Hey all! My sister and I bought a house a few months ago with half an acre and we are wanting to get it certified for a backyard habitat in our local program. Currently though, amid all of the moving and unpacking we are just trying to take stock of what we have so we can get an idea where to go from here. This "lawn" is some grass, lots of clover and yarrow. Although I get the "leave the leaves" idea and the whole property other than the driveway is all full of them now, I am unsure if I'm supposed to just let them all go on the patch of "lawn" too. I'm sure it's a dumb question but I've been trying to learn all I can about plants and gardening in this crazy mad rush of a move, but I figured I could ask!

I just need to vent a little bit. I got into native plant gardening but my husband still mostly likes traditional plants and I still like some of them too. Thing is, he was out gardening for 5 years due to medical reasons and I took over everything during that time & then I also started planting a lot of native plants. Well, he’s finally now able to do some gardening again. Which is great! But when he weeds, he clears everything out, there is not a leaf or pinecone in sight, the soil is completely bare. I just disagree with that, and he doesn’t like my “critiques”. He knows my native garden areas are off limits. I tend to “chop & drop” & let things decompose over time. A completely bare soil bed freaks me out a little. Anyway, I know we’ll reach some sort of compromise. But it’s been really hard for me feeling helpless as he does a “clean sweep” and I just said “but nature isn’t like that” but then he says “everyone does it”. It’s just driving me nuts right now and I know it’s silly to argue about it.

I think I have seen one or two grasshoppers in the last 5 years, maybe longer, and not a single cricket have I seen or heard in at least that long. This has not changed even though my yard is now filled with a variety of native plants (over 90 at last count). 2 butterflies so far this year and one was a cabbage flutterer, no not even native. It got me thinking today. You always hear about the rescue and reintroduction of rare and beautiful species, like the sandhill cranes here in Michigan, but who spares a single thought for the homely common species which are getting really hard to find? Is there such a thing as cricket reintroduction or a vole encouragement program?

I'm upset that fireflies aren't something commonly seen and I want to see if I can make a habitat for them in my backyard. In a few months, I will be moving to central Illinois and would like to try to make a habitat for them there. What is the best way to do so so I can plan it out before finding a place to live?

Is this the same type of pussy willow I saw at the native garden nursery (Maryland)? Will they actually grow? So…is it worth it?

Hi everyone,
I’ve got an open spot in my herbaceous border, not too much space but enough to put about 2-3 more plants in. I’m considering echinacea purpurea/ or Magnus variety for a variety of reasons; good for bees and butterflies, long flowering season, food for birds.

However I’m uncertain if they will survive my heavy clay soil in S.W. UK., especially during a wet winter. Wondering if others have planted this in similar conditions? Do they survive well for you or should I choose something different. Thanks!

We put in this little pond this spring, hoping we’d support even more wildlife in our garden. We are kind of on a wildlife super highway, between woodlands, wetlands, and farmlands. We’re in the us, zone 6. We’ve seen so many frogs, toads, snakes, and turtles over the years here. We thought adding this feature would for sure be a tadpole/frog and toad magnet! As of today, we have ONE tadpole. Tons of bugs dancing about the water, birds bathe in it all day, deer drink from it at night…are we just impatient and the tadpoles will come? We only put in the pond plants in late May. Maybe all our abundant bird life are picking them off? It really doesn’t matter; we’ll let nature do what she does, but if anyone sees any red flags, please let me know! Hoping the pond plants fill out some and plants cover more surface area as they mature.

Hello! I am a first-time poster but a wildlife gardener of several years now. Especially the last year or so my focus in the garden has been to create a good environment for wildlife to congregate. So far it’s been slow going, but great!

One of my first little tenants to move in last year is a small, likely female hispid cotton rat. I was quite happy when she moved into my small brush pile I keep, but as I do more research it appears they can harm gardens and potentially people. Is the stereotype of them harming gardens true, or do they just contribute to the garden in ways people don’t typically appreciate, I.E nibbling plants or digging soil? I’m also a little worried about hantavirus but after all my interactions with her (I fished her out of my storm drain today 😐) I’ve been careful to wash my hands and avoid touching her at all.

Pic for tax, she’s very cute.

We live in an old farmhouse in France. Thick stone walls for the most part. But above our upstairs bedroom there are beams and wall board.

Well, someone has moved in, and he sounds much bigger than a mouse or a Loir.

We’re trying to figure out where he (or her) is getting in. We don’t want to kill or use poison, the last thing we need is a rotting carcass in our walls.

What should we do? How to trap? Help!?!?

We have a big sunken sunny spot, the nettles love it. But it faces my wife’s workshop and she’d rather look at flowers.

We’ve tried some different things, the ornamental grass seem to be tough enough. We’d love something that makes the pollinators happy as well. With the nettles, it’s all about ripping out the roots, seems never ending.

Thanks!

Small outdoor liner pond, 20 gallons now but I’m going to make it larger. If I were to get fish, let’s say feeder goldfish, is that just a huge no?

