Â鶹Éç

« Previous | Main | Next »

Helping your garden wildlife

Post categories:

Tim Scoones Tim Scoones | 18:10 UK time, Monday, 25 May 2009

We've got some suggestions for easy ways to make your garden a haven for wildlife - and yourself.

But this is also your opporunity to add your tips. What works in your garden? What doesn't? We'd love to hear your experiences and dilemmas, so please share your questions and answers below.

There are 15 million gardens in the UK covering an area bigger than all our nature reserves put together. Your garden can be a fantastic place for wildlife - your own personal place for getting close to nature and an oasis for the birds and animals who share it with you.

butterfly brminstone copyright Kate Tomlinson

Native wildflowers are particularly good for butterflies

There are hundreds of websites out there with loads of information about how to make your garden more friendly for wildlife. Some of the best include , the and the and the Â鶹Éç's very own Breathing Places.

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit Â鶹Éç Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.

Chris talks to Imogen Checketts, Pensthorpe's head gardener, about how to make your garden better for wildlife

Don't think you need to spend a fortune on flashy bird feeders or bug accommodation or indeed spend hours building things, wildlife gardening can be as simple as leaving areas a bit untidy, allowing a patch of lawn to grow longer or leaving seed heads on plants. Perfect for the lazy amongst us.

water_birds_top.jpg

If your garden looks thirsty, then the birds are probably thirsty too

Those with more energy, some DIY leanings and a bit of time and ingenuity can knock up , and . It needn't take a lot of time or space, just doing one thing can make a real difference for wildlife in your garden.

Â鶹Éç Breathing Places is a great place to start. It's split into quick (make a woodpile, plant daisies for hoverflies etc), simple (collect rain water, make a bee home etc) and adventurous (make a bog garden or a meadow etc) things to try. So however much time or energy you have there'll be something there for you.

mammal_box_top.jpg

Why not buy a dormouse box from a specialist supplier or make your own.

The Wildlife Trusts also have a section on which contains guides on and how to .

But enough of what we think, over to you:

  • Share your wildlife gardening pictures on the
  • Share your tips, experiences and dilemmas below. Is your garden already a haven for wildlife? We'd all love to know about it!

Comments

More from this blog...

Topical posts on this blog

Categories

These are some of the popular topics this blog covers.

Latest contributors

Â鶹Éç iD

Â鶹Éç navigation

Â鶹Éç © 2014 The Â鶹Éç is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.