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Landscapes of Spain an inspiration for Texans

I thought I was back home in Texas when we toured the Botanical Gardens in Madrid a few weeks ago.  We saw so many amazing things on our trip to Spain, and one of my favorite things to do was check out their landscaping, gardens and public parks.  I really enjoyed comparing their landscaping and plants to ours.

We spent time in Madrid and Barcelona, both large, historic metropolitan cities with a surprisingly significant amount of parkland and green space.  The Parque del Buen Retiro, literally, “Park of the Pleasant Retreat” in the heart of Madrid, covers 350 acres.  With a lake in the center, the park includes wide pedestrian walkways lined with crafts and artisans and entertainers and are enjoyed by walkers, bicyclists and roller bladers alike.  We even watched several roller blading classes for children and adults.  Only blocks away lies the botanical garden, the Real Jardin Botanico, home to seemingly limitless garden displays.  Barcelona has similar large parks and gardens including the Parc de la Cituadella, Jardi Botanic and Park Guell, filled with Gaudi artwork and whimsical sculpture.

Spain has a typical Mediterranean landscape.  And like Texas, it has a very diverse topography – from to arid desert-like scrub, rolling hills and mountainous regions to lush tropical and coastal areas awash with balmy Mediterranean breezes. It also includes the Balearic Islands of Mallorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera.

Texas has several different landscapes – the Northern Plains, Trans-Pecos Region, Texas Hill Country, Piney Woods and South Texas.  Spain is no different – summers are extremely hot in Madrid and southern Spain, winters can be extremely cold in the Pyrenees Mountains and the north and the coastal regions are tropical.  Most of the country is characterized by hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters.  While my garden was parched and dry at home in Austin, we had to work our sightseeing around several days of showers and heavy rains while we were there.  Normally time of year is sunny and warm, we just happened to hit a rainy spell.  (Wish we would do that here.)

In recent years, American gardeners have been turning more often to the Mediterranean style of landscaping, and our travels in Spain showed me why.

Modern landscape design has its roots in the ancient civilizations of the area.  The Mediterranean style of gardening reflects the easygoing Mediterranean culture, and pairs beautiful elements of nature in an elegant style.   While the gardens have an orderly and graceful style, they are far from formal.  Geometric designs, straight lines and stonework are used to frame a broad range of plants, from soft, flowing petals to linear shrubs and trees to anchor the garden.  It’s not uncommon to see flowers, herbs, fruit trees, palms and succulents all in the same garden.

With its varied climate zones, Spain is home to more than 8,000 plant species.  Texas enjoys approximately 5,500. We share many of the same plants as our European neighbors.

Dramatic cordylines and palms of all sizes are incorporated into most landscapes, parks and public areas.  Olive, cypress and retama trees scatter the countryside.  Beautiful bougainvilleas in all colors climb walls and fences along with mandevillas and fragrant jasmine.

Flowering bushy shrubs include hibiscus, lantana, oleander, plumbago and angel’s trumpet.  And to provide the textural contrast that’s so appealing in Mediterranean gardens, there are all the grasses, cacti, agaves and succulents – plants that are our staples here in recent drought-stricken years.

Our experience in Spain was rich in very different culture, history, architecture and food.  But it was also nice to see some familiar plants across the ocean decorating the beautiful Mediterranean landscape.

By |2017-11-29T23:27:23-06:00June 25th, 2011|Articles|0 Comments
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Drought is the best time to plan for floods

This year’s dramatic lack of rain has left our gardens parched and dry.  But the rain will come.  Maybe not much, but eventually our ugly cycle of drought will be followed by torrential rains that won’t soak into the soil and instead run off, creating a raging river, making walkways impassable and threatening your home and landscape.

If your property is on a slope, or you have poor drainage and design issues, too much water is no small matter.  It can cause structural damage to your home and foundation and it can kill plants, trees and grass.  Standing water left hours after a rain also breeds mosquitoes and can result in mold inside and outside of your home.

