Native plants are the backbone of a wildlife-friendly garden. The nectar, fruit, and seeds of native plants are instinctively recognized by native wildlife as a food source, because they have been relying on them for centuries. Think of it like visiting a brand new restaurant with a lavish banquet; birds, insects, and mammals will first sample the foods they know before tasting something new. Many of the "old-fashioned" non-native plants that have been commonly used in local landscapes for years are also well-recognized, but it can take decades for wildlife to begin sampling the food from newly introduced plants. Many of the plants native to the Pacific Northwest are very ornamental in their flower, form, and leaf, and since they are already acclimated to our typical weather patterns, many also thrive without much supplemental water, pruning, or other maintenance.


Plants that provide more than one food source will attract multiple forms of wildlife. For instance, Oregon grape (Mahonia) plants provide much needed late-winter nectar for Hummingbirds and clusters of tasty fall fruit for a wide variety of songbirds and small mammals.


Flowers such as aster and yarrow provide nectar for bees, butterflies, and beneficial insects, and then become clusters of tasty seedpods that provide fall and winter food for finches and towhees. Our native checkerbloom (Sidalcea) and non-native Lavatera provide nectar for bees and butterflies, and their leaves provide food for the Caterpillars of our native Painted Lady butterflies. Even if you provide feeding stations, wildlife will still naturally look to the plants and insects in your garden as their primary food source.

Birds, bats, beneficial insects, and other helpful creatures will patrol your garden in search of food only if their prey is present, so resist the urge to control all pests yourself. Whenever these helpful critters become frequent visitors to your garden, you can relax and enjoy the benefits of natural pest control!

• Most baby birds are born from mid-spring to mid-summer, during the same time that the worst pest insects invade our gardens. Even birds that primarily eat seeds as adults are fed a diet of insects until right before they fledge the nest. Their hard-working parent birds will search your garden for every bug in sight when those hungry chicks are calling them.
• Bats eat thousands of insects each day during most of the year, including pesky gnats and mosquitoes.
• If you're lucky enough to have black beetles or garter snakes visit your garden, rest assured that your slug and snail problems will be taken care of.
  

The seeds from some our most prolific and hard-to-control weeds such as dandelion and Canadian thistle are the favorite food for common seed-eating birds such as song sparrows and juncos, which can really help reduce your weed problems. Garden spiders and insect-eating birds such as chickadees and wrens also prey on Leafhoppers, which are common vectors of plant diseases