By Sandy Garland, Fletcher Wildlife Garden, Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club
In any garden, trees and shrubs form the skeleton around which perennial beds and special features are arranged. In a wildlife garden these components not only provide the backdrop for flowers, they can create a layered structure for nests, dens, and perches and a feast of fruit and seeds for wildlife.
If you're lucky enough to have a mature tree in your yard, you're well on the way to wildlife gardening already. A tree contains a world of activity - birds, bugs, unicellular organisms of all kinds live on its branches, leaves, and roots. Deciduous trees return nutrients to the soil when they drop their leaves each fall. Coniferous trees also shelter wildlife from both bitter winter winds and the hot summer sun.
And don't think you have to choose between the tree and a garden. Most of our local native wildflowers are woodland species. In addition to the well-known spring ephemerals like trilliums, jack-in-the pulpits, and trout lilies, you can enjoy wood poppies, Canada lily, meadow rue, zigzag goldenrod, baneberry, and white snakeroot through the summer and into the fall. And don't forget about ferns, mosses, and the beautiful foliage of foamflower and Solomon's seal to make your shady garden a lovely cool spot all summer.
If you don't already have a tree, consider planting a native maple, birch, or oak. On a smaller scale, you might try hawthorn, crab apple, or a cherry tree. You'll be able to enjoy the flowers in the spring, and the neighbourhood birds will soon discover the fruit, which might even feed them through the winter.
Instead of planting the ubiquitous cedar hedge, why not try a mixed row of native shrubs including cedar? Serviceberry, elders, dogwoods, high-bush cranberry, and nannyberry are all easy to find at local nurseries; they flower at various times during the spring and early summer, and then produce berries later on. Not only will you be providing food, shelter, and nesting sites for birds and small animals, but you'll also enhance your property enormously. And if you can convince your neighbours to join you by planting connected hedgerows, so much the better.
For more information about hedgerows and native shrubs for wildlife, see the Fletcher Wildlife Garden info sheet.