The Birds and the Bees for Gardeners – Part 1

“Now when a mama bird and a daddy bird love each other very much…” Just kidding! We’re not going to talk about reproduction, but about attracting some valuable visitors and residents to our gardens—some fauna to add to our flora.

Plants can be beautiful, with their foliage, blossoms, and seed pods of various colors, shapes, and textures. They add dimension and diversity to our garden beds and surroundings. But though they may wave in the breeze and shape-shift throughout the seasons, plants can’t bring the activity to our properties that animals contribute.

Enter what we call “beneficial wildlife.” These are critters of various sizes and from several animal families. Most of them are birds, insects, reptiles, and amphibians.

What makes them beneficial? They fulfill one or more of the following five purposes:

• Aesthetically pleasing–It’s a joy to observe their beautiful appearance, hear the sounds they make, or watch their antics. Or maybe even all of the above!
• Pollination–They flit from plant to plant, spreading pollen as they go. Without them, many plants would not produce fruit and seeds.
• Pest control–They eat or otherwise incapacitate insects and other tiny critters that are harmful to plants.
• Food chain link–They are or provide food for other beneficial animals, thus contributing a valuable part of the circle of life.
• Soil conditioning—By decomposing plant material, dropping bodily secretions, or by the decomposition of their own body parts, they contribute to the general health of soil and mulch.

Why should we try to attract them? For starters, they provide these services and many more:

• Enjoyment and education–They provide enjoyment and education as we observe them, see the results of their work and life cycles, and note their migration patterns.
• Promotion of wildlife survival—They provide balance in the animal world by eating some species and/or being eaten by other wildlife.
• Biological pest management—Many of our beneficials including birds, snakes, frogs, toads, and bats are natural enemies of harmful pests.
• Overall garden health—Beneficial wildlife make a general contribution to the growth of our garden plants, improvement of soil condition, and increase of valuable nutrients.

What are these beneficial animals? Here are several of the more common ones:

• Pollinators: bumble bee, honey bee, orchard mason bee, butterfly, moth, hover/syrphid fly, hummingbird
• Predators: bat, beetle, bird, frog, ladybug, centipede, lacewing, lizard, mantis, newt, salamander, snake, spider, toad, turtle
• Parasites: larvae of wasps and flies
• Food for other beneficials/ decomposition aids: earthworm, red worm, many insect species

In future posts, we’ll learn how to create habitats to attract these critters.

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