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Nature-Scape Your Horse Property
Native plants and animals can serve both utilitarian and delightful functions on horse properties.
Put native plants, birds, and bats to work on your horse property to nurture the land, and help control insects and rodents. Article and Photos by Alayne Blickle
USRider® Equestrian Traveler’s Companion
Did you know that there are a great many wonderful ways that plants and animals can actually work for you on your horse property? Native plants and animals can serve both utilitarian and delightful aesthetic functions on your horse property—all while saving you time and money, and reducing your impact on the environment. Creating a natural habitat might increase your property value, too. The United States Fish & Wildlife Service Office of Migratory Bird Management reports that homes in neighborhoods with large trees for birds are worth more than similar homes in neighborhoods without trees. Native plants are the ones that grow in your area naturally. They generally cost less to buy than non-native landscaping plants and are equally attractive. Native plants are better adapted to local climate and soil conditions than exotics, and are more insect- and disease-resistant, than non-native ones, so you’ll be less likely to need to help them along with pesticides, fertilizers, and even extra watering after they’re established. Following are eight reasons to “go native.” >>
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Summer 2020
