Even the smallest garden can be designed and planted with wildlife in mind. Here are a few handy tips to help attract wildlife to even the smallest garden or outdoor space.
Design: Good design will balance the practical areas of hard landscaping ie paving, with areas of soft landscaping such as tress, shrubs and other planting. Think green ....the green areas are the heart and soul of the garden space.
Lawns: Let them grow. We don't all need to live with a bowling green flat, stripped and manicured lawn. They have their place but if attracting wildlife is the aim then allowing the grass to grow a bit longer between cuts or even better leaving areas of grass around the margins to grow free of mowing is really beneficial for encouraging wildlife.
Plants: Use a varied palette of plants carefully chosen with wildlife benefits. For structure select trees and shrubs which provide spring blossom and autumn fruits. Flowering plants that are especially attractive to pollinators which provide pollen in spring and summer and seeds in autumn. Garden centres increasingly list plants that are attractive to pollinators.
Water: If you don't have space for a pond or extensive water feature a small bird bath or saucer topped up regularly with water will be beneficial.
Bird feeders, nesting boxes, bug houses and Hedgehog highways are additional features we can place in outdoor spaces to encourage wildlife.
Comments