Contributed by Ethan Mimnaugh, Mooloolah Landcare Nursery
IN nature, no one tidies up. Boulders are left lying where they fall, alongside decaying logs of ancient trees. Mosses accumulate on the boulders that have crumpled the earth, rainwater forming puddles around the stone.
All manner of creatures enjoy the water from the pool, the warmth of the rock, and the shelter of the log. Today I want to help you bring some of those special places for wildlife, onto your property.
Whether you have a tiny courtyard garden, or a massive wilderness in your backyard. These tips will be applicable to you. Wildlife has a way of finding resources when they are available, and it’s always worth giving it a go, and seeing what turns up.
There are additional benefits if you’re trying to grow fruits or veggies, as more wildlife means more predators.
Rocks, logs, and ponds will cover both the predators of sunny days, and the predators of rainy days and of the night.
Rocks are an important feature in a landscape. Their beauty is often enough reason us to have a few of them laying around.
Reptiles, being cold-blooded, require the warmth of a rock in the Sun, and so they have an even better reason to like them. Rock piles are even better than singular rocks, as they can offer places to hide for various reptiles, and for smaller mammals.
Placing them in different spots will allow for different species to occupy different niches in your garden.
Another really important part of any landscape is fallen logs. Logs are excellent habitat for small insects, mammals, and reptiles. Between the bark and wood, inside the log, and below the log, generations of invertebrates and reptiles can reproduce out of the Sun.
Fallen trees in the shade will accumulate more biodiversity, but any log on the ground is a good log. A log that sit on the ground for a longtime is actually a slow release food source.
As fungi break it down, they eventually fruit and are then eaten by all manner of wildlife. Even the mycelium within the log can be eaten by different insects and mammals.
The final addition to a landscape for wildlife is a pond. While you don’t need to put in a pond, any sort of water will do, a pond is the what we aim to recreate. Something as simple as a birdbath is already doing a lot for birds and insects, but also for reptiles and mammals if it is low to the ground. Simple ditches in the ground, lined with stones or boggy plants, can be used to catch rainwater and temporarily have water.
It is best if these are done with frog hotels, or rock piles nearby, to encourage predators of mosquito.
If you have native frogs or fish, (they generally don’t occur in the same water), then you will have predators of mosquito larvae, and the water won’t breed mosquitos.
I hope you’ve been a bit inspired today. The sunny winter days are a great time to enjoy a little more physical work, and try lugging around a rock or a log, or maybe even digging a small pond.
If you have questions about the sort of plants you might include alongside these new features, then come to Mooloolah River Landcare for our wide range of native plants.
