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News Release

DVD Helps Homeowners Prepare for Fall with Native Shrubs for Wildlife

Summer is a good time to take stock of the plants in your yard and start thinking about how you can improve habitat for wildlife in the coming season. A new DVD that can help you decide what to plant is now available through the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF). Called "Habitat at Home©," the 40-minute DVD contains four segments which showcase different types of beautiful habitat gardens across Virginia. The DVD features a butterfly garden, a shrub woodland border, water gardens and a native plant oasis.

"Native shrubs in particular are an excellent choice for wildlife, because they support native insects that make up a critical part of the food web," says VDGIF Habitat Education Coordinator Carol Heiser. Native plants are better adapted to our growing conditions and are much easier to maintain than non-native ones.

The first segment in the DVD is on a butterfly garden where viewers will learn what butterflies look for when they seek out nectar sources and places to lay their eggs. The second segment on a rural property features water gardens that provide a natural home for salamanders, frogs, and other amphibians, as well as the aquatic insects that support them. A shrub and woodland garden in the third segment illustrates hedgerows, bird houses, and brush piles. The final segment is a wonderful, low maintenance native plant garden in the heart of suburban Northern Virginia.

"So many of our neighborhoods lack the kind of native plant diversity that wildlife really needs," says Heiser. "We have these huge expanses of lawn with very little understory growth. The shrubs we do have tend to be non-native exotics that provide very little value for wildlife, such as boxwood and photinia (redtip), or invasive species like barberry and nandina."

Better alternatives would be the native viburnums, such as arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum) or black haw (V. prunifolium). Other berry producers include silky dogwood (Cornus amomum), inkberry (Ilex glabra) and waxmyrtle (Myrica cerifera). Provide nectar with pinxter azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides), Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica) or sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia).

"You'll be surprised at the number of birds and other wildlife that use these shrubs," says Heiser. She also suggests to "ask for these plants by their scientific name when you're shopping around, to be sure you're getting the true natives." Although nurseries tend to sell shrubs in the spring while they're in bloom, autumn is actually the best time to plant shrubs if you want optimal survival.

The Habitat at Home© DVD encourages homeowners to reduce lawn space and learn to identify, remove and replace exotic species with native plants. Available for $12 through the Department's online store, it comes with an informational brochure and plant list. Visit www.dgif.virginia.gov/habitat-dvd or call (804) 367-2569 to place an order by telephone. Shipping is free on agency CDs and DVDs.

It is the mission of the VDGIF to maintain optimum populations of all species to serve the needs of the Commonwealth; to provide opportunity for all to enjoy wildlife, inland fish, boating and related outdoor recreation and to work diligently to safeguard the rights of the people to hunt, fish and harvest game as provided for in the Constitution of Virginia; to promote safety for persons and property in connection with boating, hunting and fishing; to provide educational outreach programs and materials that foster an awareness of and appreciation for Virginia's fish and wildlife resources, their habitats, and hunting, fishing, and boating opportunities.

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Photographs of native plants available upon request.