Bring a natural element to your property by welcoming nature to your yard or garden. Think about the various species that may come to visit: make them comfortable!

For friends and family:

• Make sure that your home's exteriors are well-illuminated with outdoor lighting fixtures. You don't want anyone to take a tumble or get hurt trying to walk through your property, especially at night.
• Provide a safe, comfortable place to sit, such as bench-seats around your deck or Adirondack chairs on the porch.
• Create some sort of shelter for when you are outside, either with awnings, a pergola, or an overhead-structure. This will also expand the time that you spend outside enjoying your yard and property.

For birds and bees:

• Make sure that you provide a source of water for any flying friends. This could be a fountain, a birdbath, or even a small pond.
• Don't use any pesticides on plants or trees that could harm the bees pollinating or birds visiting the area.
• Visit hardware stores for bee-keeping supplies when you want to harvest honey.
• To attract bees, plant native flowers and plants that they will pollinate. To attract birds, provide some seed somewhere that is accessible to them.

For fish:

• Put in a pond to keep and provide for fish on your property. These can be easily installed using a prefab-liner that you buy at a home improvement store.
• Protect fish by covering up the pond or body of water, when possible, at night. This keeps predators away.
• Don't use chemicals on lawns that could create toxic run-off during wet weather, such as fertilizers or weed-killers.

For frogs and toads:

• Use floating plants in your pond to appeal to frogs, which will help eat the insects that invade your water features in warm weather.
• Give toads a home by leaving little piles of twigs and moss in quiet, damp areas for them.
• Frogs and toads both eat bugs that could damage your flower and vegetable gardens. Do something nice for them by leaving them alone and encouraging others to preserve and protect these amphibious friends!

Use these tips to create landscaping that attracts a variety of species to your property! From your family and friends to flying or furry guests, create an eco-friendly space where you get the opportunity to observe all different kinds of visitors in nature. Talk with home and garden retailers about other ways to draw wildlife to your property. For more information, contact companies like NPI,LLC.