Wildlife and Gardens - Part 1

In addition to white-tailed deer, there are raccoons, opossums, skunks, fox, chipmunks, gray squirrels, flying squirrels, groundhogs, moles, voles, mice, eastern box turtles, snakes, toads and many others. I used to have rabbits, but haven't seen any for several years. And, of course, there are birds. So far, I've recorded thirty-two species; some of whom used to be regular visitors that I've not seen for several years.

I garden in the Mid-Atlantic state of Maryland on the east coast of the USA. If you garden in another climate or country, fundamental issues will be the same, but your experiences and the creatures who live in your area may differ. Stop by the discussion area and tell me about wildlife in your garden.

When someone says "wildlife", I'll bet most of you think of creatures like birds, rabbits and deer. You're right, of course, because they are all wildlife. But what about those mostly invisible critters I mentioned earlier? The soil organisms , insects, earthworms, bees, wasps, spiders, ants and yucky (botanical term) slugs and snails? Without this "wildlife" your garden would be sterile; incapable of growing much of anything and your chances of attracting the interesting creatures most people think of as "wildlife" would be nil. I'll talk about these fundamental garden residents a bit more as the series progresses. They are more important than you'd think.

Snakes, toads , frogs, salamanders and turtles will appear if you offer the right conditions. Some of these you may welcome and others may send you screaming. But, they, too are wildlife and if you make a place that welcomes one kind, you will be welcoming all kinds. Nature doesn't discriminate and you won't be able to, either.

I've learned that all living things, whether endowed with leaves or legs, are opportunists. They will inhabit any place that looks like it will provide them with the necessities of life.

Next time, we'll talk about what's necessary to entice wildlife into our gardens. See ya' later!

More Information

• First broadcast on WSHU/WSUF-FM, May 9, 1997, Bill Duesing's essay on Fertile Soil will help you understand what's going on in your soil.

• Melissa Kaplan has written an excellent article, Biological Warfare, about toads and snakes keeping your insect and slug population down.

• John Mertus, who knows about many things and
  The copyright of the article Wildlife and Gardens - Part 1 in Shade Gardening is owned by Marge Talt. Permission to republish Wildlife and Gardens - Part 1 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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