Embracing Wildlife

 "If we can teach people about wildlife, they will be touched. Share my wildlife with me. Because humans want to save things that they love." 

~ Steve Irwin

Yay! I am certified!

Embracing wildlife in the garden brings innumerable rewards. Creating wildlife-friendly plantings is how we do it.  Consider what comes into your yard already. Do you want them to keep coming?  Do you want something that you don’t see?

It’s simple really. Animals and insects need food, water and shelter just like you and me. Incorporate plants that will attract what you want to see more of into your garden spaces.

When buying plants for your garden, many plant labels give some wildlife information that can help you make your choices. The most common symbols I see on labels are for attracting butterflies, pollinators and hummingbirds and for deterring rabbits and deer.

 Firstly, water. Be sure to add a fresh water source or two to your garden for them to drink and/or bathe in. And remember to keep the water fresh and its container clean. You may need to hose it out and refill it daily depending on its popularity. Be sure to locate your water container where you can see it often, every day. You will be rewarded by seeing the wildlife that comes to it.

 Thrush at the fountain.

 

 Robin at the water bowl.

It doesn’t have to be elaborate. This (above) water bowl is just a saucer that is sold for catching water under pots.

If you have cats or dogs that visit your garden, I would suggest not putting a water source this low to the ground. You can raise it up on a tall stump or a stack of bricks or concrete blocks. Safety to the wildlife is key in enjoying them in your garden.

The depth of the water will attract different size birds for bathing. Shallow bowls will attract smaller songbirds while deeper water will be easier for large birds to bathe in. And hummingbirds love flitting through a mist, so a pump with spray may be in order for you.

 As for shelter, birds not only use birdhouses for rearing their young in the spring and summer, they can also use it for shelter during winter storms. 

Be sure to keep them mounted at an accessible height for you but out of reach for cats. I do clean the bird houses out late each winter before birds actively begin searching for a place to nest. A couple of times there were unhatched eggs that had rotted or babies inside that had died. It needed to be cleaned out or new lodgers would not have come, I think.

Lastly is the topic of feed. Best, first and foremost, are plants that offer natural food sources like nectar, pollen and berries all throughout the year, not just summer. In the two photos below, honeybees are gathering pollen or nectar to take back to their hive.

 Honey bee on Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’

 Honeybee on Verbascum chaxii ‘Album’

When you attract insects, don’t begrudge them taking advantage of your plants for their needs other than food. In the next photo, this is not damage in my opinion. This is evidence of the leaf cutter bee.

 

They cut out perfect circles in soft leaves. They then fly back with the disc to use as packing material for its tubular nest to protect the larvae till ready to hatch. I welcome these holes and smile every year when I see leaf cutter bees are active in my garden. If you happen to see one in the very act of leaf cutting, you are very lucky indeed. It is fun to watch. Leaf cutter bees are passive and one of the many native pollinators here in the U.S. We need them.

 Food supplementation is not without controversy, but I do believe it has a legitimate place in the wildlife friendly garden. If your garden does not offer winter food sources naturally, you may consider feeding.

Suet for bird feeding is a debated form of feed, but I do offer it during all the cold, rainy months.

Winter winds drive winter’s rain into seed feeders of all types in my experience. Soggy seed feeders are a mess to keep clean and molded seed is hazardous to your feathered visitors. I choose to feed suet because it is not affected by rain, it is consumed quickly and many species of birds come to it.

The hummingbirds will find nectar in a very large variety of flowers.

Commonly they are seen sipping from the plants with more tubular shaped flowers like penstemon, salvia and fuchsia.  However, I have also seen them on roses, and in the winter months they visit my Camelia ‘Yuletide’ which is not tubular, yet attractive to them by its red flowers and nectar stores.

 Here a green Anna’s hummingbird enjoying nectar from flowers on the right hand side of this pot of fuchsia plants.

