Yard Birds Fair Devoted To Landscaping To Attract Wildlife

A small black sign pokes neatly through the brush, discreetly marking Blossoms & Bloomers.

“Old-fashioned roses, perennials and plants for the birds,” is painted in soft, slightly faded pink lettering.

For the birds. In three words, the sign says it all.

What was once 20 acres of wheat fields flanking the home and barn of Gerry and Ron Krueger nestled northeast of Bigelow Gulch has blossomed into a two-acre garden and 18 acres of farmland returned to its natural state. The purpose is to attract wildlife - specifically birds.

“We wanted to return it to its natural habitat because we’ve always been bird lovers,” Gerry Krueger said. “The land up here is being (subdivided) and we wanted to see it put back.”

The Krueger’s plot at 11415 E. Krueger Lane is also the site of this weekend’s fifth annual Open Yard Bird Fair.

“The Department of Fish and Wildlife came to us to ask if we would open up the garden for the public to see a bird garden,” Krueger said. “And it was so successful that it has become an annual event.”

The fair is an opportunity for Fish and Wildlife to showcase its Back Yard Wildlife Sanctuary Program, which is an effort to encourage people to turn their yards into habitat for wildlife.

“We call it ‘open yard’ because it is kind of like an open house,” Madonna Luers of Fish and Wildlife said. “Interior designers use this concept. You can look at a magazine to get ideas, but to go through and see a house is much better.”

Krueger strolled past the barn, explaining the layout of the booths that will mark the beginning of the tour. Fish and Wildlife and the Audubon Society will be among the organizations represented.

“For just about every question somebody could have about birds, there will be somebody to answer it,” Krueger said.

She continued along a gravel path, leaving the radiant colors of the garden.

The gardening project began in 1980 when the Kruegers moved to Spokane from Anchorage. It is both friendly to the birds and self-sufficient because the plot lacks irrigation water.

Even the old-fashioned roses Krueger’s small business sells are self-sufficient once they leave her greenhouse.

She passes through a trestle acting as a gateway into a vast field.

“And this is my forest,” Krueger proclaimed proudly.

A quick glance revealed nothing more than tall grass and what appeared to be thousands of miniature teepees.

“It looks more like an empty field with sticks in it right now because they are just seedlings,” Luers said. “But they have planted over 5,000 trees and 2,000 shrubs, as well as native grasses. A year from now you will start to see what’s out there and five years from now it will look like a forest.”

The farmland was returned to its natural wildlife habitat only a little more than a month ago. Krueger spent the “best days of December” tracking down funding for the habitat restoration project.

“A good analogy is college,” Krueger explained. “For college kids there are lots of scholarships. It is just a matter of finding out which ones you qualify for.”

The major funding Krueger qualified for came from the Carbon Offset Program, a private program that makes funds available for Inland Empire restoration. The program provided 30 cents per tree, or $90 an acre, which helped offset the estimated $6,000 cost of the habitat project. Other contributors included the Department of Conservation, which helped develop the habitat plan, and the Department of Agriculture’s Stewardship Incentive Program, which provided the shrubs.

“To say we’re committed to this is an understatement,” Krueger said. “This land is protected for 80 years - even after I am gone because I don’t plan to be around for another 80 years.

“The thing we really wanted was the bird garden. Everything else has grown from that. When we bought the house there was nothing. No nesting. No habitat.”

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: GETTING THERE This weekend’s Open Yard Bird Fair at Blossoms & Bloomers, 11415 E. Krueger Lane, offers people an opportunity to learn about turning their property into habitat for birds and other small animals. Representatives from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Audubon Society will be available to answer questions. The fair runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both today and Sunday. Admission is free. From the intersection of Argonne and Bigelow Gulch intersection, go one mile east on Bigelow Gulch and then one mile straight north. Follow the signs to the Open Yard Bird Fair.