Having just returned from a vacation in a mountainside cabin in Sevierville Tennessee where the hillsides were filled with birds and other wildlife, I realized how we have yet to see a single squirrel or chipmunk since moving to our new house this past May. We have several rabbits and toads, but no squirrels and very few birds.
This winter I plan on outlining a Landscape Master Plan to help remedy this situation. It’s my intention to create a self-sustaining habitat instead of simply placing feeders.
In addition to food sources, the wildlife will need habitat to live and raise offspring. To help address this I am researching plans for bird, squirrel and bat houses that I can locate throughout the property. I plan to post drawings or links for the houses I end up making.
Starting point-
The only bearing trees/ shrubs we had on our property when we purchased it are several 20-30 year old Maples, a Bradford Pear, and some 15-20 year old White Pines and Blue Spruces. We have a large variety of plants and shrubs but most just flower. With all the flowers come a LOT of bees.
2009 Additions-
Earlier in the summer I added two blueberry bushes. The birds enjoyed the limited fruit production these yielded this season. Next year I’ll net them when they are close to being ripe 🙂
In early July we added five- five foot arborvitae and four burning bushes along the back property line. These should both provide a little food for the birds and squirrels.
About a month ago we added a 15ft tall Tulip Tree and another Japanese Maple to our property. The Tulip Tree should provide a fair amount of food with it’s seed pods.
This post is to serve as my springboard as I begin my research for this project. Time will tell how this unfolds.