If left unaddressed, drainage problems that threaten your home and foundation can lead to costly renovation repairs – repairs that are much more expensive than addressing the drainage problems at the source – out in the landscape.

So what can you do, now – while it’s still dry – to correct your water problems before the next Central Texas flood?  There are many options to address drainage issues — from simple downspout connectors and underground French drains you don’t see — to attractive dry creek beds and rain gardens that can beautify your landscape while getting the job done.

Down spouts

One of the simplest solutions to runoff and drainage problems is to simply bury downspouts down in the soil.  If water from your roof, driveway or patio doesn’t drain naturally, you can install a flexible downspout connector and extension pipe onto the end of the downspout to direct the runoff out into your landscape.  There the water can be dispersed throughout the lawn, instead of making a river on your walkway.  (Be sure it always drains away from your foundation.)

Rain barrels

Rain barrels or cisterns can collect runoff from your roof to store and use to water your lawn or garden.  Overflow pipes from rain barrels can also be directed to overflow into beds or rain gardens.  Placing rain barrels on cinder blocks or raising them up off the ground helps with flow.  Smaller rain barrels are available at most nurseries and garden centers and can be placed at several downspouts around your home.  Larger, more sophisticated rainwater collection systems are also available from many sources in the Central Texas area.

As an added bonus, the City of Austin offers a rebate program for both non-pressurized rainwater barrels and pressurized collection systems.  For more information, go to http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/watercon/rwrebates.htm

French drains

Another simple method to direct drainage is with a French drain.  By digging the trench at the base of the slope of the problem area, it will capture and redistribute any unwanted excess water.  A French drain is usually dug one to two feet deep, depending on the slope required for proper drainage.  Filled with gravel and piping, it is then covered over with grass or landscaping so it is not visible.

Dry creek

A dry creek bed can be created with or without a French drain underneath it to help direct the flow of water in your landscape. River rock, pea gravel or other rock material is used to create a swale along the draining area, with larger rock to line the outside edges of the bed and hold the rest of the rock in place.

Rain Garden

Like a basin in your yard, a rain garden collects rainwater from your roof, sidewalks and landscape and channels it to soak into the soil instead of causing runoff problems.  Planted with an assortment of native plants, a rain garden is an attractive and low maintenance way to solve drainage issues.  Situated in a low spot in your garden that already draws water, the garden is dug out with a flat bottom, the depth based on the slope of the garden area.  For our clay soils, the fill for the hole should consist of sand, compost and topsoil, since clay gets waterlogged and won’t drain properly.  Then a berm (with a gentle, rounded slope) is placed around the downhill edge and up the sides.  Native plants such as purple cone flowers, rudbeckia and sedges are perfect for rain gardens because they require little care and will develop strong root systems.  The plants should thrive in moist soil.  Ground cover or grass on the berm will help prevent erosion and disruption of the plants during a big rain.  As with other landscape beds, mulch well and water as you would for other new transplants, even when it doesn’t rain.  In a few years the plants will have strong root systems and will only need infrequent watering.

No matter which particular drainage issue plagues your garden, there are a variety of solutions available to help you channel your problems away.

By |2017-11-29T23:27:23-06:00May 28th, 2011|Articles|0 Comments
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Vacation paradise in your backyard

With gas already reaching $3.75 a gallon and the economy struggling, many families are foregoing a big summer vacation this year.

If you can’t go to your favorite summer spot, how about a mini-makeover for your backyard so you can enjoy a stay-cation?

We’re lucky to live in a part of the country where we can enjoy the outdoors many months of the year.  But landscaping and furnishing outdoor areas can leave a hefty hole in your wallet.  If you’re not ready for a complete overhaul, new landscape beds or all new patio furniture, here are a few simple ideas to freshen up your outdoor space.

