squirrel eating from bird feeder (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Creating a Wildlife Garden at Home or Work….we all want to do our bit for the environment and also to help out the animals, insects and birds native to our part of the world. One of the best ways to do so is to create a wildlife garden at home or even at work.
A wildlife garden is simply one that attracts wildlife and which allows plants and animals to live as naturally as possible.
How to start planning your wildlife garden:
Plants
The plants in your wildlife garden should ideally be those that are natural to your area, as the local flora will attract the local fauna and in time enable birds, butterflies and bees to pollinate other plants. So, take a look at the flowers that occur naturally within your garden and see if you can work with these.
Birds
Ornithology is a popular hobby and the beauty of birds moves even the least sensitive of people. You may find that some birds need to be encouraged before they start to drop by your wildlife garden, so consider investing in a bird feeder. Use your bird feeder as a way of introducing your children to birds and then move onto the other visitors, animals and vegetables that come to your little sanctuary. In this way, wildlife gardening stops being a chore and instead becomes a fun part of family life.
Other Animals
Building a pond or other water feature is a simple way to invite newts, frogs and toads into your garden. You could also put up a bat box or two if you fancy the idea of bat watching as the sun goes down. Caterpillars love long grass, whilst hedgehogs will be appreciative of log piles in which to shelter during the winter months. Hollow canes are a favourite of ladybirds, who like to bed down in their interiors. These are only a few suggestions – there are simply loads of ways to entice all manner of creatures great and small into your garden!
Maintenance
The secret of maintaining your wildlife garden is to interfere as little as possible. The chores of dead heading and cutting back are not necessary or desirable. Instead, you just let nature take its course and habitats for insects and small creatures result.
Ideally, a wildlife garden should be pesticide-free and have bugs and weeds in abundance, as well as lots of lovely flowers, birds and larger animals.
Taking Wildlife into the Workplace
There is no reason to limit wildlife gardens to your home. Why not extend this concept to your place of work? Imagine how pleasant it would be to watch the birds lunching and the butterflies dancing as you enjoy your own midday meal. Environmental consultancies such as Middlemarch Environmental are more than happy to provide advice to businesses about habitat creation or restoration, see here for more information.
Whatever steps you take to create your wildlife garden, we’re sure you’ll be more than pleased with the end result. Enjoy!