Habitat gardening is gardening to provide habitat for wildlife ... but also to create a more interesting, healthier environment for people, too!

In Habitat Gardening in Central New York, we learn from Central New York experts and from each other about such topics as:

• how to provide habitat for birds, butterflies, and other creatures
• good (and poor) plant selections for Central New York
• citizen science
• and MORE!

We also

• share plants and seeds
• visit Central New York home landscapes
• and MORE!

Meet other like-minded habitat gardeners ... AND help restore habitat and native plants in Central New York.

Get a meeting reminder and habitat tips

If you want to be on our free e-Newsletter list to be notified of upcoming meetings and events (generally two newsletters a month), sign up in the box below.

Resources for more information

Would you like to invite more birds, butterflies, toads and other little creatures into your yard? Would you like your yard to be more earth-friendly? Learn the basics of providing habitat for wildlife, and make your yard more enjoyable for people, too. Here are resources to learn more...

Some of our HGCNY handouts are available for download on this website.

Native Lawn Species

Krissy Faust from Cornell presented our January 2012 program. Here's her PowerPoint presentation (a large 10 MB file of her complete PPT program), and here is her Native Lawn Species list.

Milkweed for monarchs

Monarchs need our help--this year more than ever! The population coming out of Mexico is the lowest ever recorded, so they'll need lots of milkweed to lay their eggs on to rebuild the population. Here are some tips for growing milkweed from seed.

A habitat garden example

Here's one example of a local habitat garden called Stewardship Garden, but there are many different styles and types of habitat gardens.

   

Bringing Nature Home by Douglas Tallamy is highly recommended! You'll have renewed appreciation for the role of native plants in our gardens - and for reasons that may surprise you. Now also available in an expanded second edition.

Designing Gardens with Flora of the American East by Carolyn Summers is a good complement to Tallamy's book. She shows how you can use native plants to create beautiful landscapes that create habitat for wildlife.

Want to learn more?

We've compiled a list of books and web sites that provide a wealth of information. Learn more…