savvy classes: sign up fast - first class is April 29

editor's note: nuturing more than just plants

feature story: welcoming wildlife into your garden

savvy advice: keeping alien invaders out of your garden

Read the class descriptions for details. Note that some classes require advance registration and payment.

Drip Irrigation for Successful Food Gardening
Taught by David Stoller, Davey & Goliath
(two dates & locations)

Wednesday, April 29, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
University of Washington Botanic Gardens, NHS Hall, Seattle
Cost: $15. Pre-registration required.
Contact Jean Robbins at jrobins@u.washington.edu or call (206) 685-8033

Wednesday, May 20, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
South Seattle Community College
Cost: $15. Pre-registration required.
Register at www.learnatsouth.org or call (206) 764-5339

View class description.

Organic Garden Renovation
Taught by Jennifer Carlson, Haven Illustrated

Saturday, May 16, 10–11:30 a.m. OR 1:00–2:30 p.m.
Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle
Cost: Free. Pre-registration is required.

Attendees must reside in the Saving Water Partnership service area. Register via the Garden Hotline by calling (206) 633-0224 or emailing help@gardenhotline.org. Please provide your address, email, and phone number to receive the class location and confirmation. View class description.

Simplify Your Summer Gardening
Taught by Ladd Smith, In Harmony Sustainable Landscapes

Saturday, June 6, 11:00–Noon
Molbak’s at 13625 NE 175th St, Woodinville (425) 483-5000
Cost: Free. No pre-registration. View class description.

“As gardeners we are both guardians and stewards of our environment...” -- Patty Glick, Senior Global Warming Specialist for the National Wildlife Federation

Two years ago, the National Wildlife Foundation published The Gardener’s Guide to Global Warming: Challenges and Solutions. While climate change problems can be overwhelming, each of us can play a critical role through our garden—no matter how small that garden may be. In our latest issue of Savvy Gardener, we focus on two key actions: creating new habitat for urban wildlife that cannot easily adapt to the stresses of climate change and protecting existing habitat by purchasing non-invasive plants and removing invasives we already have in our garden.

You’ll find specific how-to steps in our feature article and Savvy Advice. Be sure to browse Savvy Finds for additional wildlife-friendly gardening resources, plant ideas, and great gardening events to attend. Happy spring!

Emily Bishton is a landscape designer and educator who specializes in wildlife- and child-friendly private gardens and public landscapes.

Welcome Wildlife into Your Garden

We use our backyards as sanctuaries, entertainment spaces, and play areas— outdoor living rooms of sorts. But urban wildlife also make their homes in our yards. Wild, open spaces are limited and spread far apart in our cities. As a result, our backyards become critical wildlife habitat. Imagine how many more beautiful birds we might enjoy if yard after yard connected to form one giant, healthy habitat.

As you look for water-wise plants to add to your garden this spring, think about how these plants might provide for your wildlife neighbors. Beyond the plants you purchase, consider how you maintain your garden. When you provide for four basic wildlife needs, you’ll create a garden that is healthy for wildlife and your family while conserving resources at the same time.

Food

The best way to attract wildlife is to choose plants that offer food. Food can be berries, seeds, leaves, and nectar from flowers. Remember that food can also be in the form of insects. Sometimes this means using a plant that draws insects, which then attract the birds you want to see.

Think of your garden as a banquet that has to be surveyed quickly, much of the time from above. Once birds and other wildlife are drawn into your garden by the plants they recognize, they are much more likely to discover the rest of your garden. If you want birds year-round, be sure to have something blooming, fruiting, or going to seed in each season.

Native plants are the “backbone” of a wildlife-friendly garden. Native birds and other wildlife recognize the berries, seeds, and nectar from these plants because their ancestors have been eating them for centuries. Birds also know which insects are likely to be found on native plants—a good reason to refrain from using pesticides.

One of my favorite native plants is Mahonia nervosa (Low Oregon Grape) because hummingbirds like the flowers in spring and song sparrows eat the fruit in fall. I enjoy Myrica californica (Pacific Wax Myrtle) especially in winter when northern flickers and cedar waxwings eat the seeds. I also plant Achillea millefolium (Yarrow) and Aster subspicaus (Douglas Aster) because their nectar is used by many species of butterfly and other beneficial insects.

Shelter

Birds and other wildlife instinctively seek shelter from winter cold and wind, summer heat, and from predators that can swoop down from overhead. Hedgerows, where a variety of evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs are planted fairly close together, provide excellent protection. They also create a “green corridor” for wildlife to move through the garden without crossing large open areas that make them more vulnerable to predators. Hedgerows are usually easiest to fit into the perimeter areas of your garden.

