Nothing compares to observing the majestic and marvelous beauty of nature right in your yard. From the enchanting bloom of flowers to drawing birds, frogs, butterflies, bees, and other wildlife, nature has its ways to capture the human eyes. Nature is composed of plants, animals, and humans that coexist in harmony, but how to draw wildlife to your backyard?
The five ways to bring nature to your backyard are to provide animals with food, water, shelter, protection, and a green space.
In this article, we will discuss the ways to bring nature into your yard. We will also tackle eight flower plants that you can grow in your backyard to attract more wildlife.
5 Ways to Bring Nature to Your Backyard
Nothing is perfect in nature, yet everything we see in it is. Indeed, nature can remain beautiful even though trees are bent in a weird way, flowers have a nose-catching smell, and wildlife appears in weird built and appealing colors. Each season abounds with different and astonishing kinds of natural beauty waiting to be explored and wondered.
Nature in our backyard is like a stress-relief antidote, from the flowers we grow to the vegetables and fruits we consume, to the wildlife we look forward to seeing as we wake up every day. To bring nature to your backyard, you have to take inspiration from a forest glade. Everything we do is attach to nature, and here are five ways to bring nature into your backyard.
- Provide Food for Animals
Like humans, birds and other animals need to eat to survive. Thus, offering food helps attract animals into your backyard. Native plants are some of the food items that provide the best nourishment in the form of berries, nuts, seeds, nectar, pollen, and foliage. To begin, you can plant flowering shrubs and berries for pollinators, birds, and other creatures.
- Offer Them Water
Animals need fresh and clean water to quench their thirst, reproduce, and bathe. Water is essential to both humans and animals, and providing this resource can help wildlife. A pond, for instance, is a great way to attract animals to your yard.
You can also create some man-made water features like a birdbath, rain garden, or puddling space for butterflies. Putting a shallow dish filled with clean water is a great start to draw them back. Make sure to clean the water sources and feeders for mud, algae, and bacteria, which can build up quickly.
- Give Them Shelter
Sheltering animals protects them against predators and harsh weather conditions. Shelter can come in the form of trees, rock walls, dense shrubs, wildflower meadows, brush piles, and snags.
You may also consider creating bird feeders, bat houses, and butterfly houses. Bird feeders are the perfect way to attract migratory birds experiencing food scarcity and help with the survival instinct of baby birds by providing adults with accessible food.
Bat houses are inexpensive to make and should be kept 15 feet above the ground and near the water source. They must also have a rough interior to allow bats to cling to the surface. A single bat can eat 500 to 1,000 mosquitoes in a single night — what a way to save money on pesticides!
- Provide Them with an Area to Reproduce
Wildlife needs private and safe shelter to reproduce and hide their offspring. For starters, you can grow a plant that could host caterpillars, nesting boxes, and frog ponds. You can also build structural nests, like small rafts or wooden boxes, that provide shelter for breeding waterfowls and birds.
- Go Green (Eliminating the use of toxic chemicals)
The way you maintain and clean your backyard affects the health of the soil, water, air, and vegetation that are beneficial to both humans and animals. Eliminating the use of toxic chemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides is a great way to support and attract wildlife into your backyard. Composting, mulching, and reducing the amount of turfgrass are among the sustainable ways to protect and preserve natural resources.
Just like humans, animals and plants have basic needs. Providing them with water, food, and shelter are little steps in attracting more wildlife into your backyard. Also, while providing these necessities, you must be responsible for keeping them clean and healthy for animals.
Plants that Attract Wildlife to Your Backyard
There are other ways to attract wildlife to your backyard, aside from food, shelter, and water. Plants, from trees to shrubs and flowers, are another great option to attract wildlife. You can’t go wrong with plants.
Trees provide protection and a place for wildlife to reproduce. Smaller trees and shrubs are excellent food sources for both animals and humans. Low-growing plants and groundcovers play an important role in hunting wildlife and protecting fledgling birds and other animals that need protection against their predators.
Creating a habitat for wildlife starts with small, proper planning. You cannot just jump into adding elements that could attract wildlife, and as time goes by, grow tired of caring for them.
Aside from planting trees, low-growing plants, and shrubs, flowers also help attract wildlife. Here are eight flowers that you can plant in your garden to attract wildlife in your backyard.
- Sunflowers
Sunflowers are known for their big and attractive look and for producing many seeds. Through the years, these flowers have had a lot of annual cultivars, and there also are many native perennial species. Sunflowers provide nectar and pollen, and their seeds are delicious food for birds and other animals. This plant can support 73 animal species.
- Goldenrods
This plant is commonly used by wildlife that feeds on seeds, such as insects, spiders, and birds. This plant comes in over 125 species throughout the United States. Goldenrod can support 115 wildlife species.
- Sedges
Some varieties of sedges are considered endangered in the United States. Planting sedges in your backyard will help protect and preserve their kinds while providing food for wildlife. Sedges thrive best in prairies, grasslands, and woodlands. They are commonly neglected plants when building a garden for wildlife but are an important element for animals in our gardens.
- Lupines
Lupine can support 33 wildlife species and several threatened butterflies relying on the family of lupines, such as Karner Blue. Before planting lupine in your garden, first check with your local native plant society to determine which species of this plant is most suitable for your flower garden.
- Asters
This plant thrives in meadows, pastures, prairies, roadsides, and woodlands and can support 112 wildlife species. Asters blooming in the spring and fall. When you plan on buying aster, avoid cultivars and go for native species. Asters are known to provide pollen and nectar for bees and butterflies.
- Joe Pye
Joe Pye is a great choice for a pollinator garden since it produces a lot of pollen and nectar, which is important for bees birds. It can support 42 wildlife species and is the best alternative to the invasive Butterfly Bush, Boneset, Snakeroot, and other varieties of Joe Pye.
- Morning Glory
Morning glory comes in wide varieties; some of them can be very invasive. When planning to grow this plant, choose a variety native to your area. Research and check your options carefully to avoid having regrets. Morning glory can support 39 wildlife species.
- Violets
Violets are host plants for fritillaries, a species of threatened butterflies. It can support up to 29 species of wildlife. Choose a violet variety that is well suited in your backyard garden.
Conclusion
Now that you know the things that help bring nature into your backyard, aside from providing them shelter, food, and water, you must be a responsible human and consider maintaining the relationship between yourself, animals, and plants.
To be one with nature, you must also go all out in eliminating the use of harmful chemicals that could kill your plants and wildlife and harm your family, and live in a sustainable way that helps protect and conserve the gems of Mother Nature.