Wild About Gardens Project
Wildlife populations have declined in recent years, due to loss of habitats, feeding grounds and breeding sites. In some areas, what was a rich mosaic of habitats has become a desert for wildlife. With natural habitats such as wildflower meadows and ancient woodlands disappearing at an alarming rate, gardens are quickly becoming important havens for a wide range of birds, mammals, amphibians and invertebrates.
The Wildlife Trusts and The Royal Horticultural Society have pooled their expertise in a joint project Wild About Gardens. It aims to promote the garden as a special place for contact with wildlife, celebrate what gardeners are already doing to encourage wildlife, and increase our understanding of the significance of local wildlife character in our gardens. For more details visit www.wildaboutgardens.org
Late Summer and Autumn in the wildlife garden
If you have been able to follow our tips for the spring you should already have seen an increase in wildlife in your garden over the summer - but don’t stop there. Late Summer and Autumn is a preparation time for wildlife as they get ready for the hard times of winter ahead and as wildlife gardeners we can be on hand to help.
Resist the urge to be too tidy: leave windfall fruit where it falls to provide a valuable food supply on which birds and butterflies can feed; allow seed heads to die off naturally on sunflowers, thistles and other plants to provide birds with an energy rich food source; if you want to tidy your lawn, sweep leaves into the bottom of the hedge or in piles in the corner of the garden leaving them undisturbed to provide a cosy over-wintering area for insects, amphibians and small mammals.
Autumn is a good time to clean out used bird nesting boxes. These can harbour the larvae of pests which could be harmful to young chicks in the Spring. Clear out old nesting material and add to the compost heap. Only use boiling water to clean the nest box as any chemicals or insecticides may be toxic to birds.
You may get more opportunity to see Hedgehogs in the garden as they forage around for food before hibernation. They can be encouraged to stay over the winter in your garden by providing suitable hibernation sites. They may use the pile of leaves that you have left or you can create a hedgehog box which not only will be used for hibernation but may also get used for the female to make a nest and rear her young. Download instructions to make a hedgehog box here.
Another area that is best cleared out in the autumn to minimise disturbance to wildlife, is the garden pond. An excess of fallen autumn leaves, if left in the pond, can decompose causing stagnation and reduction in the oxygen levels in the water. Any dead vegetation can be raked out gently, however it is important to leave this at the side of the pond for a few days to allow any trapped water creatures to be able to get back into the pond where they belong. After a few days the dead vegetation can either be put on the compost heap, in a pile in the corner of the garden to create another habitat or around plants to provide nutrients for the soil.
From November to March is the best time to plant a new tree. This gives the new tree time to establish new roots while the soil is moist and before temperatures rise and the tree’s energy is used to develop leaves and fruits.
Dig a hole that is larger than the root ball of the tree, adding some water and compost. Place the tree and ease out the roots. Re-cover with soil and heel in the soil around the tree. If the tree is large you may need to stake it, this should be removed after a year or two. Good trees to plant to encourage wildlife are berry producing trees such as Rowan (also known as Mountain Ash) or Whitebeam.
Spring in the Wildlife Garden
Whether you are planting a wildlife garden from scratch or getting out and about in an established area, the Wildlife Trust can give you advice and tips on what to do. Even if you don’t have a garden, a flower pot filled with nectar-rich plants will attract butterflies and bees—wildlife can easily be at home alongside us with a little help.
To encourage wildlife into your patch we have identified a few simple steps and tips for you to follow over the next few months:
*Put out suitable nesting material: bundles of short lengths of twigs, dead grass and dried moss even the groomings from your dog can help by providing material for birds such as robins, sparrows and other garden birds to build their nests.
*Create a new pond and once it is established with native water plants it is amazing how quickly frogs, newts and invertebrates will colonise it without having to introduce them.
*If you want to continue feeding birds while they are feeding their young ensure that you keep feeding stations clean and please don’t forget a water supply. At first young birds usually get fed on invertebrates but just to make sure that juvenile birds do not choke, put whole peanuts in mesh feeders. The food you put out will help the adults feed themselves during this busy time.
*Try to leave fruit bearing shrubs and plants such as Pyracantha, and other shrubs and hedges in particular, un-trimmed as these will be perfect nesting sites for birds, However, shrubs such as Buddleia should be cut back hard this time of year and if trimmed regularly later on, will encourage more flowers and result in more butterflies being attracted to your garden.
*Install bird boxes of different kinds—open fronted for Robins and Flycatchers and those with smaller entrance holes for blue tits. Also if you have a boggy, muddy area of the garden leave a small bare area which provides perfect building material for Swallows and Martins which are returning now to spend the summer in the UK.
*Sow hardy annuals as well, as these will benefit wildlife later on in the year, providing seeds for small birds and nectar for butterflies, moths and bees.
*Create a log pile which will become a hide-out for amphibians and reptiles and a host of beetles, and other invertebrates.