Habitat Brush Piles

Here you go John!

And here's that link again that I posted in the other thread-
http://www.nationalwildlife.org/schoolyardhabitats/newsletters/brushshelters.cfm

And another that I took-

And here's the third one closest to my home that I took this morning-

These are newer habitat brush piles so the native vines that I planted around the bases are just beginning to take off. They should kick in next year, hopefully. Later on this year, I will go out and blanket them with leaves for an extra layer of insulation. Next year I might not have to do that dependent upon how the vines do. This particular brush pile is where my son released the salamanders found in the window well.

Cool idea Equilibrium! I wish I had enough space in my garden to do something like that...although the mice sure enjoyed the compost pile last winter ;-)

-Julie

I had some of these, but the city fined us and made us get rid of them! I've had fewer birds and bunnies since they've been gone. Anybody know how to convince the city it is a landscape feature, not a garbage pile?

Hey Sylvie, I do have an idea. A boyfriend of mine in Germany ... well actually his parents...had something like this covered in moss. They built the structure about 6 foot round ad about 4 feet high. Then they placed fallen leaves on it to cover all the cracks and holes from the top (leaving 3-4 little "exit ways" around the bottom). Then they covered the leaves with a thin layer of moist dirt (I bet a few bags of compost would do just fine here...or potting soil although more expensive of course). Then they went out to the nearby forest (in the autumn when it was plentiful) and gathered enough "sheets" of gorgeous moss to cover the entire structure except for the few exit/entrance holes they'd left around the bottom perimeter. Once it was complete (and left to naturalize for a month or two) it looked like a naturally formed mound or hill at the back of their garden. They put it as far away from their house as they could so the potential critters wouldn't be scared away by the humans. It did attract quite a few animals. Once it got sort of squished on one side because a guest stepped on it without realizing it wasn't a solid mound of earth. But fortunately it only caused a small "dent" which didn't seem to cause any problems with the functioning of the structure. It definitely looked very natural and did NOT look like a pile of rubbish in the garden. You could even use sod over the top...or plant creeping thyme, Dichondra, or ay other type of maintenence free ground cover if your zone doesn't really support moss.

-Julie

Julie, thanks! That sounds like a great idea. Maybe I could paint a garden sign that said wildlife garden to put with it.

Sylvi, I was just thinking that even a bunch of wildflower seeds scattered over the top could turn into a magnificent display....and would have the added benefit of making an above ground playground for the much smaller flying and crawling wildlife.

that brush pile looks cozy..it really does I will have to read on..ie the web link
Because our area has became fairly built up now, andwe do not have the wide open spaces that we used to have behind us we do not get the little animals coming in to visit the way they used to...for the longest time we had a resident fox...our huge boulders afforded a very comfortable little home and he would be out there late at night howling..but a rather unpleasant howl...until one night there was the most dreadful fight...still do not know what happened exactly..we figured the fox had 'met' somehing else in our yard [there were many racoons, skunks and opossoms etc., ] anyways he disappeared and we never saw him again but we know there are other animals living under the boulders because of the heaps of fresh soil which is 'thrown out' have no idea what is there tho' ...

Hi, I'm new here. This looks like a wonderful forum and I look forward to getting to know all of you. The pics have been great! Please forgive me for jumping in to the conversation.
sylvi, maybe you could have your yard certified as a National Wildlife Habitat- you can even get a nice sign to display on the property that might convince the city that your brush piles have an important function. It is easy to apply- all you have to do is show that you provide food, year round water, and shelter for wildlife. The water can be a birdbath with a heater- birdhouses for shelter, (the brush piles, too) and bird food, shrubs with berries etc. You can apply through the National Wildlife Federation, I don't think they turn anyone down it they meet those guidelines. It's a rewarding experience! It may take a couple of months to process the application, but it is worth waiting for! There is info on this website:
http://www.nwf.org/
Regards,
Cindy

Welcome to dg oceangirl!!! sylvi, your city officials need to be educated. The NWF can help with that. I have the opposite problem. In rural Texas dead cars in the yard are the norm. Over the last four years I have allowed a strip of native vegetation to grow between me and my dimwitted neighbor. This year it has finally become the screen I was hoping for. Blocked out the junkyard behind me and was fitting in to my wildscape theme. Well, last saturday while I was talking to folks here in this garden my knucklehead neighbors had knocked the whole thing down. There was a very heated discussion after they explained they "were just trying to help!" Excuse the rant please.