Are your shrubs taking over, hiding the front of your house, and covering up your windows?  One of the easiest ways to increase your curb appeal and spruce up your landscape is to prune your shrubs.  Think about the way they should look.  If you are trying to tame an overgrown shrub, you need to make heading cuts. Remember that the shrub will grow bushier at the point where you make the cut.  To keep it from becoming leggy, you can cut up to 1/3 of the plant, cutting below where you want it to thicken and grow.  Be selective when pruning.  Don’t just buzz your shrubs with shears or a power hedge trimmer.   Think about the way they should look – are they formal or natural?  Do you like the existing form, or could you change it to make it more attractive? Don’t be afraid you’ll mess them up – it’s like getting a haircut – they’ll grow back!

If your shrubs are too tall and leggy to prune without eliminating most of the growth, but you’re not ready to dig them up and invest in new ones, there are still things you can do to freshen up the bed.  Leggy foundation plants can be disguised by placing colorful perennials in front of them to hide the woody stalks.

Annuals are another a great way to add color– creating a colorful focal point to freshen the look of your beds.

To create vertical interest and height in your landscape, consider adding a trellis on a fence or an obelisk within a bed for a colorful climbing vine.

Many people think landscape bedding plants go in the ground and pots go on patios and porches.  However, more and more gardeners are integrating beautiful pots into their beds, adding color and contrast to existing plants.

Let’s step onto the patio now.

Garden Rooms

The home and garden industry has coined a new term for the outdoor areas we use around our homes – garden rooms.  It’s certainly appropriate.  After all, what do we want when we spend time outdoors?  We want a comfortable place to sit and visit, read or eat.  That means designing nice surroundings, good lighting, and a lovely view.  Those are the things we strive for inside of our homes, so why not apply the same principles to the garden?

So, how do you take your patio from a boring, plain Jane 5-piece table and chairs, to a peaceful paradise that is inviting and attractive?  Simple additions can make a big difference.

There are so many options, it’s important to start at the beginning, analyzing your “style” first and then choosing a theme or color scheme.

What kind of plants do you have in your garden? Do you like bright tropical colors, an arid desert look or soft cottage garden pastels?  Determine the look and feel you want.

Simple Patio additions

A few large pots with some “thrillers, spillers and fillers” can provide a framework for your open space.  What are thrillers, spillers and fillers?  That’s the formula for making beautiful pots of plants – you need a tall focal point that will stand out above the other plants and make a statement.  Then you should add some smaller plants with contrasting or coordinating colors around the tall plant.  Then finish the project with trailing plants around the inside perimeter of the pot.

Other good choices for patio anchors include very tall plants in pots or even small trees like Dwarf Palmettos, citrus trees or tall grasses.

Three is the magic number in design, so a grouping of three similar or coordinating pots – small, medium and large — will have more impact than a single pot.

And the old stand-bys still hold strong – simple hanging baskets and window boxes (using the thriller, spiller and filler formula) can brighten up your porch or patio.

Another way to add color and interest is a rug.  Many local nurseries now carry colorful outdoor rugs — some traditional and some made of durable woven plastic — that are weatherproof and great for outdoor spaces.

A few cup hooks and two inexpensive curtain panels in your color scheme can also help frame your new “room.”  Simply screw in hooks along the ceiling over a few feet of space, gather the curtain evenly, hang, and place tie backs.

Side tables, benches, shelves and many other pieces of outdoor furniture are easily  transformed by a new coat of paint in your favorite color.

Light up the night

Sure, you have a big spotlight outside, glaring down on you, but some smaller, softer lighting can set a nice evening mood in your garden room.  A simple string or two of miniature lights draped from the ceiling or a pergola or even run along the fence can be very quaint and inviting.  Or, if you have a sheltered patio, a little table lamp in a corner on a side table will soften the space.  (They are available specifically for outdoor use.)

New trends in lighting also offer many simple options for landscape beds. Inexpensive solar lanterns and path lighting can provide charming ambiance.  Up-lights for trees and large specimen plants now come in solar versions, too.

A little night music

What better to add to the calming effect of your new backyard paradise than the sound of bubbling water?  Disappearing fountains in glazed pots or vases come in do-it-yourself kits, complete with pot, reservoir, pump, and stones.  A little elbow grease and you can make an instant oasis.

