thumb|A wildlife garden (in the [[Loire-Atlantique in western France)]]
A wildlife garden (or habitat garden or backyard restoration) is an environment created with the purpose to serve as a sustainable haven for surrounding wildlife. Wildlife gardens contain a variety of habitats that cater to native and local plants, birds, amphibians, reptiles, insects, mammals and so on, and are meant to sustain locally native flora and fauna. Other names this type of gardening goes by can vary, prominent ones being habitat, ecology, and conservation gardening.
Both public and private gardens can be specifically transformed to attract the native wildlife, and in doing so, provide a natural array of support through available shelter and sustenance. This method of gardening can be a form of restoration in private gardens as much as those in public, as they contribute to connectivity due to the variability of their scattered locations, as well as an increased habitat availability.
Establishing a garden that emulates the environment before the residence was built and/or renders the garden similar to intact wild areas nearby (rewilding) will allow natural systems to interact and establish an equilibrium, ultimately minimizing the need for gardener maintenance and intervention. Wildlife gardens can also play an essential role in biological pest control, and also promote biodiversity, native plantings, and generally benefit the wider environment. Some environmental benefits include the reduction in pest populations through the natural mechanism of biological pest control, by helping reduce the need for pesticides.
Purpose
Anthropogenic activities such as land development and urbanization are major drivers of habitat destruction, causing habitat loss and displacing wildlife as a result of increasing fragmentation. Fragmentation, among other human factors contributing to habitat loss, aside from constant land disturbance (such as the heavy use of pesticides), all contribute to large declines in wildlife populations and biodiversity. By converting private green spaces in residential and commercial areas to wildlife or habitat gardens, residents can collectively assist restorative and conservation efforts in providing more spaces for wildlife to survive, and potentially strengthen ecological resilience in urban areas. Rewilding lawns can turn the garden into a carbon sink.
Planning
Planning a successful wildlife garden requires consideration of the area surroundings, and a focus on overall ecological functionality. Vegetative structure and complexity play an important role in the benefits the landscape will provide to the wildlife, through the varying plants serving as sources of food and cover for survival. In particular, planting native vegetation creates greater diversity in yards by providing habitat for birds, pollinators such as bees, and other wildlife, which results in their numbers in population growing. There are countless ways in which wildlife gardens can be built or converted, as long as food, water, shelter, and space are provided. The process will usually involve removing invasive species to replace with native species, retaining leaf litter as well as mature trees, assuring varying distribution of vegetation complexity and structure, and implementing other habitat elements such as ponds to include water sources.
thumb|Insect house in [[Pontgibaud, Puy-de-Dôme, France]]
Bird feeding stations and bird houses – A place for birds to eat and take shelter will increase the number of birds in the garden, which play a key role in biological pest control. Not only will food and shelter increase the survival rate of birds, but it will also ensure that they are healthy enough for a successful breeding season.
Bug boxes and bee hotels – Bundles of hollow stems (elderberry, Joe-Pye weed, bamboo) can be hung up as an alternate place of shelter and breeding for beneficial insects, such as the Mason bee, which are valuable pollinators.
Sources of water – A water feature, such as a pond, has the potential to support a large biodiversity of wildlife. To maximize the amount of wildlife attracted to the water feature, it should consist of varying depths. Shallow areas are used by birds to drink and by insects and amphibians to lay eggs. Deeper areas provide habitat for aquatic insects and a place for amphibians, or even fish to swim.
Pollinators – Flowers rich in nectar will attract bees and butterflies into the garden, which is of particular importance given the dramatic reduction in pollinator populations in the US, Europe and elsewhere. Wildflower meadows are an alternative option for lawns in the garden and will serve as a sanctuary for pollinators. However, pollinating plants should not be confused with plants suitable for butterfly breeding.
Plant diversity – The garden should include a range of plant types to act as different habitats. A balance between ground cover, shrub, understory, and canopy species will allow different sized wildlife shelters, varying in height, that fit their individual needs. It is particularly important to use species that are native to the area or state, as native plants will more reliably be suited to insects and other invertebrates than many non-native plants; increased variety of insects is valuable both for its own sake and for birds and other predators. Programs like the National Wildlife Federation's Wildlife-Yard Certification program that provide certification to yards that contribute to the habitat of diverse species, provider higher native plant diversity, and diversify the bird population.
Vertical structure is also essential to the construction of the habitat. It is the inclusion of layers of plants that in such a way that it provides an efficient level of diversity as well as purpose in its arrangement. This is so that a broader arrangement of flora and fauna is provided. An example of a vertical structure is when a wildlife garden includes a mulch layer, herbaceous layer, shrub layer, tree layer. All layers can support various wildlife species as well as enhancing the diversity of plant life in a residential yard. Significant essential natural processes are also enhanced during the implementation of a vertical structure such as that of maintaining soil temperature, protection from erosion, decomposition, replenishment of nutrients, and additions to the food web. making it hard for native insects to adapt, and ultimately reducing their food supply. Decreases in insect populations due to excessive ornamental planting will discourage bird populations from inhabiting the particular area.
Invasive species can always prove problematic in the garden due to the absence of natural predators and their ability to reproduce rapidly. Without any measures of control, invasive species can easily overtake native species in the garden. Addressing invasive plants can be done a variety of ways; however, to ensure the least amount of damage to the surrounding ecosystem, this is best done by cutting down the plant, The debris from the invasive species can be piled and used as a home for smaller critters. In Australia, it has been found that invasive species such as Lantana (Lantana camara) can also provide refuge for bird species such as the superb fairywren (Malurus cyaneus) and silvereye (Zosterops lateralis), in the absence of native plant equivalents. Careful thought about how to balance invasive species management with what is best for urban biodiversity is needed for the best outcome in your garden.
A wildlife garden should be dense enough in native plant species that there is enough ground coverage for species varying in size to find cover (for hiding or shade amongst other things) and shelter. Creating shade is also important in any wildlife garden. Leaf litter, or material that has fallen from a plant on to the ground, creates the perfect mulch and fertilization for a wildlife garden. Leaf litter can soak up excess water from heavy rainfall during the fall and winter time, contain that moisture and slowly release it into surrounding native plants to help them during the spring and summer time. It may also be of help to added native forbs, herbaceous flowering plants, to provide additional food for the wildlife. In the US, some examples of native forbs would be species such as the tapertip hawksbeard (Crepis acuminata)', this yellow flowering plant is native and common in the west. The tapertip hawksbeard (Crepis acuminata) is low in abundance and is in need for the sage-grouse species to thrive. If done in large enough proportions, wildlife gardens can form wildlife corridors. As there continues to be a decline in urban biodiversity it is said that wildlife gardens will need to be the new 'nature,' gardening has now taken a role that transcend the needs of the gardener, they now instead will play a major role in sustaining the wildlife of our country, this will allow the owners of these wildlife gardens to truly make a difference.
Social and human well-being benefits
Wildlife gardeners report that wildlife gardening has provided them with benefits such as a reduction in stress and anxiety, an improvement in overall mental well-being, the act of making social connections, and the sense of accomplishment at the witness of their efforts proving successful once different species begin to interact with their gardens.
National Wildlife Habitat Certification
The U.S. National Wildlife Federation provides a Certified Wildlife Habitat program that's main goal is to certify homeowners that provide additional habitat for wildlife that reside in urban areas dominated by the human population.