Equilibrium, geat hideouts for the critters. The one was a credible copy of the top of a beaver hangout.
In my neighborhood tho, they'd quickly become homes for feral cats. A problem I'd as soon skip.

Keep up the good works. John - how terribly ignorant of him. Lucky you're not one of those Pistol Packin' Texans. I'm sad for you |:>((

Oceangirl, welcome to DG - right away a question. Where's Mashpee? Anywhere near where that great white shark is playing around? and really welcome to the best place on the web. IMO

This message was edited Sep 29, 2004 12:39 AM

welcome oceangirl, please jump in I did..I think that is what we all do...good info you gave, I have heard of that before but you have given my mind a jolt [ which it needed]

Sorry to hear about your neighbor John...you just cannot seem to escape these people, and they do not have a clue..or care..I have one living beside us but it is not junk, just everything else it seems..not much you can do except the heated words, but that does not always help...hope it works out for you :›(

Wow, it' s great to see such an interest in habitat brushs piles. This is awesome.

Hi sylvi74, I have a few ideas and I am going to try to post a photo (if I can find it) of a birdbath. Other than that I think oceangirl hit the nail on the head. The certification is all of about $15 and it lends credibility to your "style of gardening". You can also contact them for assistance in overcoming the negativity associated with your "style of gardening". It's called wildlife gardening and I think it is great that you tried to go for it. Lemme guess... the idiots who did this to you each have a pair of burning bushes by their front doors and a Bradford Pear tree in their front yard as an ornamental and a Russian Olive out back for shade and think Dame's Rocket is a wunerful wunerful wunerful plant? Right? Try some of the awesome suggestions listed above (particularly Julie's) and should you get fined, please consider appearing in court again and respectfully request that the powers that be do not attempt to redefine your interpretation of gardening. There are many who will help you but the first step would most probably be certification. Why don't you print off the the information and photos from that web site I posted above. I know someone who was left alone just because they put a stake in the ground next to their brush pile and prominently displayed the information contained by that website. Interesting how people soften if they are educated on the substantial benefits of gardening for wildlife. Also too, if there is a Wild Ones Chapter in your area, you might want to seriously consider joining. These people know their native plants and you would not be displeased. By the way, I got reported. Not once but too many times to count. I deemed it harassment and addressed it as same. I am left alone now. He he he, I now have one neighbor who is creating habitat brush piles just like me. I guess I paved the way. I hope you will be the person who paves the way by you!

Gosh John, I am really really really sorry about your scenario. I think I would be so upset over that one that I would throw up. I don't quite know what to say other than to try to forgive them and move forward. One good thing is that those native plants have deep roots and they'll be back! Doesn't help for the short term but next spring you'll probably have a magnificent show which hopefully will be allowed to remain throughout the course of the year.

Hello oceangirl! So glad to see you. I am newer too. I am absolutely thrilled you posted the certification link! Way to go!

Hello BloomsWithaView, I too have the same issues with feral and stray cats. I love cats BUT... I have sort of crossed over. I remove any and all ferals from my property now. I do not relocate them so that somebody else inherits my issues... I allow animal control to take them. The strays that were former pets are taken to an animal shelter. Does your area have any sort of a program for removal of feral cats? It is a major public health issue so I am finding that more and more areas are beginning to address their existence and are providing homeowners with "options". Just a thought.

Hey guys! THANK YOU! This sounds really great and so exciting. I'm going to look into it right away. Maybe I can get something done this fall, before winter sets it. I was planning on working on my back lot yet this fall. I call it the back forty. It is about 10 ft x 50 ft. I want to plant bird food plants (seed bearing, berry producing, hummers and so on) back there, and that would be a great place for my brush habitat. We have a bus garage behind the house, and I think they are the ones who complained because the drivers like to park there. They are really nice people though and I bet if I explained to them what I was doing, they would be okay with it. If I get anywhere with this I will post photos. Thanks for your support. It's so nice to talk to like-minded people!

