As recently as the turn of the Millennium, we were still trying to control nature; to do all the work ourselves and allow only those creatures we LOVE inside the garden. Thanks to this being the United Nations Decade of Biodiversity, we’re all becoming more aware of which animals can help us in the garden…and how to help them in exchange.
Some relationships might be a surprise. One can buy ‘toad houses’: clay plant saucers with a ‘door’ cut into the side. They create a cool, moist place for our warty friends to shelter during the day. Having a pile of sticks back in the corner of the garden—perhaps under and behind some shrubs—will do the same thing. Other than it being a nice thing to do, why would one go to these lengths to help an amphibian that can spread warts to humans (MYTH!)? Turns out that toads feed aggressively on everyone’s least-favorite slimy pest; the slug. This makes toads one of a gardener’s best friends.
Another friend, who used to be a foe, is the snake. Would you believe that fifteen years ago, garden pamphlets sometimes had chapters on controlling snakes? Snakes are ALSO big eaters of slugs. Who knew?
Speaking of slug-eaters, (is this starting to sound like an old Henny Youngman comedy sketch?), there are many reasons to attract birds to the garden. They bring joy to our lives with their songs and bright colours. They bring peace to our lives, in a somewhat subconscious way, by letting that primitive part of our brains know that there are no predators around. Birds go quiet when there are predators around. They eat a plethora of otherwise-hard-to-control pests including Japanese beetle, emerald ash borer and LDD moths. Birds also eat weed seeds.
The pile of sticks, mentioned earlier, will shelter snakes and birds…and many other creatures as well.
Some easy ways to encourage wildlife? Shelter is number one, in the form of dense shrubs and trees, where critters can hide if predators approach. Ideally, one wants 30% cover to make birds and critters happy. Water in the garden is the second most important, as a pond, a bubbling rock or even a simple birdbath. Even if you’re a control freak and like everything cleaned up in the fall, leaving the garden standing through the winter leaves shelter for beneficial insects, seedheads for birds and structure to hold snow beautifully. When winter lasts as long as it does around here, surely it’s better to have something to look at in the garden than nothing.
In short, nature is not our enemy. Even if some wild things can, occasionally, cause grief in the garden, supporting biodiversity is better overall, lowering work—who isn’t looking for a lower maintenance landscape—adding beauty and increasing resiliency. Hate creepy-crawlies? Try to find the beauty in every living thing…as corny as that sounds. Love creepy crawlies? Well, the world just caught up with you!
— Sean James, Guelph Wellington Master Gardener