PawsPartners - An Alliance for the Animals
  • Home
  • APAL
    • A-PAL History >
      • Leadership Team
      • Leadership Opportunities
    • Programs >
      • The Rusty Fund >
        • Rusty's Pet Tails
      • Save the Kittens
      • Spay or Neuter
      • Second Chance K9
      • Community Cats >
        • Understanding Feral Cats
        • How to Trap a Feral Cat
      • Special Needs
      • Adopt a Friend
      • Tracking Our Progress
    • Support A-PAL >
      • Volunteer
      • Foster >
        • Foster Forms
      • Donate to A-PAL >
        • A-PAL Wish List
        • Donate your Car
        • A-PAL Facility Sponsor
    • A-PAL Events
  • TCWC
    • Find an animal in need? >
      • Audio Wildlife Tips
      • Contact TCWC
    • TCWC History >
      • Leadership Team
      • Leadership Opportunities
    • Wildlife Programs >
      • Education >
        • TCWC Education Events >
          • TCWC Education Animals
        • Living Wildlife Friendly >
          • To Tree Or Not To Tree
          • Save the Bees
          • Holiday Decorations
          • Kill That Lawn
          • Songbird Concert Tips
          • Holiday Trash
          • Alert Your Birds
          • Water to Help the Critters!
          • Bread is for Sandwiches
          • No Dogs Allowed
          • Repurpose to Feed the Birds
          • GoNative
          • Netting It Out
          • Balloons
          • E-Waste
          • Organic Food
          • AllThatGlitters
          • Fly Strips and Glue Traps
          • Toxic Household Products
          • Recycling Pumpkins
          • Tree Trimming Tips
          • Saving Venomous Species
          • Think Biodegradeable
        • Nuisance Wildlife >
          • Nuisance-SayNoToTrapping
          • Foxlights
          • Wildproof Your Home
        • Gold Country Critters
        • TCWC Videos
      • TCWC-Tracking Our Progress
    • Support TCWC >
      • Giving >
        • TCWC Wish List
        • Donate to TCWC >
          • Donate Your Car
        • Create >
          • Knit Us your Birds Nests
          • Repurpose your food bags!
        • Shop to help TCWC
      • Volunteer at TCWC
      • TCWC Supporters
  • Paws News
    • PawsPartners Social Feed
    • Newsletters >
      • TCWC Newsletter
      • A-PAL Newsletter
    • Wildlife Blog
  • Gratitude
    • TCWC-Gratitude >
      • Business Supporters
      • Our Volunteers
      • In Memoriam >
        • Sandy
        • Cockrill
        • Glenyce
  • About
    • Contact TCWC
    • Contact A-PAL
    • Privacy Policy
    • Affiliations
    • Links >
      • ContentSubmissionForm
    • Shop >
      • Learn More >
        • Promote Our Store
      • Volunteer Gear
      • Shop These Stores
      • Shop PawsPartners
      • Shop TCWC
      • Shop A-PAL Humane Society
  • Home
  • APAL
    • A-PAL History >
      • Leadership Team
      • Leadership Opportunities
    • Programs >
      • The Rusty Fund >
        • Rusty's Pet Tails
      • Save the Kittens
      • Spay or Neuter
      • Second Chance K9
      • Community Cats >
        • Understanding Feral Cats
        • How to Trap a Feral Cat
      • Special Needs
      • Adopt a Friend
      • Tracking Our Progress
    • Support A-PAL >
      • Volunteer
      • Foster >
        • Foster Forms
      • Donate to A-PAL >
        • A-PAL Wish List
        • Donate your Car
        • A-PAL Facility Sponsor
    • A-PAL Events
  • TCWC
    • Find an animal in need? >
      • Audio Wildlife Tips
      • Contact TCWC
    • TCWC History >
      • Leadership Team
      • Leadership Opportunities
    • Wildlife Programs >
      • Education >
        • TCWC Education Events >
          • TCWC Education Animals
        • Living Wildlife Friendly >
          • To Tree Or Not To Tree
          • Save the Bees
          • Holiday Decorations
          • Kill That Lawn
          • Songbird Concert Tips
          • Holiday Trash
          • Alert Your Birds
          • Water to Help the Critters!
          • Bread is for Sandwiches
          • No Dogs Allowed
          • Repurpose to Feed the Birds
          • GoNative
          • Netting It Out
          • Balloons
          • E-Waste
          • Organic Food
          • AllThatGlitters
          • Fly Strips and Glue Traps
          • Toxic Household Products
          • Recycling Pumpkins
          • Tree Trimming Tips
          • Saving Venomous Species
          • Think Biodegradeable
        • Nuisance Wildlife >
          • Nuisance-SayNoToTrapping
          • Foxlights
          • Wildproof Your Home
        • Gold Country Critters
        • TCWC Videos
      • TCWC-Tracking Our Progress
    • Support TCWC >
      • Giving >
        • TCWC Wish List
        • Donate to TCWC >
          • Donate Your Car
        • Create >
          • Knit Us your Birds Nests
          • Repurpose your food bags!
        • Shop to help TCWC
      • Volunteer at TCWC
      • TCWC Supporters
  • Paws News
    • PawsPartners Social Feed
    • Newsletters >
      • TCWC Newsletter
      • A-PAL Newsletter
    • Wildlife Blog
  • Gratitude
    • TCWC-Gratitude >
      • Business Supporters
      • Our Volunteers
      • In Memoriam >
        • Sandy
        • Cockrill
        • Glenyce
  • About
    • Contact TCWC
    • Contact A-PAL
    • Privacy Policy
    • Affiliations
    • Links >
      • ContentSubmissionForm
    • Shop >
      • Learn More >
        • Promote Our Store
      • Volunteer Gear
      • Shop These Stores
      • Shop PawsPartners
      • Shop TCWC
      • Shop A-PAL Humane Society

