This story will appear in the Fall 2015 edition of Our Big Backyard, a quarterly magazine about parks and nature. Read more stories, plan an outing with a field guide, and find out more about fun nature events and classes.
“I get killed a lot,” said Susan Spencer of her work as a stuntwoman on Grimm.
All that mayhem plus teaching anatomy and physiology full-time at Mount Hood Community College doesn’t allow much time for gardening at her Gresham home. But after reading how bees are threatened by pesticides and loss of habitat, Spencer said, “I decided I could do my little piece to help.”
Low-maintenance native plants attract birds and bees
So she took Metro’s healthy lawn and garden pledge to eliminate pesticides, and this spring replaced her lawn with flowers that bloom from February to October. She chose native plants because they provide food for pollinators such as bees, butterflies, dragonflies and hummingbirds. Their song, flutter and buzz add another dimension to her garden’s beauty, plus they pollinate vegetables and fruit trees, and eat insect pests.
After long days in the classroom – or getting lit on fire or thrown off a building – Spencer needed a garden where she can find peace. She doesn’t want the yard to feel like overtime. “I average about 10 minutes per weekend on established areas,” she said. “I spend a lot more time on areas that aren't planted with natives, so I am converting those to natives, piece by piece.”
She learned what to plant through Metro’s Native Plants for Willamette Valley Yards and free workshops and tours of naturescaped yards by East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District. The key thing: plant the right plant in the right place, then water regularly during the dry season for the first two years. “Once a plant’s established, you don’t have to feed, water or use pesticides,” she said. “Just look at it and enjoy.”
Fall is a great time to plant native plants, with cooler temperatures and soil moist with rain to help plants adapt.
As Spencer has learned – and planted - more, she’s become a local ambassador for pollinators. One neighbor is using fewer pesticides, after enjoying Spencer’s yard from their kitchen window. Another had bats in an outdoor foyer, and wanted to drive them off, not knowing they eat hundreds of mosquitos per day. “We had a discussion of how wonderful bats are,” she said. “They left them alone. Pretty soon the bats moved on.”
In the two and half years since she stopped using pesticides and added wildlife-friendly plants and water, Spencer has counted 45 bird species in her yard. In May, she became the second Gresham resident to receive Backyard Habitat Certification from the Audubon Society of Portland and Columbia Land Trust.
Small steps over time pay off
Without a lot of time or effort, you can make small changes to attract wildlife that add beauty and natural pest control to your yard. You don’t have to rip out your lawn and start over, Spencer said. Instead, do as she first did: take small steps, planting a native shrub here, placing a rock pile there, adding a bird box or two. Over time you’ll create many microhabitats.
- Plant native groundcovers such as kinnikinnick, shrubs such as evergreen huckleberry or low trees such as vine maple—all part of the forests that once blanketed our region. You’ll have birds eating berries and perching in low branches, adding song and beauty to your yard.
- Recreate forest cavities birds nest in: buy or build a box for mosquito-eating swallows. They also eat flies and wasps, while putting on an entertaining aerial show.
- Add a birdbath outside a window so you can watch the birds bathe and drink. Refresh daily with a jug of water to prevent mosquitos from laying eggs in it. Set a rock in the water, so pollinators like butterflies can bask. Spencer credits the Xerces Society with ideas like these. Avoid bird strikes on windows with simple-to-do measures from Audubon Portland.
- Don’t forget the mud: butterflies get minerals from it. Make a mud pad in ten minutes: Spencer cleared plants from a corner next to her driveway and on dry days gives the bare ground a quick drench. Or place a shallow pan with mud in it amid plants you water regularly.
Learn more about cultivating backyard habitat
Add water and they will come
“If you want wildlife, the number one thing to do is add water,” Spencer advises.
That’s especially true to attract native amphibians and reptiles that eat garden pests. A yard that hosts these native animals is a healthy habitat for you and your pets too, and kids can learn about nature in their own backyard.
A pond is ideal, but can be a big investment in time and money. Spencer made that investment, but she also created a small puddle-sized depression lined in plastic, with a small electric bubbler to keep mosquitos from laying eggs (they like only stagnant water). Birds and butterflies gather there. Leave a leaf pile in a damp, unobtrusive spot for alligator lizards. They eat aphids, spiders and beetles. Plant native ferns, like sword fern amid a few logs and bark chips in a shady, damp area for habitat for Northwestern salamanders. They eat slugs, worms and insects.
After Spencer built her large pond, it didn’t take long for the salamanders to arrive, along with insect-eating Pacific chorus frogs. “They found this place on their own,” she said. It’s true: If you build it, they will come.