A lizard named Scott: How he and his buddies help me grow strawberries, oranges and tomatoes

We have a number of lizards that live in the nooks and crevices of our garden. Over the last few years I've built raised planters made out of chunks of concrete that needed to be re-purposed (it was that or send it all to the landfill). The planters were built with the lizards in mind because the planters offer lots of "hide-y holes" to get out of the rain but are also great for sunbathing (something lizards LOVE to do). I also have various sized rocks stacked around the edges of the pond I dug. The lizards like those too because they can sunbathe close to the water and snatch bugs that come by.

If I walk through the garden with calmness, lightly treading the paths, I can often catch a lizard sunning itself like the one pictured above. The little guy (or gal) is a Coast Range Fence Lizard Sceloporus occidentalis bocourtii that is native to our part of California.

During the summer and into September, I will often see very tiny little lizards scurrying about. Those are the babies that have recently hatched. They are less timid than the adults and will often let me get very close to snap a photo of them, sometimes cocking their head in curiosity as I approach.

I love having the lizards as part of my garden. Why? Because these lizards eat lots of small bugs including crickets, spiders, ticks and scorpions. The lizards live in the raised planters that my citrus trees are planted in as well as my strawberries, tomatoes and other seasonal veggies. They eat the bugs and I get to grow pesticide-free produce. It's a perfect partnership!

And you may be wondering why the lizard is named Scott... well... when I showed this photo to Hubby he said, "That lizard looks like a Scott". That's why.

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Click here to read more about the lizards at Rosehaven Cottage

Lizards at Rosehaven Cottage

Daisy the Curly Cat asked if we have any lizards at Rosehaven Cottage. Well, I am pleased to inform Daisy that we do! Daisy loves lizards but does not like alligators. Fortunately, we don't have alligators here in No. California. Whew!

The lizards at Rosehaven Cottage are very stealthy creatures. Although, our wild garden kitty Oreo has caught one or two. Tom Tom caught one a month or so ago. My husband saw Tom Tom on the porch while I was gardening (Tom Tom only goes out when I'm out). Hubby found me in the garden and said, "Tom Tom has some big insect in his mouth." Well, I went to investigate and found that Tom Tom was finishing off the last of a lizard that he'd been eating. We called Tom Tom "Lizard Breath" for the next couple of days after that.

Because the lizards are very stealthy, I rarely get an opportunity to photograph them. That said, I have been fortunate to get the two photographs featured here just so Daisy can enjoy them.

Lizards are fairly easy to attract to one's garden if one takes the steps to do so. I wanted that at Rosehaven Cottage so I researched what I needed to do in my backyard wildlife habitat. Lizards love rock piles and stones with niches between them. So that's why we've provided lots of those around the garden. The lizards in the Rosehaven Cottage gardens love the planters that I've constructed out of chunks of recycled concrete [see photo below].

In the evening right before sunset, I have been privileged to watch a lizard come out on the flat rocks around the edge of the pond and hunt for insects. It was fascinating to watch! In fact, just yesterday as I sat by the pond feeding the fish, a lizard came out on the same rock on the pond's edge. It must be the "hunting rock" [see photo below]. They are great friends to have in the garden because they eat a lot of the bugs I don't want around my produce.

Lizards also need a source of water that is easy to get to so I provided little drippers as part of the irrigation system that are low to the ground which both water the garden produce and provide water for the lizards. The waterfall in the pond is also very gentle as it pours over long flat rocks so the lizards can get a sip there [see photo below]. The little birds like it too.