Voice for Wildlife by Carol Williams
|
|
Time to create that Wildlife Garden
Whilst trying to occupy myself indoors during our social distancing, I started to sort through a few piles of paper clutter that has probably been building up for years. I unearthed a few wildlife notes. so this month I'll do a round up of some of the things I found printed in them - always useful and never really out of date. It's a really good time now to get out into your garden and create that space for nature that you have been meaning to get around to for ages, but have just been too busy to get stuck into. Now you have all the time in the world - make the most of it!
First up 'Give a bird a home' - a little booklet published by the Surrey Wildlife Trust, who, many of you will remember, were so helpful to us when we started to restore Shadbolt Park pond.
"Imagine a Spring morning without the dawn chorus or a summer evening without birdsong. Yet many of Britain's best loved garden birds are in serious decline. As natural nesting sites like the hollowed out branches of trees or the perfect nooks and crannies of old buildings, are cut down, demolished or renovated, nest boxes are becoming increasingly important."
There's no real substitute for natural nesting sites - habitat - of course, but nest boxes are good. If you are creative and enjoy DIY you can make a project of building a few - check specialist sites for instructions - the RSPB for instance - or buy a couple - there seem to be plenty on sale. Do remember to clean them out after each nesting season is ended though. The advantage of natural nest sites is that they need no maintenance from us at all. Try to have some thick hedges and a tree or two in your garden if there is space. Ivy is a great plant for nesting birds, it grows quickly and can just cover up a shed wall or any structure that is best hidden from view and is perfect cover for nests when mature. Shrubs like holly, hawthorn and pyracantha will also deter cats - they don't like the thorns.
Next: 'Sow some wild flowers' - another little gem of a booklet from the Surrey Wildlife Trust. They say:
" You might think of your garden as just a dot on the landscape, but look at it from a bird's eye point of view. There are over 15 million gardens in the UK, and if we all do one thing for nature it will have a huge impact. No garden? No worrie! Even a pot or window box can make a difference.
One in five native plants - some of the best for wildlife - are under threat of extinction. Why not have a go at growing some of these yourself? And then try finding them in the wild?
- Maiden Pink - has disappeared from half its sites in the UK. It loves sunny rock gardens.
-Introduce native alliums - wild leeks- to your flower beds. At over six feet high their purple flowers never fail to impress.
-Almost 90% of chamomile sites in Dorset have disappeared. It is a delicious addition to any herb garden and makes a delightful scented lawn.
Be sure to check your native plant seeds really do come from the UK, not abroad. To be safe it is best to buy wild flower seeds from specialist suppliers."
Please also remember that the common wild plants, the successful ones, the ones that, despite our worst, cling on in the cracks, are beneficial wildlife plants. Where they can be left alone, to flower and seed, they should be. Dandelions are edible - both leaf and flower. You never know when you might be glad of some in your salad if you can't get out much to the shops, or realise you ought to just stay in for as long as you can. Try dandelion flowers dipped in a light batter and fried. Yes! They are tasty. But leave some flowers for the bees.
Remember garden herbs - oregano, marjoram, rosemary, chives, mint, fennel. These are hardy herbs, the flowers provide lots of attractive nectar for insects - and seed too, for birds. Plenty for you and the wildlife. When lettuce bolts, it produces masses of seed. Let grasses grow long and flower and set seed. These are easy ways to help wildlife - so little effort, massive reward. One of my US friends tells me kale flowers are a magnet for bees.
Finally, some paragraphs from a magazine called 'Britain's Wildlife' which seems to be a collaboration between several nature organisations and published by The Telegraph.
"The lawn in the focal point of many gardens. It's a place to let off steam, sit and relax, but it also provides a home for many insects that are eaten by birds and other wildlife. Lawns rich in organic matter are likely to have good numbers of earthworms - the staple Winter and Spring diet of song thrushes, and much relished by blackbirds.
They also provide seed for birds - annual meadow grass, plantain, buttercup and dandelion are particular favourites. Any patch of grass is a feeding area for birds. Longer grass helps retain humidity and soil moisture, providing favourable conditions for insect larvae and other soil invertebrates and craneflies. These provide protein for birds and are particularly important for the survival of chicks.
Providing areas of grass of different heights, which are cut at different times of year, optimises food potential. Try to avoid using weedkillers and artificial fertilisers which may harm wildlife."
So - be out in your garden as often as you can, making a haven for wildlife. If you have space, create a pond - one of the most valuable assets to any garden habitat.
Remember habitat piles and bug hotels - all easy to create.