And don’t forget those hard-working beneficial insects. To provide overwintering shelter, wait until spring to remove spent foliage from perennials and mulch landscape beds with coarse materials such as wood chips (which help conserve water too).

Nesting Places

A hedgerow may also provide nesting places for birds such as robins and warblers that weave their nests into the branches of trees and shrubs. Cavity-nesting birds have an especially difficult time finding suitable nesting places, since hollow trees are hard to come by in urban and suburban areas. Adding birdhouses that are built to the right dimensions will quickly attract chickadees and wrens to your garden. These birds will clean your garden of pest insects all year, and their young are born at the same time as our annual aphid infestation—the ultimate in natural pest control!

Water

All forms of wildlife need clean water, and providing it can be as easy as installing a birdbath. A wide, shallow birdbath with a gentle slope and non-skid surface works best.

Birdbaths need to be cleaned out and refilled with fresh water at least once or twice a week throughout the year. A small fountain or bubbler will attract hummingbirds, which like to drink and bathe while in flight. Birdbaths and other water features, as well as bird feeders, should always be located within five feet of a shrub or tree for a quick getaway.

For more information

Learn from Emily Bishton in person in her garden on September 12. Her class will be announced in the fall issue of Savvy Gardener. Also check the resources to the right for plants that attract wildlife, how to certify your backyard for wildlife habitat, and much more.

Dr. Sarah Reichard is head of conservation at the University of Washington Botanic Garden. She researches invasive plants and is an avid gardener.

Keep Alien Invaders Out of Your Garden—and Our Parks and Natural Areas

Remember that great plant you brought home from the nursery—the one that was beautiful but took over your garden in just a few years? And do you remember how it took hours of weeding to remove?

Now imagine that you have 100 acres of park or natural area to maintain, and it’s infested with that same plant. Unfortunately, many aggressive garden plants do become problems in natural areas. Even common garden plants such as butterfly bush, yellow archangel, and fig buttercup are taking over natural areas at an alarming rate.

We call these species invasive, non-native (or alien) plants. Many invasives are purchased by gardeners who are lured by their beauty and supposed low maintenance. When shopping for plants this spring, look for the wide range of water-wise plants that are not invasive. Read further to understand why avoiding invasives is critical and how you can slow their spread.

Why are invasive plants a problem?

In some cases, invasive plants do the same thing in wild areas that they do in your garden: they out-compete the desired plants for sunlight, water, or soil nutrients. Sometimes they are much more insidious, changing the nutrient or water balances of the soil, replacing native species that are preferred or needed by native animals, and even poisoning native plants through exuded chemicals. Invasives can start a cascade of changes that radically alters the community of plants—and the animals that depend on those plants for food and shelter.

Invasives spread easily, even from urban gardens

Gardeners who live near natural areas have a special responsibility to garden carefully because it is very easy for seeds to be carried from one property to another by birds or the wind. But even urban gardeners need to take care. Birds can carry seeds farther than we might think, and motor vehicles are surprisingly efficient seed movers. One botanist collected all the seeds and dirt from his car for one year, put them in pots, and germinated them. He found that 3,926 plants in 124 species were hitchhiking on his car!

What can gardeners do?

Follow these guidelines to help prevent introducing and spreading invaders:

• Remove invasive species from your property. Visit the King County Noxious Weed Control Program Web site for:
  • Photos of NW invasives
  • How to remove and control invasives (including blackberry and ivy)
• Avoid buying plants with invasive tendencies. For a list of good substitutes for common invasives, see the Garden Wise list (pdf).
• Do not trade plants with other gardeners if you know they have invasive characteristics. Resist the urge to pot up those freely spreading species to share.
• Request that botanical gardens, nurseries and garden writers promote, display and sell only non-invasive species.
• Participate in work groups to remove invasive plant species under the guidance of knowledgeable professionals. For volunteer opportunities, see the Seattle Green Partnership.
• Participate in early warning systems by reporting invasive species in your area. Contact your county noxious weed board or, in the Seattle area, contact the Hyde Herbarium at the University of Washington Botanic Gardens (206-685-2589 or hydeherb@u.washington.edu).
• Share this information with other gardeners.

What to do with those weeds?

After removing the plants from your garden, the best bet is to put them into your green-waste cart because the municipal composting process generally kills any seeds. If you prefer to compost at home, remove seeds before adding the waste to your compost bin. You should also be careful about putting rhizomes, or underground stems, into an uncovered compost bin, because they may begin to grow in your fertile compost.

And above all, have fun in the garden!

For free garden advice and information, please contact the Garden Hotline at (206) 633-0224 or help@gardenhotline.org or visit www.savingwater.org.

We welcome your suggestions. Please share them by emailing Liz Fikejs, Seattle Public Utilities.

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