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Yes, the name of this page of my site is based on a television program on Animal Planet. It isn't so much that
I'm trying to swipe anyone else's name or anything, it just so happens that the particular name "fits" for this page of the
site.
Now, how does the name fit? Why does the name fit? And what on earth does it have to do with "budget" gardening?
All of these are good questions and questions which I intend to answer.
First, all backyards are a habitat...of some sort. This doesn't mean that we necessarily like what is inhabitating
our yard. It just means that SOMETHING is inhabitating it. If this wasn't true...well, you wouldn't have topsoil
for one thing! *smile* But, I'm sure that if you're like me, you will have ants raid a blanket picnic that
you're having in the yard with your kids. You might be cleaning the outside of your home, when all of a sudden you
hear a "buzz", look up...and what do you know, some wasps have built their nest under your eves! Or you'll decide to
sit outside on the patio, only to become dinner for some mosquitos. More than likely, all of these and plenty more things
are living on your property...somewhere. Thus, your yard is a habitat for something. This answers the first and
second questions. Now, moving onto the third.
A backyard habitat and budget gardening really do go hand in hand. First, if you're on this site then you're curious
about how to have nice gardens while saving money. If this weren't true, you would have hired a professional landscaper!
And, a "habitat" is just the key where it comes to gardening and saving money.
To have a garden, you must have plants. If you have plants...or really much of anything else, then you will more
than likely have pests. This is because, something is out of balance with nature in your yard. For every insect
or animal there is a natural predator. And then, there are some insects and animals that we just simply like and want
to attract to our yards. Usually, these are birds and butterflies. But sadly, often these are the only things
that we think we want to attract to our yards. However, it would really pay us to invest in creating habitat for other
forms of "wildlife" as well. If we attract such things as: birds, bats and frogs we can cut down on the mosquito population
(as well as a few other bugs). If we make our yards hospitable to lady bugs, we won't have so many "holy" plants!
But then, this list could go on and on, so lets move on to plants.
Generally speaking, if you choose plants that are mostly found in and around your location, aka native plants, it will
be much easier and less expensive for you to get the plants. Some could be "weeds" that simply need to be moved to another
part of your yard. I mean, lets face it, many "wildflowers" regularly get called "weeds". And, to quote a friend
of mine, "a weed is a plant you just haven't found a use for yet" or it's one that is growing somewhere that you don't want
it to grow. To give you an idea of just how beneficial "native" plants can be to your gardening project, here's a list
of a few "native" plants in my area that are actually growing ON my property, many of them just need to be moved to a new
location.
- Fringed Bluestar
- Common Beggarticks
- Spanish Bayonet
- Ohio Spiderwort
- Laurel Oak
- Southern Red Cedar
- Eastern Red Cedar
I have many other plants growing on my property as well, probably because I'm not too very far from two neighboring southern
states.
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