One of the benefits of using native plants in your garden is that they can provide a natural habitat for local wildlife. While it's doubtful that you want wild rabbits uprooting your vegetable garden, smaller less intrusive wildlife such as birds, butterflies and frogs still need homes and your backyard may be the idea place for them. Don't assume that any old backyard can be a safe haven for small creatures; careful planning and design are necessary if your yard is to contain the necessary resources to create a home for them. Giving wildlife a place to call home doesn't just benefit them, it can do a world of good for your garden as well.

You can spend less time mowing, weeding, pruning, trimming, applying pesticides, herbicides and watering. Instead of mowing your yard, if you plan the layout of your yard in advance with native plants that give shade to your house, it will cut down on the area of mowing that needs to be done and save on the power bill. These plants can also be chosen to attract birds or butterflies, and the amount of area in grass that is reduced is also the same amount of area reduced for necessary herbicides and pesticides.  

Some tips for turning your humble little garden into your own miniature animal kingdom include:

- Add a birdbath, bird feeder, squirrel feeder or frog house to your yard. However, be sure to keep these clean because if fungi and bacteria grow in them, they can actually make the animals sick or even kill them. Use nine parts of water to one part of vinegar every few days.

- Bird feeders and birdbaths require strategic location. It doesn't take much for a bird to feel threatened, so try to keep these close to vegetation that can act as a retreat for the bird.

- For something a little more unique, add a bat house to your yard. Bats eat insects and when they're feeding, they can consume as many as 600 mosquitoes in one hour. That means 600 less mosquitoes to hang around and bite you as you enjoy a backyard barbecue. Not to mention, come Halloween, forget those paper bat decorations for windows because you could have your own (real!) small bat army.

- Do some research to find out what kind of creatures native plants might attract. For example, certain butterfly species are attracted to specific native plants, so if you're particular about exactly which species you want to see, catering to them will probably improve your chances.

Most importantly, have fun with this project! Get your kids involved and find out which creatures they'd like to see in the yard (you can draw the line if they really, really want to see bears in the garden) and take time to educate them about caring for wildlife.

» The Walton Sun