Tag: Gardening for wildlife

Posted on

Brush Pile 101

** ARCHIVED POST – LINKS AND IMAGES MAY NOT WORK**

— by Beth Erwin

A fundamental element for attracting birds to your yard is a brush pile. The familiar perching birds in our backyards like wrens, chickadees, titmice, and cardinals will appreciate the extra spot to dart into for cover. In turn, their activity will attract other birds that are passing through to check out your space for hanging out.

The recent winter storm has left plenty of material for brush piles. If you already keep a brush pile on hand for the birds, this might be a good time to refresh and relocate it. A brush pile left in the same place becomes a feeding station for predators after a couple of years, much like bird houses without predator guards. Your resident birds catch on quickly when the neighbor’s cat or a rat snake starts lurking in or near the pile. Migrants and casual visitors remain on the menu. In addition, the limbs at the bottom of the brush pile begin to disintegrate and pack down, leaving less space to dart around in.

You do not have to move far from the first brush pile when you relocate. You are going to have a bare spot where the old pile was. You can look for sprouts of the seeds the birds have left you once the ground is exposed to light or use the space to plant some native annuals or perennials. It should be rich in decomposed organic matter.

For those of you who cannot bear the thought of a pile of limbs in your yard, cohabitate with such a person, or know that your HOA would have a fit, try thinking outside the box. There is no rule on how the brush should be stacked other than there needs to be space for small birds to dart into when fleeing for cover.

Stand the limbs up, cut ends to the ground, bind the top ends together and make a cone/teepee shaped pile. Another option is to cut the thicker branches in pieces of the same length and stack them much like a split rail fence, only create a square tower configuration. Add some twigs in the center. Artistic brush piles! Please post pictures on our social media pages-> Facebook or Instagram.

image of a garden rake

** ARCHIVED POST – LINKS AND IMAGES MAY NOT WORK**

Posted on

Program Summary for Feb 13: Wildlife in Your Garden with Kelly Simon

** ARCHIVED POST – LINKS AND IMAGES MAY NOT WORK**

— by Randy Pensabene

At our February 13, 2020 chapter meeting, Kelly Conrad Simon showed the audience how to use a variety of native plants to create a Texas Wildscape that can meet human needs for a visually appealing landscape while also providing the plants much-needed by wildlife. She demonstrated how by providing the basic elements of habitat (food, shelter and water) in your garden, Texans can attract an exciting variety of birds, butterflies, frogs and lizards and bring the beauty and vitality of nature home.

The most important step in developing a Wildscape is learning about the plants and soils that characterize your region. Since wildlife thrives in the presence of plants they have adapted to, native plants are encouraged in Wildscapes. Introduced plants are not good substitutes for the native plants used by wildlife.

Plants native to your area provide both food and shelter requirements for wildlife. Select plants for their food value as well as plants that will grow to different heights and density. This layering effect will allow wildlife to select areas they find most comfortable.

View Kelly’s presentation at this link.

Learn about native plants through the Native Landscape Certification Program (NLCP)  with classes focused on the local area. Find schedule info here.

You can see the February 13, 2020 business presentation slides here.

** ARCHIVED POST – LINKS AND IMAGES MAY NOT WORK**

Posted on

On February 13: Wildlife in Your Garden with Kelly Simon

** ARCHIVED POST – LINKS AND IMAGES MAY NOT WORK**

Join us for the next NPSOT-Wilco chapter meeting on Thursday, February 13, 2020, for “Wildlife in Your Garden” presented by Kelly Simon.  We’ll meet at the Georgetown Public Library (time and location details at the bottom of this post).

image of person

Texas Wildscapes was developed by Texas Parks and Wildlife in 1995 to assist Texans in creating landscapes that are both visually appealing and attractive to appropriate wildlife.  By providing the elements of habitat (food, shelter, and water) in their gardens, Texans can attract an exciting variety of birds, butterflies, frogs, and lizards and bring the beauty and vitality of nature home.

Kelly Conrad Simon has been with Texas Parks and Wildlife since 1995 and currently serves as the Urban Wildlife Biologist for the Central Texas area.  Her projects generally involve the topics of native planting and wildlife habitat, exotic invasive plants, native wildlife including songbirds and woodrats, and engaging urban students of all ages in the study of nature. Kelly has coordinated the Texas Wildscapes Backyard Wildlife Habitat program and the Texas Hummingbird Round-up with Texas Parks and Wildlife, and is the author of Texas Wildscapes: Gardening for Wildlife.  Her MS degree was earned in 1995 at Emporia State University (Kansas) and her BA was earned in 1992 at Southwestern University (Georgetown, Texas).

NPSOT-Williamson County meetings are free and open to the public.

** ARCHIVED POST – LINKS AND IMAGES MAY NOT WORK**