No matter what your budget, there are a host of ways to spruce up your landscape and patio to create your own personal paradise.

By |2017-11-29T23:27:24-06:00April 23rd, 2011|Articles|0 Comments
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Follow these steps for a garden that can take the heat

Gardening in Central Texas can be a real challenge, especially in periods of extreme drought.  Add to that the weeks on end with temperatures above 100F, and it’s almost enough to make even the most dedicated gardener throw in the trowel.

So what’s the answer?  If you can’t beat Mother Nature, join her.  Most seasoned gardeners will tell you that using a variety of native and well-adapted plants will consistently give you the best results under difficult conditions.  These plants are used to surviving with what nature provides and don’t need as much watering or maintenance.

That is the crux of Xeriscaping.   Not “zero” scaping, as some mistakenly call it, but using xeric plants and water-wise practices to create a landscape that will flourish in our extremely hot and dry conditions.

It can be so much more than using only cacti and agaves in a rock bed – unless that’s the look you want — there are many lush green and brightly blooming xeric natives from which to choose.

Xeriscaping, however, does not mean never having to water or care for plants – it means developing a water-efficient landscape through the use of good planning, appropriate plant and lawn selection, efficient irrigation, use of mulch and proper maintenance.

A friend told me last week that she thinks of gardening as an event, not a process.  Plan, dig, plant and you’re all done.  She appreciates a beautiful landscape, but doesn’t want to get her hands in the dirt to create or maintain it.  Like her, many people simply don’t want to spend all their free time maintaining and watering when the going gets tough in the summer.

Increasing concern about the depletion of our aquifers and the threat to our water supply and quality is also driving the growing use of xeriscaping.

Texas’ fast-growing population and historic droughts are straining the limits of our water supply in Texas.  In Austin and surrounding communities, water rationing has become commonplace in the hottest summer months..  When availability of quality water for human consumption becomes an issue, many Texans look for ways to conserve and to save money on their monthly water bill.  Among them, using xeric gardening methods can significantly reduce consumption.

So, what are the steps to developing a xeric landscape that will flourish in our extremely hot and dry conditions?

Seven principles of Xeriscaping

  • Good planning
  • Soil analysis
  • Appropriate plant and lawn selection
  • Practical lawn choices
  • Efficient Irrigation
  • Use of mulch
  • Proper maintenance

Plan ahead

Planning is important.  Research the best plants and turf to use.  Before you begin – think about the water needs of your landscape.  If you plan well, you can cluster plants with low water needs.  And have your soil tested to determine if additional minerals or fertilizer might make your plants or soil healthier.  Add necessary amendments and compost when building beds.

Choose native and well-adapted plants

Reducing the amount of turf grass in your landscape and expanding use of native plants can significantly reduce water consumption.  Native plants are also generally less susceptible to disease and harmful insects and have less fertilizer or special soil needs.  There are plenty of xeric plants from which to choose – trees, shrubs, perennials, groundcovers and grasses — that can provide your garden with color and blooms all year.

A few of the popular native and well-adapted plants for our area include:

  • Artemesia
  • Salvia
  • Lavender
  • Santolina
  • Gregg’s Mist Flower
  • Desert Willow
  • Pride of Barbados
  • Agaves
  • Yuccas
  • Cacti
  • Skullcap
  • Texas Sage
  • Blackfoot Daisy
  • Daimianita

Excellent resources for finding more xeric zone 8 plants include:

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/growgreen/plants.htm

http://www.wildflower.org/

http://npsot.org/

http://npsot.org/

Water wisely

Many methods used to irrigate landscapes are very inefficient.  Most sprinklers – both automated systems and hose-end, waste a great deal of water to evaporation, particularly when run during the day.   Watering is best done in the very early morning hours to prevent scorch and to minimize evaporation – even before sun-up for early birds or those with automatic systems.

Overwatering is also a problem.  Overwatering encourage plants to keep shallow roots.   Longer, less frequent, deep watering, develops deep roots away from surface heat that will require less water.

