Flora refers to the plants and other organic, non-animal matter you see, while fauna encompasses insects and animals. Understanding the role each plays in the ecosystem provides the necessary reverence to take care of these treasures. It can also help you beautify your home’s landscape as you surround yourself with the things that delight you. Here’s a closer look at flora and fauna and their role in the life cycle.

Flora’s Role in the Ecosystem

Flora is more than what you grow in your garden. It encompasses the various living things surrounding you that aren’t part of the animal kingdom, even microscopic organisms. For example, intestinal flora refers to the organisms inside your intestines that aid digestion.

Most people think of plants when they hear the word “flora.” For example, when describing a region’s flora, you refer to the various flowers, trees, mosses and shrubs that dot the landscape.

Flora provides a rich food source for nearly all living things outside obligatory carnivores. Even cats dine on other animals that once munched on plants.

Plants also protect the soil from erosion. Otherwise, rain would wash all the dirt into the sea, leaving humans with nothing but rock.

Finally, plants help clear the air. They take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen, but that’s not all. They also filter toxins like formaldehyde. An international team of research scientists recently determined planting half a trillion trees would absorb roughly 20 years’ worth of human-produced carbon from the atmosphere. All plants have this ability, but the bigger, the better.

Therefore, cultivating more flora in your landscape is a positive thing. You beautify your home while doing your part to keep the planet green.

Learning About the Flora Where You Live

Why should you learn about the flora where you live? Doing so is a bit of a lost art. However, it has practical uses and can ease your anxiety by increasing your faith in your ability to survive.

For example, where would you find food if you couldn’t go to the grocery store? Hunting provides calories, but British sailors long ago learnt the dangers of foregoing fresh fruits and vegetables in their diets. Knowing what edible delights lie in your backyard can prevent a painful death from malnutrition.

For example, you might find the following in the wild near you — they’re edible:

• Yarrow
• Ground Elder
• Hedge Garlic
• Three-Cornered Leek
• Wild Chervil
• Columbine
• Burdock
• Mudwort
• Asparagus
• Wintercress
• Barberry
• Bourage
• Shepherd’s Purse
• Chickweed

Cultivating Flora in Your Garden

Humans have cultivated flora for thousands of years to ensure a steady food supply. You can do the same with a garden patch or even a few containers. Here’s how to get started.

1. Selecting a Garden Patch

Your first step is to decide where you want to place your garden. Do a quick Google search for free landscaping software, and you’ll discover apps that let you see your layout as a whole and design the perfect look.

From there, you can ready your garden patch in four steps:

• Remove weeds, scrub brush, grass and surface debris.
• Grade the site, perhaps constructing terraces if faced with a steep slope.
• Amend the soil with rich compost.
• Smooth it and install your drip lines if using an automated watering system.

The size of your lot determines if you can do this by hand or must get equipment. For example, backhoes can travel up to 25 mph, making your life far less backbreaking if you plan on doing your entire landscape. You can knock out a job that would take weeks by hand in a single afternoon.

2. Choosing Which Plants to Grow

Your next step in your dream garden is to select your plants. Generally, going with native vegetation is the kindest on your pocketbook, your workload and the planet. For example, xeriscaping involves eschewing traditional lawns, instead using indigenous groundcover and foliage to beautify your landscape, freeing you from mowing every week. It also takes far less water, requires no artificial fertilisers or pesticides, and reduces overall maintenance needs.

Finding native plants can be as simple as taking a nature walk. What grows near your home? Which of those plants do you like and wish to cultivate? If you’re lucky and go at the right time of year, you might find seed pods and ripe heads ready for the gathering, populating your garden for free.

3. Tending to Your Garden

The materials you need to tend your garden can also come cheap. For example, a barrel or cistern can save rainwater for landscaping needs. Many councils — particularly in the southern part of the country — actively encourage communities to do so.

Fertiliser and mulch need not be concerns, either — you can DIY and green your carbon footprint to procure them. Composting your home’s organic waste in a well-constructed bin provides the necessary oxygen to break it down into rich, loamy soil. Conversely, landfill conditions are anaerobic, releasing methane that poisons the atmosphere.

It’s easiest to remember what not to put in the bin. Meat scraps are the first no-no, as they release dangerous bacteria when they break down, contaminating your soil. Furthermore, you shouldn’t throw your dog’s poo in your backyard bin for the same reason. Animal waste should stay out.

