Check Here Before Buying – Pot Size Matters...Not all websites offer the same. Plants in a 2-litre pot have twice the root system of a P9 or 1 litre pot.

 

Check Here Before Buying – Pot Size Matters...Not all websites offer the same. Plants in a 2 litre pot have twice the root system of a P9 or 1 litre pot.

Attracting Wildlife to your garden

Attracting wildlife to your garden is such an important factor to consider, but it is often overlooked when planning and planting your garden. Making your garden wildlife friendly doesn’t necessarily mean turning it into an out-of-control wildflower meadow or filling it with bird houses either, just a few subtle changes and consideration of certain plants can make a huge difference.

As well as preventing certain native species of our wildlife from extinction, attracting wildlife can also help to control any garden pests without the need to use any harmful chemicals, essential if you are looking to garden organically.

 

Plants for Attracting Wildlife 1

 

Blue tit bird

Birds will flock to gardens with plenty of elevated shelters

 

With the rise of climate change, deforestation and the destruction of national habitats for building construction, wildlife desperately needs somewhere to call a safe haven more than ever before. You can help wildlife survive by ensuring they have a home or safe place in your garden.

If you are creating a new garden, look at what grows locally in the wild for inspiration. You could also pop around to neighbouring gardens (with permission, of course!) to see what grows. Local wildlife will always be attracted to native plants that they are used to, and this, therefore, aids in making your garden wildlife friendly. 

 

Birds

There is almost nothing more satisfying than seeing flocks of birds basking in your garden. Hundreds of different species of garden and woodland birds grace our gardens all year round with their presence, and there are many ways that you can both attract them to your garden, and protect them while they’re there.

 

Attraction

Birds are attracted to places that they feel safe, and where they can build a home, as well as where food and water are easily accessible. Reduce the opportunities for predators such as cats and birds of prey by placing feeders where birds can spot danger easily. Avoid using garden netting as birds can become tangled in it, and place feeders well away from your house to reduce the risk of birds flying into your windows and getting hurt. To encourage birds nesting in your garden, provide them with dense hedging and tall trees. Birds like being hidden away from view, especially when nesting and protecting their eggs, so provide them with the means to do so. 

 

Plants that birds love

Cotoneaster

Crataegus (Hawthorn)

Ilex aquifolium (Holly)

Lonicera (Honeysuckle)

Hedera (Ivy)

Sorbus (Rowan / Mountain Ash)

 

Sorbus orange berries

Sorbus berries are a magnet to birds

 

Make sure your feeders are always full to attract birds to your garden and put food in a variety of locations. Some birds, such as the wood pigeon and collared dove, are ground feeders and will happily peck away at any bread or seeds left on the ground. Other birds, such as sparrows and blue tits will only feed on elevated surfaces, such as bird tables or feeders suspended from trees. Birds such as blackbirds and starlings aren’t picky, and will feed almost anywhere!

 

Plants for Attracting Wildlife 2

 

Try to deter squirrels from feeding on these to encourage more birds, and make sure that they are always clean. Diseases can spread very easily between birds and can often stem from mouldy seeds left in uncleaned feeders. Sterilise them with hot water, and refill them regularly.

 

Protection

Little can be done for sick birds when their symptoms become visible. Never administer medication of any sort to a sick bird, as medicine that could save one species could kill another. Instead, if you see a lethargic bird, place food and water nearby and attempt to make it more comfortable by providing shelter. Never move a sick or injured bird unless you are one hundred percent positive that you can treat it, and are trained or qualified to do so. Another large threat to birds is cats. Many people feel extremely distressed when a cat attacks a bird in their garden, and so use cat repellent gels, sprays or a specialist deterrent which emits a high-pitched sound which is unique to a cat’s hearing range (so it won’t distress any other wildlife such as hedgehogs) to be rid of them.

Another great way to help and protect birds, as well as attracting them to your garden, is by caring for them in winter. Provide them with fatty foods to keep them warm; fat balls, bird cakes made with lard and seeds, mealworms and fruits are excellent for helping birds through the winter. Never put out hot or liquid fats, as these will coat bird’s feathers and be incredibly hard to remove, thus preventing them from flying.

 

A unfrozen bird bath in the garden

Maintaining an accessible water supply will benefit local wildlife

 

Unfrozen drinking and bathing water will also be scarce in the winter, so keep a birdbath or bowl of water that is ice-free in your garden. One great trick is to float a small ball on top of the water; even the slightest breeze will keep the ball moving and stop the water from freezing over.

Also, plant dense hedges, and allow holly and hawthorn to grow. Birds will always try to find warmth in the winter and may get into your roof. If you need to get their access hole fixed, put up a nest box to fill the gap and provide a replacement home.

 

Beetles and Bugs

Not many people think of attracting beetles and bugs to their garden, but these tiny creatures need a home as much as birds, butterflies and hedgehogs do! There are around 4,000 species of beetle in Great Britain, and many of these can be found in your garden. Not only are many beetles and bugs beautiful and fascinating to look at, they can also be very beneficial to your garden. Many help to break down rotting vegetation and wood, making for excellent natural compost. Some larger beetles even eat slugs!

