Habitat at Home

Generally speaking, “native plants” are plants that evolved and occur naturally within a particular location. Seattle’s native plants evolved within the Puget Lowland Ecoregion. As part of the ecosystems that have existed for millenia, our native plants tend to provide birds and other wildlife with high quality food, foraging, and nesting resources at the right times. One important characteristic of native plants is their ability to support many species of beneficial insects. Insects are a critical food source for terrestrial birds, 96% of which depend on insect foods to raise their young. No bugs, no birds! Non-native plant species may not support the same diversity of beneficial insects. Urbanization and other land use changes in the Puget Lowland Ecoregion have resulted in extensive loss of native plants and habitats. Adding native plants to your garden helps improve habitat values in our urban ecosystem.

High quality urban habitat provides “structrual diversity,” that is, a complexity of vegetation that produces different layers, spacing, and patterns between plants. Greater structural diversity supports a greater diversity of native birds, since each bird species has unique food needs and behaviors that influence where they are able to make a living. Maintaning large conifer trees like Douglas Firs and Western Hemlocks are critical in offering space in the overstory canopy for species like Red Crossbill, swallows, and flycatchers. Smaller trees like native dogwoods, alders, and Cascara make up the understory canopy where kinglets, chickadees, jays, and owls thrive. Smaller brush species, like Indian plum (Osoberry), Beaked Hazelnut, and Vine Maple can make up the shrub layer for Bushtits, hummingbirds, and goldfinches. Ferns, huckleberries, salal, and many other shorter bushes and ground cover plants will offer space for ground-dwelling birds like sparrows, wrens, and towhees.

No yard, no problem! You don’t need a garden plot to create habitat at home. Many native plants, including trees and shrubs can be grown in pots on a patio, deck, rooftop or windowsill. Layers can also be created by obtaining various species of native plants that offer shelter, nectar, seeds, and berries for a variety of birds and pollinators. We encourage everyone to contact the landscape managers at schools, businesses, and apartment/condo complexes to encourage the use of native plants on the property.

Container gardening also allows for a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and other edible herbs and plants to be grown for consumption, in addition to providing habitat and resources for pollinators like bees.