Joe-Pye weed in flower

A wildlife garden (or wild garden) is an environment that is attractive to various forms of wildlife such as birds, amphibians, reptiles, insects, mammals and so on. A wildlife garden will usually contain a variety of habitats that have either been deliberately created by the gardener, or allowed to self-establish by minimising maintenance and intervention.

Many organic gardeners are sympathetic to the philosophy of wildlife gardening, and will usually try to incorporate some aspects of the wild garden into their own plots in order to both act as a means of biological pest control, as well as for its value in promoting biodiversity and generally benefitting the wider environment.

Habitats [edit]

Wildlife gardens may contain a range of habitats:

• ponds^[1] to attract frogs, newts, toads, dragonflies, and birds
• nest boxes for birds and solitary bees, hedgehogs or certain insects
• log piles to provide shelter for insects, lizards, and slow worms
• plants that attract beneficial insects^[2] including wildflower meadows, etc.
• a diverse supply of food (all year round) to attract and keep wildlife in the garden^[3]

Choice of plants [edit]

Although some exotics may also be included, the wild garden will usually predominantly feature a variety of native species. Generally these will be a part of the pre-existing natural ecology of an area, but managed in a way that is enhanced rather than damaged by the process of cultivation.

As in other forms of gardening, aesthetics plays a central role in deciding what is 'right', but constraints regarding issues such as seed provenance also apply. Wild gardens are by definition examples of water-wise gardening, as the natural species of any ecoregion or micro-climate are those optimal for local water supplies.

There are a few super-beneficial plants that bloom for a long time, and yield abundant nectar and pollen, or bear fruit throughout the year. These plants, such as the Joe-Pye weed, wild figs (Ficus species), and Sandpaper Raisin (Grewia flavescens) support a whole community of beneficial insects and small vertebrates. Goldenrod is another example.

Essential to any true understanding of the wildlife gardening concept is an appreciation of the symbiotic relationships between plants and animals. This interdependence is the result of species evolving alongside of one another over millennia. When one wildlife gardens, one acts always in accordance with the idea of keeping plants that are native to the area preeminent in the garden. Exotics, though they may provide shelter or food, will not compete well with those plants the native animals have always depended upon, either for the nectar and fruits they bear, or the invertebrates they attract.

It is also a good idea to replicate a natural habitat (even if only partially) in the garden, especially if that habitat was the original vegetation of that area, before urbanisation erased it. A good example would be forest in England; Cape Flats fynbos in Cape Town, South Africa; or prairie in the middle USA.

Layout of Garden [edit]

There are four basic habitat types which should ideally be included in the garden to maximise the wildlife species that will occur in the garden: the Open Area, the Exclusion Area, the Canopy corridor and the Wetland.

The Open Area is the space of the garden where the area is relatively exposed as regard to other areas of the garden. In most cases this area comprises the lawn, although it may consist of low-growing groundcovers and annuals.

The Exclusion Area is more dense than the Open Area. Trees often are an important component of this area.

See also [edit]

Gardening portal

• Backyard Wildlife Habitat
• Butterfly gardening
• Native plant gardening
• Natural landscaping
• Permaculture

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• OnEarth » Living Green » How to Get Wild in Your Garden
• National Wildlife Federation: Garden for wildlife (USA)
• National Wildlife Magazine: Gardening Information(USA)
• Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes (USA)
• Wild about Gardens (UK)
• Wildscaping (California)
• Growing Native (California)
• Garden Wildlife(UK)
• Backyards for Wildlife (Adelaide, Australia)

v t e Horticulture and gardening Gardening History of gardening Garden design Computer-aided garden design Garden tool Green wall Arboretum Allotment gardening Butterfly gardening Community gardening Forest gardening French intensive gardening Guerrilla gardening Garden Landscape garden Native gardening Parterre Raised bed gardening Square foot gardening Sustainable gardening Xeriscaping Types of garden Back garden Botanical garden Butterfly zoo Byzantine gardens Color garden Container garden Cottage garden Cactus garden Chinese garden Dutch garden English garden Fernery Floating garden Flower garden French formal garden French landscape garden Front garden Gardens of the French Renaissance Greek gardens Greenhouse Hanging garden Islamic garden Italian garden Japanese garden Kitchen garden Knot garden Korean garden Market garden Mary garden Mughal gardens Orangery Orchard Persian gardens Bagh Charbagh Paradise garden Philosophical garden Pleasure garden Roman gardens Spanish garden Rain garden Rose garden Roof garden Sacred garden Sensory garden Shade garden Therapeutic garden Trial garden Tropical garden Victory garden Vineyard Walled garden Water garden Wildlife garden Winter garden Zen garden Zoological garden Horticulture Agriculture Arboriculture Botany Companion planting Crop Floriculture Fruticulture Horticultural flora Hydroculture Indigenous horticulture Intercropping Landscape architecture Oenology Olericulture Plant Plant breeding Plant propagation Postharvest physiology Stock-free agriculture Sustainable agriculture Tropical horticulture Urban agriculture Urban horticulture Urban forestry Urban reforestation Viticulture Organic Biodynamic agriculture List of organic gardening and farming topics Vegan organic gardening Plant protection Fungicide Herbicide Index of pesticide articles List of fungicides Pesticide Plant disease forecasting Weed control Agriculture and Agronomy portal Gardening portal Commons