snowyowl
Well-known member
I'm planning on re-working a lot of my garden to make it even more bird/butterfly friendly. Presently I cut about an acre of of grass with a large lawn tractor. Obviously that isn't a very environmentally friendly thing to be doing.
I'll retain my pond and rock garden plus a few flower beds but I want to focus more on native plants and berry-bearing plants. The pond (9"x9') has to be made much more wildlife/bird friendly. The goldfish thrive in it but there's very little natural life in it, no frogs etc at all.
I'll plant High-bush Cranberries, Saskatoon Berries and Elderberries for sure, There are wild Raspberries and wild roses around as well as a lot of wild Mountain Ash along the driveway and in the woods. I know that sounds like that's a lot of food sources but some years, and this was one, I couldn't find any berries when I checked in the Fall, it seemed to be a complete failure of the berry crops so I want to offer as much variety as possible. With enough diversity, I hope to avoid the wipe out of food sources that occurred this year.
I'd be interested to hear suggestions or to hear about other people's experiences in this type of project. In our climate, anything being planted has to be super hardy.
i've hear a lot about Rosa Multiflora being planted for cover and feed but i've also heard that it can be very invasive. Anyone with experience with it?
Sumac is another one that I'm considering but again, it can be invasive.
I'll retain my pond and rock garden plus a few flower beds but I want to focus more on native plants and berry-bearing plants. The pond (9"x9') has to be made much more wildlife/bird friendly. The goldfish thrive in it but there's very little natural life in it, no frogs etc at all.
I'll plant High-bush Cranberries, Saskatoon Berries and Elderberries for sure, There are wild Raspberries and wild roses around as well as a lot of wild Mountain Ash along the driveway and in the woods. I know that sounds like that's a lot of food sources but some years, and this was one, I couldn't find any berries when I checked in the Fall, it seemed to be a complete failure of the berry crops so I want to offer as much variety as possible. With enough diversity, I hope to avoid the wipe out of food sources that occurred this year.
I'd be interested to hear suggestions or to hear about other people's experiences in this type of project. In our climate, anything being planted has to be super hardy.
i've hear a lot about Rosa Multiflora being planted for cover and feed but i've also heard that it can be very invasive. Anyone with experience with it?
Sumac is another one that I'm considering but again, it can be invasive.