Use Logs to Create Habitat in a Garden
Since clearing out invasive plants from my woods I have been left with a barren understory. My canopy was overwhelmed with invasive vines, I don’t think the forest floor has seen sun in years.
What remains is a sort of wildlife desert in the woods. There is no coverage or shelter from the canopy down and it’s driving me mad. Anyone who has done invasive clean up in natural areas will tell you that it takes a few years for wildlife to re-adjust and re-inhabit the space after so many plants have been removed. Native plants need a chance to grow in. Since then I have planted over 90 shrubs and understory trees which are about the size of grapefruits as this is their first year in. The remaining trees need time to get healthy, poor things are all scraggly, warped and absolutely delighted not to have Japaneses honeysuckle crawling all over their heads.
In my search to provide coverage critters while my little forest heals, I started dragging logs to some of the more bare spots in hopes of helping out the turtles, toads, snakes and salamanders. Logs are great hiding spots for these critters. Below are some photos of upturned tree roots I found and placed in the pine areas.
There are small gray dogwoods Cornus racemosa planted next to this log which should fill in and cover a portion of it. Today I will plant spicebush Lindera benzoin behind it and a few Christmas ferns around the openings. A little oak sapling is growing behind it so as the oak grows it will make a nice statement.
This was another root ball of a fallen tree I drug over. It is under the branches of an abused beech as well as has a serviceberry planted nearby. Hopefully the plants will begin filling in next year but for now at least there is a little nook for critters to crawl in and the rotting wood can provide habitat for the insects larger mammals feed off of.
Don’t toss fallen logs or chop them up but instead place them about the garden. Okay so mine is not attractive yet, forgive my woods as they are just on the mend, but you can make it pretty! Surrounded by plants and small woodland flowers, ferns, my rotting logs will be nature’s art I tell you. You can come up with some creative, ornamental designs and add a decorative feature to a garden while creating sanctuary for wildlife.
Make a Tufa Toad Cave Toad House
American hazelnut Corylus americana valuable Habitat Garden Plant
hi – enjoying reading about your work…looks as though you cleared a lot of invasives! Those shrubs will fill in that area in no time!