Gardening for Life

Gardening for Life

Wildlife enriches the lives of urban gardeners. As valuable habitat for wildlife decreases due to the accelerating pace of growth in our urban region, and poor water quality threatens salmon species, smaller habitats are ever more important. You can adopt gardening practices that have a positive impact on endangered salmon and on the water quality in your community, and help slow the loss of habitat in our region for birds and other wildlife.

Most potential “urban habitat” for birds and other wildlife is located not in public parks and greenbelts, but in the yards around privately owned homes, in the rights-of-way along residential streets, and in community gardens. The amount of diversity of life in the urban areas directly reflects the gardening practices and plant choices of urban gardeners.

The information in this guide will help you create a beautiful garden that requires less maintenance while providing valuable habitat for songbirds, butterflies, and dragonflies. You will find lists of plants and local resources and simple steps you can take to encourage more life in your garden.

Check out our great publication, Audubon At Home in Seattle: Gardening for Life – An Inspirational Guide to Creating Healthy Habitat. Your interest in taking very small and simple steps can make a big difference to the quality of habitat available to wildlife in Seattle.