Backyard Biodiversity For Beginners Part 3 - Water

The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives.
-   American Indian Saying

 I couldn't think of a more valuable time such as this to think about the importance of water features and conservation  in our biodiverse backyard.

This year in Texas, we are experiencing the worse drought in over 44 years. If you have built your foundation, which is you soil, as I shared in this series in part 2 then water conservation becomes so much simpler.

If you haven't then you can count on loosing much of your garden in this drought. There would be no way of keeping it sufficiently watered without tremendous expense and water usage.

Your healthy rich soil will not require as much water. In order to have a healthy organic garden will greatly depend upon the wildlife in which you provide a habitat for.

Adding something as simple as a small frog pond provides an essential element for all living creatures. Why even a honeybee depends on water as much as the nectar of a flower.

On a hot day in Texas a beehive can collect over a quart a day to assist in cooling their hive and feeding their larva. 

 

 Vintage 1910 postcard from Texas

Oh how I would love to see one of these guys! The Texas Horned Lizard or Horned Toad as some call it. They are now very rare and endangered. If one shall live upon my pond I shall call unto the garden angels for its protection.

We have so many lost and endangered species. Mostly accounted for by loss of habitat and the wide spread of chemical usage. Frogs, toads and lizards eat a tremendous amount of insects throughout your garden.

I think Texas has the largest grasshoppers in the world. They can devastate a garden very quickly, so you need habitat and biodiversity throughout your backyard to provide healthy living predators. You just never know who might show up!

Another important thing to remember is rain is always better than ground water for your garden. Rain provides more oxygen and nitrogen that is not found in tap water.

Also tap water contains many minerals and additives that are not good for plants or soil. You can have a tremendous salt build up that is not healthy for the garden. Nothing causes your plants to green up naturally like a good rain. It is also free and doesn't use up valuable water resources. 

If at all possible, I think some sort of rain water collection is becoming increasingly vital for healthier ecosystems and co-existence with the natural world.

Some irrigation is still needed during severe droughts such as ours for successful vegetation. But the need is limited by far when you work towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

Although there are other factors, such as what types of plants and grass you are growing that will also lead to a successful backyard habitat, water sources are a major consideration while in the planning stages.

Biodivese Garden

Biodivese, my garden shall grow

So full of Life and Wonder

As the Cilantro burst with its white lacy flowers

Soft whispers they beckon, oh lady come home

The Larkspur so regal in blooms of sweet purple

Gentle sway in the breeze, the honeybees pleased

Peace and enchantment in herbs Dill and Fennel

For the Swallowtail flutters, leaving sweet pearls of silver

These things shall be left for my grandchildren to know

For only biodivese shall my garden grow. ~ Pammy

"You must have certain noble areas of the world left in as close-to-primal condition as possible. You must have quietness and a certain amount of solitude. You must be able to touch the living rock, drink the pure waters, scan the great vistas, sleep under the stars and awaken to the cool dawn wind. Such experiences are the heritage of all people".
--Ansel Adams, 1961

I found this really cool non-profit organization called "Save The Frogs." They are jammed packed full of information on all kinds of amphibians and how we can all help create habitats to protect our valuable biodiverse world.

http://www.savethefrogs.com/why-frogs/index.html

Happy Gardening!!
Pammy 

Leaving you with a few scenes from today's garden.

Purple Bearded Iris

A surprise red bloom in the Snapdragons

Skipper Butterfly on Bachelor Button
(I thought it was a grasshopper at first)

The Gardens Edge