Those living in a house with a garden are well aware of the considerable time and effort needed to maintain a tidy and well-kept yard, creating a pleasant space for walking, relaxing, or socializing. Every garden and yard possesses unique characteristics, influenced by factors such as location, size, purpose, and the residents’ needs and possibilities. Here you can find 12 nature-friendly solutions how to make your backyard rich in biodiversity.
Whether it is a commercial yard, where a solid concrete pavement is essential, a uniform lawn area surrounded by hedges, or a garden with diverse vegetation, enriched with a vegetable garden, flowers, and fruit trees, the point is that every member of the family finds something useful and interesting, which makes the time spent in it exciting and joyful. To make our garden truly lively, cheerful, and natural, we must consider some basic conditions.
This article answers exactly how we can sneak at least a small fragment of nature into our garden and yard, so that it really has a positive effect on our mood and well-being and also that could be attractive for backyard birds.
Before designing…
Before moving on to the details of the design of the nature-friendly garden and yard, we must mention a few important things. First of all, we must know that the nature we create also requires careful planning, intervention, and care. Since the processes taking place in nature are almost unpredictable, in our garden it takes only a few years to decide which solutions will provide favorable conditions for the living creatures we want to attract to our garden. Creating a nature-friendly garden, therefore, requires several years of continuous work and experimentation; one cannot consider it completed in a week or two. Furthermore, it is also necessary to accept the fact that nature-friendly gardens require a different approach from the residents, environmentally friendly thinking, eco-conscious actions, and following chemical-free methods are essential, so whoever does not identify with these principles should rather follow a different garden design!
12 Tips For a Nature- and Bird-friendly Garden
Here are 12 tips for a nature- and bird-friendly garden. By following these guidelines, you can create a beautiful and sustainable garden that supports local wildlife.
- In nature-friendly gardens, vegetation dominates, and coverings and built elements are pushed into the background.
- If possible, plant indigenous, drought-tolerant plants, such as American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), Redosier Dogwood (Cornus sericea), Eastern Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana), Pacific Wax Myrtle (Morella californica). They grow well with less care and require less watering. For optimal results, recommend selecting plants to be planted so that they include specimens providing food in every season, and choose plants native to your specific region.
- Do not mow the lawn very short, only cut the grass in those parts where it is necessary due to use. Let’s create flowery meadows that require less maintenance in as large an area as possible. Insects, snails, and earthworms like to hide in the denser undergrowth, which can provide food for birds. So we can mostly expect the appearance of the black thrush, the robin, or the singing thrush.
- Some rotten logs, larger pieces of wood, and pieces of stone can be hiding places for smaller animals: lizards, frogs, spiders, hedgehogs, and rodents, which naturally reduces unwanted animals such as flies, mosquitoes, crickets, slugs, etc.
- Birds prefer gardens where there is enough food and a safe nesting place for them. If they find a suitable nesting tree or a protected shrubbery, the birds are happy to stay in our garden. The insect world that settles under the straw carpet that has fallen in autumn is also an excellent food source for birds scavenging on the ground. Therefore, you do not need to remove the fallen leaves; instead, it is recommended to collect them in a secluded part of the garden or at the base of trees and bushes. Many artificial bird-attracting devices are available, which can even serve as decorations for our garden.
- Plant as many flowering, fragrant, honey-producing plants as possible for the butterflies. One of the best butterfly-attracting plants is the summer lilac.
- Roads, stairs, and retaining walls should be as close to nature as possible in their material and design. Building materials with a rustic look and various shapes, such as dry-laid natural stone steps, treads, retaining walls, logs, wooden discs, and even brick paving, can seem more natural than concrete and asphalt layers.
- Among the furnishing items, furniture, and decorative items, it is also worth choosing those with a more restrained, rustic appearance. Avoid using plastic as much as possible; opt for chairs, tables, and benches made of wood, metal, or wrought iron.
- Let’s try to compost the organic waste generated in the garden, and also solve the supply of nutrients with the resulting compost!
- Collect the rainwater generated on the roof in buckets, barrels, and cisterns, and use this for irrigation!
- If possible, avoid chemicals: spraying, and fertilizing. To treat emerging problems (plant diseases, pests), choose from among the environmentally friendly solutions used in organic gardening! In this way, we protect not only our health but also nature.
- We avoid the planting of invasive species that are foreign to the landscape, which, once they leave our garden, become wild, and weedy, and can also endanger the habitats of native plants.
Conclusion
So, to summarize, if you’re a bird lover, creating a nature-friendly backyard is a great way to attract and support local bird populations. These are simple solutions you can implement to make your outdoor space more bird-friendly. Start by providing a variety of food sources, such as bird feeders filled with seeds, suet, and fruit. You can also plant native flowers and shrubs that produce berries and nectar for birds to eat. Another important factor is providing fresh water for drinking and bathing.
Consider installing a birdbath or small pond in your yard. To create safe nesting sites, put up birdhouses or leave dead trees standing as natural cavities for birds to use. Additionally, avoid using pesticides and herbicides in your yard, as they can harm birds and their food sources. By implementing these 12 nature-friendly solutions in your backyard, you’ll be able to enjoy the beauty of backyard birds while also helping to support their survival in the wild.