A louvre deck roof over an outdoor entertainment area creates a magical spot in your own backyard. It’s such a wonderful spot that it’s something you should share with others. While family and friends spring to mind, there are other guests you can entice to your special place. We’re talking about some of New Zealand’s native wildlife, who will appreciate the sanctuary you’ve created as much as you do. With that in mind, here are a few ways to bring more wildlife into your garden and make it a much more colourful and interesting place.
- Listening to the sound of beautiful birdsong while sitting in a LouvreTec Room is our idea of perfection. What an amazing way to start each day. If you’re creating a new outdoor space using our products why don’t you do something new with your plants as well? Native birds are attracted by native plants as they seek food, shelter and nesting. As an example, tuis love to play in kowhai and flax plants and they feed on the nectar. But other birds have a taste for fruit: kereru and bellbirds are attracted by korokia and karamu plants, and their berries. Meanwhile, leaf litter will attract insects which, in turn, will attract native birds.
- While our native birds are expert at finding their own food, there are times when they could do with a helping hand. For example, nectar is not as abundant for them in winter so you can produce a welcome substitute in the form of a sugar-water formula; half a cup of sugar in four cups of water. Place it in a shallow dish (or in a bird feeder available from garden centres or hardware stores) and nectar-loving birds like tui will flock to your backyard. They’ll keep coming back too because they know they have a reliable food source in your garden when they need it.
- Native birds need a safe place to visit. Encountering other creatures like cats and rodents will endanger them and deter them from visiting your beautiful backyard. Predator Free New Zealand’s website has really good advice about trapping rats, possums and stoats, so check that out. If you own a pet cat, keep it inside as much as you can, especially at night. Ensure any feeding station is at a height your cat can’t reach.
- It’s not just our feathered friends you can bring into your garden. Native lizards, including skinks, will feel safe and protected if you give them a haven. This might include low-growing, dense plants like coprosmas or muehlenbeckia, plus rocks, dry stone walls and concrete slabs where lizards can hide from predators like cats and rodents. Let’s not forget New Zealand’s 28 species of native bees who pollinate our most iconic native plants, like pohutukawa and manuka. These plants are reliable food sources for bees, so put them in your garden if you can. As bees don’t stray far, they’ll stay close to your place if they know their favourite plants are close by.
LouvreTec’s product range has been designed to bring you out of the house and closer to nature. So why not bring nature closer to you? We’ll help you create a magical spot, and it just seems right that you should share it!