We encourage you to get your property certified – it’s easy and fun to do. It makes a great family project that pays dividends over and over.

Our backyard NWF Certified Wildlife Habitat

It can be any part of your yard – a small front yard garden or your entire property!

Since moving here in 1991, Carol and I (and the entire family) have planted over 50 native trees on our small suburban property. Since most of our backyard is a natural bog with a small pond we’ve planted mostly water-loving trees – bald cypress, river birch, river maples, pines, Leyland cypress, oaks, dogwoods, redbuds, and a bunch of native azaleas.

It’s important to leave fallen branches in a pile in the yard as it makes great cover for all sorts of critters. Our bog and pond support mosquito fish, river cooter (turtles), snakes of all types and even leeches!

I’m sure a river otter or two have appeared from time to time. We have some stray deer (a bit hard for them to stay since it’s so wet back there), Florida black bears, raccoons, opossums, armadillos, eagles, hawks, and all manner of other birds – mostly cardinals. An occasional vulture is spotted whenever something needs to be disposed of.

The key to our backyard is – no chemicals! No fertilizers, and no watering. It must take care of itself. We do occasionally weed non-native species and invading vines and we do use mulch.

Bald cypress needles

Japanese black pine

Florida river birch bark

Bald cypress springing to life from seed

Thanks for stopping by!

C&C ^.^