Thanks for the welcome, everyone!
Blooms, Mashpee is on Cape Cod. I'm just a town over from the Great White Shark. It is near an island off Woods Hole, which is part of the town of Falmouth. I haven't gotten to see it- from what I can tell, I would need a boat to get out there and I don't have one- oh well. And I guess boaters are flocking there and wildlife officials are asking them to stay away because they think the many, many boats are keeping the shark from returning to open water. They are hoping the shark will go out with the next full moon- the tides will be very high. I sure would love to get a peek, though!

John, I'm sorry your neighbors did that to you! How frustrating! You would think if they were trying to help, they could have started at home and had their junk cars hauled off! Hopefully it will all grow back next year. I have several areas in my yard that I have just left alone, and it provides a nice privacy screen full of native blueberries, Holly, and wild cherries. I would be so upset if someone did that to me.

Julie, I love your idea - thanks for sharing it! I want to try that. I love the look of moss. sounds so cozy, too.

Great pictures, eqilibrium.

Best regards,
Cindy

Cindy, I hope to see photos of your brush pile (never knew it was called that until this thread was started). I can't take credit for the idea though...just passing on what the parents of a former boyfriend did :-) . I didn't like the parents much personally, but they sure knew what they were doing with plants, composting, natural type stuff in their garden. It's just coincidence that I actually asked them how they created their pretty little moss mound. I always hoped to make one of my own one day, but fate has it that I just don't have enough room in my garden (nor a husband who likes a wild looking garden .... drat!). But I hope someone else can enjoy one like this (and post pics too!).

:-)

-Julie

Hi everyone,

I just remembered that when the old boyfriend's parents were telling me about their "moss mound", they said that their other son had done a similar one in his garden, but with old burlap bags in place of the old leaves...then dirt, then moss. I never saw that one, but they said it worked great. And I bet it would be a lot easier to mound the dirt on the burlap than the leaves....but that's just my own very inexperienced assumption.

Anyway, I just remembered that and thought I'd pass it along.

-Julie

Yup, I've heard of people using burlap. Helps to keep the organic matter above together long enough for roots to take hold from above. By the time the roots above get established, the burlap has begun to disintegrate. I had never heard of anyone creating one like this. Hmmm... maybe I need to try this.

Well, I've cooled off since. Said things about their southern roots I shouldn't have but, nothing I haven't heard them say themselves although with an intensity they were not comfortable with. Heat of the moment I guess. We waved to each other this morning! :-)

Maybe your neighbors may think twice before they do that again John...nice to hear peace has returned tho' Now they just need to clean their trash up.... :›(

W will see.

So John, what type of a habitat brush pile are you going to create? The fancy schmantzie type like Julie mentioned or the plain Jane version like what I have? I have plans to make one like what Julie mentioned. I need to get my hands on some burlap though. I have never had an earthen sheltered brush habitat pile before but there's no time like the present. I need to figure out where I'm going to put it. I have a few ideas.

I've had one for years. Its nothing fancy and hidden from view. I seldom disturb it.

You sly guy you! Here I thought you didn't know what one was and you've had one for years. Any ideas what is residing in yours? I get an incredible amount of birds using it and an occasional rabbit. I had been hoping for more variety but then maybe next year as I created all of mine in the past few months.

Snakes probably. All the gophers are gone from my property.

I have mostly birds hopping on top of them. Occasionally rabbits go in them but not as a rule. I was sort of hoping for a fox or a badger. Badgers generally like nice big holes in the ground though. I think I am going to have to get a cavernous earthen style brush pile such as the one Julie described before I will have a chance of getting a fox. Snakes are around here. Nothing out of the ordinary but they are here. Generally they can be found around the edge of the lawn sunning themselves. I've never seen one even close to one of the brush piles come to think of it. Bummer as I like snakes.

My back yard (70 x 100) is a jungle. I have the gardener cut down the weed trees every other year or so and just pile the pieces. There are several masses of herbs. I call it the Disneyland for my cats.

I have some opposums back there and a few nights ago there was a raccoon.

No more lizards, I suspect that the cats used them for toys. An occasional rat or mouse but the cats take care of those regularly. Last night Reba came in at bedtime proudly showing off her latest mouse. After she got her praise she settled down on the kitchen floor and proceeded to eat every bit of the mouse.

An occasional fox squirrel comes around, there was one out there this afternoon chattering up a storm.

Being in the city there is not much chance of getting more animals.

