Helping Wildlife in your Garden
Top Tips

Helping Wildlife in your Garden

Spring has arrived and plants that have been dormant all winter are once more bouncing back into life. However, it’s not just plants that reemerge in Spring. There are lots of hungry creatures – birds, mammals, amphibians and invertebrates, that will be busy preparing themselves and their habitats for the coming months. We thought it would be a good idea to suggest some things you can do to help wildlife in your garden this Spring.

  1. Be sure to plant pollen and nectar rich plants to attract insects and pollinators over the Summer.
  2. If you don’t have one – create a pond. Even a small one, or an above ground pond, will attract more wildlife into your garden.
  3. Create a log or brick pile – ideal for giving shelter to frogs and toads.
  4. Dig a small hole beneath your fence or knock a few bricks out of a wall if you can, so wildlife such as hedgehogs can enter and exit your garden easily.
  5. Don’t be in a rush to trim hedges – there are lots of nesting birds looking for shelter at this time of year for their young.
  6. Keep your lawn as long as possible – this helps a wide variety of wildlife.
  7. If you want a bigger, long-term, project – start a hedgerow in place of a fence. Hawthorn, Blackthorn or Hazel are all good choices. The hedge will provide birds with nesting sites and the berries and nuts are a great source of food for wildlife at this time of year.
  8. Plant a fruit tree. The blossom attracts pollinators and the fruit will attract birds and insects.
  9. Leave one area of your garden to go wild if you can – great for caterpillars, which in turn become butterflies and moths.
  10. Install a bird feeder or bird box – in Spring fat balls provide a great source of nourishment for birds and will help them thrive.

We hope this gives you some ideas. Whatever size of garden you have, there is always something you can do to help wildlife. At Wykeham we have a wide range of wildlife friendly products in our shop and are always happy to give advice. So just pop along and say hello – we will be glad to help.