Are you looking for small wildlife garden ideas that actually work in Aotearoa? These seven simple changes will help you rewild your garden and make it more beautiful and abundant. For you, your family and the incredible native wildlife that calls New Zealand home.
New Zealand has some of the most unique wildlife on the planet. Our birds, insects and lizards evolved in isolation for millions of years. However, this also means they are also some of the most vulnerable to habitat loss, introduced predators and pollution. Private gardens make up a significant part of urban green space, which means the choices you make at home genuinely shape what wildlife can survive in your neighbourhood. Your backyard could become a wildlife habitat that makes a real difference.
The good news? You don’t need a lifestyle block or a large section to get started. Small intentional changes in any sized garden can add up fast.
This post is all about small wildlife garden ideas that work for any size of garden. From a full Kiwi backyard to a tiny Wellington apartment balcony.
7 Small Wildlife Garden Ideas That Actually Work
1. Plant in layers
The best way to create a wildlife friendly garden is to try and mimic the natural environment like the structure of our native forests. Think about our native bush. It has layers. With mosses and ferns at the bottom, shrubs and climbers in the middle, and a canopy of large trees above.
So, by creating that layered structure in your garden creates many levels of habitat on the same amount of land. There is shelter for our beetles at the ground level, then hiding spots for lizards and geckos in the shrubs and nectar sources for Tui and Bellbird at the top.
When creating this add the trees at the back, then the shrubs and the ground cover at the front. Even in a small Christchurch section creating three layers can make a significant difference to the abundance of species that can live there.
Here is some inspiration of what to plant:
Ground Cover
- Groundcover Coprosma
- Bald Knob Ridge Hebe
- Creeping Iris
Shrubs
- Kawakawa
- Mānuka
- Kānuka
Trees
- Kōwhai
- Tī Kōuka
- Lancewood
- Lemonwood
- Nīkau Palm
2. What to Plant for Every Season
Buy plants for every season so birds, bats and bees can have food in your garden all year round.
One of the most important things you can do is to make sure there is always something flowering in your wildlife garden. Our native birds, bats and bees need many food sources all year round. So, try to choose plants that flower at various times of the season, so there is never a gap.
Here are a few of the best New Zealand natives to plant for each season. Have a look at your local garden centre to buy them.
Summer
- Pōhutukawa — iconic red flowers aka New Zealand’s Christmas Tree, loved by tūī and kererū
- Kānuka — masses of small white flowers, excellent for native bees
- Harakeke (flax) — tūī absolutely love it
- Rātā — a stunning climber or tree, depending on the variety
Autumn
- Hebe — wide variety of species, most flower well into autumn
- Coprosma — berries in autumn and winter feed native birds
- Tōtara — slow-growing but beautiful in the long term
Winter
- Kōwhai — one of the most important winter food sources for tūī and bellbird
Spring
- Mānuka — one of the first spring bloomers and invaluable for native bees
- Kākābeak — stunning red flowers and a threatened species worth growing at home
3. Add a Water Source for a Wildlife-Friendly Garden
Adding a shallow dish of water with a few rocks in it gives bees, other insects, skinks, and geckos access to fresh water. Keep it in a sheltered and visible space. Also, make sure to clean it out even more in the scorching summer months.
You may also like to add a hanging bird feeder. Or a Pekapeka bird feeder attached to a waratah works well. Which adds a source of water for all your native birds. If you keep it full and clean, the birds will recognise it as a reliable water source so they will return regularly. Tūī, tauhou (waxeye) and pīwakawaka (fantail) are often the first visitors to these feeders.
4. Grow a climber or espalier
If you have a small section, think vertically. Growing a climber along your fence or garden shed creates more habitat without using any extra ground space. Just add a simple wire trellis and you can train beautiful native climbers or fruit trees along your boundary.
5. Create a log and leave pile.
The forest floor is one of the most diverse places in a New Zealand planet. Its home to our giant land snails, velvet worms and Wētā. The forest floor is also the nursey for the next generation of seedlings. You will also find all the cool fungi in these places.
These animals, plants and fungi all need the decomposing ground layer which you can create in your own garden with a log and lead pile.
The truth is, nature is not perfect or neat, and it does not have straight lines. Our native animals and insects love a bit of what we call mess. So, try to leave your leaves and old pruning’s in a pile in a shady corner. This creates 5-star habitat for native beetles, spiders, and worms. Plus, over time the pile breaks down and add nutrients to your soil. So, keep adding to the top.
If you want to create a compost pile from this, check out 7 Easy Steps for Composting at Home.
6. Add insect hotels and nesting boxes.
Even a small garden can support a large variety of species if there are places to nest and shelter. Insect hotels provide habitat for native solitary bees, lacewings, and beetles. Bird boxes give cavity-nesting species somewhere safe to raise their young.
This is also a fun school holiday project to do with your kids. Pinterest has some cute and simple DIY designs that work well with materials you already have around the house. Search “Insect Hotels DIY” or “Bird Nesting Boxes DIY” to get started.
7. Ditch the pesticides.
Let nature go back to nature. It’s less work for you and better for the animals.
Pesticides do not discriminate. They will kill the insects you want gone and the ones you want to keep. In New Zealand, many of our beautiful native insects are already under pressure from habitat loss and introduced species. So, adding pesticide exposure makes it harder for them.
The good news is that the solution is already living in your garden, they just need a chance to flourish. Because the more biodiversity you have, the fewer pest problems you will have. Your garden will start to function as its own little ecosystem. Predatory insects like ladybugs, lacewings and beetles help to keep aphid and caterpillar populations under control naturally, if you give them the chance to establish.
So, try putting the spray down and watch the magic of nature reappear.
This post was all about small wildlife garden ideas that you can start today. To help rewild your backyard.
Where to Start?
What would you like to incorporate into your garden this week to help rewild it? Ask your kids if they would like to help you make a nesting box or a log pile. Just pick one of these small wildlife garden ideas to start doing.
Just remember, every little change matters, even if you plant just one pot with a Coprosma or Hebe species. You will see insects, skinks and geckos will come to call that plant home.
Thank you for reading.
I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.
Georgia xoxo
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