Wildlife PalaceThe Wild Creatures Building Supply StoreFeeding the birds is one way to attract wildlife to your garden, but you can make your wildlife welcome with a wildlife palace.Providing nest building materials can be a messy business if you just hang dog brushings and dryer lint in trees and shrubs, so build a wildlife palace to safely and conveniently put all your special contributions. Keeping your garden tidy is fine for us, not so good if a bird or other small animal wants to build a nest. Essential components to a wildlife palace are that it should be safe for birds and other wildlife such as chipmunks to visit and take your offerings. Don’t set up an ambush for your neighbors’ cat to use - migratory songbirds in particular have no defense against this threat. 
How to build a wildlife palaceYou can build a wildlife palace out of recycled stuff that you have around. I’ve seen them built out of old bricks of various sizes, some with holes in, others stacked to leave gaps. I’ve used hollow logs stacked between tree trunks, or flue pipes of different sizes. Clay pots can be stacked in layers with a shelf over them to keep the fillings dry. Nest building materials to put in the Wildlife PalaceThe holes can be filled with bits of string cut into lengths suitable for embellishing a nest, or dryer lint saved from the laundry, dog hair from the doggy beauty salon (make sure you don’t save any after a dog has a flea bath, the chemicals may be too strong for baby birds). Seed heads from Clematis or other plants that produce fluffy parachutes to spread their seeds. You can also use human hair, or from horses when they shed out in the springtime. The little nest above is lined almost completely with horsehair gleaned from the pasture near where the nest was found. Watch for useful items that you can use while you’re out on a walk, or separating the trash for recycling. Check out old nests to see what appeals to birds for nest building. What to avoid in your Wildlife Palace:Plastic bags or hay string in long lengths as baby birds can get tangled in these and die.The best time to set up your wildlife palace is in the spring, when the birds start looking around for a home. Sometimes this can be what closes the deal; the availability of great nest building materials. Building a wildlife palace can introduce a fun way to help the birds and other wildlife find enough materials in our cleaned up and tidied world to provide for their families. The very best part? It’s stuff that we would normally just throw out, either in the trash or the compost, making it unusable for the little critters around us.
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Wildlife and Birds
Important Visitors to your Xeric Garden
Don't be too quick to condemn insects or spiders - they are useful too. Trying to find out what kind of insects you have? Check the Insect Encyclopedia. Look for your spider on the Spider Identification page.
Many prey insects such as aphids will be attracted to dill or other nectar producing plants. In turn, they will feed wasps, crickets, ladybugs and many other beneficial insects.
You may find that hedgerows are not limited to wildlife habitat, they are also valuable for growing craft supplies.
Xeric gardens truly are the multi-taskers of the the natural world.
Find all pages to do with wildlife in your xeric garden on the Wildlife Site Map.
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