You can create a Certified Wildlife Habitat® even in the smallest of outdoor spaces!
If you have an outdoor space like a balcony, patio, empty area along a stairway to a brownstone or town house, courtyard, or any small green space along a sidewalk, you can garden for wildlife.
One consideration for wildlife gardeners with small outdoor spaces is how to maximize their space to have the highest impact possible for wildlife. Explore the tips below to learn how you can create a highly impactful wildlife garden in a small space and even meet all of the requirements to get certified!
PHOTO CREDIT: DAVID MIZEJEWSKI
Planting Native in Small Spaces
One of the most important things you can do to create habitat for wildlife is to provide native plants. By planting native species, you’re already meeting many of the habitat essential requirements needed to get recognized as a Certified Wildlife Habitat®. Native plants can serve as food sources, cover, and even places for wildlife to raise their young!
Learn how to plant native in small spaces below!
Prioritize Planting Keystone Species
Luckily for small space gardeners, there are many native plants that “pack a punch” when it comes to their wildlife impact. Keystone plants are named as such due to their importance in an ecosystem, much like an actual “keystone” is an essential part of an arch. These plants serve as a host plant for not just one, but many species of insects. By focusing on planting keystone native plant species in your small space garden, you can easily support hundreds and even thousands of wildlife species in a small space!
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PHOTO CREDIT: TESS RENUSCH
Use Containers
The benefit of container gardening is that you’re not just limited to planting directly into the earth. If you have a small space and some of it is paved, you can maximize your gardening space by using containers!
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Plant Vertically
Get creative and find ways to use your vertical space. Try out window boxes, hanging baskets, and even shelves to maximize your outdoor space. Use trellises to train climbing plants such as native honeysuckles and clematis that can double as a privacy screen for your home. Wildlife that will benefit from these plants can fly or climb to your vertical garden spaces.
Plant for Multi-Season Interest
Humans love seeing plants bloom across the seasons and it just so happens that pollinators depend on a regular source of blooming flowers. To provide the most benefit for these wildlife species, select a variety of native plants that have different bloom times. Consider successional blooms in your plant selections for spring, summer, and fall to ensure there is always something blooming in your garden for the pollinators!
Also consider native plants that offer evergreen foliage, seedheads, and stems that can stand up to the winter climate. This provides cover and serves as a late season food source for birds and small mammals.
Add a Shrub or Small Tree (If You Have Space)
For small spaces, we often think of grass and herbaceous plants. Depending on just how small your garden is, you may have a bit of space for one or two larger plants! This includes shrubs and even small trees. These woody plants can offer great hiding spaces and nesting sites for many wildlife species. While certain shrubs and trees will simply be too big for a small garden, you may have luck with some of the smaller species that tend to grow on the edges of forests, like a redbud, spicebush, or dogwood.
Water Sources for Small Spaces
Water is a habitat element that wildlife needs to survive and is needed to get your garden certified. Luckily, this water source does not need to be big to have an impact. These water sources are good options for even the smallest gardens.
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Sustainable Gardening Practices
An important way you can support wildlife is by using sustainable gardening practices which is also a requirement to get your garden certified. There are many sustainable methods that you can use in your small space garden!
Sustainable Containers and Potting Soil
If you include containers as part of your small space garden, opt for more sustainable options. This includes avoiding plastic containers or choosing recycled material containers. When selecting potting soil, opt for organic choices that can also count towards your sustainable practices!
Plant Densely
Whether you’re planting in the ground or in containers, plant densely. Not only will this minimize water loss and space for weeds to grow, but it will also offer wildlife hiding places to avoid difficult weather or even predators. Plus, it maximizes the visual impact of your garden!
Be Diligent About Removing Invasives
One of the benefits of small space gardening is that you can be more diligent about removing invasive or non-native species. For properties with acres and acres of land, the prospect of removing all invasive plants can be a daunting task that could take years or even decades of work. But for small space gardeners, this could be as easy as weeding for a week or two!
Learn more about invasive plants here:
PHOTO CREDIT: ASHLEY WILKINS
Supplemental Habitat Elements
Plants are the foundation of any healthy wildlife garden, but other elements like bird feeders, nesting boxes, and bee houses can go far in expanding the habitat elements that your garden provides! Small space gardening often means that your garden does not have larger elements like mature trees that can provide vital nesting sites and cover for wildlife. Offering supplemental sources can help fill in the gaps in a small space garden and help you meet all of the habitat elements required to get certified!
Consider the following additions:
Remember that anytime we add a human-made structure into nature, it will need human intervention to keep it clean, safe, and beneficial to wildlife.
