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Follow these nine simple steps in order to turn your garden into a haven for Britain’s struggling wildlife
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Nature’s great winter hibernation is over. The days are getting longer and warmer. Most trees are now well on the way to having a full crown of leaves. The spring flowers are out in full glow. Birds are house hunting for suitable places to build a nest. The first butterflies are skipping by on the breeze. And, as our gardens burst back into life, weekends are increasingly filled with the sound of lawnmowers slicing down any blade of grass that dares to grow too enthusiastically.
But we say silence the lawnmowers and allow nature to recolonise your garden!
The UK is one of the most nature-depleted nations on Earth. Data showed that since 1970, UK wildlife species have declined by about 19 per cent on average and that nearly 1 in 6 species (16.1 per cent) are threatened with extinction. This means that in Britain, more than in many other countries, the importance of a wildlife garden – no matter how small – cannot be overestimated. Around 87 per cent of households in the UK have a garden, and according to the Wildlife Trusts, these cover a larger area than all the UK’s nature reserves put together. So, imagine the difference we could collectively make if we all devoted even just a small part of our garden to nature!
But how to go about turning your garden into a veritable Serengeti?
1: Let it all get a bit wild
A neatly clipped lawn might be something of a hallmark of an English garden, but a lawn like this is little more than a desert for most animals. So keep the lawn mower banished to the garden shed and let your lawn go all a bit wild. Doing this can actually be trickier than it sounds because as much as you want the wildlife to benefit from a wild lawn you equally don’t want the neighbours complaining. There are a couple of ways around this. You could make it look intentionally overgrown by mowing twisting paths through the long grass. Or you could sew wildflower seeds (easily bought at a garden centre but make sure the seeds are of native British wildflowers) into the grass and create a wildflower meadow. Not only is this superb for many insects and birds, but even overly fussy neighbours will agree that it does look pretty. And, an uncut lawn doesn’t mean you never cut it. In the wild, grasses and meadow plants are mowed short by deer and other animals so giving it one or two cuts a summer is only really doing what would happen in a wild ecosystem anyway. When you do cut it, use a strimmer if you can instead of a lawnmower, as this gives a rougher, higher and more natural cut.
2: Feed and house the birds
Birds are vital to the health of your wildlife garden as they spread seeds, drop natural fertiliser and help with pollination. Encourage them to come and stay by leaving a wide variety of bird foods out through the winter months and well-placed nest boxes in spring and early summer. When it comes to nest boxes use a variety of different types because different birds prefer different shape boxes. If you have the space then trees such as rowan, hawthorn and wild cherry will attract lots of birds after a tasty treat.
3: Attract butterflies
A colourful butterfly is sure to brighten up anyone’s day, but many UK butterfly species are in serious trouble (the small tortoiseshell, for example, has suffered an 82 per cent decline since 1976). So, let’s all do what we can to help them by planting nectar-rich plants for the adults to feed on. Good options include buddleia (whose distinctive purple flowers have a rich, strong fragrance), foxgloves, cowslips and red campion. These last three are all native UK wildflowers, so they are especially important. The larvae (caterpillars) of butterflies also need to eat, and they’re much more fussy than their parents about what they feed on and normally only stick to one particular plant. Nettles (leave a small patch growing in a corner or even put some in a pot to avoid them spreading too much), red clover, honesty, lady’s smock and nasturtium are all good bets.
4: Cover the walls
A bare brick wall isn’t much good as a wildlife habitat, but let climbing plants such as ivy and honeysuckle creep up over it and you’ll not just have a more attractive wall but birds and insects will find nesting spots among the tangle and the winter berries on ivy is a tasty winter food for birds.
5: Hedges
There’s nothing worse than one of those awful, neatly trimmed, perfect hedges made up of one plant species alone that can be seen surrounding so many gardens. A good, well-established wildlife friendly hedge is, by contrast, an absolutely vital part of a wildlife garden and done well, it can almost be like a miniature woodland! In fact, one of the most important habitats in the UK are the ancient hedgerows that surround many fields, but sadly, over the past 50 years, we have lost half of these hedges. If you want to create your own wildlife hedge stick to native plant species. Good options include crab apple, blackthorn, hazel, holly, hawthorn and field maple.
6: Dig a pond
A pond is almost an essential to any wildlife garden. They provide a home to many water insects and also attract all kinds of terrestrial animals searching for a drink. But perhaps most importantly they are vital for the UK’s seven amphibian species. Worldwide, amphibians are the most threatened vertebrate group, with around 40 per cent of species globally threatened. And the UK’s amphibians are no exception to this rule. A pond doesn’t have to be huge, and you can just use a tub if you want, and it will still attract some wildlife. Whatever you use to build your pond, and however big or small it is, make sure that it has at least one gently sloping side so animals can get in and out easily. Provide plenty of native water plant species, and you’re on for a surefire win. Don’t, however, add goldfish to the pond because they will eat many of the insects that are so vital to a healthy pond. If you’re worried about mosquitoes then adding a small fountain will keep the water moving about just enough to stop mosquitoes wanting to lay eggs in the pond.
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7: A night in a hotel
Without a healthy and varied population of insects your wildlife garden will never work. So encourage them to stay by building an insect ‘hotel’. You’ve likely seen these around in public parks. Simple piles of twigs, broken flower pots and straw stacked up on top of one and other. Insects such as burrowing wasps (they don’t sting us), beetles and spiders will quickly move in. And where insects go birds, hedgehogs and others are sure to follow.
8: A heap of compost
A compost heap is good for you, good for the garden and good for wildlife. The decomposed vegetables and other matter can be used as a natural fertiliser on your garden plants and the compost heap itself attracts slow worms (which are legless lizards) and other creatures. Never add bread, meat or cooked food to a compost heap.
9: Leave a gap in fences
Now your wildlife garden is almost ready you need to invite the animals in. If you planted a wildlife hedge, then that’s no big deal, and hedgehogs and other animals will just climb through, but if you still have only a fence up, then leave a small gap so that the animals can squeeze into your own private nature reserve.
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