| Sometimes, clients ask me what they can do to increase natural habit areas within their gardens. My time volunteering with Gazen Salts pays off marvellously when working with wildlife gardens or rewilding areas in smaller gardens. Many skills l acquired during my two years at the nature reserve are being brought back into action with the gardening business, especially skills designed to re-energise wilding projects. There are many things that gardeners can introduce to the green spaces that will encourage wildlife to them. We all have a duty of care and responsibility to invite wildlife back into our gardens where we can celebrate this aspect of gardening. So, attracting bees and other pollinators, building a pond, creating a dead hedge, or making space for a compost heap or a bug hotel, along with feeding birds, are great ways to motivate wildlife to return to your gardens. Below are five ideas that you might find helpful. But there are many more. 1 Introduce a wildlife flora patch or corner to your garden. Designating an area of your garden where the grass can grow a little longer each year doesn’t require much space. A simple area of between half to one metre square is sufficient. In addition to allowing the grass to grow, you could easily throw some wildflower seeds into it and allow these to develop each season. Wildflower suggestions could include common knapweed, wild garlic, ox-eye daisy, foxgloves, forget-me-nots, cornflowers, and viper’s bugloss are just a few examples. Longer grass allows insects, slow worms, frogs, toads, newts, and smaller mammals to take shelter safely. The philosophy to remember for this patch is to let it alone and allow wildlife to be. Not all weeds need to be removed; they are just flowers in the wrong area, so let them enjoy the seasons, too. 2 Consider purchasing a bird bath and feeding tray or utilising something you may already have in the garden that can be used to feed the garden birds and allow them to bathe and access fresh water. There are many wild bird feeders on the market and equally as many varieties of bird feed types. By placing out a more comprehensive range of feeds, you will further encourage more species. Always be mindful of the weather and climate and act accordingly to aid the birdlife in your garden. Each year, British birds face new extinction levels; the figure is 30% of environmental problems. By providing habitat, fresh water and food, you are directly contributing to the survival of our dwindling bird populations. Also, remember that birds have predators, so make sure that your feeders, trays, and baths give visitors a broad vision of your garden so that they may see predators like cats and dogs approaching and be able to escape if needed. 3 Our mammals are in crisis, and they need our help. The likes of field and bank voles, shrews, field mice, weasels, harvest mice, the hazel dormouse, bats, foxes, badgers, squirrels, otters, pine martens, stoats, wood mice, yellow-necked mice, deer, wildcats, otters, beavers and lynx are all critically endangered due to loss of habitat. But you can help by allocating garden areas that could encourage and house many mammals and award them safe havens. But you can help by allocating garden areas that could encourage and house many mammals and award them safe havens. Wildlife welcomes bat boxes, bug hotels, thickets, overgrown copses, hedgerows, and small wooded areas. Hedgehog numbers in rural Great Britain today are frighteningly low. The decline has been dropping since the 1950s. Urban hedgehogs are faring marginally better as they have adapted, but we can still assist them. Why not try building a hedgehog haven or highway? Did you know that hedgehogs can walk up to a mile overnight? However, at times, they can get stuck in suburban locations. There are two methods to aid hedgehogs. One is to create a hedgehog hotel, a shelter made from a wooden box with a small entrance, and the second is to talk with your neighbours and see if you can work out a safe hedgehog highway between your gardens. The hogs can pass between many gardens in a single night undisturbed. 4 Consider creating either a dead hedge, bug hotel, or insect house. The latter, especially, are very easy to make. Gather old sticks and twigs, a fallen log or trunk slice, some dead or rotten/rotting wood, bark and leaves and then shape them into a mound, and you will see within a few days a broad range of diversity is residing within. 5 Look into growing a nettle patch. If you are wary of invasiveness, consider sowing seeds into a container or three to grow only nettles within. Site them around your garden, leave them be, and allow the wildlife to have at them. Peacocks and small tortoiseshell butterflies use them as feeding plants. Ladybugs, spiders, and beetles love them, as do some smaller bird species. But equally, you can reap some benefits of having nettles in your garden – think soups, teas and wines and pick the young leaves, saute or steam them to remove the fine hairs and eat them. So there we go, five simple ways to quickly adapt to your garden to encourage wildlife to visit and stay. Thanks for reading, and see you next time with another five ways to help our wildlife. |
Rewilding Your Garden for Wildlife: 5 Simple Ideas
Wonderful ideas, Rory! Wildlife conservation is beneficial for the natural environment.
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Totally spot on Eugenia 🙂
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😉
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Thank you for sharing this great information, Rory!
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You are very welcome Betty, thank you also 🙂
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