No matter what type or size yard you have, you can convert it to one that not only will be a haven for wildlife but will also give you countless hours of enjoyment. From lizards, treefrogs and toads to butterflies, birds and small mammals, Houston has a wide diversity of animals who will appreciate and reward your efforts. Many species are efficient partners in controlling unwanted insects. For instance, opossums happily crunch away on Texas roaches and Gulf Coast toads help control all sorts of garden pests. Chimney Swifts and bats are among the most efficient mosquito-devourers around.

Summer Tanager feasting on a mulberry High Island, Spring 2009, © Joanne Kamo

General Guidelines

• Mulched areas are more attractive than grass. Leaf litter provides cover for small lizards and toads and also creates space for ground-foraging birds.
• If you already have a lawn, the easiest way to start is by creating island groves of mulched beds containing a combination of trees, shrubs, and flowers.
• If your yard doesn't have any tall trees, this does not necessarily mean it can't be attractive to wildlife. Areas of thicket-like shrubbery which provide cover along with food and breeding sites are more important than trees.
• When choosing plants, aim for those which bear fruit at different times of the year. For instance, the yaupon is an excellent small tree for berries in the fall and winter, while red mulberry is probably the most outstanding tree in the spring for the number of different bird species attracted to its fruit.
• Avoid pruning your shrubs into formal shapes. These become too dense for most wildlife to use.
• If you have palm trees, don't prune off the dead fronds at the base of the crown. They provide ideal nesting sites for several species of birds and bats.
• Refrain from using pesticides. Not only can they be harmful to wildlife, but they also destroy their food sources.

Recommended Plants

Tall Trees for Shelter, Nesting Sites and Food

Oaks: Shumard, Red, Live, Nuttall, Swamp Chestnut, Bur, Overcup. Acorns are an outstanding food source; leaves are a larval butterfly food.
Magnolia: winter shelter; seedpods are a food source for many species, including the Pileated Woodpecker
Pines: pinecones are a winter food source; trees provide nesting habitat for cavity dwellers .
Red Cedar: berries are a winter food source, particularly for Cedar Waxwings.
Sweet Gum: winter food source, larval butterfly food.
American Holly: winter food source, larval butterfly food
Hackberry: larval butterfly food, winter food source
Maples: Sugar and Red important food source and spring nectar source
Black Cherry: berries are a summer food source; leaves are larval food for many butterflies. Willows: migrant magnet in the spring. Flower silk used by hummingbirds to build nests. Larval butterfly food source.

Small Trees

Hollies: yaupon and possum haw. yaupon is evergreen, possum haw deciduous; both have winter berries,
Wax Myrtle winter berries, particularly for Yellow-rumped Warbler; male and female plants needed
Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum: summer berries
Carolina Buckthorn: fall berries
Mexican Plum: summer fruit
Red Mulberry: spring fruit; larval butterfly food source
Vitex: summer flowers for butterflies and hummingbirds

Shrubs for Sunny Areas

Elderberry: summer berries
Beautyberry: fall berries
Buttonbush: summer flowers for hummingbirds and butterflies
Lantana: summer flowers and fruit
Cassia corymbosa: larval butterfly food source
Blackberries/ Farkleberries
Cape Honeysuckle: hummingbirds
Buddleia: hummingbirds and butterflies
Hamelia: hummingbirds

Perennials

Hardy Salvias, Turk's Cap, Goldenrod, Gaillardia, Shrimp Plant, Penstemon, Milkweeds, Coneflowers, Ruellias, Cupheas, Wild Parsley, Louisiana Iris, Cardinal Flower, Verbena, Pentas

Water

Water is a key element in your landscape design. It can be as simple as an extra-large plant saucer used on the ground for a bird bath or as elaborate as a pond and waterfall. If using a saucer, you should be sure to position it away from dense shrubbery where a cat could hide. A small pond is easy to make with the help of a flexible pond liner and will attract numerous types of birds along with dragonflies, frogs and toads. Small native fish, such as gambusia, will keep mosquitoes from becoming a problem.

Bird Houses

Some of the species who are particularly attracted to bird houses on the Upper Texas Coast include Wood Ducks, Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, Eastern Screech Owls, Barn Owls, Carolina Wrens, Tufted Titmice, Purple Martins, Carolina Chickadees, and Eastern Bluebirds. In addition building Chimney Swift towers is steadily growing in popularity.

Supplemental Feeding

Bird feeders are an excellent way to attract birds, especially when your plants are still small. In Houston they may be year round. However, once you start, you should keep them filled as the birds will grow to rely on them. Black oil sunflower seed is the best all-purpose bird seed. Hummingbird feeders may be used in Houston throughout the year, with the nectar composed of 4 parts water to 1 part sugar and NO food coloring added. Hummingbird feeders should be carefully cleaned and the nectar replaced every few days. Nectar will not go bad as quickly if the feeder is in the shade.

For More Information and Supplies

• The Native Plant Society excellent source of information for native plants.
• Texas Parks and Wildlife has extensive resources available online as well as a program of backyard certification called Texas Wildscapes.