Wildlife Gardening

Waking up to Wildlife

 

There’s nothing more wonderful than a garden teaming with wildlife throughout the year, but how can we provide an ideal environment for them? This month Simpsons Garden Centre investigates how we can create a space for nature to live in our back yard and lets us into some top tips as to how we can give our wild neighbours a helping hand through the winter months.

 

Encouraging wildlife into your garden brings benefits not only to the animals and insects but also to you, as being able to view a garden teaming with life certainly increases your enjoyment of it. In addition to this, common garden pests such as beetles, worms and caterpillars can be controlled naturally as they are tasty meals for wild birds and animals.

 

So what steps can you take to provide the most welcoming garden environment?

 

Water

 

Perhaps the most important requirement for wildlife is water - they need it not only as a source of drinking water, but to bathe in as well. One of the best ways to provide water is by having a pond in your garden – providing a plentiful source of water, food and shelter. It does take a lot of time and effort to create and maintain a pond, but it is arguably the most important part of a wildlife garden.

 

When considering whether to have a pond in your garden, it is important to think about the design of it. A pond with steep edges to it is not good for birds and animals, as they will find it difficult to access the water. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a gently sloping edge to provide easy access. Also, think about the different types of plant that you can put into your pond, as these very often provide food and shelter for different creatures.  A mixture of oxygenating, floating, emergent and marginal plants will allow you to get a good variety of wildlife and keep your pond in balance. Native pond plants include marsh marigold, yellow flag, hornwort, water violet and frogbit.

 

However, if, like many city dwellers, you are unable to have a pond in your garden then you may like to consider a birdbath. Birdbaths are available in different sizes, designs and materials and can make an interesting ornamental feature even on the balcony of a city flat.

 

Food

 

There are many different ways to provide food for wild birds and animals, but the most popular way is by putting out bird feeders and tables. It is important to consider the types of bird that come to your garden. Birds such as robins, blackbirds and thrushes prefer to feed on the ground and generally like to eat foods such as soft apples. Birds such as blue tits, great tits, chaffinches and greenfinches prefer to eat seeds and peanuts from feeders and bird tables.

 

Think carefully about where you site feeders and tables in your garden. They are best placed in the middle of your garden away from any places where predators can hide such as hedges and tress. With a clear view around the table, the bird will be able to see any predators coming and will give them a chance to escape to safety. What is important is once you have started to feed the wildlife in your garden – keep it up, as they will depend on your offerings to rear their young.

 

You may also like to consider what types of plants and shrubs you can buy as these provide a good source of nourishment. Plants such as Cotoneaster, Pyracantha (Firethorn) and Sorbus (Rowan) all have berries, providing vital food during the coldest months of the year.

 

Shelter

 

Shelter is important as this gives birds and animals a place to rest, to flee to safety and possible nesting sites. The best way you can do this is by planting a hedge in your garden. There are many different types of plants available for this purpose, but the best ones are those that have thorns, such as Berberis (Barberry), Crataegus (Hawthorn) and Pyracantha (Firethorn), as these can provide secure nesting sites. Native plants such as Acer campestre (Field Maple) and Fagus (Beech) also make good hedges for wildlife.

 

From balconies to backyards, a wildlife garden will still need a certain amount of maintenance. A few top tips for doing this are:

 

• Tidy your garden in the spring instead of autumn as you will need to leave places for wildlife to shelter during winter.
• Hedges and hedgerows are home to a huge diversity of animals, birds and insects. If you have to trim hedges then only do so outside of the nesting season (UK nesting season is between beginning of March and end of September).
• Pesticides are just not necessary. Even if you lose a few of your plants in the first year or two, your garden will settle into a balanced and healthier environment in the future, whereby you will never need to use any damaging pesticides. So, the number one rule is never use pesticides or weed-killer. That is the worst thing you can do to your garden and its wildlife
• Never tidy up underneath hedges. The ground coverage provides habitats for small creatures and insects - and decaying vegetation nourishes the soil to enable healthy shrub regeneration. Some of our rarest wildlife has its home in our hedgerows like the dormouse for example. Rare butterflies also lay their eggs in hedges. So always treat hedges with respect.
• Birds, hedgehogs, frogs, toads, newts and insects alike all play host at keeping everything in order. They are nature's gardeners and do a far better job preserving your flora than any chemicals or over-tidy human gardener. And most importantly our suburban wildlife will begin to have enough native food to feed themselves and their young. Also remember that slug pellets will kill hedgehogs and other animals who feed on slugs. Let the hedgehogs survive and they will dispose of slugs, since these are part of our prickly friends’ diet. If you need to remove slugs then the most effective method is to occasionally go around at night removing them with a gloved hand or spade.
• Most importantly – enjoy your garden and let it flourish naturally.