 

A lady bug in the garden

Ladybugs are one of many beneficial insects for your garden

 

To attract beetles and bugs to your garden, bury large logs of hardwoods such as oak, sycamore or ash in shadier parts of the garden. Beetles will flock to the new home you have made. Beetles and bugs also desperately need a place to live in the winter and the wildlife homes we offer are perfect for this, whilst accessible compost heaps, piles of sticks and mounds of stones are not bad as alternatives.

 

Plants with flat flower heads are good for beetles and bugs. Fennel, wild marjoram and daisies are perfect. Trees such as oaks and sycamores also attract a larger variety of beetles and bugs to the garden. 

 

Hedgehogs

Hedgehogs are brilliant creatures to attract to your garden as they eat snails, slugs and insects that would otherwise cause you problems.

Leave some areas of your garden wild with piles of logs and leaf litter. These make a great nest, as well as attracting the slugs and beetles that hedgehogs like to eat. Making an artificial home couldn’t be simpler. Just place a piece of board against a wall! Or you can even buy (or make) a purpose-built hedgehog house.

Feeding hedgehogs is also an easy task. They need foods like minced meat, non-fish-based cat or dog food, crushed cat biscuits or chopped boiled eggs. You can also buy specialist hedgehog food if you would prefer to do so. Freshwater in a shallow bowl should also be left out—not milk. Don’t use slug pellets in your garden as these can poison hedgehogs. If you have a bad slug or snail infestation, consider using a beer trap.

 

Hedgehog in the garden

Hedgehogs should always be welcomed in the garden

 

Plants for Attracting Wildlife 3

 

If you find a sick or injured hedgehog in your garden, there are ways to treat them. If you spot a healthy hedgehog in the spring, summer or autumn, leave it alone. Under normal circumstances, they can get very easily stressed by human contact.

However, if you find a hedgehog staggering around during the daytime in winter, then it could be in trouble. They are very susceptible to hypothermia. If you see one attempting to stretch out in the sun, then this is an attempt to get some warmth into their body. They need your attention right away.

Take them inside and place a well-wrapped hot water bottle underneath them. It must be filled with hot tap water—and never boiling water. Do not let the bottle go cold or you’ll do more harm than good. Keep the hedgehog warm, and call your local wildlife agency or the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.

Always handle hedgehogs with care and wear gloves to protect yourself from their spines and fleas if they are present. 

 

Moths

People wouldn’t usually think of attracting moths into their gardens, but these small insects are a crucial part of the food chain for bats and birds, as well as being beautiful in their own right.

Good plants for attracting moths are Buddleja, Heather, Echinacea and Ivy. Night-scented plants are excellent for attracting moths, and the Buddleja is amongst the best for this purpose. Ivy attracts moths late into the autumn as it is an autumn-flowering plant, providing them with the nectar they need throughout the cooler months.

 

Moth on a buddleia

Buddleja is an excellent plant that is very attractive to moths

 

You can also encourage moths to appear by leaving a light on outside at night, or make up sugary solutions for them to feed on. A good solution is cola, treacle and brown sugar heated up and painted onto a post or tree near a light source. 

 

Newts, Toads and Frogs

All newts are partly protected and crested newts are a fully protected species. Never remove them from the wild to bring home, and always be very gentle with them if you must handle them. If you wish to attract amphibians to your garden, you will need a pond with no fish in it, as they will eat frog spawn and baby newts as they hatch. You don’t really need to worry about feeding newts in your garden as they are very adaptable.

However, if you wish to help them along in your garden you can buy brine shrimp or bloodworm from any tropical fish suppliers. Toads and Frogs feed on algae and insects. Newts, toads and frogs can sometimes eat each other’s spawn, eggs or tadpoles. Ponds to attract newts should be left in their natural state, so there’s no need to use a filter or cleaning agent in the pond.

Toads, frogs and newts need a pond where one side slopes up to dry land. This enables the amphibians to leave the pond to feed. If your pond has steep sides, a ramp covered in chicken wire could help them along. Frogs and toads need a point above the water to rest and breathe. A water lily pad or some rocks and logs half in the water are suitable.

 

Frog on a water lily

Provide places within your pond for wildlife to rest

 

Allow long grass to grow in the garden as amphibians love to hide and nest in it if it is close to water. Practice caution when mowing lawns, and always check for amphibians before you cut your grass. Do not clean out the pond unless absolutely necessary, especially during the hibernation period where amphibians lay dormant at the bottom of the pond throughout the winter months. Never smash ice on top of ponds, as shock waves can harm the hibernating creatures.

To keep aquatic life sustained throughout the winter, you need to make sure that the pond is oxygenated. If light can’t get through heavy snow or thick ice to your oxygenating plants, then this needs to be addressed. Most aquatic life can hibernate on very little oxygen, but a lack of oxygen will kill them.

Brush heavy snowfall off of your pond surface and use a hot pan to melt ice on the surface if possible. This will help more light and oxygen get through to the plants below the surface, as well as providing unfrozen water for birds, hedgehogs, foxes and squirrels. 

 

Plants for Attracting Wildlife 4

 

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