Stephen Brueggerhoff, CEA – Horticulture, Brazos County AgriLife Extension; published 4/28/2026
All images unless otherwise noted by Stephen Brueggerhoff
Home landscapes are often an inherited and uniform footprint and include features such as a lawn, at least one tree for anticipated shade and a few foundation plantings of shrubs as a visual anchor. We can expand on these simple and singular plantings, expanding our plant palette while increasing biodiversity by creating habitat for wildlife.
Creating a Wildscape Garden
There can be many different reasons that motivate us to create a wildlife habitat in our landscapes, such as designing gardens to attract Monarch butterflies and other pollinators, or to support migratory bird populations. Habitat gardening as a movement took root through the National Wildlife Federation Backyard Wildlife Habitat certification program in 1973. The program was developed for public awareness of habitat loss due to urbanization. Our own Texas Parks and Wildlife Department supports an educational campaign through the Texas Wildscapes program. Locally, the Brazos County Master Gardeners and Brazos Valley Master Naturalists, City of College Station and the City of Bryan Parks and Recreational Departments offer educational programs and park settings that connect us to our natural world.
A primary benefit to habitat enhancement is designing and creating features that conserve natural resources and increase animal and plant diversity. Remember that a wildscape design does not necessarily translate to a jumbled thicket of plants. Think of a cottage garden design that naturally retains a sense of balance in the landscape, bringing order from chaos and creating a sense of comfort and feeling of ease within our environment. We will still use key landscape design principles that help us interpret and connect to our natural surroundings, such as principles of proportion (small vs. tall) and order, and repetition of plants to organize and bring unity to the whole. The goal of creating a wildlife habitat can be met by providing foundational components such as shelter, food and water that can attract animals and insects to our landscape. Shelter for bird nesting or butterfly roosting can be developed in a variety of ways, and the design includes constructing multiple layers in a tiered arrangement with tall, medium and short plants. Take into consideration that you will need to provide shade-tolerant, understory plants mixed with plants requiring full sun to account for diverse landscape conditions.
Native Plant Diversity Attracting Pollinators
Food for animals is provided by attracting insects with a diversity of plants. There are many different plants that are a great source of nectar for insects and hummingbirds, such as native Turk’s cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii) and Flame acanthus (Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii). I enjoy the contrasting color of bi-color orange, tube-shaped and repeat blooms of Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), a native vining plant that supports itself through twining growth habit. American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), a native Texas deciduous shrub with a 3 to 5-foot tall and wide canopy producing graceful arching branches and expressing delicate pink flowers in early summer. Once pollinated, American beautyberry produces fruit to its namesake, offering magenta-purple fruit that persists through mid-winter. Combining plants such as ‘New Gold’ lantana and Rock rose (Pavonia lasiopetala) make for a pollinator useful planting and attractive design. Adaptive plants such as Bat-face cuphea (Cuphea micropetala) and different species of ornamental salvia work well, attracting pollinators and providing a pop of color pleasing to our eye.
Matching Host Plants for Pollinator Food
Remember to tolerate a little bit of damage to your plants as butterfly and moth larvae use specific plants for food. The most recognizable relationship is native milkweed species as host plant for the Monarch butterfly. Other host plants are Parsley used by Black Swallowtail Butterfly, Giant Swallowtail preferring various members of the Citrus Plant Family like Texas native Wafer ash (Ptelea trifoliata), Passionflower attracting Gulf Fritillary, Hackberry and Elm species for the Question Mark butterfly, and different kinds of thistles that attract Painted Lady butterflies. Fresh water is an element which all life depends on and is an important component that supports wildlife habitat. A water feature can be a man-made stream to a bird bath and is dependent on your budget. Shallow saucers for potted plants with a few rocks for perching butterflies and insects works well for space-constrained areas. Place ponds with shallow edges that are accessible to land animals and insects while doubling your aesthetic pleasure.
Creating wildlife habitat in our home landscapes is one way that we can contribute toward environmental conservation and stay connected to our natural world. You can find local pollinator plant lists through our Brazos County Master Gardener or visit our Demonstration Idea Garden at 2619 Highway 21 West in Bryan for inspiration, garden location and resources found through our website (txmg.org/brazos). Additional resources can be found through the Texas Master Naturalist – Brazos Valley Chapter online (txmn.org/brazos), as well as the Post Oak Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas (npsot.org/chapters/post-oak/). Call in to my live garden show Garden Success airing weekly on Thursdays at 12 pm on KAMU-FM 90.9 and chat about your garden improvement. Conserve and serve, my fellow Brazos County residents, and I’ll see you in the garden.