A Sanctuary in your Yard

[missmanors]

If you have a large yard, or own some acreage with a wooded area and like animals, consider looking to nature to help you have a natural looking yard which will attract wildlife.

IF you happen to have a tree which needs cut down, consider leaving it, unless it would be a hazard to leave it, then consider leaving the stump. The stump will rot over time, perhaps even growing moss on it, and will provide homes for many types of birds and insects.

Letting moss run wild, provides a beautiful and lush environment for many types of wildlife and requires almost no maintenance at all.

Fallen, rotten logs provide mulch for the forest floor, and can do the same for your wooded area. When combined with leaves and other forest debris will help to create an ideal environment. No supplemental fertilizer will be needed.

You can toss cut branches and other clippings in a remote corner (make a large pile) of the yard to serve as a home for various small animals. If food and water, and shelter is provided for them you can actually have your yard certified as a wildlife sanctuary.

Having grass growing right up to the edge of the trees along a wooded area is not natural looking. Consider leaving an area with some longer grass, and other plant-life along the edge to soften the look. Also trimmers often damage young trees which are needed for your little nature preserve.

Add some conifers among your deciduous plantings for more interest. In the winter, having some evergreens will add color and interest when the snow flies.

Having several species of plants will look more natural, and will also be less prone to disease than having just a couple of different plants. If you have only one or two types of plants, they can be wiped completely out by a single disease or insect.

Also don't make this area look like you planted it. Random plantings of ferns and other plants will make it look much more natural. Most plants that you will want to use in this area don't need to be equally spaced, and are not equally spaced when found in its natural environment.

You can also make a water feature look more natural by using stones of different sizes, and shapes, using no particular order. You simply want to break up the space in your water feature, so add stones to divert the water
in different directions. This will give a lot of character to your water feature.

[flippinout]

Since I live in a very small town, our back deck faces a small wooded area with a creek beyond that and a big hill beyond that.

We see so many different animals here. Deer, raccoons, all types of birds including cranes. We even have coyotes that make their rounds through the wood areas around here, we hear them, and not seeing them doesnt bother me a bit. lol

I love all the green that we are surrounded by, plus all the trees, etc muffle the sounds around town. This makes it so nice.

We used to cut the other side of the bank behind our house, but dont anymore. So we see many more animals than we used to .

Thank you for your post on backyard sanctuaries. Its something we can all do for nature.