GARDENING FOR WILDLIFE
by Emilie Liepa
Dowling Community Garden has committed to improving wildlife habitat within the garden space by installing several bird nesting boxes and a bat house. Please keep your eyes open for them in the garden, and respect any occupants. You may download the complete version of "Gardening for Wildlife" as a PDF file at the bottom of this page.
What Does Urban Wildlife Need?
Just like us, they want water, food, shelter, warmth, and a suitable place for a family. Here are a few things you can do to create a garden habitat that is a safe haven for wildlife:
- Set aside a place to grow larval and nectar plants for butter flies (They particularly like plants that have flat pads, umbels, cones or spikes. The flower heads of all these plants are made up of tiny flowerlets. A butterfly can probe each one without moving about very much and using unnecessary energy.)
- Grow seed and fruit bearing plants for birds
- Build a rock pile for small mammals
- Create a spot for toads; provide a shallow water dish which you clean and refill regularly
The possibilities are endless and the wildlife will thank you.
Plants for Butterflies
Nectar sources: (*=best; A=annual; P=perennial; B=biennial; Sh=shrub)
- Achillea – yarrow (P)
- Anethum graveolens – dill (A) *
- Asclepias incarnata -– swamp milkweed (P)
- Asclepias tuberosa – butterfly weed (P) *
- Coreopsis (P)
- Cosmos (A)
- Daucus carota – Queen Anne's Lace (P) *
- Echinacea – coneflower (P) *
- Foeniculum vulgare – fennel *(A)
- Liatris – gayfeather, blazing star (P)
- Lupinus – lupine (P)
- Petroselinum crispum – parsley (P)*
- Phlox paniculata, P. maculata (P)
- Scabiosa caucasica – pincushion flower (P) *
- Tagetes patula – French marigold (A)
- Tithonia – Mexican sunflower (A)
- Verbena bonariensis (A) *
- Zinnia (A)
Host Plants for Butterfly Larvae
- Admiral, Red – nettle
- Blue, Silvery – lupine, vetch
- Monarch – milkweed
- Painted Lady – thistle, aster, mallow
- Skipper, Peck's – grasses
- Sulphur, Common – clover, alfalfa
- Swallowtail, Black – wild carrot family, rue
- Swallowtail, Tiger – birch, willow, ash
- Tortoiseshell, Compton's – birch, willow
- Viceroy – willow, poplar, apple, prunus sp.
Plants for Birds
A number of wildflowers produce seeds that are relished by birds particularly in late fall and early winter when other natureal supplies are decreasing. Curly dock, dandelino, burdock, agoldenrod, andragweed are particularly attractive to birds. Leave them standing throughout winter.
Shrubs and Woody Plants for Food and habitat
- Malus – crab apple
- Ribes – currant, gooseberry
- Rosa – rose
- Rubus – raspberry
- Vaccinium – blueberry
- Vitus – grape
Plants for Seed-Eating Birds
- Amaranth (A)
- Columbine (P)
- Coneflower (P)
- Coreopsis (A, P)
- Cosmos (A)
- Marigold (A)
- Nasturtiam (A)
- Snapdragon (A)
- Sunflower (A)
Nectar Plants for Hummingbirds
- Alcea rosea – hollyhock (P)
- Campsis radicans – trumpet creeper (Sh/vine)
- Digitalis – foxglove (P)
- Lobelia cardinalis – cardinal flower (P)
- Monarda – bee balm (P)
- Nicotiana – flowering tobacco (A)
- Scarlet runner bean (A)
Downloads
The complete version of Gardening for Wildlife is available as a PDF file. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. If you do not have this utility installed on your computer, you may download and install it from Adobe Acrobat Reader