Our gardens are a place of relaxation and respite away from the hustle and bustle of the modern world. Transform your garden into more of a paradise for local wildlife as both a noble thing to do and a rewarding one. We’ve listed some of our top tips for how to do it.
Transform Your Garden by Planting Natives
When creating your local paradise wildlife garden, the first thing you’ll want is for it to look the part.
There are so many amazing native plants, flowers, and trees that you can grow in your garden that will fit in perfectly with the rest of the British countryside. While it can be fun and exciting to try planting exotic plants, more often than not, the British wildlife won’t make as much use of them as they would with natives.
Native plants act as perfect hiding places for critters and insects; they serve to provide pollen for bees and other pollinators; and they also provide nesting materials and seeds for birds.
Add Wild Growth
To add to that authentic countryside vibe, you could also let nature manage your project for you.
There is no better designer than nature, so allow your garden or a small portion of it to grow freely, weeds and all. Let’s celebrate all of nature’s gifts, whether they’re most beautiful rose or the humblest dandelion.
Allowing this wild growth in your garden will make a great home for wildlife, including birds, field mice, native reptiles, and even foxes if the space is big enough.
Caring For Birds
One of the biggest factors when it comes to taking care of wildlife in our gardens is making sure our native birds are happy and healthy. There are lots of ways you can do this, including adding bird feeders, bird baths, and even nesting materials.
When it comes to their food, you can find lots of effective types for different diets from online stores like Little Peckers. Give them plenty of high-fat suet and other bird foods in the winter and autumn to help them with their energy levels and warmth. During the other month, give them protein-rich seeds and nuts instead.
For nesting material, you may be surprised but pet fur works wonders. If you’ve recently groomed your dog for example, leave some of the fur outside in your wild growth area.
Birds use animal fur all the time to line their nests, and they’ll usually grab it off of branches that an animal has brushed past.
Be Tolerant
As a gardener, the struggle to resist pulling up weeds and using pesticides on your plants can be overwhelming at times, but it really does pay to be more tolerant when managing a wildlife garden. There are of course times where it might be a good idea to act against certain invasive species, but for the most part you’ll want to take a step back and let nature take its course.
Hedgehog Homes
Some of our most endangered species in the UK can truly benefit from our help, and one of those is the iconic hedgehog.
Not long ago, these were found in abundance, but today, many are killed on our roads and the destruction of their natural habitats has left them without homes and food.
If you add a spacious hedgehog home to your garden, you’ll find that eventually it might have a little prickly visitor. These critters work absolute wonders for our gardens and spend a lot of their time feasting on pests like slugs, naturally keeping their populations in check.
Hedgehog Sanctuaries
If you do happen to find a hedgehog outside in the winter, it should actually be in hibernation and there’s a chance it has become confused and dazed or is unwell. There are plenty of things you can do to help, and wildlife rescue centers and hedgehog sanctuaries can help. They’ll get these little ones back on their feet and in turn help to protect this critical species.
Protect Insects
As well as hedgehog homes, you can also provide certain insects with accommodation too. There are lots of different insects that don’t live in hives and find respite wherever they can.
With the extensive urbanization of the world, more and more of their habitats are destroyed leaving them with fewer places to rest. Transform your garden with an insect hotel and you’ll find that the ecosystem of your wildlife garden will fall into balance.