Drip irrigation is an excellent option to reduce water use.  By keeping the water next to the plants and using little pressure, there is almost no evaporation and the soil is able to absorb and use all the water, whereas sprinklers often saturate soil and the water runs off the landscape.

Collecting rainwater (when we are lucky enough to get it) is another way to conserve.  From simple rain barrels placed under downspouts to large commercial systems, using this “free” water is always a good choice, especially since plants prefer natural rainwater to tap water that is chemically-treated.

One turf is not like the other

Lawns can drink up a lot of water.  Truly xeric landscaping plans minimize the amount of turf in the landscape.  For Central Texas, Bermuda, Zoysia and Buffalo grass are the most drought-tolerant.  Bermuda and Zoysia are commonly used in area lawns.

Buffalo grass doesn’t produce a manicured lawn – it is more like a sparse native prairie grass that goes dormant in the summer, turning brown.  It grows to 6 inches high and should be left to grow for the most part, unlike more traditional turf grasses. Because it is sparse, it is also highly susceptible to weeds.

Grass should be mowed high, allowing the longer blades to help protect the roots from the heat and to hold in moisture when there is some.  Grass should be mowed when it is about 1/3 higher than you want it to be. Bermuda should be mowed at 1.5 to 2.5 inches, Buffalo Grass at 4 inches, and Zoysia at 2 inches.  Clippings left on the lawn help return nitrogen to the soil, so they don’t need to be collected.

Keeping roots cool

Mulching beds is an easy way to help insulate plants, keeping soil temperatures lower and cutting down on evaporation.  There are a variety of good mulches from which to choose, including:  Native Texas Hardwood mulch (highly recommended), shredded cedar, pine needles, wood chips, other shredded barks.  Several inches of mulch should be applied to ensure sufficient insulation.

Now, maintain it

Proper pruning, weeding and fertilizing will help keep your landscape healthy.  There are many organic fertilizers and pest control options for problems that may arise in the garden, rather than chemical options that can contaminate our ground water.  Check with local nurseries for good organic choices.

For more information, check out the City of Austin’s Grow Green Program — an extensive water-wise public education program.  Grow Green offers an extensive selection of free gardening how-to materials throughout the Austin area.  Local nurseries carry the program’s free fact sheets and the very popular Native and Adapted Plant Guide that includes 200 recommended plants that will thrive in Central Texas.

By |2017-11-29T23:27:24-06:00March 19th, 2011|Articles|0 Comments
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Wait until last frost before you bring out the pruning tools

We left January with a 78-degree high one day and welcomed February with a 17-degree low the next. These dramatic swings in temperature are often painful for Austinites, for whom prolonged bitter cold is an anomaly. And it can wreak havoc on our gardens. Our plants don’t know if they are supposed to be dead, dormant or budding out.

As gardeners, we certainly want to take advantage of those sporadic and delightfully warm days to get caught up with our landscaping chores. But it’s still just a bit early.

There are still a few more weeks left with a danger of frost. According to the USDA Hardiness Zone map for the Austin area, our average last frost comes between March 1 and March 31. It’s typically the middle of March. (As we all know, using the term “typical” can get you into some gardening trouble here with our yo-yo like weather patterns.)

Try to be patient.  (I know it’s hard when the sun is shining and everything is dead, brown and ugly.)  Waiting to prune until after the last freeze prevents stimulation of new, tender growth that can be damaged by frost and can stress the plant by bringing it in and out of dormancy.

Getting started – pruners, loppers and shears

Good tools can make a big difference – for you and for your plants.  A clean cut is much better for plants than ragged or torn edges.  Sharp, high-quality tools like Felco or Fiskars brands make cutting easier for the gardener, too.  Use hand pruners for smaller plants and some woody perennials up to 1 inch in diameter.  For larger woody perennials and shrub limbs, longer-handled loppers help provide more leverage when cutting.  Shears work best for shaping smaller shrub branches or grasses.

