Wildife Habitat Yard Tour

August is the perfect time to start planning and planting your own wildlife-friendly garden. Come get tips from six Los Alamos and White Rock gardeners who have used landscaping to attract birds, butterflies, and other wildlife to their yards. You'll discover how these gardeners use simple techniques to provide the essential elements: food, water, cover, and places to raise young. Additionally, you'll pick up tips for wildlife watching, planting, composting, conserving water, and reducing chemical use.

Each of these six gardens has been certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a "Backyard Wildlife Habitat". By becoming certified, these gardeners have joined a network of wildlife enthusiasts who are dedicated to turning their yards into havens of life. Planting a wildlife-friendly garden is a fun, relaxing, and rewarding activity. You are sure to come away from the tour inspired.

Tour Hosts:

• Pajarito Environmental Education Center - 3540 Orange Street
• Randy Ryti & Wendy Swanson - North Mesa
• Chick & Yvonne Keller - Western Area
• Bart & Colleen Olinger - Bathtub Row
• John & Barbara Ramsay - Pajarito Acres
• Ian & Cathy Strong - Pajarito Acres

Tour Maps: See bottom of the page, or click here for a printable tour map (jpg). Maps will be given out at PEEC on the day of the tour.

For Kids: A free self-directed activity called "I Spy with My Eye a Wildlife Habitat" will be available for children at the tour. Kids will collect a unique sticker for each location where they complete the activity. They might even collect all six!

Tickets: $10 per person or $15 per couple/family. Ticket are being sold in advance at CB Fox and at PEEC. Or you may purchase online on the Calendar page.

Contact: For questions, please contact Selvi Viswanathan, or use the contact form.

PEEC Nature Center
3540 Orange Street

PEEC, the nature center, is adjacent to a branch of the Pueblo Canyon, and the wildlife habitat yard blends into wilderness. At the edge of the parking lot, the bird food and water area is in the protection of huge Ponderosa Pines at one side and natural vegetation on another. This makes a wonderful area for watching birds feeding or roosting.

Between the birds and the street, a demonstration xerigraphic garden has three parts. Closest to the street is a strip of lawn types that need little water. Next is a returning group of New Mexico plants that are good examples for local folks and an interesting demonstration of natives for guests. Nearest the building is a plot just now being developed with native plants of various types.

At the opposite end of the nature center, children have planted a water-saving organic vegetable garden. Harvest may begin in time for the yard tour in August. Please see information about the Kinnikinnick Club on the PEEC web site.

Exhibits inside the center enhance the outdoor experience. "What's blooming now" and a list of observed bird species are up to date during the year. Ever-changing exhibits interpret our flora, fauna and geology for all ages.

Enlarging our means of delivering our message, there now is a two-stage geocache focusing on plants and water on PEEC grounds.

During the tour of wildlife yards on August 9, the center will be the place to start, get tickets, maps, and a close look at what's happening at PEEC.

Chick & Yvonne Keller
Western Area

Our garden is officially six years old since our home and yard burned during the Cerro Grande fire. But even before the house was rebuilt and we started landscaping, many plants, particularly those in the terraced beds which were hardly affected by the fire, began to grow again. Various volunteers, all natives - wild roses, gaillardia, sunflowers, tall goldeneye, bahia, asters, globemallow, chamisa, yucca - also moved in. Because so much native habitat is being altered by development, thus displacing much of the wildlife that depends on it, we hoped to recreate a bit of it in our yard. So we gladly accepted these volunteers and began planting trees and shrubs native to our area: ponderosa pines, aspens, New Mexico privet, Gambel oak, mountain mahogany, Apache plume, winterfat, three-leaf sumac, chokecherry, shrubby cinquefoil, and golden currant. Soon we discovered that other plants came in on the root balls of the pines and aspens--wild strawberries, fireweed, and purple vetch.

We also planted many native wildflowers - wild geranium, Rocky Mountain columbine, yellow columbine, golden pea, harebells, various penstemons, beebalm, as well as native grasses - grama grass and buffalo grass. Although we focused on natives, we did not exclude other plants that would also appeal to bees, butterflies, and birds such as Russian sage, lavender, red and blue salvias, Oregon grape holly (related to our natives Berberis fendleri and Berberis repens), serviceberry, and raspberry. And we had a small pond built with a tiny fountain which has been enjoyed by many birds both for drinking and bathing - as wells as by a few chipmunks and squirrels.

