LANDSCAPING with MARYLAND S NATIVE PLANTS LANDSCAPING for WILDLIFE Level II Certification Course for Maryland Master Gardeners Fall 2006 Instructor: Louisa Thompson, MG This course is funded in part by a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust. We thank the Trust for their support. We would also like to acknowledge the volunteer support of many Maryland Master Gardeners who helped prepare materials for this course. LANDSCAPING for WHICH KINDS of WILDLIFE? Each client s preferences are unique... Unpredictable. So, you must ask, and ask follow-up questions, and check periodically during the design process for further thoughts. Butterflies Birds Songbirds Game birds Waterfowl Mammals large & small Rabbits Squirrels, Chipmunks Raccoons, Opossums, Skunks, Groundhogs Deer Predators: Hawks, Owls, Foxes Predators: Wolves, Bears, Coyotes Moles, Mice, Voles Rats Fish Reptiles Amphibians Snails, Slugs Insects Arthropods Spiders Soil Organisms Earthworms Earwigs, Pillbugs, Sowbugs Nematodes Microorganisms Some Types of Wildlife Gardens & Landscapes Butterfly Gardens Often small, e.g. townhouse or terrace (container). Usually emphasize prettiness. Sometimes formal. Often ignore larval needs. Typical clients: Families with young children Schools Hospitals. 1
Backyard Wildlife Habitat Gardens Sometimes less emphasis on prettiness. Often very informal, low-maintenance. Typical clients: Families with young children. Adults passionate about nature. Environmental non-profits (demonstration gardens). Butterfly-shaped Butterfly Garden at Chesapeake Ecology Center Garden of Windstar Naturalist Cathy Gilleland Note toad house. Wildlife Habitat Garden in a Suburban Subdivision Lawn makes it acceptable to neighbors. Used by enormous numbers of birds, butterflies. See next slide for close-up of circled area. 2
CULTIVARS vs. SPECIES Cultivars often more esthetically pleasing. Species often better for wildlife. Many more butterflies on wild New England Aster than on dwarf cultivar. School Wildlife Habitat Gardens Wooded Area / Wildlife Habitat Plantings on left. Rain Gardens straight ahead. Xeriscape Border along drive to right. Game Habitat Upland game bird habitat grasslands. Deer edge habitat. Waterfowl wetlands, tidal marshes. Forest wildlife - Forests or woodlots. Typical clients: Large landowners who hunt Hunt clubs, businesses DNR, parks See Extension publications from many states, bird clubs, Izaak Walton League, Trout Unlimited. Grassland birds (upland game birds) like to nest between clumps of grass such as Little Bluestem. Restoration Typical clients: Large landowners who care about stewardship Institutions May be combined with other stewardship functions, e.g., riparian buffers. See publications by MCE, nature and birding organizations, local butterfly larval host lists, Butterflies through Binoculars, Peterson s Guide to Eastern Butterflies, Golden Book of Butterflies and Moths A Master Gardener s Meadow 3
WILDLIFE HABITAT For what kinds of clients? Schools Nature Centers Land Conservancies Large Landowners Nature Lovers A Naturalist s Pond Schoolyard Habitat Gardens Chesapeake Ecology Center Sneezeweed Mixed Native Grasses Swamp Milkweed J. Albert Adams Academy, Home of the Chesapeake Ecology Center in Annapolis Gardens landscaped by Zora Lathan and MG Thistle Cone, with help from MG Carol Jelich Nature Centers Xeriscape Garden at entrance. Note signage Important for increasing visitor acceptance. Parking Lot Island, Adkins Arboretum 4
Adkins Arboretum Grasses have a tendency to flop. Adkins Arboretum Note dramatic use of Winged Sumac. To some extent, we can choose which wildlife we will attract. To a great extent, we cannot. wings Winged Sumac, also called Dwarf or Shining Sumac, Rhus copallina. Can get 15-20 tall. Almost any garden will attract deer. Where hunting is not possible, some kind of fencing may be critical to plant survival. 5
Where appropriate, a Deer Exclosure gives the best protection. Tree Tubes also protect against browsing. MEETING WILDLIFE HABITAT REQUIREMENTS throughout the LIFE CYCLE Wildlife need habitat year-round. They must survive each season as EGGS, Female Oak Apple Gall Wasps lay their eggs in oak leaves. The tree reacts to the larva by forming a benign tumor a gall around it. The larva eats the gall from within. JUVENILES, House Wren, just hatched eyes still milky. House wrens are cavity nesters. This nest was built in a garden shed left open while I worked. I didn t have the heart to remove it till the birds had fledged. Most bird species require a high-protein diet as nestlings: INSECTS. Many insects, including most butterflies, require specific larval host plants. Spicebush Swallowtail larva with scent glands extended. Large eyespots also to scare off predators are at rear. Larval host plants are Spicebush and Sassafras. Butterfly Larval Host Plants ADULTS Food needs generally less restricted. Most butterflies nectar on whatever is in bloom. Great Spangled Fritillary nectaring on Butterfly Weed. Baltimore Checkerspot on Turtlehead Monarch on Swamp Milkweed Larval host violets. 6
