Yard Habitats

COMING SOON:

BOULEVARD GARDENS
Tips and Courtesy:
For Safety, use low growing plants in general:  emergency vehicles can see your address, it is generally good for neighbors to have a clear view of your house and yard to prevent criminals from breaking in, and kids can be seen before they run out into the street (city ordinance once dictated boulevard plant heights below 36 inches, and less than 18 inches twenty feet from a corner).
Keep plants from sprawling out onto the street or sidewalk.  Trim them back, or move poorly placed plants.  Scratching cars is bad, as well as scratching people's clothes or legs or faces!  A native plant full of bees or thorns can be quite the hurdle for pedestrians simply trying to stroll through the neighborhood.
I would even suggest a setback of about 1 ft from the street side.  The boulevards actually have a practical job to do, people need to get out of their cars after parking, and you'll want to keep plants safely away from car doors that can swing quite wide sometimes.  A few well placed pavers or a walking path of some sort will also help people cross from the street side to the sidewalk side - and maybe, just maybe, not walk on your plants!
I like a little border around the boulevard garden, it looks nice and it helps protect it from foot traffic, but try to avoid any trips hazards for people walking by.
Ease up on the easements:  try not to take the boulevard plants that seriously, even if it is a source of pride and joy for you.  The boulevard doesn't really belong to you completely, it is quasi-public, full of city and utility easements, and when utilities are worked on, or the sidewalk is re-poured, you might have to move them, or suffer plant losses.  Dogs will love your boulevard garden perhaps a little too much, and for whatever reason, teenager will practice their Parkour by leaping over your beloved flowers.



SIDEYARD HEDGEROWS
Life on the Edge - a greater biodiversity exists on forest edges, versus far into a deep dark forest.  Many of the animals that have adapted to human encroachment are also creatures of the "edge".  Plants can be a rich array of large and small trees, shrubs, as well as prairie plants in the patches of open sunlight.
Using shrubs and tall prairie plants for screening - in summer vs winter.
A long line of a single shrub, such as red twigged dogwood or serviceberry would be amazing and incredible.  A mixed hedge of various shrubs, small trees, and numerous types of prairie and forest forbs is a fun and satisfying challenge, though, too.  It all depends on what you're going for.


VERTICAL GARDENING
Add a whole new dimension to your gardening, literally!
Grape, Clematis, Virginia Creeper, and American Bittersweet
Avoid privacy fences - use vines to provide privacy during grilling season, and the security of having clear lines of sight for crimewatch the rest of the year.  Some vines can grow very well on chain link fences, and fences with a more open mesh can still keep dogs and kids in the yard (and allow rabbits to get out!), as well as provide a place to grow vines.
Trellises can be placed almost anywhere - even in front of a kitchen window or piano windows.

GARAGE AND ALLEY GARDENS
Consider plant sprawl and prudent setbacks when planning a garden along the alleyway, too.  Garages also offer a great chance to use vines on trellises or other garden structures.  Done well, it can help beautify an otherwise dreary urban blight, and keep a little more rain from going into storm drains.

CHOOSING TREES AND SHRUBS
Half the work is simply adding trees and shrubs to your yard.  A tree provides many levels of habitat - even for numerous birds and insects that will live out their lives high up on top of the tree canopy, avoiding the gaze of humankind.  Others prefer life under the cover and protection of the canopy, and there is also a lower canopy, a shrub layer, and a humus layer on the very bottom somewhere (hopefully).
They say you plant trees for the next generation to enjoy - be that as it may, start as soon as you can.  Trees do take a long time to grow, and they will spread out higher and wider than you might want to admit.  Nevertheless, try your best to do your homework, and get those trees planted.  You and your wildlife will want to enjoy them as soon as possible!
You might only have room for one or two large trees in your yard, but there are quite a few extremely beautiful short trees or large shrubs (some with edible fruits!).
Other places on this website describe how native plants support more native wildlife than exotic plants, or even cultivars.  In the average sized city lot, a little has to go a long way, and it turns out that even some native plants can support more biodiversity than others (ferns, for example, offer almost nothing but cover and nest material for wildlife, they came into existence before wildlife!).  Professor Douglas Tallamy had his graduate students count the variety of caterpillars on various native trees and shrubs. He came up with a list of plants that support the greatest number of larva:
Top Trees and Shrubs: Oak trees support 534 different butterfly/moth species, Black Cherry 456 species, Willow 455 species, Birch 413 Species, Poplar 368 species, Crabapple 311 species, Blueberry 288 species, Maple 285 species, Elm (includes Hackberry) 213 species.
Top Herbaceous/Forbs: Goldenrod supports 115 different butterfly/moth species, Asters 112 species, Sunflower 73 species, Joe Pye/Boneset 42 species, Morning Glory 39 species, Sedges 36 species, Honeysuckle 36 species, Lupine 33 species, Violets 29 species, Geraniums 23 species, Black Eyed Susan 17 species, Iris 17 species, Milkweed 12 species.
More info at:  www.bringingnaturehome.net

