All my life I have had a love for nature, for animals, the great outdoors, the sun, the moon and the stars. The first thing I do in the morning is open the blinds and let the sun shine in and look out to see what critters await. Whether it’s the birds and squirrels waiting for a handout or the butterflies sipping nectar from the flowers I grow just for them. Well OK, I grow them for me, too!
I try in every way I can to lessen my impact on the earth, to make amends, so to speak, for displacing the wildlife for my own habitat. I grow native plants and flowers that not only offer beauty to the eye, but offer food, shelter and a place to raise young. Those are three very important things to every habitat, human or not. The fourth is water and I provide water with a bird bath, another saucer of water for the squirrels (however they do share it with some Cardinals!) and another small bird bath in the front yard. I also have raccoons, possums, rat snakes, anoles, and frogs that live in and around my yard. I had a bobcat stop for a short visit a few weeks ago. Only, if I’d had my camera handy. It was beautiful.
You can create your own backyard wildlife habitat with a few tips from the National Wildlife Federation’s Backyard Habitat program. All you need is to offer food, water, shelter and a place to raise young and you can have your yard certified and get this great sign to let others know that you support wildlife and the environment.
Gardening is something that I have always enjoyed. And I am currently pursuing a degree in Environmental Horticulture. Just to drop a tiny seed in a pot of soil and watch it grow into a plant, large shrub or tree is awesome. And when the very first flower opens up, the smile it brings to my face and my heart is everlasting. Gardening brings peace, appreciation and good health. In order to have a healthy, beautiful garden you have to work it. Trimming, weeding, watering, fertilizing (only as needed) not only exercises your mind and body, but relaxes too.
I even get enjoyment from pulling weeds! Oh, do I hear some screams? Yes, pulling weeds. It’s the best meditation method I have found and a great way to take out any frustrations you may have. I mulch heavily so there aren’t many to pull (as long as you keep the upper hand) and by pulling them out by hand, I know that I am not harming the environment with chemical herbicides and pesticides. This is part of the Integrated Pest Management Program, which the main point is to use no to very little pesticides and herbicides. You can read more on IPM and how to incorporate this program into your yard maintenance routine by clicking here.
There are good insects and bad insects. You can’t have the good insects without a few of the bad ones around. Wouldn’t it be grand if we could all have the perfect yards and gardens without insects and weeds and whatever else annoys you? Well, get over it, cause it ain’t gonna happen. But if you can afford and want to deal with the hassle of replanting every couple of months, you may just get that perfect garden…but it won’t be that way for long.
Practicing Integrated Pest Management will help you have a nicer, healthier garden for long time. This is the main thing that you need to do to keep your backyard wildlife habitat filled with wildlife. You can’t be using harmful chemicals, this will harm and kill the wildlife you want to attract, not to mention make your environment unhealthy and unfriendly to you, your kids and your pets.
Oh, “what is this great sign.” you ask? This is my Monarch Waystation sign. Not only is my yard a certified backyard wildlife habitat, but is also a waystation for Monarch butterflies. Though living in Florida, I am not in the path that the migrating Monarchs take, I still provide host and nectar plants for them. The Florida Monarchs are basically year round residents. I provide host plants for other butterflies as well, such as Queens, Black Swallowtails, Polydamus Swallowtail, Pipevine Swallowtail, Gulf Fritillary and the Florida state butterfly, Zebra Longwing.
The Monarch butterfly is losing it’s migration habitat as I write this post. Everyday more and more of the forest is being cut down and developed. I’m doing my part by sharing this information with you in hopes that you will help me in my quest to save the Monarchs from extinction. I support several Monarch and other butterfly foundations through donations and I appeal to you to help. You can read more by visiting my donation site Save the Monarchs and by making a donation or purchasing any of the products shown or any of the butterfly products from Nature’s Beauty gallery.
Gardens and gardening brings peace, joy and happiness to all those who experience it, whether it’s by sight, smell, sound or touch. Make someone happy today. Invite them and wildlife into your life with your own little garden of Eden.
Here’s another interesting post on Wildlife and the climate change click here to visit.
Visit my Nature’s Beauty gallery.
Buy and plant milkweed today and help save the Monarch Butterflies.
Supported links:
Monarch Watch is dedicated to saving the Monarchs through tagging, monitoring and other conservation means. The Monarch Waystation Program was started for others to help the Monarchs every day and throughout their migration period. My yard is waystation 293 out of over 2,100 registered waystations.
Live Monarch Foundation raises thousands of butterflies and milkweed and offers free milkweed seeds to start your own conservation efforts to save the Monarch in your own backyard.
Michoacan Reforestation and Habitat Protection Fund helps the Monarch’s winter habitat through reforestation of the land that has been devastated through development and construction.
Monarch Sanctuary provides financial and scientific support to preserve the natural balance and diversity of the oyamel fir forests that are the overwintering grounds for the Monarchs.
Monarch Butterfly Works toward conservation and offers a lot of great information on gardening tips, life cycle, biology and much more.
National Wildlife Federation A familiar foundation that really works to save all forms of wildlife worldwide.
UF Wildlife Ecology Their mission is to foster education, expand knowledge, and reward scholarships, using multi-disciplinary approaches, for the purpose of understanding, managing, and conserving biological resources.
Florida Wildlife Federation Affiliated with the National Wildlife Federation, their goals are to help the wildlife of Florida.
The Humane Society of the Treasure Coast – my local Humane Society Shelter.
Orphie G’s Emporium Buy butterfly plants and seeds for your butterfly garden. This is my ebay store.
Other links:
Do you Squidoo? Try it, it’s great! Make a lens about whatever subject you choose.
Integrated Pest Management Information on how to control the pests in your lawn and garden, limiting the use of pesticides.
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Gripes 