Respecting nature will benefit us all. Stay safe, keep well.
Whilst trying to occupy myself indoors during our social distancing, I started to sort through a few piles of paper clutter that has probably been building up for years. I unearthed a few wildlife notes. so this month I'll do a round up of some of the things I found printed in them - always useful and never really out of date. It's a really good time now to get out into your garden and create that space for nature that you have been meaning to get around to for ages, but have just been too busy to get stuck into. Now you have all the time in the world - make the most of it!
First up 'Give a bird a home' - a little booklet published by the Surrey Wildlife Trust, who, many of you will remember, were so helpful to us when we started to restore Shadbolt Park pond.
"Imagine a Spring morning without the dawn chorus or a summer evening without birdsong. Yet many of Britain's best loved garden birds are in serious decline. As natural nesting sites like the hollowed out branches of trees or the perfect nooks and crannies of old buildings, are cut down, demolished or renovated, nest boxes are becoming increasingly important."
There's no real substitute for natural nesting sites - habitat - of course, but nest boxes are good. If you are creative and enjoy DIY you can make a project of building a few - check specialist sites for instructions - the RSPB for instance - or buy a couple - there seem to be plenty on sale. Do remember to clean them out after each nesting season is ended though. The advantage of natural nest sites is that they need no maintenance from us at all. Try to have some thick hedges and a tree or two in your garden if there is space. Ivy is a great plant for nesting birds, it grows quickly and can just cover up a shed wall or any structure that is best hidden from view and is perfect cover for nests when mature. Shrubs like holly, hawthorn and pyracantha will also deter cats - they don't like the thorns.
Next: 'Sow some wild flowers' - another little gem of a booklet from the Surrey Wildlife Trust. They say:
" You might think of your garden as just a dot on the landscape, but look at it from a bird's eye point of view. There are over 15 million gardens in the UK, and if we all do one thing for nature it will have a huge impact. No garden? No worrie! Even a pot or window box can make a difference.
One in five native plants - some of the best for wildlife - are under threat of extinction. Why not have a go at growing some of these yourself? And then try finding them in the wild?
- Maiden Pink - has disappeared from half its sites in the UK. It loves sunny rock gardens.
-Introduce native alliums - wild leeks- to your flower beds. At over six feet high their purple flowers never fail to impress.
-Almost 90% of chamomile sites in Dorset have disappeared. It is a delicious addition to any herb garden and makes a delightful scented lawn.
Be sure to check your native plant seeds really do come from the UK, not abroad. To be safe it is best to buy wild flower seeds from specialist suppliers."
Please also remember that the common wild plants, the successful ones, the ones that, despite our worst, cling on in the cracks, are beneficial wildlife plants. Where they can be left alone, to flower and seed, they should be. Dandelions are edible - both leaf and flower. You never know when you might be glad of some in your salad if you can't get out much to the shops, or realise you ought to just stay in for as long as you can. Try dandelion flowers dipped in a light batter and fried. Yes! They are tasty. But leave some flowers for the bees.
Remember garden herbs - oregano, marjoram, rosemary, chives, mint, fennel. These are hardy herbs, the flowers provide lots of attractive nectar for insects - and seed too, for birds. Plenty for you and the wildlife. When lettuce bolts, it produces masses of seed. Let grasses grow long and flower and set seed. These are easy ways to help wildlife - so little effort, massive reward. One of my US friends tells me kale flowers are a magnet for bees.
Finally, some paragraphs from a magazine called 'Britain's Wildlife' which seems to be a collaboration between several nature organisations and published by The Telegraph.
"The lawn in the focal point of many gardens. It's a place to let off steam, sit and relax, but it also provides a home for many insects that are eaten by birds and other wildlife. Lawns rich in organic matter are likely to have good numbers of earthworms - the staple Winter and Spring diet of song thrushes, and much relished by blackbirds.
They also provide seed for birds - annual meadow grass, plantain, buttercup and dandelion are particular favourites. Any patch of grass is a feeding area for birds. Longer grass helps retain humidity and soil moisture, providing favourable conditions for insect larvae and other soil invertebrates and craneflies. These provide protein for birds and are particularly important for the survival of chicks.
Providing areas of grass of different heights, which are cut at different times of year, optimises food potential. Try to avoid using weedkillers and artificial fertilisers which may harm wildlife."
So - be out in your garden as often as you can, making a haven for wildlife. If you have space, create a pond - one of the most valuable assets to any garden habitat.
Remember habitat piles and bug hotels - all easy to create.
Respecting nature will benefit us all. Stay safe, keep well.