Photo by furryscaly
Welcome to Part 4 of Meet the Team at Beautiful Wildlife Garden.
You may recall that Beautiful Wildlife Garden came about after a discussion between Helen Yoest and I about how nice it would be if we could start a conversation that redefined beautiful. We hoped to help people begin to see that wildlife in the garden, and wildlife gardens themselves, really are beautiful.
Make sure to listen to that interview that put this ball in motion, where Helen interviewed me for the Gardening with Confidence show on Web Talk Radio.
Today we’re chatting with Chris McLaughlin. You may recall my interview with her about her new book, the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Composting, which teaches us to remember the wildlife that thrives in healthy soil. She’s been gardening for over 30 years and became a Master Gardener in 2000.
While living in the California Sierra foothills, she did wildlife rehab with Sierra Wildlife Rescue. It seemed natural to Chris to blend her love for gardening and wildlife by becoming certified as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat Steward so that she could help people create wildlife gardens in their yards. On her Northern California suburban farm, Chris grows anything that’ll stop long enough to grow roots and has vegetable gardens, wildlife gardens, and flowers gardens.
Listen now to this fascinating conversation:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Right click to download the interview.
Chris talked about:
- How to choose a few multi-purpose native plants to get your wildlife garden started
- Why snags are important wildlife habitat
- How to create cover so wildlife can raise their young
- How to attract bats to your bathouse
- Why your wildlife garden is also healthy for you and your family
Make sure to check out Chris’s blogs, A Suburban Farmer and Kids Safe Landscape, and follow @Suburban_Farmer on twitter.
Meet the Beautiful Wildlife Garden Team by listening to the whole series, and while you’re there be sure to join in the conversation at any of the interesting posts. I learn something new almost every day. How good is that?
The Beautiful Wildlife Garden facebook page is a happening place where you can participate in discussions and show off photos of your beautiful wildlife garden.
And you can follow @WildlifeGarden on twitter to keep up with the latest news.
[Music from the amazing Kara Barnard. "Blackberry Blossom" from the album, Fret Hopping in Brown County. Thanks, Kara!]
© 2010 – 2011, Carole Sevilla Brown. All rights reserved. This article is the property of EcosystemGardening.com If you are reading this at another site, please report that to us
About Carole Sevilla Brown
Great interview Chris!
She sure did make me laugh!
That was a great interview Chris and Carole! So much fun to listen to, and I really liked all the enthusiasm towards being in the garden and how everything balances out when you garden for wildlife. I’m with you, could talk about it all day
Kathy Green recently posted..Garden Bloggers Bloom Day August 2010
Unrelated to the post, Carole, but how’s your ankle doing? Are you off the crutches yet?
UrsulaV recently posted..THAT’ll wake you up in the morning…