Think of your yard as a blank slate. 

If you could start from scratch, what would be your ultimate landscape design? A classical French garden? An English cottage garden? Or the tried-and-true suburban turf grass and shrubbery design?

All of these designs can bring style and beauty to your yard, but if your desire is to have a lot of birds and other wildlife as a part of your landscape…they are sure to fail.
So, why not consider a different garden design…a habitat garden! Habitat gardens display all of the beauty and style as the other designs, but they also attract and nurture a much broader variety of wildlife such as bees, butterflies, birds, and amphibians.

By creating a native landscape that provides wildlife with food, water, shelter and the places they need to raise their young, you will also play a valuable role in helping to reverse some disturbing trends in wildlife populations.

Research has recently quantified the loss of almost one-third of our total bird population in North America over the last 50 years, and our Monarch Butterfly population has declined by more than 80 percent since the mid-1990s. Scientists have identified habitat loss as the biggest reason for these and other wildlife declines.

Just imagine if we could re-make every suburban lawn in North America into a nurturing wildlife habitat! While once a daunting thought, it is easier and more realistic to do than ever before…thanks to the National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Wildlife Habitat program. Through the use of NWF’S abundant support materials and online resources, everyone can be inspired to create a haven for wildlife in their own yard.

Since its inception, NWF has certified more than 250,000 wildlife habitats and Wild Birds Unlimited, as the Champion for the Certified Wildlife Habitat program, encourages everyone to consider becoming the next to certify. Visit wbu.com/certify-your-yard to see how easy it is to create your own backyard habitat and to truly make a difference for the future of song birds and other wildlife.

You may be thinking, “So, what is the big deal with so-called native plants? A plant is a plant. What possible difference can it make as to the choice of plants I use to landscape my yard? How can a beautiful plant not be good for birds and other wildlife?”

Great question. Simple answer…bird food! But probably not the type of bird food that first comes to mind.

Many plants produce fruits and seeds that birds use for food, but native plants also attract and feed lots of native insects. Most non-native plants don’t. And insects are the essential element that many bird parents need to successfully raise their young. Fewer native plants means fewer insects, which truly means fewer birds.

How does it work? Native plants and insects have been living together for eons. You could say they grew up together. Countless types of insects have come to utilize specific native plants to provide food for their offspring (think caterpillars). When you replace these native plants with undesirable ones (think turf grass), the entire process comes to a screeching halt. Insect populations crash and so do the bird populations that count on them as food for their nestlings.

Case in point, Carolina Chickadees need more than 6,000 caterpillars to successfully feed and fledge five chicks from their nest! Every day, for up to two weeks, it takes chickadees between 150-200 successful foraging sorties to collect that many caterpillars, even in the best of native habitat. It is simply an impossible task in habitats dominated by non-native plants.

So choices do matter. By using more native plants to landscape your yard, you can create a haven for nesting birds…and bring more birds and more joy into your world.

A great place to start learning more about the bird/plant connection is by reading a wonderful book called, “Nature’s Best Hope” by Douglas Tallamy. It’s truly the best handbook to help you to transform your yard into a vibrant backyard wildlife habitat.

Also, be sure to check out the National Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Habitat Certification Program. This programs provide expert information that will make it easy for you to design and develop your yard into a native landscape that will be great for birds.

And for a fun and entertaining look at the benefits of native plants, be sure to check out the Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Centered Podcast episode, “Habitat: Can You Really Make a Difference?” Hosts John and Brian will share their own experiences and first hand results that have changed the game for wildlife in their own backyards and communities.

Visit our store for other resources as well- we have several great books specifically discussing native plants for the Midwest, pollinator gardening in the Midwest, Monarch butterfly gardens for the midwest, and so on. These not only make great gifts but are full of ideas for gardening on every level- from patio gardening to backyard transformations.