Mollison modified this to include all vegetation and wildlife. Now you’re getting into a realm where drastic changes are much easier to make. The question becomes -- do you want to? And what should you change?
Trees that are hundreds of years old, and the delicate soil preserving biology on surfaces in desert landscapes can be quickly destroyed but not so easily replaced. Those are elements you may want to protect and consider more permanent.
On the other hand, adding an orchard can significantly change the patterns of wildlife and wild fauna, bringing entire communities of pollinators, birds and others, while sometimes driving off flora and fauna that need more sun or drainage.
It is relatively easy to transform the vegetation and wildlife on a site through the decisions you make. There are both pros and cons to this, and it’s good to consider the relative permanence and benefits of these elements. The more permanent they are (such as long living, old growth trees), the more thought a designer may want to engage in before modifying them.
This is an area where landform, microclimates, and soils come together to influence plants and animals. Many wildflowers on our site prefer low fertility sand with open stands of trees - their native habitat - and some won’t grow in the rich, organic soils we’re developing for our orchard.
We chose the site of our orchard because it had already been modified by the previous owner who added lime to change the pH, and bahia grass which prevented these delicate flowers from growing much on that side of the farm. One side of our property had not received this treatment and we are leaving that side alone, so as to encourage the continuation of the native system.
Our orchard is helping support flora and fauna that can access both types of system, creating an edge and thus, more abundance for wildlife as well as humans. But we chose the site of it well, and will use the intact wild areas as a nature awareness and educational area.
Sky blue lupine prefers dry, sandy soils with little nutrition.
Hands On Activity
What are some of the plants already growing on your site? Choose one plant, and explore the functions it has in the landscape - what does it feed? What feeds it? Is it habitat for anything?
Do you have old growth trees on your site? If so, identify them if you haven’t done so, and do some basic research on their uses and characteristics (we’ll do more of this later).