In 17 years, Mary Ann Westendorf has transformed nearly an acre of land at the end of a Madisonville cul-de-sac from a dumping ground for building debris to an oasis where frogs, turtles, bees, birds and snakes make their home among ponds and plants that are native to this region.

        Ms. Westendorf, a lifelong gardener and self-described bird nut, chose to grow a natural woodland garden because native plants create a good habitat for wildlife. She is concerned about the loss of wildlife habitats as development spreads.

        “I can't do anything major” about lost habitats, she says. “I'm just doing what I can.”

        Ms. Westendorf was inspired by her brother's woodland garden in Arkansas.

        Unlike her brother, though, she is not a purist. She makes room for plants that aren't native to this region. She has a special fondness for marigolds and zinnias because that's what her father grew.

        Nevertheless, in the spring Ms. Westendorf enjoys native trillium, jack in the pulpit, may apple, ferns and Jacob's ladder. Later in the season it's purple cone flowers, goldenrod and Joe Pye Weed, a tall plant with purple flowers.

        One of her favorites is bee balm, which produces fragrant red and purple flowers in late summer. She also likes boneset, a waist-height plant with dainty white flowers that pioneers used the plant to set bones. It looks great with her zinnias, she says.

        Jewel weed, a yellow-flowering member of the impatiens family that helps relieve the itch of poison ivy, also has a place in Ms. Westendorf's garden.

        Many of the trees - ashes and oaks - and smaller plants chose Ms. Westendorf's yard. She didn't plant many of them.

        “If you get an area naturalized, a lot of these plants may just find their way in,” she says.

        You'll also get plenty of birds. Ms. Westendorf sees mallards, blue herons, goldfinch, hummingbirds, cardinals and others.

        She has two water gardens. She created her largest pond, 40 by 50 feet, in a depression in the yard. Turtles, goldfish, frogs and water snakes make their home in the pond, along with water lilies, lotus and floating hearts.

        Ms. Westendorf worked as a carpenter more than 20 years before studying horticulture at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. She is a neighborhood gardens coordinator at the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati.

        She chose her home for the large lot that backs up to the Little Duck Creek Nature Preserve. But when she tried to plant something, a shovel wouldn't penetrate the soil.

        “A woman across the street said, "You don't realize this is all landfill, do you?”' Ms. Westendorf says.

        On closer inspection, she found metal studs, roofing debris and asphalt buried underneath.

        She called every landscaping company and arborist on the east side of Cincinnati and invited them to dispose of wood chips and any other organic material in her yard.

        She fashioned paths with wood chips. Within a year the chips broke down to black soil. As organic material composted, Ms. Westendorf expanded her garden and gradually she ran out of space for the volleyball court and croquet games.

        She's happy to trade the volleyball for a piece of nature in the city

Native plants advice

        Get involved with local groups that promote native plants. Mary Ann Westendorf belongs to the Greater Cincinnati Wild Ones. For information call Kathy McDonald: 941-6497; kmc@one.net.

        Start with plants from nurseries. Don't gather them from wild areas.

        Study nature to see how native plants grow in the wild. Try to duplicate those conditions.

        Ms. Westendorf, a former bee keeper, knows that bees and butterflies are susceptible to chemicals. She avoids them and composts to add nutrients to the soil.

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