Conventional landscaping, with its lawns and exotic plants, is prevalent throughout North America and gives little thought to specific local conditions, a region's climate, its soils and other constraints. Such plantings require ongoing and intensive maintenance and often include the application of pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
An alternative is Naturescaping - landscaping to create ecologically sound and aesthetically pleasing areas through the use of native plants. It restores natural beauty to urban, rural and public lands and enhances habitat for wildlife.
Naturescaping offers many important benefits, both ecological and economic.
It reduces water consumption. On average, 40 per cent of home-use water supplies are dedicated to watering conventional lawns and gardens. Because native plants have adapted to the weather cycle of their region, they are water-thrifty.
It improves water quality. By reducing or eliminating the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers from landscape maintenance, waterways are free of this source of pollution.
It creates wildlife habitat and adds important biodiversity to urban areas, acting in conjunction with existing parks and green spaces to connect habitat throughout a region.
It prevents the introduction of invasive species. Many invaders, such as Scotch Broom, Gorse and English Ivy, are exotic plants that escaped from gardens and spread into the natural world, often out-competing many native plants.
It creates a sense of place because plants in natural landscapes are tied to the local environment.
And finally, Naturescaping is cost-effective. Conventional landscapes are very expensive and time-consuming to maintain. Naturalized areas are not maintenance free, but the bulk of the cost is restricted to the first three years while the landscape is being established.
Designing Your Naturescape
Step 1: Planning
As with any type of landscaping, planning is essential. Decide how large you wish your habitat to be, and break the project into manageable chunks. Trying to do too much can be discouraging. Approach your Naturescape on a bed-by-bed, project-by-project basis. Don't be afraid to have a three- to five-year plan.
To ensure that your Naturescape will provide for wildlife, you must offer the basic elements: shelter, food and water.
Shelter takes many forms. When designing your wildlife habitat, think in layers. Think of thickets of trees as well as an understorey of dense shrubs and hedges for birds to nest in or hide. Dead trees, both standing and on the ground, also offer excellent habitat. In fact, many birds such as woodpeckers and chickadees rely on tree cavities to raise their young. Woodpiles, brush piles and dry stone walls are excellent places for small animals. It is also important to include areas of meadow and leaf litter which are important for foraging. Finally, nest boxes can provide shelter.
For food, include indigenous plants and some very specific non-native plants that will provide nectar, seeds, berries and associated insects.
A few native plants with excellent habitat for birds, bees, butterflies and hummingbirds are Red and Blue Elderberry (Sambuncus racemosa and S. caerulea); Red-osier Dogwood (Cornus stolonifera) and Scouler's Willow (Salix scouleriana) (which provide food and cover for other wildlife); and Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium). The blueberry family (Vaccinum spp.) offers good food and browse. Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) as a groundcover or the wildflower Stonecrop (Sedum spp.) will also attract bees and butterflies.
Plan for your habitat to provide food throughout the year: choose a diversity of plants and ensure there are plants in bloom or seed year-round. Diverse vegetation also attracts many insects that play an important role in any garden. Feeders can be added for birds.
Clean, fresh water is often difficult to find in developed areas, where streams and creeks are channeled and marshy areas drained. Yet water is incredibly important for year-round drinking and bathing by all animals, and it is essential for many insects and amphibians in their life cycles.
By including a water source in your wildlife habitat you can transform an average habitat into an extraordinary one. Water can be offered in many ways - through bird baths, ponds, streams or even a shallow dish.
Step 2: Planting
Now that you have designed your plan, you need to think about planting. Buy plants from a reputable nursery, and never collect them from the wild. It is important to select appropriate sites for them. Woodland plants need shade. Meadow plants need full or partial sun. Bog plants require a great deal of water, but plants naturally found on rocky outcroppings require very little.
If you are reducing your lawn size, it can be very tiring digging up the sod. An easier method is to apply a layer of newspaper (about 12-sheets thick) and apply mulch and compost thickly. Leave this over the winter, and plants can be planted directly into the mulch in the spring.
Step 3: Maintaining
Much of the maintenance of your Naturescape will be annual or semi-annual. Delay pruning plants back until early spring, just prior to leaf growth, to ensure that seed-eating birds can feast on plant seeds during the winter. It is also important to note that in a wildlife-habitat garden, you must choose biological controls over pesticides and use organic fertilizer, such as compost, to maintain the balance of prey and predator relationships.
And finally, be sure to make time to enjoy your Naturescape and observe the changing of each season.
Angela Deering, Program Coordinator for Naturescape British Columbia, is a Board Member of the RBCM's Special Operating Agency Advisory Board.
The intent of Naturescape British Columbia is to encourage people to create habitat in urban and rural areas. The program is supported by the provincial and federal governments, Wildlife Habitat Canada, the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund and various other non-profit organizations. For Naturescape information, visit their Web site at http://www.hctf.ca/nature.htm or call (1-800) 387-9853.