Most adult songbirds birds eat both insects and seeds. Exception: Mockingbirds eat only fruit except as nestlings. Will defend winter food source. Have extended range following Multiflora Rose. 3 ways of surviving winter: Migration neotropical migratory birds, monarch butterflies, some birds to Maryland (e.g., juncos). Hibernation or dormant state. Activity. Beavers build well-insulated lodges. They store food (peeled branches, esp. of understory trees) in the water behind their dam. They come out at night to feed. Although most homeowners object to beavers feeding on their trees, the net effect is more diverse habitat, more wildflowers. Dormancy Many insects pupate. Some animals hibernate. HABITAT Food Plants Pollen, Nectar Leaves, Flowers Stems, Roots Fruits, Seeds Jack-in-the-Pulpit fruit brightly colored to stand out amidst the litter of the forest floor. Baltimore Checkerspot chrysalis Monarch chrysalis Pollen from March through October, even November. Animals All sizes. Living or dead. Witch Hazel flowers in October as it loses its leaves. Pollinated by a night-flying moth that could not survive without it. Baltimore Checkerspot nectaring on a dead snake. Photo by Beth Johnson 7
Be sure to provide high-fat late fall and winter food sources. Some naturalists believe red fall foliage signals birds that fruit is ripe. Extra in fall for migratory birds, to fuel their flight south. Extra in fall for animals that store food as body fat to survive winter shortages or hibernation. Winter resident birds need calories to keep warm need to eat many times every day. Dogwood at Marjorie Merriweather Post Garden Corms & rhizomes of spring ephemerals feed chipmunks & other burrowing animals. Spring Beauty Squirrel Corn Many insects overwinter as adults under loose bark or in bark crevices. Woodpeckers, nuthatches, tufted titmice, & chickadees feed on them. River Birch White Oak Persimmon Black Gum Pignut Hickory Leave seedheads on grasses and wildflowers - Don t mow till spring. Famine foods: Not very tasty, or not very nutritious, so left for last. Not damaged (may be improved) by many freeze-thaw cycles. Provide winter interest for people. Big Bluestem New York Ironweed Bottlebrush Grass Chokeberry Staghorn Sumac 8
Water Always attracts wildlife. And people! Less important in our region than elsewhere there s a stream no more than ½ mile from almost anyplace in MD. Shelter from Weather Cover from Predators Dense evergreens such as this Rosebay Rhododendron provide good cover and winter shelter. Numerous insects, birds, & mammals feed on or nest or shelter in Eastern Red Cedar, including Olive Hairstreak butterfly larvae. It also makes a good hedge & wind buffer. A Place to Raise Young Each bird species looks for a specific height, density of foliage, & other nest site characteristics. Provide diversity of height, density, branch structure. A Master Gardener s Front Yard Many birds use old pileated woodpecker nests for nests & for winter shelter. Eagles need tall trees or better, snags to nest in. USE NATURE as a MODEL Know the natural plant community or communities that could grow on the site. Select plants from one. Determine which horizontal & vertical relationships matter for wildlife. Then develop an esthetic concept. David W. Force Park, Ellicott City Piedmont, former woodlot, rich soil. 9
A Master Gardener s Woodland Garden Piedmont, rich soil. Note tall trees, understory trees, shrubs, wildflowers, ferns, use of leaf litter or wood chip mulch for paths, fallen tree limbs for edging. A Naturalist s Garden for Wildlife woodland edge and meadow. Maintained as a garden mainly just weeding. Watering during drought. Soldiers Delight in January natural grassland. Formerly browsed and burned. Now mowed, burned, or sprayed with brushkiller under power line. A Master Gardener s Meadow and Woodland Edge meadow mowed in spring. Parking Lot Island, Adkins Arboretum burned each March to keep grasses looking good. 10
IN SUM, PROVIDE: Year-Round Habitat Food Water Cover Shelter A Place to Raise Young Biodiversity Diversity of: Species Genetic diversity Physical Structure Height Density of foliage Spacing Plant Types Trees, Shrubs, Spring Flowers & Ferns Grasses & Summer Flowers Wetland & Wetland Edge plants Trophic Levels Predators & decomposers instead of pesticides & fertilizers Don t forget to make people welcome! 11