  

If you feed them with a syrup mixture, it is not recommended to use that red dye stuff you buy at the store in a box. It contains a red chemical dye which is toxic for people and birds alike. The red plastic tops and tubes on feeders are enough to catch the hummingbird’s attention.

 

A simple syrup you make yourself with equal parts table sugar and boiling water, dissolved and cooled is better for them. Frankly they will find your offering with no color on the feeder at all but if you want red, buy one that has red parts. Or you could hang it with a red ribbon, tie on a red flower or use a red ‘write-on-glass’ pen to add some color to the glass bottle.

In reality, hummingbirds also feed on lots of flowers that are not red. While the color is attractive to them, it is not critical. Once they find your syrup feeder, they will be back as long as you keep it clean and filled. Give it a good wash out with a bottle brush before each refill. Check it weekly if not more often. Sugar water can mold quickly especially if in a sunny location. Shade is a more desirable choice. Depending on traffic, be prepared to fill it weekly or every couple of days.

You may find suggestions online for various syrup recipe ratios based on seasonal changes. Honestly, I used to do that but don’t anymore. They come year-round to my feeder with the same 1:1 water/sugar ratio recipe.

Feeding deer or rabbit is another matter. Plant tags with a slash through an image of deer or rabbit signifies plants that neither will tend to eat. If you have a lot of foraging deer in your vicinity, don’t plant roses or other plants they are known to devour. Personally, I would rather have the occasional deer wander through my yard instead of a lot of roses.

Don’t get me wrong. I like roses and have had many over the years. In my previous garden I had 3 Old English roses in the back yard where the deer didn’t go.

There are two roses in this garden that have been here for a very long time judging by the size of the older canes. This guy nibbles a few blossoms each time he comes by but he doesn’t devour the whole plant.

 

I will keep the roses for the time being. I don’t really like where they are planted nor do I know what kind they are, but they bloom all summer and well into the winter, don’t require extra summer watering or fertilizer and must not be like candy to the deer, like most fussy hybrid teas roses are.

Apparently, deer like fuchsias too. I see hoof prints often in my garden after one or more has been by the night before. Other than hoof prints the only evidence of browsing I have seen was that he ate all the top blossoms off this big pot of fuchsias pictured above. I don’t mind. I love seeing deer and we are not overrun with herds of them where I live and garden. They left enough flowers for me and hummingbird to enjoy too.

Deer are foraging wildlife. When food is abundant they will be choosy. When food is scarce they will be less so. Understanding this, there are many lists of deer resistant plants any internet search will provide you with, as well as symbols on plant lables, but accept the fact that when food is scarce they will eat even that which they may not prefer. They don’t read those lists. The lists are simply guides for you and me based on someone elses previous experience.

As for bunnies, we had tons of them in the spring. They nibbled a few low-to-the-ground flowers on the veronica but I didn’t mind at all.  Mostly they just ate the soft fresh leaves of the clover, dandelion and grass. I always leave clover in the grass anyway. It feeds nectar to bees and pollinators and clover root fixes nitrogen in the soil which feeds the grass. I have enjoyed seeing bunnies come by as part of my local wildlife mix too and don’t mind their nibbling on some of the plants. There’s enough to go around for us all to enjoy.

There is so much more I could write on this subject, but hopefully this is enough to whet your appetite for ideas if you want to create a wildlife friendly garden.

Here in the USA, many states have a backyard sanctuary program. The signage in the first photo proves my certification based on the requirements of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. If where you live has such a program, I encourage you look into the certification requirements. The signage sparks interest and conversation and maybe more wildlife friendly gardens will grow.

Thanks for reading and happy gardening!

In bloom in my garden today: Geum, Camellia ‘Yuletide’, Primrose, Calendula, Erica carnea winter heath, Lithodora, Erysimum (wallflower)

Bird photos courtesy of Patrick L. Chissus photography. You can see more of his work on Instagram @nwmaritimephotography

All other photos are mine.