Go Native!

 Would you like your garden to be beautiful, use less water, save money, have fewer pests, and attract wildlife? Native plants can accomplish all of this and more.
Picture
Photo courtesy of Frank R. Perez
Chemical pesticides are dangerous for you and the environment. Including native plants in your landscape can attract birds that will help eliminate many of the pests that plague your garden. Homeowners in the US spend millions dollars a year on chemicals to control pests. Native plants are a less expensive and naturally beautiful way to attract wildlife and eliminate pests.

Too many spiders? Plant low-lying plants such as American beautyberry or don’t clean up your garden quite so much. Start leaving nesting material, small bushes that provide cover and safety, and brush piles that encourage worms, and you will attract flycatchers and phoebes that love spiders and other insects.

Flower gardens attract hummingbirds who not only love flower nectar, they also eat small flying insects and tiny spiders. Sambucus (or elderberry) and ceanothus are favorites for nesting hummingbirds. Feed yourself and the hummers with currants and gooseberries. Or plant snapdragons, manzanitas, monkey flower and penstemon to keep them close to your garden. Wildflowers like lupine will also attract hummingbirds.

Yellow jackets and wasps send shivers down the spine of many. Attract tanagers and scrub jays to your garden and they will help to control these pests. Summer tanagers love wasps and yellow jackets; attract them with dogwood trees. Scrub jays love serviceberries as do other insect eaters like robins and mockingbirds.

How about a different kind of bird feeder? No, not the cute little houses and socks, but native plants. Bird seed can be expensive and messy. Let’s try something different and pretty. Asters are a perennial that will bring color and birds to your garden. Goldfinches, chickadees, nuthatches, sparrows and towhees will make your garden their home. Sparrows and towhees eat insects as well as seeds.

Yarrow is a favorite of goldfinches; California quail love California lilac; Summer-Holly will attract American Robins, Phainopepla, and Black-headed grosbeaks. Pick your favorite bird and plant a garden to attract them.

Sunflowers, those sometimes tall and lanky or short but bright yellow flowers, will attract many birds to your garden. Goldfinches, titmice and California scrub-jays love sunflower seeds.

There are many on-line sources for information about native plants. Here are a few.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center promotes conversation of native plants. This website has a search tool using location, general appearance, lifespan to narrow down your search.
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/combo.php?fromsearch=true&distribution=&habit=&duration=&light_partshade=1&moist_dry=1&height_01=1

Audubon native plants database will provide search results by zip code. The “best results” list includes plants that are important for birds in the area, are easy to grow and find at nurseries.
https://www.audubon.org/native-plants

This site provides a long list of California native plants, how and when they attract birds to your garden.  https://www.laspilitas.com/bird.htm

Native plants can make for a beautiful garden, save money and water, and attract birds to your garden.

Picture
Picture
Home | APAL | TCWC | PAWS NEWS | GRATITUDE | ABOUT | CART | SITE MAP
© 2023 PawPartners. All Rights Reserved
site map