Attracting wildlife to your garden
To any gardener that’s ever mourned the loss of their lettuce to slugs, the idea of deliberately attracting wildlife into ones garden is probably somewhat puzzling.
But in fact, welcoming birds, insects and other creatures comes with a host of benefits. It might even help save your next crop.
By actively encouraging wildlife to visit your land, you help nature’s food chain take its course – and the slugs and snails that previously munched their way through your greens will be taken care of by birds or frogs. You might even save a few pounds on slug pellets.
It is also, of course, hugely enjoyable to watch flora and fauna flourish side by side, like a close-up nature documentary right outside your back door. Some species, such as the hedgehog, are under threat in their natural habitat, so your garden could become a welcome safe haven.
Here are some top tips for creating a wildlife-friendly garden:
Avoid using pesticides
By cutting them out, you’ll dramatically increase the number of insects visiting your garden – but that should in turn see butterflies, birds and bees dropping in.
Plant a tree
You are far more likely to attract birds to your garden if they have somewhere to perch and roost. A native British tree is ideal, as they have a stronger resistance to disease, and are familiar to the local wildlife.
Add a pond
A little water in your garden can help turn it into a real visitor attraction. If you have the room, set up a pond with some wild flowers around it, and soon you will be welcoming frogs, toads, newts and dragonflies among others.
Even if you don’t have the space for a pond, put a little water out in a washing bowl or dustbin lid; the birds will be grateful for something to drink – and to bathe in.
Feed their enthusiasm
Put a little food out for the birds and they will flock back to your garden time and again. Use bird-feeders and tables if possible – simply scattering the floor with food puts the birds at risk from next door neighbours’ cat! Remember to put out a little extra in the winter.
Pollen counts!
To make your garden more wildlife-friendly, get more pollen-producing plants into your borders. Of course, if you or your family are hay fever sufferers, this is one tip you’d be well advised to overlook!
Get a nesting box
Artificial alternatives to holes in trees, nesting boxes are a great way of encouraging wildlife to visit, and stay in, your garden. Similarly, you could put out bat boxes to provide accommodation for the creatures of the night.
Let the grass grow
If you are a firm believer in keeping an immaculate lawn it may be hard to watch the grass grow more than a few inches without reaching for your strimmer. But it can pay dividends to leave at least one corner of your garden untouched.
Many butterflies like to lay their eggs in long grasses, while untidy areas of the garden also serve as a home for insects over the winter.
Go wild
Attracting wildlife is a whole lot easier if you’ve got wildflowers in your borders. Try to go with native plants where possible, and bear in mind that birds are attracted to berry-bearing plants in the winter – holly, for example. Planting a native hedge will also see a whole host of birds flocking to your garden.
The pick of the plants
The following plants and trees are great for attracting wildlife to your garden:
Ivy - Ideal for providing birds with shelter as well as berries. Also attracts butterflies.
Primrose - Flowers in spring provide nectar, while butterfly larvae feed on the leaves.
Honeysuckle - A good source of nectar for butterflies - and birds are happy to eat the seeds.
Hazel - Nuts provide nourishment for birds and small mammals, while the foliage gets eaten by insects and moths.
Jasmine - The flowers attract moths.
Useful sites
www.rspb.org.uk
www.gardenadvice.co.uk
www.aboutorganics.co.uk
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