What is the edge? Well, it is the literal edge of the property. In most urban cases, planting along the edge of the property is considered bad form to the neighbor. However, in the rural world having edge plantings means having a separation between you and the neighbors, or a field. My mom’s house sits almost on the field next to it – I wish my dad had done edge plantings between the house landscape and the crop field. He did plant grass and trees, a windbreak, but no edge plantings for wildlife cover.
By putting a break between the lawn and more conventional landscape you can keep the view more to yourself, but you can also create a less-tidy area for wildlife. Edge plantings can be any size at all, from a few feet wide to several hundred yards. You could even do an acre wide planting if you have that much property. But I think the ideal edge would be around 40 to 100 feet wide, running the length or perimeter of your property.
The Value of Edge Plantings
Edge plantings do much more than create a dividing line between properties. They are home to so much wildlife. A lot of older homesteads already have unmowed areas on the edge of the property. But then new owners rush to remove plants and mow it because it “looks nice”. But at what cost are you mowing the “grass” and cutting down the “weeds”? Are they really weeds at all?
If you have edge plantings already in place, how much wildlife could it be supporting? There could be as few as 13 species of North American songbirds living there. There could be moths and butterflies. Or insects. Or a variety of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. What mushrooms are colonizing the fallen logs and dead standing trees?
Wildlife in Edge Plantings
Let’s take a more in-depth look at the species which could be impacted by the removal of an edge. Or what could come if you added it in. If you have snags, which are standing dead trees that are broken off, then you likely have habitats for woodpeckers, chickadees, tufted titmice, blue Jays, owls, squirrels, opossums, and raccoons. Fallen logs or downed trees are homes to many types of fungi, beetles, moths, snakes, salamanders, small mammals, skunks, and some birds.
Thicket forming shrubs such as dogwood, hazelnut, and wild plum are home to around 13 species of songbirds including song sparrows, American redstarts, mockingbirds, goldfinches, and brown thrashers. Brush piles are prime locations for Carolina wrens, white-throated sparrows, nuthatches, and white-throated sparrows. They also make good homes for snakes, turtles, small mammals, skinks, beetles, and other insects.
All these things together make a habitat. And if you remove edge plantings then you are removing habitat. If you add it in, then you create habitat.
Acceptability
The biggest problem to overcome when planning or leaving edge plantings is your neighbor or your peer group. People do not like to be judged, and the landscape is one of the most judged areas of your life. People driving down your road may see and unsightly edge planting and think its a weed patch which the county needs to spray. Next thing you know, your county road crew shows up to spray or warn you off on it. Having a sign that says Wildlife Habitat is a step in the right direction.
Talk to your neighbors about what you are planning to do and why. People are more acceptable of wild spaces when they are not next to a house or farm, but they can learn about why we are doing this. Education of the public eye can go a long ways towards protecting edge habitats throughout North America. Edge plantings can not only provide for wildlife, but they can protect rare native plants, provide a place to watch wildlife (invite people to come see a special bird perhaps), or promote help for endangered or threatened wildlife (milkweeds for monarchs).
Planning Edge Plantings
When it comes to planning edge habitats, there is no wrong way, unless you are planning to fill it with nonnative plants and mowed walkways. I would suggest to skip over the nonnatives, and look to the plants which most people think of as ditch plants. But still, there are a variety of things to put in. You could even just mark the edges and not mow it for a year to see what comes up. You may be surprised.
Trees & Shrubs
If you have the room for trees and shrubs in your edge plantings, and do not know where to start, then look here. Trees are not necessary in the edge plantings, but they can make the area more likely to attract canopy nesting birds, and there is the potential for snags and cavity nesting birds, in time. It is best to seek out smaller trees and thicket-forming shrubs.
Trees
- Redbud, Cercis canadensis
- Dwarf chinkapin oak, Quercus prinoides
- Boxelder maple, Acer negundo
- Ohio buckeye, Aesculus glabra
- Common serviceberry, Amelanchier arborea
- Washington hawthorn, Crataegus phaenopyrum
- Red mulberry, Morus rubra
- Black cherry, Prunus serotina
- Wafer ash, Ptlea trifoliata
- Prairie willow, Salix humilis
- Interior sandbar willow, Salix interior
- American holly, Ilex opaca
Shrubs
- Saskatoon serviceberry, Amelanchier alnifolia
- False indigo, Amorpha fruticosa
- Leadplant, Amorpha canescens
- Black chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa
- Buttonbush, Cephalanthus occidentalis
- Rough-leaved dogwood, Cornus drummondii
- Swamp dogwood, Cornus obliqua
- American hazelnut, Corylus americana
- Winterberry holly, Ilex verticillata
- Witch-hazel, Hamamelis virginiana
- Spicebush, Lindera benzoin
- Wild plum, Prunus americana
- Sandhill plum, Prunus angustifolia
- Chokecherry, Prunus virginiana
- Fragrant sumac, Rhus aromatica
- Clove currant, Ribes odoratum
- American bladdernut, Staphylea trifolia
- Common elderberry, Sambucus canadensis
- Arrowwood viburnum, Viburnum dentatum
- Prickly-ash, Zanthoxylum americanum
Perennials and Grasses
When it comes to adding perennials and grasses into your edge plantings, just remember to keep it native. Here in the Central Great Plains, we have a scourge of brome grass, which is a sod-forming grass that smothers out most other plants. In really dry areas it can die out, but its primary use was for waterways, pastures, and roadsides. And it needs to be removed as much as possible if you plan to add native perennials and grasses. The perennials and grasses on the lists below are the most beneficial to wildlife in the Central Great Plains Region, in full to part sun.
Perennials
- Rattlesnake master, Eryngium yuccafolium
- Golden Alexanders, Zizia aurea
- Hemp dogbane, Apocynum cannabinum
- Common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca
- Showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosa
- Whorled milkweed, Asclepias verticillata
- Prairie Indian plantain, Arnoglossum plantagineum
- Tall thistle, Cirsium altissimum
- Curlycup gumweed, Grindelia squarrosa
- Prairie blazingstar, Liatris pyncnostachya
- Giant goldenrod, Solidago gigantea
- Compassplant, Silphium laciniatum
- Aromatic aster, Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
- Wingstem, Verbesina alternifolia
- Snow on the mountain, Euphorbia marginata
- Blue wild indigo, Baptisia australis
- Roundhead bushclover, Lespedeza capitata
- Illinois bundleflower, Desmanthus illinoiensis
- Maximilian sunflower, Helianthus maximilliani
- Blue salvia, Salvia aurea
- Slender mountain mint, Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
- Foxglove beardtongue, Penstemon digitalis
- Woolly verbena, Verbena stricta
Grasses
- Big bluestem, Andropogon gerardii
- Little bluestem, Schizachryrium scoparium
- Blue grama, Bouteloua gracilis
- Sideoats grama, Bouteloua curtipendula
- Prairie cordgrass, Spartina pectinata
- Switchgrass, Panicum virgatum
- Rice cutgrass, Leersia oryzoides
- Prairie dropseed, Sporobolus heterolepis
Conclusion
Anything native or wildlife geared can be added to edge plantings to improve wildlife attractiveness. And if you really want to see wildlife blossom in the edge, add fallen trees, bird houses, boulders, brush piles, and prop up some dead tree trunks. Edge plantings can be full of life, life that can be enjoyed.
Happy planting!
