What are you doing to help wildlife into the garden?
I’m a bit animal mad, especially wildlife, and I have been adjusting my garden to welcome more wildlife. Firstly no chemicals in the garden. I have a raised pond, and 2 smaller ponds for the frogs and newts. I‘ve been feeding the birds (and squirrels) for years, but recently spotted a hedgehog in my garden, so started feeding that as well. I then decided to get a night vision wildlife camera, from which I found we have 2 hogs visiting, then I bought a hedgehog house which already has a tenant. I would love to hear what you have done, if anything, to attract wildlife into your outside space. 🦔🐿🦉🕷
Comments (20)
embzop
3 years ago
nmlondon
3 years agoI'd love to see the hedgehogs in our garden! we get lots of visitors, including parakeets (they are nuisance, had to get the caged feeder so that the smaller birds can get some seeds :)), magpies, woodpeckers (both spotted and green), blue and yellow tits, blue jays and robins, sparrows, pigeons and wood pigeons etc. squirrels and foxes. We feed the birds, have two feeders (seeds and fatball). I have a cor-ten water ball and the birds come for a drink/to bathe.
Related Discussions
What do you grow in your garden?
Comments (18)I have a large fig tree on my patio and lots of veg I plant in fish boxes picked up from the beach. I had a large vegetable garden but this gets smaller every year because I can't resist planting fruit trees - so far I have a 3 apple trees, pear, plum, cherry and apricot trees. Currently cropping onions, leeks, artichokes, rhubarb, potatoes, salad leaves and watercress from the garden - the strawberries will soon be ready to eat. Lots of herbs outside the kitchen door as well....See MoreHow do you maintain your garden when you're short on time?
Comments (13)Weekly? Oh, how I wish it were only weekly. I'm out there nearly every day culling the three-cornered leek that has reappeared as a thick blanket despite me culling it in the first spring I was here, in my new house, then finding it had reappeared hugely aggressively last year and now, in my third spring, it's even thicker and even more widespread - and is now not only in the flower beds but also in the lawn, thick along the edge, scattered within it. Front and back. It takes about two hours to clear about a square yard - digging under the bulbs; banging off the (very good, I've been told) soil in which there are always several earthworms which I need to hang on to (obviously); then picking out the tiniest bulbs left behind. I don't think I can ever finish it this year - as happened last year - which means the problem will go on for decades. I don't really have the time (I need to work, I need a life beyond digging and clearing). The only solution I can think of is to bring in help but my budget won't allow that. I value having lawn so paving it over isn't an option. I will have less planting space, which will eventually mean less weeding, but it's not something I can do right now - I've too much to do to bring the indoors up to date. I disagree with Jo DP. The previous owners had a keep it wild policy and now I have this big problem with a massively invasive plant. And, yes, I have tried using it in recipes - it really isn't worth the effort of keeping it under control (to have a limited supply). I'm an experienced and adventurous cook and three-cornered leek is an overrated ingredient, even though it's free and in my garden....See MoreWhat would you do? Garden needs love and help!
