Vertical Greenery: Climbing Vines and Living Walls
Bare walls can become far more than lifeless expanses of concrete, brick, or siding when they are covered with the right native vegetation. A well-planned living wall softens hard surfaces, cools buildings, and transforms vertical spaces into valuable wildlife habitat. Dense foliage offers shelter throughout the year, spring flowers provide nectar for pollinators, and late-summer and fall berries feed songbirds and small mammals. Thick evergreen cover can even provide safe nesting sites for many backyard birds.
One of the best ways to bring wildlife into a garden is to allow climbing plants to cover fences, trellises, arbors, or selected sections of exterior walls. Native vines create layers of vegetation that support insects, spiders, lizards where present, and birds, turning an otherwise barren surface into a thriving ecosystem.
In much of the eastern United States, Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is among the best choices. It provides outstanding fall color, abundant berries for migrating birds, and excellent cover without the aggressive reputation of many introduced vines. In regions where it naturally occurs, crossvine (Bignonia capreolata), American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens), coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), and native grapevines (Vitis spp.) are also excellent wildlife plants. Choose species that are native to your region and appropriate for the structure they will climb.
Even the most wildlife-friendly wall benefits from variety. Rather than allowing vines to blanket every surface, leave some exposed areas. Open sections provide sunny basking sites for reptiles where they occur, hunting opportunities for insect-eating birds, and access for species that forage directly on bark, stone, or wood. A mix of dense vegetation and open spaces creates many more ecological niches than a uniformly covered wall.
Properly matched climbing plants generally do not damage sound masonry, brick, or stone. Instead, they help shade exterior surfaces from summer heat and reduce the impact of wind and driving rain. However, vines should be kept away from damaged mortar, loose siding, gutters, roofs, and utility equipment, where they can create maintenance problems.
For the greatest wildlife value, combine several native climbing species that flower and fruit at different times of the year. Together they provide a continuous supply of nectar, pollen, insects, fruit, shelter, and nesting habitat, ensuring that a once-bare wall becomes an important part of your backyard ecosystem throughout every season.
Perches, Brush Piles, and Hay Bales: Small Features That Bring Wildlife to Life
Some wildlife prefers to keep watch from above. If you've ever driven through open country, you've probably noticed birds perched on utility lines, fence posts, or the tops of small trees. American kestrels, eastern bluebirds, loggerhead shrikes, eastern kingbirds, meadowlarks, and many sparrows all rely on elevated lookout points to scan for food or watch for danger.
Providing simple perches is one of the easiest ways to make a property more welcoming to wildlife. These vantage points allow insect-eating birds to spot grasshoppers, beetles, and other prey. On larger rural properties, they also give hawks and owls a place to hunt rodents such as mice and voles, helping keep their numbers naturally in check.
Many open habitats lack suitable perches, so even a single sturdy post can make a difference. Install a weather-resistant wooden post or leave a dead tree (called a snag) standing if it poses no safety hazard. Position it where birds have a clear view over nearby meadows, fields, or gardens. If one location doesn't attract visitors after a few weeks, simply move it to another spot until you find a place wildlife prefers.
Hay Bales: More Than Stored Feed
A round hay bale is much more than winter livestock feed—it can become a miniature wildlife community. As mice and voles tunnel through loose hay searching for seeds, they create shelter for themselves while also becoming prey for predators such as barn owls, red-tailed hawks, northern harriers, and American kestrels. Garter snakes and other harmless native snakes may also hunt around the edges where small mammals are active.
Birds frequently forage around hay bales as well. Sparrows, finches, blackbirds, and doves search for spilled grain and seeds, while insects living in the hay attract additional species. If your property includes nearby hunting perches, don't be surprised to see hawks visiting regularly.
When storing hay outdoors, avoid plastic netting or loose twine whenever possible. Wildlife can become tangled in these materials, so remove and dispose of them promptly after opening a bale.
Shrikes: North America's "Butcher Birds"
Loggerhead shrikes are often described as miniature hawks because they hunt with surprising skill despite belonging to the songbird family. Lacking the powerful talons of true raptors, they have developed a remarkable strategy: they impale insects, lizards, small birds, or rodents on thorns, barbed wire, or sharp branches, creating a temporary food cache that also helps them tear apart larger prey.
Although loggerhead shrikes have declined across much of North America, they still benefit from landscapes with scattered shrubs, thorny vegetation, fence lines, and elevated hunting perches. These same features are appreciated by many other birds of prey, from American kestrels to red-tailed hawks, making them valuable additions to wildlife-friendly properties.