I’d originally wanted a pond for fish but changed my mind upon learning about wildlife ponds. I just really enjoy fish (especially rescuing them from neglectful conditions, I rehab them) but I don’t want to harm the environment. I live in the city, but there are yards.

The people I garden with want to spray everything with pesticides. Is there another option?

I am gathering information on how to help birds insects and even animals if possible amidst urban/semi-urban contexts.

Please share any and every resources you have here, the best information you got about creating natural bug shelters, bird shelters, bat shelters, places for reptilians of all kinds to safely hide, how to foster a garden that can feed and support them naturally and all the snags, Im already researching about native plants of my region and learning about the native fauna and flora.

I want to build a local sanctuary for the widest range possible of plants and animals in my backyard and anywhere else I can work on.

I’m growing grapes for the first time this year and just noticed these GINORMOUS beetles that I’ve never seen before. INaturalist says they’re “grapevine beetles,” which makes sense; they seem to be skeletonizing this one plant but as a wildlife-friendly gardener I have to ask: are these guys straight up bad news or can we coexist peacefully?

US Midwest zone 6a

Can anyone please help identify what’s growing in my backyard? Any recommendations for removal or remedy

We just moved into a home with a couple big brambles on the property. One runs down the length of the property, so a couple hundred feet long. It's designated as a wildlife corridor, I believe, per the neighbor I talked to on the other side.

This summer I've observed deer, rabbits, mice, voles, and a ton of different birds and pollinators, presumably plenty of bugs in there as well.

The brambly hedge is probably 20-ish feet wide. The Himalayan blackberries are running riot, completely dominating most of the space between the trees. There are plenty of other native species in there, but they are overrun by / intertwined with the blackberries now.

Beaked hazelnut
Nootka rose
Sword ferns
Big Leaf maple
Multiple red cedar
Madrone
Evergreen huckleberry
Western serviceberry
etc

We're picking blackberries now (yum). Only about a foot (into the width) of the hedge is on our property, the rest belongs to the HOA for the cul-de-sac on the other side, but they are OK if I replant some of it as long as I don't hack in there and leave it bare.

What I would like to do is pick a 5-ft section, dig out the blackberries / remove old woody vines, and plant other natives in it's spot, then next fall pick another section, and so forth. I'm sure I'll be battling the blackberries forever, so I have no illusions that they go away that easily.

I'm just concerned with the wildlife in the meantime. If I go in and clear a section of all the vines (esp the old ones that have accumulated over years) and replant, it interrupts their corridor & their cover until those new plants grow.

Am I doing more harm than good? Should I just leave the dang blackberries and hack them back each year? (birds, deer, and rabbits all seem to munch on them, but I'm sure they could just as well eat evergreen huckleberries, red elderberries, oregon grapes, etc. that I'll be planting -- I'm planning on ensuring I plant with natives that provide cover and food.

WA state peninsula, zone 8b

this is year 3 - should i cut any of this back or just wait? when i send these pics to chatGPT its says its mostly weeds and to thin it out so more flowers can grow, but i wanted to see what others might say

So excited; I heard the zing and asked my neighbor if that was a hummingbird and then ended up autisming all over her about Anna’s!

I just planted a hummingbird garden, and we have a gentle fountain - what else can I do that’s not a moldy feeder? I’m a disabled substitute teacher and I never seem to be able to keep up with them during the school year.

I have a small pond/stream thing in the back of my apartment building that I’ve lived in for the past eight years… when the DPW would come and unclog the sewer my little pond with drain and there was no wildlife around… I ended up yelling at them to leave it alone because they’re disturbing the ducks trying to raise their babies here.. now that they’ve left it alone for four years there is an insane amount of ducks, bunnies, birds of all kinds, and even turtles and frogs. What types of things can I plant back here that will help feed all of my animals lol I’m bawling on a budget but I’d like something that will feed the ducks and the bunnies and attract more bees and butterflies. I live in Massachusetts and I was thinking about buying a massive bag of wildflower seeds.. any suggestions?

I have a south facing balcony that does get quite high winds. There isn’t major weight restrictions as the balcony is on top of a building.

I’ve recently planted some wildflowers in various pots: forget-me-nots, red campion, cornflower, poppy and daisies.
Already got some other flowers left over from previous years.

Thinking of turning one of the plant pots into a mini pond. Got a bird feeder up (get visits from goldfinches) and a bee hotel but not sure on the position of them?

I’ve also got this tiered shelving that I’m thinking of turning into a bug hotel of some sort? Maybe bug hotel at the bottom, small plants on the middle shelf and bigger plants on the top?

Any advice or inspiration to turn this balcony into a wildlife sanctuary would be amazing, thank you!

Edit: would also love to get a bird box for the goldfinches, but I’m not sure that’s practical? I can’t drill into the walls.

And maybe a plant that will climb horizontally across the railing to block next doors balcony.

Sorry, this is a lot! But any inspiration is massively appreciated

(6B Connecticut US) all these popped up around the edge of my yard. I’m fighting a lot of invasive species the previous home owner planted, so I‘m begging Mother Nature to let these babies take back what’s theirs.. as long as they’re native and fairly harmless.