The garden provides particularly for many of the needs of birds such as shelter - in trees, shrubs, and rock walls; food - berries, catkins, insects, nectar, and seed in bird feeders; water, and nesting materials and nesting places. We have enjoyed watching tiger swallowtails feeding at Rocky Mountain penstemon, a house wren working its way around the stone wall, a robin splashing in the bird bath while a Wilson's warbler waits his turn, a male black-headed grosbeak feeding his fluttering open-mouthed fledgling, bees buzzing around the catmint, hummingbirds sipping from the purple beebalm flowers, a flicker eating the berries of the Oregon grape holly, house finches nesting on our front door wreathe! And we have enjoyed watching the changes in the garden through the seasons. Our garden has been the source of many hours delighting in the activity outside our kitchen windows.

Bart & Colleen Olinger
Bathtub Row

This National Wildlife Federation-designated Backyard Wildlife Habitat is located on the corner of Juniper Street and Bathtub Row just north of the Los Alamos Historical Society Museum and Baker House. The 1-acre yard benefits from its history as part of the pre-World War II Los Alamos Ranch School. Indeed, the 1925 Ranch School root cellar remains as a sunken, rock-lined depression on the back lawn. Named Spruce Cottage by the Ranch School, the residence served as the older boys' open-air dorm and master's home. In keeping with the name, the school planted a number of native trees around the perimeter of the yard - notably spruce, ponderosa, and juniper. The landscape is mature and in keeping with its mountain location. A largess of trees and bushes provides a haven for birds, squirrels, gophers, raccoons, deer on winter nights, skunks, etc. The memorial rose garden is adjacent to the yard on the southeast, and the homestead-era Romero Cabin and pre-historic Pueblo Indian ruin are its neighbors to the east.

1964 Juniper has been a National Wildlife Federation Backyard Wildlife Habitat since July 2005.

John & Barbara Ramsay
Pajarito Acres

Our yard is in a rural-agriculture zoned area, and there are 3.27 acres of land. We have a single dwelling, a barn, and two out-buildings. The property is juniper-piñon with sagebrush and prickly pear cactus. The area immediately surrounding the house is xeriscaped and has a two-level pond with goldfish that provides year round water for the birds and local wildlife. Besides the foundation planting in the front yard, there is a meadow with native grass and flowers and a double island with mixed plants. This area was designed by Owen J. Nelson, Inside Out Design and Build. The meadow is mowed once in the spring and once in the fall.

The back yard was designed by Craig Campbell, FASLA, Landscape Architect. Other than the corral for the horses and the dog run, the yard is not fenced. We leave the sunflowers that grow naturally in the area to be harvested by the birds. We have a few fruit trees, raspberry bushes, and Russian olive trees that provide food for the birds as well.

We have bird feeders outside the kitchen and attract a large variety of birds, while mule deer and rabbits frequent the back yard. We also enjoy seeing fence lizards, collared lizards, and horned toads as well as ground squirrels that live in the woodpile. The usual population of rodents includes mice, pack rats, and wood rats. The property is a designated Backyard Wildlife Habitat.

Cathy & Ian Strong
Pajarito Acres

The Strongs' garden borders the rim of White Rock Canyon in Pajarito Acres. The visitor first enjoys the front courtyard with raised beds and a huge redbud tree that creates a shady refuge for traditional garden plants.

The back garden was designed with curving paths to enhance the wonderful view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. It has many perennial borders filled with native, adaptive, water-wise plants; a rock garden; a shade garden; a deck that adjoins a koi pond; and two berms that separate the main gardens from the wildness beyond.

The lawn is native grama grass that is mowed twice a year. With six birdbaths, feeding stations, and many nesting boxes, the garden attracts many birds as well as rabbits, deer, elk, coyotes, and snakes. A Say's phoebe likes to nest under the back porch eaves.

A whimsical flock of clay chickens in a flower bed seems to entice a covey of scaled quail - two parents and 11 chicks - to enjoy the garden frequently.

Backyard Certification in Los Alamos

Over 100,000 wildlife enthusiasts nationwide have been recognized for creating wildlife-friendly havens right in their own backyard! Won't you join them and be part of an unprecedented effort to help National Wildlife Federation reach 150,000 certified habitats in 2008?

Here in Los Alamos we have 40 certified yards. PEEC's goal is to increase that number to 100. Certification can be done by mail, or with a simple online form. Will you help us make our goal? More information at http://www.pajaritoeec.org/guides/backyard_habitat.php.

Tour Map