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A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

© Mel. White

Wildscaping is a concept that a lot of people love -- restoring bits and pieces of the wild right in their yards while cutting down on lawn usage. But most want to go beyond a simple replanting of the yard with flowers and shrubs. Their goals are to make their home attractive to some of our wild neighbors such as hummingbirds, bats, or butterflies. These projects can turn out to be a disappointment if the new wildscapers forget to ask the most important Wildscaping question of all:

Is my area suitable for wildscaping?

While almost any tract of land can be used to raise some local plants, not every piece of land will attract wildlife. Before planning your plantings, step outside and take a walk around your neighborhood -- a wildscaping walk -- and start to look at where you live with new eyes.

The first thing to look at is what your neighborhood provides for its resident wildlife. You might provide the basics for wildscaping: food, water, and shelter -- but one small yard in a big suburban community can't feed every chipmunk or butterfly for miles around. Unless there's other places in your neighborhood that also offer these benefits to wildlife, you won't attract many wild creatures to your yard.

Start your wildscaping plan with a walk around your block, looking at your neighborhood as an ecological zone. What kind of trees are on your block? Are there fruit trees (mulberries, oaks, and so forth) and berry bushes (like hollies) around -- and do any of them have fruit or berries on them? How tall are the trees? Tall trees with interlacing branches mean a better chance of having wildlife. An area that has only young, newly planted trees, has nothing to offer wildlife.

Is there a natural fresh water source (pond, lake, creek or river) nearby? Do you have storm drains open to the air with flowing water in it? Are there trees, bushes, and tall plants along the waterway? All these features will attract the area's wildlife -- and municipal governments are aware of it. Many cities use parks along their waterways to provide homes and shelter for area wildlife.

A quick call to your city's Parks department can give you information about what sort of wildlife lives in your area and if there are any clubs such as the Sierra club or local birding clubs. These clubs usually have some enthusiastic wildscapers who can give you tips about wildscaping in your area.