BIOME GARDENING OR HISTORICAL PLANT COMMUNITY
It can be a noble endeavor to try and recreate what your yard was probably like 200 years ago (Oak Savannah?  Prairie?  Maple-Basswood Forest?  Wetland?).  There are stories of people trying to restore their yards, and a native plant pops up in their yard which they did not plant, and they claim (hope?) that it was a leftover seed from a remnant pre-colonial plant community.
Or you can use plants that are native to the Eastern Deciduous Forest, which spreads out from Delaware to right here in the Twin Cities.  The Prairie also start up here, and spreads west all the way to the Rocky Mountains.  In between these two ecological zones (or biomes) is the Oak Savannah, which was very much present in our area (notice all those bur oaks close to the river road).
There are patches of prairie and restored Oak Savannah along the river gorge at 36th st, as well as Coldwater Springs.  There is even a remnant Maple-Basswood forest around 44th st.  Look to these areas for clues, and your yard can help extend the wildlife benefits of these local natural treasures.

WOODLAND GARDEN:  Whether you already have large trees, or will soon enough, a woodland environment ultimately means having a shade garden.  Look for plant lists relating to the Easter Deciduous Forest, and remember to include canopy, small trees, a shrub layer, and see if you are able to grow any spring ephemerals (Bloodroot, Trillium, etc.).  Many shade loving forbs can be planted:  Wild Geranium, Columbine, Wild Ginger, and so forth.  Visit the River Gorge and see what you find there for inspiration, too.

OAK SAVANNAH GARDEN:  Part forest, part grassland.  Besides a Bur Oak, you can also have a few grasses and prairie plants:  Little Bluestem Grass, Leadplant, and so forth.

URBAN PRAIRIE:  In reality, a true prairie consists of  70 to 80 percent grasses.  Many prairie plants adapted and lean on the grasses to hold them up - so some prairie plants can get scraggly or lean over if they are not surrounded by tallgrass prairie.  Nevertheless, grasses are very hard to manage, and many of us just want the beautiful prairie flowers that Minnesota and the Midwestern prairie is famous for.  Such an urban phenomenon is dependent on having a part of your yard that gets a full day of sun.  Have fun, there are many colors and plant families to choose from.  Still strive to have something blooming spring, summer, and fall, and don't trim back the dead plants in the winter (seeds and berries will still be there for birds in the winter, many organisms lay eggs or hibernate in the stems or leaf litter, and nesting materials can be collected in the spring).  Also be aware of size - you could plant a row of 8ft tall Cup Plants for screening and create a "Prairie Jungle" or you can stick with some more reasonably sized pollinator favorites: Black Eyed Susan, Coneflowers, Goldenrod, etc.


HARDSCAPING FOR WILDLIFE:  Ideally this would be completed before any planting is done.  It would be pretty terrible to have to dig up a newly planted garden or tree to make room for a patio or fence.  Easier to let plants root around things after posts and pavers are in place.  But such is life, it's not always possible to predict everything, and most plants can be transplanted, or a garden re-planted.  It's important to just START, too.  But if you know there's a major project coming up at some place in your yard, maybe focus on other areas first, and tackle that at a later time.  Hardscaping includes fences and patios, but it is important to include wildlife in your considerations.  For example, a rocky wall or border could be cover and habitat for small critters, or valuable to snakes and butterflies to warm up on.  A privacy fence is not very wildlife friendly, unless openings are planned for wildlife.  The size of the openings will play a significant factor for anything from rabbits and oppossum, to raccoons and even larger creatures.  Not just related to animals getting into your yard, but also to escape quickly if a person or a dog comes out.  I have heard that Japanese gardens have designed those beautiful and elaborate fences and arbors specifically with the notion of providing perches for birds to land on.


COMPOST PILE:  A unique habitat in itself, and a place to toss all those extra leaves in the fall!  Add some kitchen scraps (but not meat, eggs, or weed seeds).  Turn it over occasionally, and voila, in a year or two, you will have rich lively black soil to add back into your soils and garden beds.  You can make this as simple or as complicated as you'd like, and our invasive earth worms will thank you for it, too!