We have suggested you plant an English lavender and a catmint as a gift to our declining honeybee population. Let’s go one step further and dedicate a small piece of the garden to a habitat for bees, butterflies and birds. We’re not suggesting that you re-landscape your entire yard but is there a small corner or space where you could give our animal friends a home?

Before the New World was settled, native bees, butterflies and birds took care of pollinating all our native plants. When colonists came, they brought with them the seeds of plants that had never been part of the New World--plants such as apples and peaches from Eurasia, tomatoes and potatoes from South America, citrus from Africa, beans from southern Europe and so on. Native insects pollinated some of these new arrivals but it became necessary to bring over European honeybees to do a more thorough job on the fruit trees and some of the other plants. Honeybees provided a triple benefit--they did a reasonably good job pollinating, provided honey and socialized in huge numbers (colonies). All went well for a while but now the honeybees are in serious decline. Many of the fruit trees have disappeared because Silicon Valleys have erupted all over the New World, the pesticides have improved and the poison we sprayed on plants last week is killing bees this week, parasites without their controlling predators have attacked the honeybees and now an unidentified malady called Colony Collapse Disorder has reduced our honey bee population by an estimated 55%. The native bees have lost much of their habitat but since they are mostly solitary insects and require a much smaller living space, their demise is not as imminent as that of the honey bee. A honey bee colony may number 50,000 to 100,000 insects and so they need a big hollow tree or the space between the walls of a house to provide for this population. Native bees will live in a hole in the ground or in a fence post cavity. Will you consider space for some of our native bees?

Your "native area" needs sunshine to grow plants which will make bees, butterflies and birds feel at home. Part of a hillside or a corner of the lot which fills with weeds will be perfect. The area will need some preparation for your plants to become established. A few will be able to survive on winter rain alone. Most will require some minimal irrigation but certainly not as much as a formal landscape. Actually, all of plants we will mention are part of a xeriscape.

Next, just so you’ll know what to expect from your birds, bees and butterflies, here are a few words on their behaviors. All feed during daylight hours except some caterpillars (butterfly larva) which feed day and night. They may camp in your native area or they may just pass through for a snack. Some butterflies live only a few days and spend the night resting on a twig with wings folded flat, parallel to and over their back. Birds will make a nest but use it only to raise their young; after that at night they cling to a wire or branch under the eaves of a house or other overhang. The bees live in the ground or in crevices of wood.

Following is a list of more plants than you will need to provide food for your birds (BI); bees (BE) and butterflies (BU). Ideally, you should have some for each season of the year but you can get that information from your Sunset Western Garden Book. There are many more plants but these are some of the most drought tolerant.

Shrubs : Germander (BU,BE); Butterfly bush (BE,BU); Toyon (BI, BE, BU);Pyracantha (BI, BE, BU);Cotoneaster (BI, BE, BU);Rosemary (BE,BU); Ceanothus(BE,BU).

Perennials : Yarrow (BE,BU);Gayfeather (BE,BU); Mexican Sunflower (BI, BE, BU); California fuchsia (BE,BI); English Lavender (BE,BU); Catmint (BE,BU); Wild buckwheat (BE); Butterfly weed (BE,BU); Elegant Madia (BE,BU); Penstemon (BE,BI); Bee balm (BE,BU); Bush Monkey flower (BE,BU).

Annuals : cosmos (BI, BE, BU); Coneflower (BE,BU); Fleabane (BE,BU); Bachelor button (BE,BU).

Our hummingbirds don’t migrate so during winter it may be necessary for you to supplement their food supply with a hummingbird feeder. When Mr. Ed’s children were young, we had a regular hummingbird visitor with a permanently damaged leg. The boys named him "Chester" (as in Gunsmoke for those too young to remember!) and enjoyed his visits for 2 or 3 years. Water is also necessary for birds, bees and butterflies so be sure to have a bird bath or ground saucer for water. Flush it once a week to clean it out and eliminate mosquitoes.

For those of you interested in increasing the number of native bee pollinators, consider encouraging Orchard Mason Bees to nest in your garden. You can make Mason Bee nesting boxes or buy one (with 10 vacancies) from Gardens Alive, 513-354-1482, or www.GardensAlive.com.

With a little bit of preparation, you can enjoy your own little corner of the world. You will be helping preserve some of our threatened animals and providing a never-to-be-forgotten learning experience for children or grandchildren. You may even be inclined to become part of National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Wildlife Habitat program which provides homeowners with all of the information they need to create a haven for wild animals.

 Perky Pet Glass Feeder is of hardened glass, shatter-proof feeder bottle with 30oz. capacity and no-drip feeding base. This feeder features 6 feeding stations with removable flowers and a full-circle perch.

Fill your feeder with Perky Pet 'Original' Instant Nectar, an exclusive blend of pure sugars. Easy to use and provides a sweeter, more digestible, high energy diet. When mixed with cold tap water, nectar sugars invert, imitating as closely as possible, natural nectar. Dissolves instantly and contains no artificial sweeteners.

• No boiling required.
• Solution turns a bright red.
• Also available in liquid.
• Liquid may be refrigerated for weeks.