliage, flowers, nectar, berries or seeds that attract birds, lizards and insects.
3. Provide a year round food supply by panting trees that flower or fruit at different times.
4. Plant a hedge using a mix of native species instead of building a fence.
5. Avoid insecticides and chemicals- the kill insects that are food for birds and lizards.
6. Imitate the bush edge: have some taller trees, bush shrubs and undergrowth.
For lizards –
1. Safe hiding places (under rock piles, logs, driftwood and/or dense or wiry native groundcover
2. Food sources include insects, spiders, flies and small, fleshy fruits
3. Native groundcovers & shrubs with juicy berries and nectar bearing-plants (in NZ this native berry plants include coprosmas and nectar plants include flax and pohutukawa)
4. Mulch with chunky bark & deep leaf litter
(*This may differ slightly for the lizards in your area so check out their requirements. This can also be adapted for snakes, who may eat rodents that prey on your garden. We don’t have snakes in NZ)
Useful bugs –
Worms (soil aeration, attract birds, help process compost)
Praying mantids & ladybirds (pest control for aphids, scale and mealy bugs)
Bees (pollination; some native plants to attract bees are cabbage trees, manuka and koromiko)
**Not included on this list is also butterflies which aid in pollination & some provide food sources for birds. While I haven't researched the issue, I will take a guess that native butterflies have it as hard as any other native species: fighting for ever-dwindling food resources and breeding grounds in our ever-increasing concrete jungle and trying to hold their own against introduced predators and competitors. Consider planting a few natives just for them!
While decluttering some of the stuff in our computer room closet I came across a “Welcoming Wildlife” brochure from the Auckland Regional Council (www.arc.govt.nz). I must have picked it up years ago. It’s got some interesting points that I want to share with y’all. Keep these things in mind for your gardens, whatever it’s size. By providing both food and shelter for birds, beneficial insects and critters such as snakes and lizards you’ll have a healthy ecosystem and reap the benefits. You don’t need to plant a forest, but choosing shrubs and trees with the below in mind will make your garden more attractive to wildlife.
I won’t copy the whole brochure word for word but will reproduce the main concepts.
From the brochure
For birds –
1. Link native plantings to your next door neighbour’s trees or to neighboring street trees, parks or streams. Some birds will not fly large distances over open ground so create green corridors for them to move along.
2. Plant trees and shrubs that produce foliage, flowers, nectar, berries or seeds that attract birds, lizards and insects.
3. Provide a year round food supply by panting trees that flower or fruit at different times.
4. Plant a hedge using a mix of native species instead of building a fence.
5. Avoid insecticides and chemicals- the kill insects that are food for birds and lizards.
6. Imitate the bush edge: have some taller trees, bush shrubs and undergrowth.
For lizards –
1. Safe hiding places (under rock piles, logs, driftwood and/or dense or wiry native groundcover
2. Food sources include insects, spiders, flies and small, fleshy fruits
3. Native groundcovers & shrubs with juicy berries and nectar bearing-plants (in NZ this native berry plants include coprosmas and nectar plants include flax and pohutukawa)
4. Mulch with chunky bark & deep leaf litter
(*This may differ slightly for the lizards in your area so check out their requirements. This can also be adapted for snakes, who may eat rodents that prey on your garden. We don’t have snakes in NZ)
Useful bugs –
Worms (soil aeration, attract birds, help process compost)
Praying mantids & ladybirds (pest control for aphids, scale and mealy bugs)
Bees (pollination; some native plants to attract bees are cabbage trees, manuka and koromiko)
**Not included on this list is also butterflies which aid in pollination & some provide food sources for birds. While I haven't researched the issue, I will take a guess that native butterflies have it as hard as any other native species: fighting for ever-dwindling food resources and breeding grounds in our ever-increasing concrete jungle and trying to hold their own against introduced predators and competitors. Consider planting a few natives just for them!
no subject
Date: 2010-07-07 09:01 pm (UTC)We don’t have snakes in NZ
*starts packing for the move over seas*
no subject
Date: 2010-07-07 10:05 pm (UTC)It's good that you have some native grasses for the critters on your property. :) I think it's fine to have a bit of 'untidyness' in a garden, the santised perfectly clipped gardens are pretty to look at but those that are only monoculture or with only a few types are not great for critters or even the overall health of the garden.
Yay!
Date: 2010-07-11 12:31 am (UTC)Re: Yay!
Date: 2010-07-11 04:01 am (UTC)Re: Yay!
Date: 2010-07-11 04:24 am (UTC)1) Adults need nectar. They prefer flowers with flat heads (like sunflowers) that give them a place to land. Big clusters of flowers are easier for them to find than scattered single plants.
2) Caterpillars need leaves. They have specific preferences, so search "caterpillar plants" or "larval food" for local species.
3) Many butterflies enjoy "puddling" or drinking from wet sand or mud. A place to do this can attract them. They are after salt and minerals as well as water, so scattering a few pinches of mineral salt will help. Similarly some butterflies enjoy overripe fruit.
4) Butterflies need shelter from inclement weather. A few bushes or a tree with big leaves or deeply furrowed bark will give them a place to hide.
5) In cool weather, butterflies may bask in the sun to warm up. Several flat dark stones make good basking areas.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2010-07-11 05:19 am (UTC)The camelias and lemon should be good for hiding, the feijoa and manuka/kanuka has some furrowed bark so hopefully they are able to use those.
I hadn't thought of creating a butterfly 'puddle' although I've seen them do this. I wonder if I can create one of these somehow, perhaps a decent sized mussel or small paua (abalone) shell with a bit of water/mud in the shade so it doesn't dry out too quickly, perhaps on a stalk like my tea cup birdfeeders.
And the basking places also a good idea. Will have to think of how to do this and where. I've got some good sunny places but the dark stones would be nice to somehow incorporate.
Thank you for your thoughts and suggestions!
Re: Yay!
Date: 2010-07-11 05:27 am (UTC)For puddling, a wide shallow dish is best, such as a birdbath or the saucers put under big clay pots. Fill with a mix of soil and sand. Sprinkle with a little salt. Water until soft. Press a hollow in the center, sloping the sides up. That way you can keep water in the center, leaving the sides damp for puddling.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2010-07-11 05:44 am (UTC)Good idea on the puddling dish. When I do make this I can go down to our local creek and pick up some mud, do you think that would be better than regular soil and sand? I think it would (at least at first) have some natural minerals and salts (salt water creek/marshy area) or would it be too much?
Re: Yay!
Date: 2010-07-11 06:27 am (UTC)That sounds ideal.
>>When I do make this I can go down to our local creek and pick up some mud, do you think that would be better than regular soil and sand?<<
That would probably work. Do butterflies puddle in that area? If you're picking up natural filler, the best bet is to get it from somewhere the butterflies like. Here the butterflies like to puddle at the end of our driveway!