About the Owner
The Journey
Owner Virginia Rettig has resided in Cape May County for over 20 years. She is a retired national wildlife refuge manager with experience in myriad habitat restoration projects conducted to benefit native wildlife.
Virginia was introduced to the concept of gardening for wildlife in the early 1990's. After installing a dripping hose into a pan in her Lafayette, Louisiana yard, she attracted a migrating Swainson's Warbler in 2 days. That changed everything and she created gardens filled with native plants in every home she lived in since then.
Today, she takes her decades of knowledge, gathered from her own trials and successes, to help others attain the joys she has experienced from having a garden for wildlife.
Wildlife Needs Food, Water and Shelter
A successful wildlife garden will not only have native plants that provide nectar for pollinators, but will have fruiting shrubs for migratory birds. Shrubs also provide cover when curious raptors come in to forage! Water is a critically important component of a native garden and is most easily created by use of a dripper and/or mister. Water is needed in winter too, so plan to provide heat to have a spot for drinking and bathing. Other features such as branch piles, fake snags, and natural features are very attractive. A fake snag provided a suitable resting spot for a baby Blue Jay in my backyard.
Dedication to Wildlife
Owner Virginia Rettig has dedicated her life to providing habitat to native wildlife and migratory birds. With Cape Nativescapes, she intends to create more habitat in Cape May County and educate people about how to maintain these habitats in the long term. All photos on this website were taken in her Cape May yard.
