| Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? - It’s time to rethink exclusionary practices when it comes to welcoming wildlife into the yard |
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| Gardening & Nature |
| Written by Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp |
| Wednesday, 30 June 2010 07:55 |
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We plant nectar-rich flowers and hope the bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies will come calling. We plant shrubs or trees that produce berries to feed birds and small mammals. Woody plants also serve as multifamily housing for the birds to raise their young. An occasional brush pile provides nesting places for small mammals. Get over the notion that plants have to be flawless. When we invite wildlife to the landscape, we have to be prepared that they might actually eat some of the plants. Sometimes a plant will produce food for wildlife, and sometimes the plant is the food. The black swallowtail butterfly likes the nectar of butterfly weed, phlox, and clover. However, the swallowtail’s caterpillar prefers munching on parsley, dill, and the tops of carrot and celery before transforming into the butterfly we all appreciate. 
In the home garden, the swallowtail caterpillar is traditionally as popular as an unruly child at a dinner party. But the mature butterfly is always a sought-after guest. Author Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp encourages gardeners to widen their circle of wildlife friends.
By planting in clusters rather than onesies through the landscape, we make our welcome more obvious to the wildlife. Clusters of plants are easier for wildlife to find. Living plants fill the food category, but plants living and dead provide shelter. Shrubs, trees, and other foliage serve as bird-resting places or as hideouts from predators. Get rid of pesticides. Most pesticides are non-selective, which means they kill good and bad bugs. No bugs mean fewer pollinated plants, which means no birds because there are no insects to eat. Use native plants. Wildlife and native plants have a centuries-old relationship of fulfilling each other’s needs. Wildlife is hardwired to use native plants for food and shelter Provide a year-round source of fresh water, such as a birdbath or large, shallow saucers.
Here are more tips from the National Wildlife Federation:
RESOURCES: National Wildlife Federation (Backyard Wildlife Habitat)
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Our interest in attracting birds, butterflies, and other wildlife to the landscape remains high. We spend millions of dollars on seed, feeders, and other bird-care accessories. We quote Doug Tallamy and his book, Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in our Gardens when shopping at garden centers.
Provide Food. Like you, birds and other creatures need to eat. Native plants provide nourishment in the form of foliage, nectar, pollen, berries, seeds, and nuts. Feeders can supplement natural food sources. Simple start: Plant a shrub that flowers for pollinators and produces berries for birds and other animals.
Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp, editor of Indiana Living Green , is a director of Garden Writers Association . She is secretary of the Marion County Extension Office , director of the Indianapolis Museum of Art Horticultural Society, secretary of the Friends of Garfield Park Inc., and president of the board of the Business Ownership Initiative of Indiana.
