Grass was all Jonathan Dempsey could see when he moved into his Minneapolis home three years ago. It was a sea of grass, just like virtually every other yard in the neighborhood, Dempsey remembered. Dempsey attacked the grass with a tiller and a shovel. Now his yard is a thriving wildlife habitat within a congested urban area. I see a huge variety of wildlife.
Amphibians come to the pond.
Butterflies and bees come to the flowers, Dempsey said. Dempsey is part of a growing movement to create wildlife habitat within urban and suburban neighborhoods. By providing food, water and cover, gardeners can attract a wide variety of birds, insects and other wild creatures. That does more than make the community a better place to live. These insects, as well as other animals like birds and bats, help plants reproduce by transferring pollen from one plant to another.