CERTIFIED WILDLIFE HABITAT DIY

This video is about making a Certified Wildlife Habitat garden and how I earned the plaque from the National Wildlife Federation. It's something anyone can do, and I'll share with you the steps I took to turn my gardens into a wildlife friendly habitat. I started out growing a simple pollinator garden, and with a few simple additions, I was able to certify my garden space as a certified wildlife habitat.
This year's Butterfly Gardent: • 🦋Butterfly gardening |...
last year's Butterfly Garden: • Pollinator Garden Tour...
More Butterflies: • Butterfly gardening | ...
Last year's Pollinator garden tour: • Pollinator Garden Tour...
Here's where you can learn more about how to certify your garden nwf.org/Garden-...
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Hey Makers!
I’m Patty of Pattymac Makes, and welcome to My Channel! Once you fall in love with handmade, it becomes a lifestyle. Enjoy educational videos on quilting, sewing and baking as well as fun videos made about my real life. Enjoy being creative explore new crafts and techniques.
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[@PattymacMakes]

Have you ever gardened for Wildlife?

[@ajayasir5272]

Pattymac Makes yes. I turned our yard into a Certified Wildlife Habitat too!

[@PattymacMakes]

That is wonderful!!!

[@mountainguru529]

I am going to build a wildlife area , Thanks for the inspiration . I just subscribed and look forward to viewing ,

[@PattymacMakes]

Thank you!! I mostly sew and quilt in terms of videos now, so I don't know if that will be interesting or you or not. But still do the wildlife habitat as it's such a fun project.

[@taramansion]

I'm in Florida and when I moved into my house there was a stack of roofing material. One of the things I did for the shelter part is set pallets on top of broken sidewalk material (so the wood would last) and cover the pallet with roofing material. The bunnies use it and I discovered an endangered gopher tortoise tunnel under it. If we all pitched in and just did a few things in our yard we could bring some of the nature back that was destroyed by development.

[@PattymacMakes]

Nature is incredibly adaptable, and when we provide a small oasis for insects and animals, they definitely show up! I could do without the bunnies, because they decimate my flowers and gardens. But I have owls this year and the bunnies have been much less of an issue. LOL

[@Patty-qd1lz]

Nice video, thank you. What no DEER! I live in NJ and have 21 deer. Good Job.

[@PattymacMakes]

Thanks 👍 No deer here!

[@beaulieuc8910]

i would love this, i wished we had this in uk

[@PattymacMakes]

It is a fun thing for sure!

[@irwinhorwitz5622]

this whole video is adorable!! love it!! you're amazing, your garden is awesome, and this is really informative too!!! in the process of making our backyard at home a certified wildlife habitat and you did a great job here :)

[@PattymacMakes]

Thank you Irwin! I appreciate your kind words! I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing this year as the bunny rabbits wrecked extreme havoc and everything is crazy right now. But I'll do my best for the wildlife. It is so rewarding.

[@haydenbraxton8095]

Hi from Richmond!

[@PattymacMakes]

Hi Hayden!!

[@chantalrochon3566]

Love your ideas. Thank you for this video. Btw! I too have tomato plants that re seeded…❤

[@PattymacMakes]

Thank you!! I need to get busy on that spot for the new season!

[@tgif1207]

For zinnias, the actual seed is the arrow shaped part at the end of the petal. And tossing them onto the ground for next year will only work in certain zones. Where I live in Michigan (6a), zinnia seeds left out during winter would die. So, I collect them after they are dried up. Seeds should be dark, not white or green. Then I plant them in the late spring when danger of frost is over. Some seeds in my area can be left outside. In fact, they HAVE to be exposed to cold temperatures and moisture (cold moist stratification) in order to germinate. Some examples are common and swamp milkweed.

[@PattymacMakes]

Thanks for the zinnia tip! Yes! The butterfly weed has to have cold temps and we did not have a cold winter last season, so it was very lethargic this year. I planted heavily in the late spring this year, and just about nothing came up. It was very disappointing this year. I have a few straggler zinnias that are blooming now, but it was over all a very strange year. I always have sunflowers and only a few came up, and none in my pollinator bed. I don't know if the squirrels got the seeds or not. The rabbits are terrible and found me last summer, so it's becoming incredibly difficult to have anything. But I'm doing my best and sure do hope 2021 is better and more normal.