Water In The Garden

Meanwhile, let us have a sip of tea. The afternoon glow is brightening the bamboos, the fountains are bubbling with delight, the soughing of the pines is heard in our kettle. Let us dream of evanescence, and linger in the beautiful foolishness of things.
~Okakura Kakuzo The Book of Tea

Ahhh, the fountains are bubbling with delight. Can’t you just hear them? I love the above quote, it paints such a tranquil scene. Being near a fountain is so restful to me, it promotes a peaceful calm.

Water has long been linked to easing the troubled spirit and can be enjoyed by all. The hearing impaired can gain from the visual relaxation cascading water brings and the sight impaired can hear the tranquil splashing. There is a tactile pleasure too…one young visitor to my garden had so much fun returning again and again to my tall pot fountain pictured here, plunging her hands and arms into the cool water several times on a warm day.

Your visiting wildlife will thank you for it too. I’ve often seen birds visit my ground level bubbler (below) for a drink or cleansing splash and squirrels often drink from it.

I have created two fountains for my garden. They were not expensive to make, nor do they take up a lot of room. The above tall pot style could even be used on a balcony. I have it situated under my study window. When the window is open for a summer’s breeze I can enjoy the water’s sounds while inside the house too.

Adding a water feature to your life is really as easy as 1,2,3…4.

1. leak proof container
2. pump
3. spout
4. electricity nearby

To make a fountain you need to decide if you want it above ground or below. Above ground fountains need more refilling to offset evaporation however, the top pictured fountain is easiest to create, although the more costly of the two. For a pot style fountain like mine you’ll need

• a tall pot
• a submersible electric pump (from a hardware/garden center or nursery)
• something the water can spill out of, a spout of your choosing. There are many spout styles at nurseries and garden centers. Some are metal, plastic or bamboo. I made the copper one pictured above from ½ inch copper tubing, some copper wire and soldering experience gained from many stained glass projects.

Some pots are already painted inside with waterproofing. Some have drainage holes and some do not. If you use an ordinary garden pot like I did, you’ll want to waterproof the interior and plug the drainage hole. In my glazed, terracotta pot I used an exterior, enamel, black, oil base, type of paint to coat the inside walls and bottom. A black pot interior is best for hiding the pump and its cord, which are also black. I also coated it with a liquefied silicone goo which peeled within the first year. I don’t think it is needed, I think the paint is enough. To plug the drainage hole, use silicone. It comes in a tube like glue. Fill the hole, being sure to seal all the sides and edges. When the silicone and paint are dry you are ready to fill it with water and put in your pump.

The pump for this size fountain should not be expensive. My pumps cost around US$20-30. For this size fountain you need only pump the water upward 4 feet (1.21m) or so, depending on how tall your pot is. You’re not making a geyser, unless you choose a pot 4 ft tall or more. My pot is about 19 inches (48cm) tall. A four foot rise of water may sound like too much but realize the pump only gets it up to that height and no more. At the 4 foot mark it’s only a dribble but it’s enough to get it to your spout. The distance to the top of my spout from the pump is 15 inches (38 cm). I get about an inch more of height before it cascades and softly splashes into the water below. If you want shooting water you’ll need a higher rise, but be aware, vigorously splashing water may not all land back into your pot, and could empty your water volume faster. Read the package label, it should indicate how high a rise each pump will create. My pump with a 4 foot rise is 120Volts, 9 Watts. These pumps also have a flow control adjustment dial, so you do have some ability to tweak the flow. I keep mine fully open. Attach the pump to your spout of choice, add water, plug it in and voila! You have a relaxing fountain.

Here is a close up showing the pump. It just hangs as is connected to the spout, and the cord comes up and over the back of the pot. Yes the cord shows, but being black is not glaring. My copper spout didn’t ‘hold’ the pump. It just fell out so I purchased some vinyl tubing which fits into the copper and is just right to hold the outlet of the pump. A minor complication that I can elaborate on in comments if you are interested in making your own spout. To comment just click on the word ‘comment’ at the bottom of the post.

