3
encouraged, they can bring
welcome changes and a greater
variety of native plants to your
setting.
Plants that you planned to
have growing in certain places
may also move to new areas,
producing unexpected colonies.
“You begin to realize that the
garden is asserting its
independence – the sign of a
healthy garden," writes Wayne
Womack in
Woodland Gardens.
Control Animal Damage
Animals can significantly
alter your habitat and its
plantings. With no predators,
deer populations are exploding,
and humans are squeezing them
out of their habitats, as well.
Though we might want to
attract them to our habitat
sites, they can do considerable
damage to seedlings and to the
understory of a forest, creating
a browse line 4 or 5 ft. above
the ground.
Bob Lavell, a WindStar Wildlife
Habitat Naturalist, has found
that “fences" made of several
rows of monofilament fishing line
attached to plastic poles deter
deer.
The animals are baffled by this
invisible obstacle, which stops or
trips them, and they usually
avoid the area once they’ve had
a run-in with the fence.
Species like rabbits and
squirrels can also change the
species composition of plants
on your site by browsing, digging,
and burrowing. (Squirrels plant a
lot of trees!) When beavers build
a dam, the rising water levels
around a stream kills nearby
forests.
Control Insects
and Diseases
Insects and disease
organisms are part of the
natural forest ecosystem and
actually contribute to biological
diversity. But in a small garden,
they can wreak havoc and
threaten the survival of your
plants.
Well-known problems include
oak wilt, gypsy moth
caterpillars, spruce bud worm,
dogwood anthracnose and
hemlock woolly adelgid. Contact
your county extension agent to
find out how best to treat these
problems.
Prune
You may need to prune for
reasons of safety, health,
aesthetics, or stimulation of
fruit production. All woody
plants shed branches in
response to shading and
competition.
These branches, which do not
produce enough carbohydrates
from photosynthesis, die and
are eventually shed. The
resulting wounds are sealed by
what is called woundwood.
Control Insects
REFERENCES
s
Woodland Gardens. Shade
Gets Chic. Brooklyn
Botanic Gardens, 1995
s
Henderson, Carrol L.
Landscaping for Wildlife
.
Minnesota Department of
Natural Resources,
Nongame Wildlife Program –
Section of Wildlife, 1992
s
USDA, How to Prune Trees,
U.S. Forest Service
publication NA-FR-01-95
s
USDA. Homeowner’s Guide
for Beautiful, Safe, and
Healthy Trees. U.S. Forest
Service publication NE-INF-
58-96
