THE COASTAL GARDENER:

Try to imagine a garden where the only thing alive is plants. I can’t. I could hardly call it a garden without some birds, insects, lizards and other small creatures.

Planting trees, flowers, shrubs and vines is easy. But with a little more planning and the right plants, even a suburban Orange County garden can be a magnet for vanishing wildlife. It is very satisfying watching birds in your garden snack on berries, or seeing a lizard basking on a warm stone or butterflies dancing among your plants. That’s a garden.

Not a sterile, stagnant place made for the stillness of a photograph, but a living, breathing place. This kind of garden begs for you to get involved, to step further into it. It’s a place that asks you to look more closely.

A garden full of life is exciting.

The thrill of discovering a new nest is even greater when one day it is filled with baby birds; then watching them learn to fly.

Bright blue or orange dragonflies, melodious Pacific tree frogs and playful Western bluebirds can all be brought into a garden.

By day, cliff swallows glean the air of small insects, while Mexican free-tailed bats take up the task each evening.

To create a backyard habitat, a garden needs four elements: food, water, shelter and places to raise young.

Every animal needs to eat! Planting native or other appropriate shrubs, trees and vines is the easiest way to provide the foliage, nectar, pollen, berries, seeds and nuts that many of our local animals and insects require.

Salvias, oaks, toyon, milkweed, currants and gooseberries, golden yarrow, and native grapes all provide food, in one form or another, for the creatures in your garden.

When natural sources of food aren’t enough, supplies can be supplemented with bird, hummingbird and squirrel feeders. These can be homemade or purchased and can be a significant source of nutrition for both resident and migrating wildlife.

Wildlife will need a source of fresh water for drinking, bathing and reproduction. Water may be provided from natural-appearing features such as a pond, a small recirculating stream, puddling areas for butterflies or a hollowed-out large stone.

Or clean water can be provided by human-made features like bird baths or the addition of a dripper, a device that allows a drop or two every few seconds to fall into a small pool of water.

Drippers can be very attractive to small animals, especially birds.

Wildlife need places to hide in order to feel safe from people, predators and weather extremes. They also need a sheltered place to raise their offspring.

The easiest way to provide cover for wildlife is by using plants, both dead and alive. Arrange plants in clusters and levels. Shrubs should lead to small trees, alongside larger trees.

Wildlife is attracted to multi-story plantings for shelter and forage. Diversity in the landscape is necessary. Some plants provide food but very little cover; others provide cover but little food.

You can also create hiding places for animals by using logs or rocks. Birdhouses specifically made for the types of birds you would like to attract can be helpful.

Even roosting boxes for bats and owls provide them with a place to rest and raise their young. Locate bird feeders and birdbaths near cover. Birds need escape routes, especially from cats. Overhanging branches from nearby trees are ideal.

Finally, after providing the basic needs of wildlife — food, water, shelter and nesting — you may also want to consider the maintenance strategies of your garden.

Pesticides should be used carefully, if at all. Likewise, noisy leaf blowers and power equipment can be quite disruptive. Where possible, let the plants and the garden relax a bit.

Tightly clipped hedges, immaculate shrubbery and hospital-clean flower beds should give way to a more wildlife-friendly appearance. Where possible, leave some leaves where they fall and let a few branches grow as they wish.

Pretty flowers, vines, shrubs and trees aren’t the sum of a successful garden.

Sprinkle in some wrens, toads, lizards, butterflies, dragonflies, opossums, orioles, squirrels, bumblebees, warblers and bats, and now you have a garden ... a living garden.

ASK RON

Question: After I saw one in a neighbor’s garden, I want to grow a couple of artichokes in my own garden. Any tips?

Gus

Costa Mesa

Answer: Artichokes are easy in our climate, and now is the perfect time to plant them in Orange County. Pick a sunny spot with at least about four or five feet of space. Mix plenty of organic compost or amendment into the top foot of soil. Fertilize occasionally and keep the plants well watered, especially during the warm summer months. Artichokes are perennial plants. After the tops are harvested, cut that stalk down to the ground and another will take over. With a little luck and by following this process, you may get both a spring and fall crop.

ASK RON your toughest gardening questions, and the expert nursery staff at Roger’s Gardens will come up with an answer. Please include your name, phone number and city, and limit queries to 30 words or fewer. E-mail [email protected], or write to Plant Talk at Roger’s Gardens, 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road, Corona del Mar, CA 92625.

RON VANDERHOFF is the Nursery Manager at Roger’s Gardens, Corona del Mar.