6 simple things you can do for your garden’s wildlife

1. Install feeders for birds and squirrels atop tall posts, out of reach of passing cats. Place them under trees for protection from hawks and other flying predators.

2. Buy or find a big rock with a depression in its top. Place it in a sunny spot ― by a perennial border, for example ― then fill it with water for birds and butterflies.

3. Fill a bucket with water and leave it by the hose or spigot for an easy-to-fill sipping station. Change water frequently to keep it clean and free of mosquitoes.

4. Tie a wad of string or bits of cloth with yarn and hang it from a branch to provide nest material. Or nail a can filled with loosened cotton balls to a fence.

5. Create perches by nailing a 2-by-4 to a vine-covered post for a nest site. Place tall, twiggy prunings or trellises near birdbaths so birds can preen and dry off.

6. Hang up a birdhouse or several, spaced around the garden. This one, made from a hollowed birch log, is the perfect size for a chickadee brood.