George, urban wildlife deserves its place in the sun, too, don'cha think? Just need to be a little more aware of predator control in that habitat. Urban wildlife habitat is just one of the factors in garden management. :-)

Sad reality but I believe you are correct John. I struggle with these issues every day. It was a tough decision for me and went against the grain of how I was raised but I don't regret it any longer. Still upsets me though every time I have to call animal control. I thought I'd get over it by now but I just never have. On the other hand, there are a lot less dead cats on the road these days and I don't have coyotes hooting and howling it up outside after a cat kill and the number of dead uneaten animals I am finding in my yard has gone down to maybe one a week. There are quite a few neighbors around here who are calling animal control now so I'm not the only one. It doesn't upset them, it's become routine.

Very interesting thread. I have had a brush pile at the back of my 2 plus acres of garden ever since I started here 9 years ago. Will have to start a new one tho as the other got moved when a seedling apple tree got too large and had to be cut down. I think mostly birds used the first one. I do have cotton tail rabbits, as I see them once in awhile. There are coyotes all around, but don't think they can get into my fenced in garden. Well they could crawl under my gate I guess.

Really enjoyed reading everyones thoughts on the piles. There are a couple of ferral cats around and I don't want them to kill any more birds.

I must go to bed, it is getting late and I am tired . We left Ontario OR early this morning. A group of 42 on a bus tour coming back home from Reno. Then I drove on the remaining 1 W25 miles after Wenatchee to get home about 7:00 pm. Welcome Oceangirl. Donna

I started on my back lot today!! I am going to put up a sign that says Wildlife Garden in Progress-No Citations Please! Maybe I will add that people can come to the door and I will be happy to talk about it with them? This is really great.

You go girl!!!

Yahoooooooooo! Good for you! I am so sorry I forgot to post that photo for you. This picture is from earlier this year but you could easily pile up brush around the base leaving the basin exposed. Here you go-

John you mentioned you had no more gophers..how did you manage that...we [ as in my hubby] have to trap them a lot, they find their way into our back and front from the neighbors who constantly wail about them but do nothing [ my hubby constantly shows them how..but they want him to do it all] we really have to keep checking as they have brought down large trees and I would be hopping mad if they got any more of myfruit trees [they took care of a huge lemon tree]
so [ hope you do not use poison and you cannot use your favourite 38 ?] what is your secret to being gopher free ????

we did try a gopher snake one time but it escaped in a gopher hole I guess....got outside onto the road and got killed ..:›(((((

Good for you, sylvi74! I like your idea to put up a sign, that should help with the bus drivers and the city.
I like the birdbath you made, equillibrium. Is the basin made of stone? It looks it. Did you buy it that way, hollow it out yourself, or was it a natural water holder?
Thanks for the welcome, Donna. I hope you get some rest!

Cindy

Hi Cindy, The base to the birdbath is a girdled buckthorn. It had a nice spread to it and I decided to cut it down with a chainsaw to accomodate a basin. I bought the basin from a vendor at a native plant sale. The artist creates them from some sort of concrete mix. This particular one has imprints of ferns in it however she had others with imprints of oak, ginkgo, maple, and ivy imprints in them. I really love the one I selected. It is quite heavy and has a tint to it. The one issue I have with it is that it is difficult to clean. I hadn't really thought of that when I bought it. So many little nooks and crannies that I have to use a scrub brush and then I have to soak it in a mild solution of bleach. That would be the one draw back to it. Now I did have two planters made out of carved stone.They were hand chiseled by another artist. I had received the pair as a gift from one of my brothers. They were too modern for my tastes so I gave them to a girlfriend. I really did like them and lord knows they were a generous gift but they just didn't fit in over here. Cindy, Thanks for complimenting me on that birdbath. Most people think it is an eyesore. Lauren

Equil, your branched base for the bird bath is great. i can see how there might be a problem keeping it clean. I have a pottery one with raised dragonflies as decoration on the bottom. It is pretty smooth but i still find it difficult to keep clean. Donna

Lauren I think your bird bath looks a treat, in fact it really fits into your garden so well..was thinking when I looked at the pic that it was taken during the late fall? or early Spring ? the bare trees and it looked cold...you can almost see the dampness in the air..it still reminds me of England [UK] on those cold chill mornings, can almost feel the cold air, but the freshness of it...[ a promise of Spring ? ] things I miss !!!!!