My native garden was first created in 2014 after deciding that I wanted my yard to be more beneficial to wildlife. It initially began as just a 64 sq. ft. garden, but after adding on a few times over the course of a few years, it's now roughly 900 sq. ft. I also have a small vegetable garden incorporated into the overall design. Below is a blueprint that I created of my native garden. The east section was added in 2014 and 2015, and the west section was added in 2016, which added over twice as much garden space, as well as a small shady area under a spruce tree where I could plant native ferns and other shade-loving species. In 2017, I built a small shed and created an additional small native garden around it. The entire garden surrounds a small fire pit. On the western edge of the garden, I have a woodpile that is not only used as firewood storage, but also provides shelter for small animals and insects.
My garden is a habitat restoration filled with plants that are native to North America. I currently have more than 30 species. Most are native to Wisconsin, but a few species are native to other parts of the United States. My garden is highly influenced by prairie remnants and restorations that I've visited in Wisconsin. While a true prairie can have up to 80% grasses, I currently do not have any grasses in my garden. There are many benefits to a prairie-style garden. It provides habitat to all sorts of insects and animals, it out-competes most weeds, and doesn't need to be watered. After its second season, it has become nearly self-maintaining. While I personally prefer a prairie-style or "wild" garden, it's worth noting that native plants can just as easily be used in all gardening styles and settings.
It was important to me to make the garden very bright and showy, even from a distance. I wanted to add as much color as possible, while also making sure that each and every plant was beneficial to native wildlife. Reds, oranges, yellows, blues, purples, pinks, and whites can all be seen in the garden during the growing season.
It was also important to me to add very specific plants that attract certain wildlife or benefit wildlife during certain times of the year. Milkweed was added so Monarch Butterflies had a place to lay their eggs. Purple Coneflowers are a nectar source for wide variety of bee and butterfly species, and their seed heads become a food source for birds in Autumn and Winter. Wild Columbine and Great Blue Lobelia attract Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. New England Aster is a late-blooming plant that is important to pollinators at a time when most other nectar sources have died off, and is also a popular choice for Monarchs during autumn migration. The wide variety of plant species I grow ensures that my garden will have nectar sources from April through October.
Beyond planting native species, there are other small things I do to improve the quality of habitat in my native garden. When the leaves fall in autumn, I leave them in the garden. Insects and some small animals can hibernate under leaves. After winter, the leaves will break down and feed my plants. When spring arrives and it's time to cut the remains of last year's plants down to the ground, I don't. I instead cut stems down to about one to two feet tall. Many stems are hollow and will become shelters for small insects. Stems that are not naturally hollow will often be hollowed out by small bees. Bees will even lay eggs in them. The stems are hidden by new growth before summer, but remain beneficial all year long. At the northwest and southwest corners of my garden, I've added poles that each have one birdhouse and one bee house. I've had House wrens and Black-capped chickadees nest in the bird houses and Mason bees, Mason wasps, and Leafcutter bees lay eggs in the bee houses. I've also placed a few logs around the garden that American Toads can frequently be found under.
While I'm thrilled with how my garden has turned out, I am continuing to make adjustments and improvements on it.
