Have you ever looked at your garden through the eyes of the wildlife that visits it? Probably not. You should though!
When I was sitting with my kids deciding what they would grow on their allotment plots this year, we talked about which flowers were good for pollinating insects. This led to a lovely discussion about what it must be like to be a bee, buzzing around all the gardens and deciding which one had the most tempting flowers to visit and take a sip from.
It wasn’t long before we were thinking about our garden through the eyes of other wildlife; what did we have to tempt birds, mice, hedgehogs, frogs, newts and other insects?
This fun role-play got me thinking about how much more we could do to encourage wildlife to visit our garden and make a home there. Doing this is beneficial on so many levels. We’ll be helping our native species to thrive and, in some cases, survive; our garden will be healthier as a result; and it’s a fantastic way to get the kids involved and interested in the great outdoors on their doorstep.
Turning your garden into a desirable home for wildlife doesn’t have to be complicated, time-consuming or expensive. Here are some ideas for small changes that you can make which will have a big impact.
Feed the birds
Providing a source of food and water all year round will ensure you get plenty of birds visiting your garden, in return they’ll do a great job of keeping insects like aphids at manageable levels. My kids love bird-spotting and take their job of topping up the feeders very seriously!
Add a water feature
This doesn’t have to be grand or complicated; a mini pond will be enough to encourage frogs and newts to spawn – great news if you’d like less slugs and snails in your garden. You’ll also attract insects such as dragonflies and pond skaters which are great fun for the kids to study.
Be a bit messy
Perfectly manicured gardens aren’t what wildlife need, so let some areas of the garden get a bit untidy. Leave seedheads on some plants over Winter to provide a food source. Let some areas of grass grow long to provide shelter. Leave a small pile of fallen leaves in a quiet corner for frogs, toads, newts and centipedes to inhabit. It doesn’t have to all look scruffy, even the smallest area can make a big difference.
Grow flowers for pollinators
Choose plants that are irresistible to bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects and they’ll become a regular feature in your garden. Take a look at the RHS Plants for Pollinators resource for lots of inspiration.
Create a log pile
If you’ve got enough room a small pile of logs will provide a perfect habitat for insects, mice, hedgehogs, slowworms, newts, toads and fungi.
For lots more ideas on how to encourage garden wildlife have a look at my pinterest board.
There are also lots of fantastic wildlife activity sheets available from the Wildlife Trusts which are perfect for getting the kids involved.
We’ll be trying to build these ideas into our garden and allotment this year, it feels really good to be doing our bit to protect our native wildlife. Do you think you’ll be having a go too?
These are all lovely idea we have plenty of log piles good to hear they are useful!
Ooh you’ll have all kinds of creatures living in there!
I love the ‘be a bit messy tip’ because that’s what we do. We clear fallen trees but always leave some wood in place to rot which attracts a whole host of wildlfe from insects to fungi. I like your log pile-style too. I’m not so keen on the gemotric acurate patterns some people create. I prefer a natural looking ‘pile’ like it has naturally occured rather than made by a human. I recommend planting some wildflower seeds – they are so beautiful and attract lots of insects. They make awesome photo back drops too 🙂
Miss Tulip x
The Thrifty Magpies Nest
Great tip about wildflower seeds, I’d love a mini wildflower meadow but we don’t have room in the garden. I think we could find some space at the allotment though, one of the other plot holders keeps bees so we could help keep them happy. Thanks for commenting 🙂
We moved from a flat to a house last year, having a garden has been such a luxury.We made a good start last year with a compost heap and a bug house and a new decking patio.We have a water feature ready to go in, plans for a permaculture veg plot and a wildflower meadow.I’m definitely not the tidy lawn type, so we’re slowly getting rid of that too.
Wow it sounds like you’ve been busy! It’s great watching all the wildlife move in isn’t it?
This is brilliant – I wish more people would make their gardens attractive for wildlife. Makes such a difference.
I think lots of people don’t realise it’s not very hard to do and still looks great. It makes a big difference to kids too being able to explore nature so close to home – positives every way you look at it!