Certified Wildlife Friendly gardens

[Catherine]

I remember reading about this years ago and designing my garden to fit the pattern.
The idea is to make your yard, no matter how big or small, a safe haven for wildlife. I think it is a great idea.

http://www.journalpioneer.com/Living/201...y-spaces/1

I have tried to meet all the requirements and I think I has really made a difference. I saw birds this year that I have never seen before.
I have a pond and berry bushes. I have trees and some day soon I hope some birds will even nest in my yard. I have food for bees and butterflies. I have set it up so that I do not need to water and the plants I have belong here and do not need special care.
Even if we don't apply to be certified, if each of us tried to make our gardens wildlife friendly, the environment would thank us.

[Tobi]

I think this is a wonderful idea.
I already have a 'wildlife friendly' garden...
birds do their own thing, and bring up their young, and there are always lots of grubs and snails for them. Insects like my place too, and that's good for the birds. I also put seed out. There are always quite a few birds' nests in the bushes and trees around my house.
My 'fence' around one side hardly exists (didn't need a strong fence at the back for Misty, as she refused to go out to the field without me!) although the front facing the lane is hedged and fenced, the back opens to a field across a little bridge. That means Badgers come in, and sometimes foxes. Unfortunately Badgers have dug a lot where I planted a new lawn area...but never mind. Badgers are looking for food, not aesthetics! I just let them do it. So what? When the weather is less dry, they will return to digging in the fields, but right now the earth out there is rock hard. My new lawn is soft earth.

Squirrels do well because there are lots of hazel trees next to the little stream. They do eat the birds' food too, but never mind. There's plenty for all.

[Catherine]

Your garden sounds wonderful. It is a safe haven for the local wildlife and it must have a wonderful loving feel to it.
Your Badgers are like our Racoons. They do love a fresh lawn to dig up. The grass will recover in time and the Badgers are hungry now.

There is something wonderful about a yard that has become natural. It can still be beautiful and orderly, but it also provides for the local fauna of all kinds.

I suppose that is why they set up the idea of certifying people's yards. It was meant to encourage them to do something for nature when they planned their landscaping.

Here the city lets Milkweed grow wild in the parks because the Monarch Butterfly caterpillars need the plant as food.

It is nice to know that we can make such a difference. My "wild" garden still needs some repair from the ice storm, but there are lots of berries to eat and the birds love it.

[Tobi]

Even if everyone designated a small area of their garden, and let some wild plants grow, or raked up an area of earth in spring and scattered wildflower seeds, it would make a great difference to the local wildlife.

We have had hardly any wasps this year. I have not seen even one. Though I have seen plenty of wild bees and some hornets. I was reading an article in the newspaper about the lack of wasps. It is said that the very rainy winter we had has affected them, plus a terrible summer we had in 2012.
Are they called Wasps in Canada? Or Yellow Jackets?

[Catherine]

They are called wasps here and we have plenty of them. What we lack is bees and butterflies.

Even in the city with our tiny yards, when each of us plants eco-friendly plants, all our gardens link together to form one big nature friendly zone. There are whole streets where all the front yards are planted and they form one continuous garden, a block long.

Many of us have planted our back yards as well. The city will put a tree in the front yard if you ask. I wanted back yard trees so I planted them myself. I have three kinds of berries, that ripen at three different times. The Birch tree has cones as well. The birds love them.
I had beautiful butterfly bushes. They were a good source of food for insects. I lost them in the ice storm. I still need to replace two of them and I think I need another tree. Even the snails have plenty to eat in my garden.

[Catherine]

The bee crisis may be the worst eco disaster ever.

I plant with bees in mind just in case they come. There used to be so many bees and butterflies. Now a bee is a rare sight. There are hives of honey bees in the city on top of buildings. It may be our only hope.
Without pollinators there will be problems for all life.

That is why nature friendly gardens are not just a nice idea. They are a desperate attempt to save things.

[Tobi]

Your garden sounds really lovely Catherine.
That's the secret -to build a 'corridor' for the bees, with gardens that run from one to the other. It will help tremendously. But it's good to remember that bees are very sensitive to pesticides. That is why they often do better in towns and cities than in the countryside!

Fortunately I have seen lots of wild honey bees here, different types. In my area, they seem okay...(fingers crossed.)

[Catherine]

Pesticides are pretty much banned in the city so things are safe for birds and insects. I think it would be good if the frogs moved into the city as well. They would be safer and some of us have ponds.

My whole neighbourhood is mostly garden. There are few lawns left. Also any odd little patch of dirt in a back alley or beside the subway station gets the "gorilla garden" treatment. That is where a group of local gardeners agree to meet up and garden a patch of unused land. Once these gardens are planted the city tends to leave them alone. A few mini parks have started that way. Every bit helps.