Do you want to do something for the nature in your garden? Maybe even attract some wildlife that you haven't seen before?
If you had tried to get me interested in gardening when I was younger, I might have unenthusiastically plodded along, but I would have found it a dull and uninteresting chore. I was much more interested in animal life than I was in plant life.
Animal life is dynamic, exciting, and even violent; all the dramas and thrills a growing boy finds captivating!
However, I got older and ever so slightly wiser, and I came to understand that the spaces outside our homes are important to the wildlife we share our spaces with. Gardens in the UK cover an area greater than all of our National Nature Reserves combined; those spaces just outside our doors are of huge importance!
Bird food, feeders, and water
A bird's life demands a lot of energy all year round, and the bird feeders in our gardens are a great source of food for many species.
In spring, as birds are mating and raising young, there is an obvious need for food. However, during the colder months of autumn and winter, as nature's abundance wanes, birdfeeders will keep our winged garden visitors well fed.
In spring, consider putting out some soaked mealworms for the nesting birds; baby birds get all the water they need to survive from their food.
If you sit for a while, watching the visitors that come to your feeders, and do a little research, you can adjust the food you provide depending on the birds in your area and the time of year. But do remember that, whatever you put in your feeders, the best feeders are clean feeders - unclean feeders are hotspots for spreading diseases and parasites.
Leaf mould/cuttings cage
Here in the UK, as the fifth of November approaches and people are preparing for Bonfire Night, the reminders from conservationists and wildlife groups goes out - remember to check your bonfires before you light them!
Why?
Because small animals like hedgehogs and toads love to tuck themselves away into spaces like that provided by the leaf litter and cuttings from which people typically build their bonfires. As the colder months draw in, these small animals are looking for a snug and safe space for hibernation. They are unaware, of course, that human beings build up these safe spaces only to burn them up!
A leaf mould cage or a space in the garden where you can pile your cuttings will provide the perfect space for these small animals and insects to tuck themselves away.
You can find plans for building a leaf mould cage here, on the RSPB website.
Fallen fruit
If you have an apple tree in your garden, the windfall that lays upon the ground is going to be a real treat for a number of garden visitors!
As well as insects and birds, fallen fruit might just attract the attention of foxes, mice, and squirrels.
The ripe and browning fruits are a sugary treat for many. And, if you don't have a tree in your garden, you can always cut up a couple of store bought apples and pears, and scatter them on your lawn.
A pond
A pond doesn't have to be large, and it doesn't even have to be dug into the ground. You can create a pond out of containers of varying sizes, right from the size of an old washing up bowl up to larger storage boxes.
If you are able to dig a pond, plot a size in the ground to accommodate your container and, after the hole is dug, lower your container in, making sure it is snug in the ground. However, if you have a container, you can simply create your pond without digging at all.
With the container, you will need some washed sand, pebbles, rocks, and aquatic oxygenating plants. Not only will pebbles make the bottom of your pond look pleasing to the eye, they also provide a space for helpful bacteria to grow that help to keep the water clean. Larger rocks provide cover and shelter for any creatures that come to inhabit your pond. And oxygenating plants make it habitable.
Also, remember that a sloped side, created with pebbles and rocks, will provide a means of exit for any animals that fall into the water.
If you do nothing else for nature in your garden, a pond is going to provide plenty for so many different forms of life that you can rest easy knowing full well you have done something great for nature and wildlife in your area!
Nest boxes
One of the problems with human beings is that we just cannot leave things alone!
If something starts falling down or has some holes in it, we want to take it down or fill it in; we love our spaces to be neat and tidy. However, birds like swallows appreciate very much the little holes in our barns and sheds.
Unfortunately, the ways in which we have been building our infrastructure and managing land has been to the detriment of nesting animals. Spaces have been fragmented or lost entirely.
However, with some builds implementing such materials as living walls and nest bricks into planning and construction, hopefully we are beginning to understand that building with nature in mind is going to have to be the way forward.
If you have space in your garden, putting up a nest box, providing the space for nesting animals, can be a real help. Different species will require that the box be of a different shape and placed in different spots, depending on their particular style of flight, anatomy, and behaviour. If you do a little research into the animal you want to provide a nest box for before you make a purchase and put up your box, you are less likely to be disappointed.
And, don't forget bats - they will appreciate a nest box as much the birds!
The RSPB website provides more information on providing nesting spaces here.
They also provide plans for building a bat box here, or you can purchase one from their online shop.
Meat
As well as seeds and fruits, you can provide some meat in a dish on the ground of your garden for those visitors more inclined to a carnivorous diet.
If you are lucky enough to have foxes and/or badgers visiting your garden, both of these animals will appreciate a bit of cooked chicken. And the smaller, but equally as charming, hedgehogs will love a bit of dog food or a can of tuna fish.
If you especially want to attract hedgehogs, consider placing the food underneath a covering or makeshift "hedgehog hotel", so that cats and other larger animals cannot get at the food and hassle the prickly and snuffling creatures.
And, finally . . .
Clean water will be appreciated by any visitor to your garden.
And please consider that, if you leave food out in the hope of attracting a certain visitor to your garden, you may end up attracting less welcome creatures. Be observant and consider your options if you want to deter cats and rats (options such as the hedgehog hotel mentioned earlier).
Maintaining cleanliness, and clearing away old food, will go some way towards keeping any unwelcome visitors to a minimum. Cleaning feeding stations also minimises the risk of spreading disease and parasites amongst wild animal populations.
Finally, please consider that, though you may be enamoured of the local wildlife that visits your garden, others might not look on wild animals quite so kindly. I understand the desire to have a connection with nature and wildlife, but try to maintain distance between yourselves and wild animals as much as possible. Once an animal's inhibitions around humans are lost, they may not be able to tell the difference between friendly people and those that are not welcoming of the attention. And if an animal that has been taught human space is a source of food becomes seen as a pest by others, because we have invited it in to our spaces, it may end up coming to harm through our intended kindness.
I hope you enjoyed this read. If you found anything entertaining or informative therein, you can support my writing with a coffee on ko-fi.com - the caffeine keeps me pottering around in the garden, before I return to the keyboard to write all about it! Thank you!
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