Very nice program and I'll bet a lot of those kids will grow up to be compost wackos. The future is safe! ...well, at least for composting. Claire

Yes you can attract honey bees to build a hive. A lot of people do it. You can read a lot about it and do everything right and it may or may not work for you. But if you have the time and can build a box it is worth trying. There are so many ways to go about this I am just going to say look at youtube videos building a bait hive or swarm traps. The Fat bee man are some of the best videos to watch if you want to learn a lot about bees. Bees are funny though you may do everything right with making a bait hive and find that the bees moved into an old tractor tire a few feet away. I think you should catch and raise bees. I think the bees need us as much as we need them.

I've never seen as much effect on wildlife due to plant selection as I have with garden practices. Most any flowering plant attracts nectar/pollen collectors, but beyond that... Leaving leaf litter/seed pods under trees creates a habitat for bugs, from bacteria on up to the larger bugs which birds and lizards eat. Basically composting in place and the birds turn the compost for you. Adding water like Toucan said, but water features specifically for wildlife. Like a shallow pan for bird bathing in addition to drinking. That will also provide water for other creatures. Birds don't like cover near the water where cats can hide but they do like branches nearby where they can stage and check for predators before moving to the water. And also water in the landscape. Some higher water plants means moist ground, more insects, more food for wildlife. True desert landscapes don't generate a like of life compared to when water is added. Rocks/rock piles for lizards, crickets and other bugs. Add some wood in there and some plants on top with added water and you have a good insect producer. Shade I think increases insect production and therefore wildlife. These things are more a all year. more wildlife type thing. A plant that generates berries for example provide a really short window of food for wildlife while habitat is an all year type thing.

Thanks. I know people HATE deer in their gardens, but since we live so close to downtown (they walk down the sidewalk & cross in the crosswalks to get here - I have seen them), we only usually see one at a time, and we have so much greenery I don't mind the nibbling. The doe eats the new shoots of English ivy, so my DH does not have to mow it. She also mows the oxalis into a neat carpet, so it does not shade out other plants. When the fawns get big enough, the does usually take them away to somewhere else. Since we moved here 30 years ago, we have had 1 or 2 fawns born on our (1/3rd acre) property every other year or so. The does hide them in the undergrowth, and then visit them only at feeding time. My DH was very startled right after these 2 were born - they were so tiny they fit under the top of the ivy in an overgrown part of our property (near his car), and they popped out of cover right in front of him one day when he unsuspectingly disturbed them. Jackie