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Sunday, November 13, 2011

Our Certified Wildlife Habitat

When we moved in here three years ago, we knew that the wooded lots either side would be cleared for homes, which they were this past summer.  My plan for the garden was to create a habitat that would be pleasant for us to enjoy working and relaxing in, which would also provide the necessities for birds, butterflies and other wildlife.


It's still a work in progress, but we've made a start and I'm proud to announce that our garden just received it's official recognition as a Certified Wildlife Habitat from the World Wildlife Federation.


In order to be certified, a property has to provide food, water, cover and places for wildlife to raise their young.


Even though, in my opinion, our garden has a long way to go, it does provide these basics already.


We have lots of nectar producing plants for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. In addition, I keep the bird feeders filled and the birdbaths filled with clean, fresh water daily.


The border we put in along the back wall provides cover, with a variety of shrubs. I love sitting on the patio watching birds scratching around in the mulch underneath the wax myrtle, or under the feeders by the holly bushes.


Two years in a row, Mockingbirds have chosen to build their nests in the small live oak trees we have in the front garden.  We've also hosted a Carolina wren on the back patio for two years in a row. 


Our garden and feeders are regularly visited by Northern Cardinals, who I think nest in the hedgerow on the other side of the street behind our house.  To encourage them to nest in our garden, I recently purchased a Cardinal bird house from Duncraft. We need to decide where to put it and get it up and ready for the cardinals to inspect before nesting season rolls around.


As I mentioned before, our wildlife habitat is still a work in progress. There's lots more to be done yet, but our neighbors don't need to worry that we'll be turning our garden into a jungle. We'll keep it neighbor-friendly too.  

The National Wildlife Federation have lots of tips for creating a beautiful wildlife garden:


Neighbor Friendly Wildlife Gardening -- how to keep your neighbors AND the wildlife happy :-) 


Cut Your Lawn in Half -- we'll be using some of the tips in this article and creating some island beds which will give me more room to plant colorful flowers etc., while at the same time getting rid of the vast sea of lawn which currently surrounds our house.


So, with this certification, and also the Monarch Waystation certification that I mentioned last week, my dream of having a wildlife habitat is coming true.  All we have to do now is continue what we have started!  

(Poor Eric is having nightmares of having to haul tons of rock home from the store to create the island bed for the butterfly garden!) 





Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

6 comments:

Rock rose said...

Congratulations on achieving this wonderful goal. Nothing is more rewarding than seeing the wildlife visit your garden. I hope you will not be offended but I'm afraid you will have to tell Eric to 'get over it'!! It can be done, I assure you.

Dorothy/Gardening with Nature said...

Wonderful! You can be very proud of that NWF sign. I've had mine for a few years now and happily display it on my fence near the gate. Like yours, my garden has a ways to go to achieve everything that I want, but I'm delighted to say that the wildlife seem happy with it so far.

Randy Emmitt said...

Jayne,

Sweet deal getting signed up! Good that you are looking out for wildlife. We have had our sign so long it has come loose of the tree(as the tree grows) it is mounted to at least twice. I need to fix it currently.

Lucy Abbott said...

Jayne, kudos to you! I so enjoy hearing from another gardener with a love for the natural world. Thanks also for sharing the link to the Cardinal bird house. That was a first for me. I hope they make good use of the little shelter and build a nest.

Ami said...

Janye: Congratulations on this big achievement! That is wonderful feeling to be able to provide a beautiful environment to the wildlife, and yet be able to enjoy and relaxing in yourself.

Looking forward to seeing your island bed for the butterfly garden!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kathleen Scott said...

Congratulations! I remember pictures of your yard with little baby plants. You've done a great job of planting beauty and habitat.