Whether the sun is shining or snow is flying there are always gardening tasks to perform! Be a green gardener and make your yard a friendly place for wildlife with Habitat Hollows tips and projects.

Choose a month below and keep your garden green!

January - February - March - April - May - June - July
August - September - October - November - December

January    Activity: Reuse Your Holiday Tree

  • Prune Woody Vines
  • Plan for the coming Spring by researching your backyard/garden wish list
  • Stake your holiday tree in the backyard to provide shelter for wildlife
  • Add a popcorn and cranberry garland for a tasty treat
  • Leave an area of your landscape unmowed to attract a greater variety of wildlife
  • Provide suet, a high energy food for birds
  • Compost your organic waste to create a nutrient rich ground cover
  • List the top ten bird species that visit your yard
  • Estimate the distance to the nearest water source and add an artificial one if needed

February    Activity:Make an indoor compost bin

  • Apply compost with organic fertilizer to lawn, ground cover, perennials and ornamental grasses
  • Sow seeds indoors
  • Sow hardy annuals outdoors
  • Remove winter mulch
  • Sharpen and clean gardening tools
  • Look into Ohio native plants for your yard
  • Collect rainfall in a rain barrel
  • Activity: Choosing Ohio Native Plants

April     Activity: Make a Hummingbird Feeder

  • Sow new lawns
  • Prune conifers. Be sure to mulch branches for later use
  • Apply compost with organic fertilizer
  • Add crushed egg shells to bird feed to provide nesting birds with added calcium
  • Cut nesting material (dog hair, string or fabric) into small pieces and hang in a mesh bag for the birds
  • Plant a hummingbird garden
  • Mulch all woody clippings
  • Put out hummingbird feeders

May    Activity: Gardening for Kids

  • Stop feeding suet to the birds and start offering soft foods for nestlings. Try meal worms, berries and fruit
  • Prune spring blooming shrubs when flowers drop
  • Apply compost and organic fertilizer
  • Replace mulch around fruit bearing trees and shrubs. Be sure that your mulch is made from recycled trees!
  • Put out hummingbird feeders
  • Try using a people powered lawn mower
  • Teach your kids about gardening by giving them their own plot

June     Activity: Make a Toad Abode

  • Work old mulch into soil and apply new
  • Apply compost with organic fertilizer to annuals and perennials
  • Provide a clean water source for wildlife
  • After last frost plant annuals
  • Thin fruit trees and shrubs
  • Landscape with Ohio native species
  • Keep cats inside to protect wildlife

July     Activity:Gardening for Butterflies

  • Put out a water supply for Wildlife.
  • Turn old claypots on their sides to provide shelter for small animals
  • Take softwood cuttings from trees and shrubs for propagation.
  • Sow perennials for next year
  • Try citronella to repell mosquitos not chemicals
  • Recycle plastic lawn furniture
    Provide shelter for bluebirds with homemade nest boxes
  • A logpile is good shelter for butterflies
  • Dead head perennials when flowers fade to assure continued nectar sources.
  • Go organic with fertilizer
  • Try fish emulsion or your own organic compost. Simply build or purchase a compost bin, add food scraps and yard waste, stir and allow to decompose. When your compost turns to soil it makes a great natural fertilizer.
Plant a butterfly garden. Here are some Ohio Native plants that attract butterflies:
  • Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
  • Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
  • White Heath Aster (Aster ericoides)
  • Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
  • Bee Balm (Monarda didyma)
  • Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
  • Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
  • Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
  • Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
  • Hollow Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium fistulosum)
  • Blazing Star (Liatris spicata)
  • Creeping Phlox (Phlox stolinifera)
  • Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

August     Activity: Wildlife Safe Pest Deterrents

  • Continue to provide water for wildlife
  • Deadhead perennials and annuals when flowers fade to provide a continued nectar source
  • Trim hedges and place clippings on compost pile
  • When mowing leave the old gas mower behind and try a rotary mower... it's quieter and cleaner for the environment
  • Try wildlife safe deterrents to save your garden from hungry wildlife
  • Plant a moth garden for night time visitors

September     Activity: Making Birdhouses From Gourds

  • Set out bird feeders.
  • Use organic fertilizer on your lawn.
  • Plant new perennials and ground covers. Try to use plants native to your area.
  • Water new plantings.
  • Use a rain barrel to collect water for landscaping.
  • Pull up spent annuals and add to compost pile.
  • As leaves fall add them to the compost bin.
  • Use dried gourds to make birdhouses.

October     Activity: Sunflower Wreaths for the Birds

  • Set out extra bird feeders
  • Fill suet feeders
  • Add tree guards to young trees and shrubs
  • Spread homemade mulch around trees and shrubs
  • Save your pumpkin seeds
  • Offer clean and dry sunflower seeds in your bird feeders
  • Reuse your jack-o-lantern by setting it out for wildlife either whole or cut into pieces

November     Activity: Make a Squirrel Feeder

  • Use organic fertilizer on your lawn
  • Pull out old annuals and add to compost pile
  • Cut back perennials or leave in place for wildlife
  • Make homemade mulch from your woody clippings and add to tree and shrubs
  • Stake and wrap new trees and shrubs in burlap

December     Activity: Outdoor Decorations for Wildlife

  • Fill suet feeders for birds
  • Provide a heated water source for wildlife
  • Assess your garden landscaping strategy over the last year and plan ahead
  • Check mulch cover and repair and renew as needed
  • Turn a log into a feeding area