Woody Perennials

First, assess the damage on your dormant perennials — plants like Lantana, Esperanza, or Salvia. If you scrape the stem of most of these perennials you will be able to tell whether it is alive and dormant, or whether it has succumbed to winter. Look for signs of green close to the base of the plant. Normal pruning of most of our perennials will suffice if the plant is just dormant. These woody perennials are typically very hardy. While it might take them a little longer to bud out after a cold winter like this, most do, unless they were newly-planted before winter or are particularly small and not well established. Make clean sharp cuts leaving about 6” of stem above ground. New growth from these plants will come from the base, so cutting them low will not affect their development.

Succulents

Many aloes and agaves were severely damaged by our hard freezes this winter.  Freeze-damaged succulents usually turn a lighter color, almost white, soon after the freeze. Later, the damaged part of the plant will wilt, and then turn black with rot. In some succulents, the affected parts eventually fall off.

If the center bud remains green and firm, the plant will likely to grow and recover, in spite of dead leaves. However, dead and damaged parts will never recover, and you can remove them. You should also look for new growth underneath the dead leaves and down in the base of the plant. These pups can often survive under the cover of the dead leaves.

Palm trees

If the center of the tree is fine, it will probably survive. Cut off dead or highly damaged leaves. Palms grow primarily in the warm spring and through the summer, and may look much better by the end of the summer.

Cycads – Sago Palms

Sago palms are popular in Austin, and many gardeners have them in their landscapes. Not actually palms at all, Sagos are cycads and they are normally hardy to 26 degrees. However, prolonged hard freezes cause damaged leaves to turn yellow or brown. These should be pruned to encourage new growth. You can remove all the leaves – they will grow back. If the trunk and leaf crown are still firm, the plant will likely recover.  Don’t worry if it looks like a bad haircut for a while – all the leaves will eventually regrow from the trunk.

Crape Mrytles

Some people start pruning Crape Myrtles earlier, but just like other plants, they are still susceptible to late season frosts and should not be pruned until after that danger has passed. In spite of industry-wide efforts to educate homeowners and maintenance crews about the dangers of “Crape murder,” you can still spot Crape Myrtles all over town that have been topped off — cutting back all the major limbs severely and straight across. It’s almost as though they’ve been put in a guillotine — and about as attractive.

It’s an odd practice, considering that no other trees like live oaks, elms, yaupon hollies or mountain laurels, are treated that way when they are pruned.

Crape Myrtles should never be topped. Removing the terminal growing section of a tree ruins the natural shape and appearance, stunts its growth and weakens it.  It can also reduce the number of blooms that the tree produces in the summer.  When pruned back too far, new branches may not be able to support the weight of summer’s blooms, particularly when wet. Crape Myrtles should be pruned for shape and style, removing any twigs or branches smaller than the diameter of a pencil.  To prune larger branches, trace down from the seedpod to where the stem meets a branch, and cut approximately 6 inches above that intersection.  This ensures that the new branch will be strong enough to support future growth below your cut.

Once you’ve finished pruning and everything starts to bud out, don’t be tempted to fertilize newly pruned plants. They need to use all of their energy to begin new growth.  Fertilizing now will over-stress them. Wait until later in the spring — at least a month — when they are established again.

By |2017-11-29T23:27:24-06:00February 19th, 2011|Articles|0 Comments
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Help small creatures make home in your backyard

As the cold weather descends upon normally temperate Austin and the surrounding Hill Country, food, water and shelter become scarce for our furry and feathered wildlife friends.

While many people hang bird feeders or houses in their yards, a little garden habitat planning can bring a whole new variety of birds and other wildlife to your yard.

Birds, bats, toads, frogs, lizards, snakes, turtles, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons and many other small creatures can bring great enjoyment into your landscape.

While some people might not care to invite all of these animals into their yards, most of them are harmless.  Many even eat destructive insects or rodents.

Supporting wildlife in your garden can help maintain the balance of nature in an urban setting.  Watching or photographing the antics of wildlife creatures can provide hours of enjoyment for children and grown-ups alike.  And listening to the songs and chirps of birds, toads, frogs and others will be music to your ears. It can be like having the National Geographic channel in your own back yard.

