My little raised bed hosts more than a few vegetable plants. It’s impossible in St. Louis to have more than three foot square without squirrels. Ditto for rabbits and chipmunks in my neighborhood.
And then we have the ones I encourage: earthworms and bees.
Plus our feathered friends — birds both colorful and plain. Some dine on insect visitors. A few prefer the earthworms. And buds and seeds deposited by the wind make a tasty snack for others.
I’m glad some others stay away. (Or at least hide well enough that I never see them.) I did capture some of these reptiles in a larger, non-living format at the botanical garden. They look at home here. They, and their living relatives, would not fare well in my densely human condo complex.
