Here’s how to make your garden a friendly environment for wildlife

No matter how big or small your garden may be, you can always make it a friendlier place for wildlife. Most people take huge pride in their gardens, and rightly so as they are difficult to maintain, but how much better could it be if you could also make it the perfect environment for both your plants and wildlife? From water butts to bug hotels, here are a few things you can do in your garden to help wildlife. 

Allow your green space to go wild 

A perfectly well-kept garden is definitely beautiful, however, it is not what’s best for the surrounding wildlife that may want to enter your green space. It would be ideal to create a space specifically for wildlife by leaving it to go wild and overgrow. Indeed cutting your grass can remove essential sources of food for pollinators like bees, which everyone knows their existence is crucial to growing food and improving crop quality – does anyone remember Bee Movie? No, just me? Ok…If you want to mow your lawn, try and leave until the spring so that the long grass can provide shelter from the cold for critters and other animals. 

Introduce water 

This one is a simple and easy one. Providing water for wildlife may be one of the best ways to make your garden a safe space. A clean source of water is vital for wildlife, especially during the summer months. There is no need to go out and buy something fancy, you can just simply place a bowl full of water on the floor – changing it regularly – and it’ll provide animals with drinkable water and a bath. If you want something more stylish to match the theme of your garden, you can get yourself a birdbath or something similar from a garden centre. If you are lucky enough to have a large garden, then a pond or water feature could be an excellent choice, not only will it provide a water source, it will also be a safe space for amphibians and invertebrates, such as frogs, toads and newts. If you do decide to get one, be sure to leave the edges shallow or provide a secure exit route like a piece of slate or sturdy branch. 

Hedges over fences 

Hedges provide excellent shelter for wildlife. For example, birds will often nest in hedges as it hides the nest from potential predators but also protects the eggs, then chicks from rain and wind. Harvest mice, bats and of course hedgehogs also make hedges their homes when they can. So if you need to close off your garden, favour hedges rather than fences. 

Create homes for wildlife 

As mentioned before, leaving a part of your garden overgrown creates a safe space for animals to hide and breed. Naturally, if you create a garden that attracts insects, you will also attract insect-eating animals such as hedgehogs, bats, birds and their chicks. Climate change, insecticides, herbicides, light pollution, invasive species and changes in agriculture and land use are causing Earth to lose around one to two per cent of its insects each year, says bug expert, University of Connecticut entomologist, David Wagner. One way to fight this decline is to create safe spaces for insects to hibernate. All you need to do is make a bug hotel which you place in your garden or balcony – excellent choice if  you live in flats without a garden and you want to do your bit. To make them, you can just leave piles of wood, twigs, rocks and compost around the garden. You can also buy some from garden centres to hang on balconies. 

Avoid pesticides 

Pesticides have had a profound effect on wildlife and nature. Indeed bees can become “addicted” to them, which is one of the main reasons their species is declining, and imidacloprid are seriously dangerous for songbirds. Instead of pesticides, you can opt for friendlier options such as sacrificial plants – plant them next to the one you want to protect as a decoy. Slugs don’t like copper piping and eggshells. Finally, you can spray your plants with water or a light soapy, non-toxic solution. 

Feed the birds 

Birds have a very important role in a garden’s ecosystem, so it is a good idea to look after them. Birds’ favourite snacks are protein-rich fat balls, especially during the spring. For the winter months, they prefer seeds. Now to place the feeder, try and place it somewhere safe where cats can’t reach. Bird boxes can also be a good idea to help them find a place to nest.