How do you go about creating a friendly and successful habitat for wildlife?  There are four primary elements necessary to help wildlife survive in your garden.

  • Shelter
  • Food
  • Water
  • Places to raise young

Shelter

For wildlife to thrive, animals need shelter from predators and weather extremes – the blazing summer heat, winter’s cold and rain, and our central Texas droughts.

Many garden plants can provide both food and shelter. Trees, shrubs, grasses, flowers, groundcovers and vines can all provide protection.

For example, some birds thrive in the underbrush and like small, dense shrubs for shelter, while others prefer wide-open spaces in which they can keep an eye out for predators.

Frogs, toads and lizards like rocks, piles of leaves, stumps and logs.  If you don’t have an area in your yard to leave wild or natural, you can pile some leaves and rocks in shady parts of a flowerbed to welcome these creatures.

Food

Native plants can provide food for all kinds of wildlife with their nuts, berries, foliage, fruits, sap, and seeds.

Different species like different sources of food. Flowers are nectar sources for hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. Beautyberry, coral berry, holly, juniper, sumac, wax myrtle, viburnum, native Texas persimmon, oak, pyracantha, nandina, yaupon holly and fruit trees are just some of the things you can plant in your garden to support wildlife.

In addition to seed (from native wildflowers or pre-packaged), birds also eat insects, worms, nectar, fruits, nuts and berries.  While many birds eat sunflowers provided in feeders, there are other kinds of seeds you can provide to entice many new species of birds into your back yard.

Some birds, including titmice, nuthatches, woodpeckers and mockingbirds will eat bits of fruit like oranges, apples and raisins.  Woodpeckers and chickadees also like suet blocks, which is birdseed in a block of rendered fat and provides extra energy – an excellent source of winter food.

Small frogs and toads eat insects, worms and snails.  Lizards, like our native Anoles and Spiny lizards eat crickets, spiders, roaches and grubs.  We know squirrels eat nuts, but they also like seeds, grains and fruit.  Rabbits will eat many different plants, so while you want to keep them out of your vegetable garden, they will also eat berries, flowers shrubs and grasses.

Water

We all need water to survive, and animals in central Texas have greater needs than some because of our frequent and severe drought conditions.

In addition to ponds and standing birdbaths, shallow birdbaths or saucers on the ground can help provide water to many other species.  Logs, rocks and other shallow structures are good water sources for turtles, frogs, toads, lizards and even butterflies.

Water should be changed frequently to keep it fresh and clean and to prevent mosquito breeding.

Places to raise young

Most habitats that provide adequate cover also provide animals with the right conditions for raising their young.

Small mammals will burrow in areas ranging from wildflower beds to basic garden undergrowth.  Frogs, toads and lizards need groundcover and moisture. They like a carpet of leaves and groundcover to shield the.  And the nesting preferences of birds are as varied as the species themselves, including dense shrubs, trees, birdhouses and even potted plants.  Because birds use many different materials to build their nests, you can help by hanging a mesh net or something similar with fiber scraps, wool, or lint in a tree.

To provide a safe habitat for wildlife in your yard, it is important not to use insecticides, pesticides, and other chemical products like lawn weed & feeds or weed killers, as these can kill both the animals and the food sources on which they depend in the wild.

Already providing a safe habitat?

If you already provide food, shelter, water and nesting places for wildlife in your yard, or you want to start creating a wildlife habitat, you can be certified by the National Wildlife Federation or the Texas Parks and Wildlife Backyard Habitat Program.

National Wildlife Federation: http://www.nwf.org/

Texas Parks and Wildlife: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/

Once you have applied and met the requirements, each of these organizations, for a fee, will provide you with a plaque,  designating your space as a wildlife habitat.

By |2017-11-29T23:27:25-06:00January 15th, 2011|Articles|0 Comments
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Escape in the garden

Gardening to destress or grow food has never been more important. Get my FREE Five Quick Container Tips to start your own restorative gardening project today. Hook me up now!

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