However, you can include:

• Plant-based food scraps, including seeds, stems, cores and peels
• Eggshells
• Used paper towels
• Newspaper
• Shredded, non-glossy paper — not magazines
• Natural textiles, such as all cotton tee shirts — but watch out for blends, as they contain plastic
• Lawn waste, including branches, sticks, leaves and needles

Another beneficial thing to add to your garden to protect your growing flora is mulch. Mulch consists of wood chips and pine needles that have partially decomposed, and you can DIY by restricting one portion of your bin for brown lawn waste only.

Fauna’s Role in the Magic of Life 

Fauna refers to animal life, including insects and critters so tiny you can’t see them with the naked eye. Every one of these creatures also plays a vital role in the ecosystem — even those you don’t like and might prefer to see eradicated.

For example, cockroaches might cause a panicky call to the exterminator when you see them in your home. However, these creatures are an essential food source for many, including humans who don’t spray them into oblivion — they’re typical snacks in some parts of the world. Furthermore, they’re vital in nutrient cycling in their native forest environments.
Pesticide use can decimate natural environments. In the past few decades, numerous insect species have disappeared, concerning scientists and others who care about the ecosystem.

How to Humanely Care for Fauna in Your Garden 

However, what if you don’t want insects eating your crops? You can use methods besides chemical pesticides to keep bugs from chewing on your tomatoes before adding them to your summer salad.

1. Use Natural Pesticides

Do you prise your rose garden? Aphids may attack your blooms, but ladybirds eat these pests. The spotted beetles are also harmless, cute insects to have in your garden and you can buy them in bulk.

What about burrowing insects that attack your plants from the roots? Helpful nematodes control common pests, including gnats, flea beetles, roundworms, and several types of beetles, weevils, maggots and flies.

Some plants are also natural pesticides, so intersperse them with your other flora to keep your garden bug-free. Consider the following:

• Garlic 
• Bourage
• Marigolds
• Lavender
• Rosemary 
• Basil

2. Attract Bees and Other Pollinators 

Sometimes, you want to attract fauna to your garden. For example, bees and other pollinators like butterflies do a tremendous service, helping propagate your plants by carrying pollen from one to the other.

Attracting them lies in what the bees see. Their vision is slightly different than humans’. While red flowers like geraniums can repel these useful insects, purple and yellow attract them. Those lavender and marigolds serve a dual purpose — repelling the bugs you don’t want and attracting the pollinators you do.

3. Repel Rabbits and Rodents 

Rabbits and rodents can eat your crops. How should you humanely discourage Mr. Peter Cottontail from your lettuce patch? Here are several natural methods of keeping critters out of your garden:

• Erect physical barriers: Use 1-inch mesh or smaller, burying it at least six inches below soil depth to discourage digging.
• The motion of the ocean: Motion-detecting sprinklers give old Mr. Hare a light spritz when he tries to help himself to a carrot.
• Repel the garden vampires: Bunnies hate garlic. They’re also not fans of basil and mint, so plant these around the periphery of attractive varieties like kale.
• Use visual deterrents: Twirling pinwheels, fake snakes and owl statues work for some gardeners, although these get mixed reviews.
• Eliminate nests: If you opt for a lawn, keep it trimmed, as bunnies prefer overgrown, grassy areas for having their babies.

Learning About the Fauna Near You 

You can also have a delightful time learning about the fauna near you. Fortunately, there aren’t any big, scary mammals to worry about — badgers and red foxes don’t typically attack humans, although you shouldn’t approach them.

There aren’t many poisonous critters either, although there are a handful, including the European adders and hairy caterpillars. Your biggest threat might come from the humble cow — a mighty large animal that can stampede. Deer also pose threats when they get between your vehicle and your destination.

However, you can have a glorious time roaming the countryside with an identification app, naming all the critters you encounter. Take your kids with you, making it into an educational activity that doesn’t feel like school.

Welcoming Native Plants and Animals Into Your Garden

Your native flora and fauna refer to the living organisms around you. Knowing about what’s near you teaches you the necessities of survival. It puts you back in touch with the rest of the natural world — of which you are an essential part — and reminds you of every living thing’s role in the ongoing cycle of life. Use these tips to grow local plants, encourage helpful visitors and turn away those looking for a nibble.

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Rose Morrison is a home living writer with over five years experience writing in the industry. She is the managing editor of Renovated.com and loves to cover home renovations and decor to inspire everyone to live their best DIY life. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find her baking something to satisfy her never-ending sweet tooth.