How to Attract Wildlife into Your Garden
How to get more out of your garden and create a safe haven full of flourishing fauna and wildlife in your own backyard.
Attention all nature lovers, we are going to tell you exactly how to transform your garden into a safe environment for native wildlife to thrive in.
Based on your location, climate zone and size of your garden, there are a number of ways to attract a wide variety of wonderful and beautiful wildlife into your garden.
To do this, you’ll need to consider the basic needs of these little creatures, including water, food and shelter. With this in mind, we can begin to explore different elements to attract all kinds of wildlife such as birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians as well as small mammals.
Let’s begin, here are some simple tips to transform your backyard into a wildlife attraction:
1. Create a plan for your wildlife-friendly garden
Before you start tearing up your backyard and purchasing a whole range of native flowers and plants, you’ll need to plan out what you want to achieve and the type of wildlife you want to attract. Different animals will have different requirements in order to thrive.
To do this, you’ll first need to find out what types of animals are the most common in your area, there’s no point trying to attract small mammals if you live in the middle of the Perth CBD. With a better understanding of the wildlife in your location, you can now consider adding elements of shelter, water and food.
A good place to start is whether you want a permanent fixture in your garden such as a tree and the type of soil you’re going to use, from here it’ll be easier to choose the type of plants and other features you’d like to add.
2. Choose your plants
By now you should already know the type of plants you’re going to have in your garden. If you hadn’t given it much thought, you’ll need to consider the size of your garden — can you fit a tree? — does your area receive much sun? Do you live near the beach? These are all important questions, as the type of plants you choose will determine the type of wildlife you want to be attracting into your garden.
We recommend exploring different species of native flowers, as they are one of the easiest and most important factors in diversifying your garden. Native flowers are low maintenance, waterwise, and provide food and shelter for nectar-feeding birds and insects.
The most beneficial part is that these creatures are able to spread pollen and pollinate your flowers for you, helping your plants reproduce and your garden to flourish.
Native plants to consider:
- Eucalypts
- Banksias
- Waratahs
- Angophoras
- Kangaroo paws
- Grevilleas
Wildlife you will attract:
- Parrots
- Native pigeons
- Various species of finches, such as red-browed firetails and zebra finches
- Bees
- Butterflies
You can always contact your local nursery for more advice on choosing plants that will prosper in your location and climate zone.
3. Provide water sources and habitats
The best ways to provide a source of water and shelter for small birds, frogs, amphibians and other wildlife is to introduce a bird bath or small pond. They are easily integrated into your garden landscape and become a reliable source of water, attracting all kinds of wildlife who may be seeking water or refuge from predators.
4. Add elements of shelter
If you really want to take it up a notch, consider adding nesting boxes onto branches in small trees and bushes around your garden to encourage birds to make your garden their home. You can purchase them from Bunnings or any other local hardware store, or you can even have a crack at making one yourself. Ensure you put some wood shavings at the bottom to make it as comfortable as possible.
Other forms of shelter can include creating rockeries; large stones or rocks placed around your garden to encourage sun baking, attracting small reptiles. Hollow logs, foliage and sticks can also provide shelter for lizards, and encourage small insects, becoming an easy food source for reptiles and birds.
5. Keep your pets inside
Unfortunately, as much as this pains you to keep your cats and dogs inside, they pose a real issue in scaring off wildlife. Cats in particular, are natural predators of smaller creatures and have a natural instinct to hunt, especially at night. They will attack and scare away birds and other small animals. Alternatively, you can try using a bell on their collar if they are playing in the garden, or move their play area to a separate place, such as the front yard.
With these ideas in mind, you are now well equipped to transform your garden into a wildlife paradise.
Need a professional landscaper to help design the perfect yard? We provide a whole range of landscaping services alongside our concrete services. Book a free on-site quote and let us know how you’d imagine your front yard or backyard to look like.
