Wild by Design

The National Wildlife Federation and Boulder’s Wild by Design are on a mission to create 150,000 neighborhood natural wildlife habitats one garden and yard at a time. Garden design professional and perennial expert, Mimi Elmore, has created a company to help homeowners, gardeners and wildlife enthusiasts turn their yards into certified wildlife habitats. If you want your garden to add more to your neighborhood than just curb appeal, then dedicating your garden to supporting wildlife might be for you. That is of course, if you don’t mind caterpillars, butterflies, bees and baby birds in your yard. Getting certification requires creating a sustainable garden that provides food (native plants, seeds, fruits, nuts, berries, nectar) and water sources (birdbath, pond, water garden, stream), plus places of cover for species habitat (thicket, rock pile, birdhouse), and places to raise young (dense shrubs, vegetation, nesting box, pond). That might sound like a lot, but with Mimi and her Wild by Design team they can help you get your yard and garden certified.