Landscaping for Wildlife

Designing Landscapes for Wildlife
Greg Corman and Lynn Hassler

Southeastern Arizona is famous for its diversity of wildlife. Those of us who live in Tucson know that it’s not necessary to go far afield to see birds, butterflies, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. Many of these wonderful creatures can be enticed to our own backyards if we provide them the basic necessities to survive -- food, water, shelter/cover, and space. Wildlife-friendly gardening is easy, fun, and educational. Below are tips and resources to help.

Tips on Gardening for Wildlife

Food

Different animals have different food needs, so having a diversity of plants will make your garden attractive to a wider range of critters. Remember, too, that native plants are more likely to attract native wildlife. In the plant palette, include species that provide:

flowers as sources of nectar for butterflies, hummingbirds, and orioles
seed for ground squirrels, kangaroo rats, quail, and goldfinches
fruits and berries for foxes, lizards, javelinas, thrashers, and mockingbirds
foliage for butterfly caterpillars.

Insects are an important source of food for many animals. Some gardeners think of caterpillars and other insects as the enemies of their plants, but this is a short-sighted view. Insects rarely do permanent damage to plants, and their numbers are kept in check by birds, lizards and beneficial insects. Insecticides reduce bug populations temporarily but might have long-term effects on birds and other animals. Never use pesticides or herbicides in a wildlife garden.

Shelter/Cover

Large shrubs and trees provide shelter from the weather, as well as cover for hiding from predators. Dense, twiggy shrubs and trees with sturdy forked branches offer nesting and roosting sites for birds. Even dead twigs and branches are useful: they are decomposed by insects that are, in turn, eaten by woodpeckers and other birds. They also serve as nesting places for many local pollinator species. Other useful actions are to:

leave plants in natural shapes,
allow leaf litter to accumulate,
avoid deadheading,
use plants of different heights to accommodate the preferences of different wildlife, and
avoid over-pruning.

Water

In our dry climate, animals are attracted to water and birdbaths have long been a popular water feature for gardens. Because the water in birdbaths tends to stagnant, the water in them becomes concentrated with disease organisms. Daily scrubbing might solve this problem, but a better solution is to provide moving water with a recirculating fountain or basin that slowly drips into the ground.

Space

Leave open spaces for wildlife to move about freely and create areas where they can be observed and photographed. Consider leaving some wild areas, brush piles and areas of bare dirt for critters that like to dust bathe.

Tips for Avoiding the Wildlife You Don't Want!

A beautiful garden can beckon all kinds of wildlife that you might not want around: plant-nibbling rabbits, packrats, and javelina, snakes, bobcats, or scorpions. Many of these critters just pass through, but some will stay to enjoy the cool, green oases we have created. Walls and fences discourage many unwanted visitors, but there are other strategies for deterrence too.

Use underground cages to discourage gophers
Use above-ground fencing to keep out larger unwanted creatures
Keep wood and brush piles far from buildings
Keep packrat nests destroyed
User tall containers to avoid rabbit and javelina damage
Use plants with pungent foliage to discourage rabbits

Note: Avoid bird netting. It is a deadly snare for snakes and lizards.

If you Have Cats and Dogs

Avoid low growing hummingbird plants or seed plants
Space plants and water features so birds have good line of sight
Use hummingbird feeders instead of flowering shrubs
Confine cats and dogs to one part of yard, not the wildlife section
Put bell collars on cats
Make sure there are ground level escape routes for lizards
Don’t leave pet foods outside

Lynn’s and Greg’s Favorite Wildlife Plants

Trees

Velvet mesquite, Prosopis velutina

Kidneywood, Eysenhardtia orthocarpa

Blue palo verde, Parkinsonia florida

Shrubs

Desert hackberry, Celtis pallida

Chuparosa, Justicia californica

Desert honeysuckle, Anisacanthus thurberi

Bee bush, Aloysia gratissima

Pine-leaf milkweed, Asclepias linaria

Wolfberry, Lycium exsertum

Baja fairy duster, Calliandra californica

Butterfly blue, Ageratum corymbosum

Perennial Wildflowers

Dogweed, Thymophylla (Dyssodia) pentachaeta

Blackfoot daisy, Melampodium leucanthum

Brittle bush, Encelia farinosa

Parry penstemon, Penstemon parryi

Desert marigold, Baileya multiradiata

Goodding’s verbena, Glandularia (Verbena) gooddingi

Accent plants

Soap tree yucca, Yucca elata

Bullgrass, Muhlenbergia emersleyi

Saguaro, Carnegiea gigantea

Engelmann’s prickly pear, Opuntia engelmanni

Ocotillo, Fouquieria splendens

Vines

Queen’s wreath, Antigonon leptopus

Passion vine, Passiflora bryonioides

Publications by Lynn Hassler:

Deserts Coloring Book, Peterson Field Guide Series, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1993

Birds of the American Southwest, Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2000

Contributing author, Hummingbird Gardens, Brooklyn Botanic Garden Handbook #163, 2000

Hummingbirds of the American West, Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2001

Roadrunners, Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2004 Gambel’s Quail, Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2004

Wild about Gardening (with Cecily Gill), Tucson Botanical Gardens, 2006

Columnist on birds and gardening, Birdwatchers Digest and Backyard Bird News, 1999-present

Resources

Plant Nurseries:

Tohono Chul Park Greenhouse

Desert Survivors, 22nd Street near A Mountain