When thinking about wildlife habitat, most people envision a vast open space. Yet even a backyard garden can provide habitat for wildlife such as birds, bees, butterflies and the many beneficial insects that populate our county. 

Creating habitat gardens is increasingly important as our wilderness areas shrink and rural and suburban buffer zones disappear. Songbirds, honey bees, quail, butterflies and frogs are declining in number. Our home gardens may be their last refuge.

Imagine reversing this decline by establishing miniature “wildlife sanctuaries” throughout our neighborhoods. Many species would be content to make a temporary home in our front and backyards, and even on our balconies.

Providing habitat is crucial because much of our food depends on wildlife for pollination. About 30 per cent of our diet is the direct result of a visit by a bee to a flowering fruit tree or vegetable plant. Creating habitat for bees in your garden can increase the quality and quantity of your fruits and vegetables.

A habitat garden is designed to meet the food, water and shelter needs of wildlife. It differs from traditional gardens in recreating, at least in part, the natural ecosystem of the area. Habitat gardens include a diversity of plants for food and nectar, plus a source of water and cover — places to nest or hide. Some habitat gardeners use a ratio of one-third native plants, one-third ornamental plants and one-third edible plants, but this is only a guideline. You can influence the wildlife that visits your garden by your choice of plants. (Butterflies are quite choosy about food.)

Native plants attract wildlife more readily than non-natives because they evolved together and are adapted to our climate. Native plants are easy to maintain and can thrive without chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. Eliminating pesticides makes your garden a safe sanctuary for visiting wildlife. Using pesticides upsets the natural balance because you kill good bugs along with bad bugs, depriving birds of food and eliminating insect predators.

Native plants also require less water than non-natives, a critical issue in our water-stressed region.

A successful habitat garden has a range of flowers, trees and shrubs that bloom at different times. This staggered bloom offers a constant source of nectar, insects, seeds and berries to keep wildlife in your garden.  

Look around your garden for the features that are friendly to wildlife. You may have a “habitat hero,” such as a native oak tree, or herbs such as thyme and lavender. That tree stump you wanted to remove could be a nesting site.

A water element may be as elaborate as a pond or as simple as a depression in the ground that collects and retains water. Rocks or stone sculptures in sunny spots allow butterflies to bask in the sun.

Through careful plant selection, you can meet both the needs of wildlife and your aesthetic desires. Think of your garden as a sanctuary, and experience the delight of creating a garden that nurtures many different creatures. We, too, need sanctuaries for renewal. As we contemplate the natural world in our garden, we can enjoy the antics of our wildlife friends as they swoop, soar and feed. 

To learn more about habitat gardening, plan to attend the free Master Gardener workshop on Sept. 19, at Napa Valley College’s Upper Valley Campus in St. Helena. The workshop will be repeated on Sept. 26, at Connolly Ranch in Napa. Both workshops are from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Organizers promise free seeds, prizes and a plant sale. To guarantee a space, pre-register online at   http://cenapa.ucdavis.edu.Other resources for information on habitat gardening include local chapters of the California Native Plant  Society and “The Habitat Garden Book: Wildlife Landscaping for the San Francisco Bay Region” by Nancy Bauer (Coyote Ridge Press).

Napa County Master Gardeners (http://cenapa.ucdavis.edu) answer gardening questions Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to noon, at the UC Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Ave., Suite 4, Napa, 253-4221, or 877-279-3065.