{"id":20085,"date":"2023-09-18T08:47:51","date_gmt":"2023-09-18T12:47:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/?p=20085"},"modified":"2023-09-18T08:47:51","modified_gmt":"2023-09-18T12:47:51","slug":"wildlife-friendly-yards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/","title":{"rendered":"Wildlife Friendly Yards"},"content":{"rendered":"

So we try to feed the caterpillars AND the butterflies. What else can we do to make our yards a wildlife-friendly place?<\/p>\n

Creating a Wildlife Friendly Yard<\/h3>\n

Whenever possible, we can incorporate native plants into our landscape. After all, these are the plants that wildlife expects to be here. Our ecosystem is based on what native wildlife will and won\u2019t eat. Primarily use native berry and seed plants as these will attract birds.<\/p>\n

We can also provide clean, fresh water. Birdbaths, fountains, and ponds are all very important to wildlife. I read an article recently that said more birds die over the winter from lack of drinking water than from food. I even got a heater for my birdbath to keep the water from freezing.<\/p>\n

Chemicals and Your Yard – Let’s Be Cautious<\/h3>\n

We need to be very cautious in using chemicals in our yards\u2014as a matter of fact, I don\u2019t use ANYTHING but organic. Even a weedkiller\/herbicide can kill insects if sprayed directly on them.<\/p>\n

If you must use an herbicide or pesticide, then read, read, read the label very carefully, and do exactly what it says\u2014never more. Timing is everything. If you apply products just before dark, most bees and butterflies have already gone home by then. And remember, even an organic product can kill the good guys if misused.<\/p>\n

Planting Natural Deer Repellants<\/h3>\n

As for deer, I use natural repellents like herbs, onions, and garlic. Strong-scented herbs surround my raised garden bed, and deer don\u2019t bother the veggies there. Plant onion sets or garlic. You\u2019ll enjoy the harvest, but their oniony-scented foliage repels nibblers.<\/p>\n

Your Wildlife Friendly Yard<\/h3>\n

Why sweat the clover patch in the backyard if we want a wildlife-friendly yard? The clover is food for bees. So what if a few inchworms are hanging from the maple tree in the front yard next spring? Those inchworms are food for birds. And, yes, if they do eat some of the leaves, the maple will grow more.<\/p>\n

And I\u2019ll plant an extra tomato for the tomato hornworms if they show up\u2014after all, a tomato hornworm turns into a hawkmoth\u2014a beautiful gray hummingbird-like moth that POLLINATES!<\/p>\n

Learn More<\/h3>\n

For more information on creating a wildlife-friendly habitat in your yard, visit the National Wildlife Federation<\/a> or the Audubon Society<\/a>. To make your yard more friendly for pollinators, contact The Xerces Society<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To read more posts from Bonnie, visit our blog<\/a><\/p>\n

Return to the Great Big Greenhouse homepage<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So we try to feed the caterpillars AND the butterflies. What else can we do to make our yards a wildlife-friendly place? Creating a Wildlife Friendly Yard Whenever possible, we can incorporate native plants into our landscape. After all, these are the plants that wildlife expects to be here. Our ecosystem is based on what … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":20086,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWildlife Friendly Yards - The Great Big Greenhouse Gardening Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"So we try to feed the caterpillars AND the butterflies. What else can we do to make our yards a wildlife-friendly yard?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wildlife Friendly Yards - The Great Big Greenhouse Gardening Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"So we try to feed the caterpillars AND the butterflies. What else can we do to make our yards a wildlife-friendly yard?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Great Big Greenhouse Gardening Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-18T12:47:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/bonnie-blog-wildlife-friendly-yard.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bonnie Pega\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Bonnie Pega\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/fe9caaa16cfa2b2b79d2b0bafe898d91\"},\"headline\":\"Wildlife Friendly Yards\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-18T12:47:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-18T12:47:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/\"},\"wordCount\":421,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/bonnie-blog-wildlife-friendly-yard.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Bonnie's Garden\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/\",\"name\":\"Wildlife Friendly Yards - The Great Big Greenhouse Gardening Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/bonnie-blog-wildlife-friendly-yard.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-18T12:47:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-18T12:47:51+00:00\",\"description\":\"So we try to feed the caterpillars AND the butterflies. What else can we do to make our yards a wildlife-friendly yard?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/bonnie-blog-wildlife-friendly-yard.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/bonnie-blog-wildlife-friendly-yard.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":667,\"caption\":\"Birdbaths are a great way to make a wildlife friendly yard\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Wildlife Friendly Yards\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/\",\"name\":\"The Great Big Greenhouse Gardening Blog\",\"description\":\"The plants you expect. The people you know. The experience you\u2019ll remember.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Great Big Greenhouse Gardening Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/GBGH-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/GBGH-logo.png\",\"width\":400,\"height\":315,\"caption\":\"The Great Big Greenhouse Gardening Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/fe9caaa16cfa2b2b79d2b0bafe898d91\",\"name\":\"Bonnie Pega\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/author\/bonnie\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Wildlife Friendly Yards - The Great Big Greenhouse Gardening Blog","description":"So we try to feed the caterpillars AND the butterflies. What else can we do to make our yards a wildlife-friendly yard?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Wildlife Friendly Yards - The Great Big Greenhouse Gardening Blog","og_description":"So we try to feed the caterpillars AND the butterflies. What else can we do to make our yards a wildlife-friendly yard?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/","og_site_name":"The Great Big Greenhouse Gardening Blog","article_published_time":"2023-09-18T12:47:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":667,"url":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/bonnie-blog-wildlife-friendly-yard.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Bonnie Pega","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/"},"author":{"name":"Bonnie Pega","@id":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/fe9caaa16cfa2b2b79d2b0bafe898d91"},"headline":"Wildlife Friendly Yards","datePublished":"2023-09-18T12:47:51+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-18T12:47:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/"},"wordCount":421,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/bonnie-blog-wildlife-friendly-yard.jpg","articleSection":["Bonnie's Garden"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/","url":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/","name":"Wildlife Friendly Yards - The Great Big Greenhouse Gardening Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/bonnie-blog-wildlife-friendly-yard.jpg","datePublished":"2023-09-18T12:47:51+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-18T12:47:51+00:00","description":"So we try to feed the caterpillars AND the butterflies. What else can we do to make our yards a wildlife-friendly yard?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/bonnie-blog-wildlife-friendly-yard.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/bonnie-blog-wildlife-friendly-yard.jpg","width":1000,"height":667,"caption":"Birdbaths are a great way to make a wildlife friendly yard"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wildlife-friendly-yards\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Wildlife Friendly Yards"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/","name":"The Great Big Greenhouse Gardening Blog","description":"The plants you expect. The people you know. The experience you\u2019ll remember.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/#organization","name":"The Great Big Greenhouse Gardening Blog","url":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/GBGH-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/GBGH-logo.png","width":400,"height":315,"caption":"The Great Big Greenhouse Gardening Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/fe9caaa16cfa2b2b79d2b0bafe898d91","name":"Bonnie Pega","url":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/author\/bonnie\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20085"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20085"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20085\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20088,"href":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20085\/revisions\/20088"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}