While some people care about nature, others care about saving money, and others care about public health. My plan needed to be holistic.

Simply, this is a gardener who is willing to adjust their practices to nurture and sustain plants and animals that have evolved together in a given area.

Boulder County Audubon is embarking on a sustained effort to encourage the use of native, low water plants in Boulder County gardens.

Biologists talk about diversity in terms of both species diversity, the number and kind of species found in a particular area, as well as structural diversity, the form of the community. A typical yard with lawn, raked flower beds, and specimen shade trees is not diverse by either measurement. It may be tidy, but it provides habitat for very few native species.

Birds are also necessary components of balanced ecosystems, no matter if you live in the mountains or on the plains, in a suburban neighborhood, or in the foothills. More and more gardeners are realizing the importance of attracting birds to their gardens.