Lush landscaping provides a natural corridor for howler monkeys to travel from spot-to-spot, stopping for snacks along the way. Moving through the treetops, they avoid confrontations with dogs or traffic.

Click to open slideshow. Photos by Alvaro Cubero Vega and Kathleen Kyllo, reprinted with permission.

Last month I visited the Harmony Hotel where we saw native animals almost every day. Howler monkeys, so named for their deep guttural calls that sound like a roar, were among the many creatures we saw. As such a natural part of the scenery, it felt like the animals have always been there, but I learned that the howlers weren’t there even a decade ago. Their return tells an interesting chapter in the Harmony’s history that has involved a team of landscapers, gardeners and designers.

To understand the evolution of the Harmony Hotel, one must first understand what the previous hotel property was like upon initial renovation. According to Karen Arres, the landscaper who helped develop at the Harmony since its start, in 2005 there were very few plants on the property and virtually no wildlife. To attract native wildlife the landscapers would first have to create an environment that resembled the tropical forests where animals live, and grow the food that could sustain them.

When they began, landscapers could not find a resource of native plants that could accommodate the green space they had hoped to cultivate. Leaders at Harmony met with gardeners to devise a plan for growing their own native plants in a nearby nursery in Garza. During November of 2005, landscapers began planting the native trees alongside available non-native species, with the long-term intention of gradually replacing them. (more…)