My other fountain pictured is a below-ground style. All you really see is water bubbling up from the flat stones (which I found while digging in the garden).  For it you need a few more items.

• a dark grey or black plastic bin that will hold two or three gallons of water
• hardware cloth, cut and shaped into a ‘lid’ to fit over the bin, with a hole cut in the center for the pump riser
• black or grey nylon window screen material to lay over the hardware cloth, with hole for riser
• a submersible pump with its own plastic riser (most come with risers)
• and rocks to cover the whole thing

This fountain is covered with rocks mostly hiding what’s below. If you use flat rocks like I did, be sure to angle them inward so any splash flows back into the reservoir. The hardware cloth is sturdy enough to hold the rocks that cover it. I spray painted the hardware cloth black because the silver glints in the sunlight where it peeks through the rock layer. The window screen material over the top keeps out smaller debris which keeps the water and pump cleaner for longer periods of time.

• Dig your hole to fit the bin so the rim is just slightly above the dirt level. Too low and dirt will get in.

• Put in your pump with riser centered, and electrical cord coming up and out.

• Using tin snips cut your hardware cloth and shape it into a lid that won’t shift around. Cut a hole in the center so the plastic riser (included with your pump) can fit through. Put the lid on the bin and pull the riser up a few inches higher than the top of the lid.

• Cut window screening material to fit with a central hole for the riser also. It can just loosely lie over the top of the lid.

• Bury the cord. Fill it with water.

• Plug it in. Make sure you like how it looks and is not splashing too much. If it is adjust the flow control on the pump or just lower the riser. It’s easier to tweak it before you cover it with rocks. When you love it…

• Now cover the whole thing with rocks. Initially I used the smaller round stones seen in the picture below. Looked great but to dismantle and clean it was a pain so I now use larger, flat, shale like pieces with a few of the smaller round stones to cover any gaps. Much less work to dismantle.

I have the same size pump for both fountains but since the water doesn’t need to rise as far for this one it has a stronger bubbling flow before it falls back down onto itself. At first I used a blue bin, thinking it wouldn’t show as I’d be covering it with rocks. It did. Keep everything you use black or dark grey and it won’t show. Even the window screen material in the picture could be darker.

Think about maintenance cleaning while you are designing it. You’ll need to drain it and/or get at the pump 2 or more times per year, depending on how much debris gets into it. If you make it too complicated to disassemble you won’t clean it often enough to keep the pump functioning. Goo in the water collects in the pump, which can clog and burn out a pump in no time and you’ll be spending more $ on pumps than is necessary.

Electricity is a problem you say? Nothing a heavy duty outdoor extension cord and a shovel won’t fix. Neither of my fountains are inches away from an electrical outlet. One is about 6 feet away and the other 10 feet away from the exterior outlet. I connected them by burying heavy duty extension cords in the garden and/or lawn several inches deep into the soil. Always be mindful of where they are as you dig and weed in the garden. Several inches should be deep enough in a lawn to not be touched by a lawn mower but if you have a lawn service contracted to maintain your grass be aware a gas powered edger blade could reach the cord. Be cautious where you bury your cords and how deeply.

I connected both to automatic timers so they don’t run 24/7. I want to save electricity and being in an urban setting, I don’t want to disturb my neighbors when they are trying to sleep on a warm summer night with open windows. There are exterior timers that have covers to protect the mechanism from the weather.

Lastly if you get freezing temps in winter you do need to drain the fountains and put them away. I drain the pot and put the pump and spout in the garage. For the below ground one I leave it all intact but unplug it and cover it so it won’t freeze. Our mild Pacific Northwest winters are not usually harsh, so that’s all I need to do. Naturally if you get hard winter weather you’ll need to dissemble it more.

So there it is, only 4 easy steps to install a water feature in your garden today…ok, you need water too…so that’d be 5.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Heleborus, Bellis perennis (English Daisy), violet primrose, Sarcococca, Galanthus elwesii (snowdrops)


Author’s photos