[@tgif1207]

Yes, you are right...strange year is understatement!!! And we had more bunnies than ever! Despite the fact that we have a Coopers Hawk family two yards over! But like you said, we have lots of cover for them. They nibbled on all of my asters and practically destroyed my liatris and this was gonna be the first year they were really gonna pop! (3rd year perennials; they were huge and healthy!) Thumper felled them like trees!!!! Caught one in a live trap and relocated it, but by then the damage was done. Oh well...such is life when gardening for wildlife. Hoping for a less dramatic year next year!!!❤

[@PattymacMakes]

@@tgif1207 Thumper!! LOL!!! Um yeah, I didn't realize I was creating the perfect bunny habitat! I think I could work around them some with using pots, which is what I did in the back, but I frankly didn't have the energy for it this year. My butterfly population was way, way down. Very different for previous years, so IDK what happened. I only had one brood of Blue Birds and generally I have 3. Just hoping and praying the weirdness works itself out and next year is a more normal year. And hoping the bunnies go away. I have been seeing a gorgeous Barred Owl in my trees so fingers crossed that helps.

[@gypsyart1125]

Where did you get the yellow curvy stakes?

[@PattymacMakes]

I found them last year at Home Depot. They are tomato stakes so look in the area with tomato stakes. They had a few pretty colors!

[@trumpetingangel]

Why not add some more native plants to your pollinator garden? (Where I live, zinnias, marigolds, and those lilies are not native - maybe they are where you live.). Why not try some bee balm, more milkweed, more Black-eyed Susans, yarrow, purple coneflower, catmint? Keep expanding! The critters need more native plants, less lawn! ❤🐸🐞🦗🪳🌲🌱🌻

[@PattymacMakes]

Thank you!! I like perennials and the lilies come back every year. Also, I really like lilies. LOL And I get them on sale from a local nursery, and they are so pretty. That bed has been a huge struggle to get anything going in. I think the pine trees suck all the nutrients out and it's a battle to get anything going. I wind up planting seasonal wild flowers like zinnias as they seem to do well. Even marigolds and black eyed susans struggle in that bed. I have to replant from nursery plants every season. I like to have my own fresh cut flowers, too, so they give me my organic flowers that I like so much. I do like having some lawn because it helps with water run off. We get a lot of rain and I drain really well with the lawn. Also I use a lot of solar and I need some open area to put my panels out. I get tons of wildlife and insects keeping an organic garden so it's been great!

[@JuanLopez-uh7kt]

Do not need a water source, housing, nesting box, etc to certify?

[@PattymacMakes]

Juan, there are several different items on the list. I do have all of those things. I have two bird baths, a stream in the back and a couple nesting boxes along with mature trees and shrubs. Print out the list from WWF and it will tell you exactly what to do.

[@kellyk.3855]

I have a neighbor who 'bought' a sign so that they dont have to clean up their weeds & garbage by their house. Nice

[@PattymacMakes]

It is on the honor system, so you would hope people do the right thing. It's unfortunate when people are not responsible with something like this which is really such a fantastic program.

[@kellyk.3855]

@@PattymacMakes you would think and hope. They are right at the entrance of our little subdivision. They dont take care of their house or yard at all. The whole entry has thorn bushes, tree limbs tossed on, & garbage that is never cleaned up. Its more dangerous than anything. And they had the nerve to put up that sign when they heard people say something about it.

[@PattymacMakes]

@@kellyk.3855 I'm so sorry Kelly. It's an insult to the NWF who sponsors this activity, and offers it with great pride.

[@kellyk.3855]

@@PattymacMakes i completely understand...there's always bad apples out there unfortunately😔

[@PattymacMakes]

@@kellyk.3855 It's true. Always someone who wants to take advantage of another's kindness or goodwill. I don't understand where community spirit and cooperation has gone.