Essential Tips for Attracting Wildlife to Your Garden

In addition to a colorful, blooming garden and a well-designed, exciting landscape, many homeowners want to attract wildlife to their outdoor spaces. Not only are animals like butterflies and birds beautiful and add a dynamic visual aspect, but they also can serve helpful functions. For example, various animals like frogs and dragonflies eat pesky insects, and bees pollinate flowers and fruit. The following four tips will help you increase the amount of wildlife you attract to the garden at your Brentwood home.

Provide food. By providing a wide variety of different foods throughout the year, you can attract different animals to your garden. In general, berries and seeds are effective in attracting animals. Therefore, plant types of plants that bear such berries and seeds as well as fruits, nuts, and flower nectar. You can also set up food for specific animals, such as birdfeeders or special hummingbird feeders with commercial hummingbird nectar or sugar water.
Provide water. Like we humans do, animals need water. Therefore, they may not come to your garden if there is no water there. Sources of water range from birdbaths that attract birds and amphibians to in-ground pools that attract larger animals to dripping hoses that attract butterflies and other small animals. Providing water gives animals a place to drink and bathe. Keep the water fresh and replace it regularly.
Choose the right plants. Certain flowers and other plants are particularly effective for attracting specific animals. For example, verbena, zinnias, lantana, and butterfly bush have nectar that butterflies like and thus some of these should be planted if you want to see a lot of butterflies in your garden. Not only should you select the most ideal plants to attract the types of wildlife you want, but you should also select a diverse mix so that you can set up a complex ecosystem.
Provide cover. Animals need cover, such as trees, rock piles, and shrubs. This gives them protection from potential predators and shelter from the weather in addition to making them feel secure in general. Having a variety of types of cover is ideal so that you can serve the needs of different types of wildlife. Dead trees often act as nesting sites for animals like woodpeckers. By actively following these four tips, you can take advantage of the gifts nature gives by growing the presence of wildlife in your garden. Overall, provide for the basic needs of wildlife. Also, varying your choices in plants, food, and other features of your landscape will help you attract a wider array of species. Therefore, varying these choices selectively facilitates the attraction of the mix of wildlife that you desire at your home. In doing so, you can add beauty and help your garden be productive and exciting.