Comments (5)Hi honeyry. I don’t think it would look weird having the lawn on the left as it would be more central to the patio. Hope you don’t mind but I took the liberty of doing a quick sketch as well. It still uses the full length of the garden so should keep your footie fan happy 😊. What I do think is that you need more definition to your borders so using a lawn edger to keep grass encroaching on plants/shrubs/trees (see pics). This will keep plants healthy in the long run as they won’t be competing for nutrients. Also added a patio and shed in the top right NW corner. This might be a nice little sitting area in for a morning cuppa, the shed and the addition of some trellis would give you some privacy from the neighbours. Something like this wouldn’t need doing straight away as I’ve kept the basic layout with the path relatively unchanged. Did add a little extra in the way of a little semi circle of hard landscaping in front of the seps. This is just a transition between borders, lawn and patio and could be anything...paving, tiles, cobbles and so on. There are a plenty of plants that are suitable for your garden. The RHS website is a valuable resource when researching. Two that spring to mind which are virtually indestructible (great for stray footballs) are red valerian and buddleia. Both need hacking back to near ground level in late autumn and will grow like the clappers come spring. Be aware that red valerian (also grows well north facing) can be considered invasive in some parts as it self seeds prolifically and usually where you don’t want it like in the walls or in between paving slabs but it’s easy enough to pull out. For improving the lawn I’m sure there are plenty of tips and tutorials online. I myself have a dog that makes a right mess of the grass. I’ve recently purchased this stuff https://www.envii.co.uk/shop/neuturine/ but I’ve yet to test it so can’t vouch for it and its a little expensive for what it is. Supposed to to change the Ph of the soil so that urine doesn’t burn it (or something scientific like that 🙂). Just hope it works! Here‘s my sketch and pics. Red valerian Buddleia example of curvy border...See MoreWhat would you do with this garden space?
Comments (6)Hi there Aj, It will all depend on what you want to get from your garden (a place to sit in the sun or shade - or both?, growing vegetables, childrens play area etc etc) and your gardens unique environmental conditions (garden aspect which determines where the sun shines in different times of the day, if you have any land slopes nearby bug trees etc etc). Just by looking at your picture I would be very tempeted to first of all introduce planting on it as it is very bare and has a very big stretch of lawn at the moment. So some nice planting beds more to the central area rather than borders would look nice. To select the plants you have to match them with the unique gardens environmental conditions as otherwise they wont thrive. In terms of the decking you mentioned, that could be an idea, but maybe making a block paved area there rather than decking would be more fitting with the block paving patio you already have in front of the house (as far as I can tell from pictures).Nut that would be more expensive than decking, so depending on budget of course. Also, you have to consider the forms that you will introduce in the garden (the shapes of flower beds, seating areas etc) as they influence a lot in the way that the garden space is perceived. I offer online professional garden design services and would be very happy to help you with this! Please have a look at my website and get in touch if interested www.therootedconceptgardendesign.co.uk All the best, Deborah deborahbiasoli@gmail.com 07548105456...See MoreSonia
3 years agoJonathan
3 years agoembzop
3 years agoSonia
3 years agolast modified: 3 years ago
Ribena Drinker
3 years agoOn top of the usual garden birds - some more welcome than others, squirrels and pheasants, during the winter we are often visited by one or two muntjac. This usually ends with them dining on the newly appearing daffodil spikes or as in one the case of one year, my led garden fairy lights. They're brazed little so and sos.
Sonia
3 years agoAww look at the little Munjac Ribena, how cute!
Sorry nmlondon I didn’t see your comment from November, slipped under the radar! Love the parakeets, I’ve heard they can be noisy, but hey ho! Better than being stuck in a cage anyway. That fox is beautiful. I’ve bought one of those Corten steel bowls and I’ve put a bubbling pump in it too and the birds love it, although I have a ground bird bath too. I’ve joined a local hedgehog and wildlife society, turning into a right nerd. Please keep the wildlife photos coming! This is a video, but I’m not sure it will play.......🦔🦔🦔
E D
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoSonia
3 years ago
Sam Potter
3 years agoSonia
3 years ago
PROGarden Design Guru
3 years agoSonia
3 years agoHi Garden Guru, yes I heart the ones made of twigs mean they get their spikes stuck on them and then die of starvation. Gruesome. Mine was from the RSPB as I wanted a trustworthy source! This is the one I got and the twiggy one is the dangerous one which is for sale online everywhere! They should be banned.
- PRO
Garden Design Guru
3 years agoWell done! I can see the RSPB one has an entrance which will keep a hedgehog out of reach of a fox! I got a good book via the Hedgehog Trust which I have recently read through.
Sonia
3 years ago
PROLynn Hill Garden Design
3 years agoSonia
3 years ago
E D