Kai: Water is an important feature in permaculture. Whether you are adding a pond, bird bath, rain barrel or other source to your yard, no matter how big or small, it enhances all aspects of the garden. Water attracts beneficial birds, insects, and reptiles, which eat many of the pests that would normally consume your garden.

Insect eating animals here in Florida would include-
mockingbirds, bluebirds, brown thrashers, towhee martin’s, starlings, and most birds in the chickadee family. Based on their behavior, wrens are some of the best pest-control birds because they actually climb through foliage and look under the leaves as well as atop. The list of beneficial birds could go on!

Ladybugs and praying mantis are among the best known predatory insects.
Toads, frogs, snakes, green anole, geckos, turtles and skinks are awesome for consuming slugs, flies, grasshoppers and much more.
If you want to start talking garden pests such as mice and rats, you can’t go wrong with a cat! Owls, hawks, loggerhead shrikes, and most birds in the heron family will take care of these things too, but these larger creatures can be a little harder to attract.

Water allows birds and animals to thrive where they might not have even showed up before. Urban, and even suburban environments can be food and water deserts to animals, so go ahead and give them a hand, your garden will be made all the better.