There is an estimated 24 million gardens in the UK and the way we garden can make a big difference to nature!
Here are some ways to make your garden or outside space a wildlife haven:
ATTRACT BIRDS
Install feeders and nest boxes to provide important resources for your local birds and ‘up’ your bird watching game.
BIRD FEEDERS
Mesh feeders with peanuts will attract sparrows, tits, and starlings; nyjer feeders are great for goldfinches and siskins.
BIRD TABLES
These are great for sprinkling husk-free seed and fatty mixes for ground feeding birds such as robins, blackbirds, and other thrushes. The RSPB have created a webpage dedicated to designing your own bird café here.
BIRD BATHS
These will provide your birds with water to drink and a place in which to bathe. Place the bath somewhere with clear visibility so birds can watch out for predators and near trees/bushes so they can find cover. You can find instructions on making your own bird bath on this link.
NEST BOXES
Install them facing between north and south-east, away from intense sunlight and to avoid the heaviest rains. More information on nestboxes can found at the RSPB’s website.
TOP TIP:
Once you’ve designed your bird-friendly garden or outside space, you could start your own Big Garden Birdwatch.
Do it once a day: in your lunch break; during a coffee break; or before work starts during the dawn chorus. It’s an extremely humbling and heart-warming activity and before long you’ll find yourself looking out for your locals.
Why not go one step further and connect with your family and even neighbours to compare your results? Maybe your neighbours have seen your resident robin feeding from their feeder or maybe they’ve spotted a bit of a rarity that you should keep your eyes peeled for.
DON’T HAVE A GARDEN?
You can place all of these things on a balcony and you can put feeders on your window or windowsill. You can also attach feeders and nest boxes to the side of your house.
ATTRACT INVERTEBRATES
Look out for ladybirds, bees, lacewing flies and beetles in your bug hotel.
MAKE A WILDLIFE COMPOST HEAP
A compost heap is the perfect feeding and breeding ground for invertebrates and fungi. This is a quick and easy way to make your garden more wildlife friendly and can be used for disposing of garden and household waste.
Whether you’re an avid gardener or not, the likelihood is you’ll mow the lawn and trim the hedges from time to time. When you do, use the organic waste to make your compost heap. Your ‘bin’ can be as simple as a wooden box made from old pallets or a packing crate.
Discover Wildlife have written an article which includes some handy and very simple composting tips.
TOP TIP:
To prevent rats from digging into your compost heap, construct a robust wall of wire around the bin, burying the lower edge into the soil and then sit back and welcome all the critters.
BUILD A BUG HOTEL
There are plenty of ready-made bug hotels available to purchase these days, but you can also build your own for free out of natural materials lying around the house or in the garden (don’t forget to rummage around your shed!). Often, these are even better than shop bought hotels.
Your bug hotel will not only provide shelter and breeding grounds for invertebrates, but will support other animals too such as hedgehogs and toads.
Click here for a step by step guide to building your bug hotel: there is no one perfect way of building a bug hotel, you can use moss, leaves, bark, logs, planks of wood, or even old roof tiles and brick.
Look out for snails, common frogs and toads and devils coach horse beetles in your compost heap.
DON’T HAVE A GARDEN?
You can place bug hotels outside your house or on a balcony. The Wildlife Trusts also has information on how to #ActForInsects on their website.
PLANT WILDFLOWERS
Creating a patch of wildflowers, or even a small meadow if you have the space, is as simple as either letting the grass grow and encouraging wild flowers such as clovers and daisies or introducing a mix of nectar-rich species which can be purchased for different soil types from any gardening shop
Don’t forget about nettles and thistles – nettles are a great food source for butterflies (our desire to rid our gardens of this resource is contributing to the decline in our native butterflies) and the seeds produced by thistle flowers are food for goldfinches and siskins.
The approach you take may depend on your garden - The Wildlife Trusts have some great information on turning your garden into a wildflower meadow.
WHY WILDFLOWERS?
Food source for pollinators and, during winter when there is less for available, mammals.
Shelter for amphibians and small mammals.
Soil stability and nutrient retention.
ANIMALS TO LOOK OUT FOR:
Bees, hoverflies, wasps and even bee-flies (look for their long proboscis).
Butterflies, including red admiral, peacock, small tortoiseshell, and small white.
Wood mice, shrews and maybe a vole if you’re lucky!
DON’T HAVE A GARDEN?
Wildflowers can do just as well in a pot as they would on a garden lawn. If you have some space outside your front door, on your windowsill, or on a balcony - pollinators will welcome flowers wherever they can find them! Here are some ideas for growing flowers without a garden.
TOP TIP:
Get in touch with your neighbours (no closer than 2 metres!) and encourage them to do the same: with a series of wildflower patches or meadows in your local area, you could see a real influx of wildlife!
GROW YOUR OWN VEG
Growing your own fruit and veg is another fantastic way to spend time in nature, reduce your impact on the planet, AND reduce stress. No matter where you live you can build a vegetable garden during this time - chillies, runner beans, kale, broad beans, and tomatoes are a great choice for potted veggies if you are short on space.
The most important thing to remember is that pesticides are a garden critter’s worst enemy. To make sure your vegetable patch is wildlife friendly, avoid the use of pesticides and harmful chemicals. Now, don’t worry, by creating a wildlife friendly garden (above), you will attract species such as hedgehogs, toads, and birds which are natural predators for those ‘pests’ associated with crops.
Paying attention to good soil quality and avoiding water stress, you will grow healthy, robust vegetables that are resilient and far more likely to survive pests and disease! Don’t forget to use peat-free compost to protect our all-important peatlands!
Check out the Royal Horticultural Society for information on growing every species of vegetable you could think of and some handy tips on controlling pests without the use of chemicals.
Now enjoy the fruits of your labour alongside a garden full of beautiful flora and fauna!
DON’T HAVE A GARDEN?
You can grow many things inside if you have a nice sunny spot! Herbs such as basil and parsley do well on windowsills and there are some types of veg you can grow inside too.
