Gardening for Wildlife
It is easy to fall in love with flowers. Once I figured out I can have flowers, birds, butterflies, lizards, and so much more I was hooked. Inviting wildlife into the garden suddenly makes gardening come alive with sound, movement, and activity. No longer just looking at flowers, but now participating in fostering growth and health - creating an ecosystem!
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| Bombus vosnesenskii on Verbena lilacina S.Reeve |
Few places possess the biological richness of our home in San Diego County. In fact, San Diego is deemed a “Biological Hotspot” because of the high species richness that is unparalleled in the continental United States. One way we can help protect the large number of unique species is to landscape our homes with native plants. Think about it. Millions of years have honed the relationships between the endemic flora and fauna to the perfection that exists today.
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| Sphaeralcea ambigua S. Reeve |
Look around - what plants do you commonly see in your community? That’s right, just a small number of exotic plant species that seldom feed any wildlife exist in most gardens. The nectar from that tropical hibiscus or rosemary is not nearly as nutritious for local hummingbirds and bees as is the nectar produced by natively occurring Salvia mellifera or Phacelia campanularia. Local plants offer optimal nutrition for local fauna. Not only that, but exotic species are often poisonous to our fauna. For example, Nandina berries, although eaten by local birds, may kill them if consumed to excess. An opposite example of this is between our native Aesculus californica and honeybees--an exclusive diet of pollen and nectar from this plant will kill or disfigure the progeny of the honeybee. Honeybees are not from San Diego they originated in Europe and did not evolve to partake of our native Bottlebrush. Let’s give our local fauna the local plants that offer them the chance to thrive.
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| Ribes speciosum S. Reeve |
But, you say, my Pyracantha has fruit that the birds relish. That may be true, but recent studies show that not only is the nutrition superior in local plants, but the phenology or timing of the plants makes all the difference to the reproductive success of the creatures that evolved to eat the plants. Meaning that even though a species of bird will consume fruit from non-native plant species their reproductive fitness is decreased just enough to negatively affect the birth rate. Both the timing of the crop and the nutrition of non-natives are inferior to the native species.
So we have the excellent nutrition native plants provide, plus native endemic plants are drought tolerant. In San Diego we typically get less than a foot of rain a year, and all of it in the months of winter and spring. Native plants have evolved adaptations to be able to survive on little water in the colder months and no water in the summer. Better yet, using locally sourced native plants fine-tunes the drought tolerance to the same conditions as exist in your garden at home. That means little-to-no supplementary water, even in the summertime.
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| Salvia spathacea S. Reeve |
Here are a few things to keep in mind when seeking to attract wildlife to the garden.
1) Plant trees, if you have room, plant a native oak. There is nothing better you can do than to plant a native oak--as they support far more species of wildlife than any other plant!
2) Plant mostly natives. I get it, is it fun to plant some non-natives. Studies show that if a garden has at least 70% natives it will help wildlife reproduction.
3) Use plants to feed hummingbirds instead of feeders. Native Salvias, Sphaeralcea, Ribes, and so many more feed hummingbirds, bees, and other insects. Keep in mind a hummingbird’s diet ideally is 80% INSECTS not nectar from a feeder. Planting plants gives a home to the insects a hummingbird and her babies depend on for good health.
4) Leave some mess in your garden. Last year’s hollow stems, will be home to this year’s baby bees. That pile of rocks or wood in the corner can house bees, lizards and more. Leave bare earth for native bees to nest in.
5) When planting, keep in mind vertical space. Species richness is always higher in gardens with trees, shrubs, and groundcovers. Gardens with only perennials are poor in richness.
6) Include a water feature accessible by wildlife
7) Keep an organic garden free from all pesticides.
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| A Mix of Native and Non-native Plants S. Reeve |
The biological richness of San Diego County means we have a large number of species of plants to choose from. And the great thing is these plants are gorgeous and occur nowhere else in the world! So let’s do this! Let’s plant natives, let’s bring back the waning populations of birds, butterflies, and bees. We have the power to keep San Diego biologically rich and diverse.
