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- Attract Wildlife To Your Garden
Attract Wildlife To Your Garden
- Attracting Butterflies, Bees & Birds
- Hedgehogs, Bats, Frogs & Toads
- Make Your Garden A Wildlife Haven
- No Garden? No Problem
Why Create A Wildlife Garden?
The numbers of many British species, such as hedgehogs, bees and bats, are now declining at an alarming rate and vital conservation action is required, so offering a haven to local wildlife has never been more important.
One benefit of attracting wildlife to your garden and plants is that they will help keep many unwanted pests at bay - some birds pick off aphids, hedgehogs and frogs will love slugs, and ladybirds can eat other sap-sucking garden pests. And you will also have the chance to enjoy watching some of our native wildlife, such as birds and butterflies, up close and at your own leisure.
How To Attract Butterflies
The ideal butterfly-friendly garden should be designed not only to feed and attract adult butterflies on nectar-rich plants and flowers, but also to offer them a inviting place to hibernate and lay eggs and for the larva, or caterpillars, to feed. Butterflies are near-sighted and are more attracted to large stands of a particular colour. Adult butterflies searching for nectar are particularly attracted to red, orange, yellow, purple and pink blossoms, flat-topped flowers and short flower tubes.
Nectar bearing plants, which are essentially a magnet for adult butterflies, include lilac, marigold, ornamental thistles, sunflower, sweet pea, verbena and zinnia. An area of plants which flower at the same time will be more appealing to butterflies than a lone plant with few flowers and try to set flowers in sunny places, alongside some rocks or stone walls where they can settle. Offer a few protected patches in the garden, specifically using shrubbery, tall grasses or brush piles, to protect them from the elements, and to give caterpillars a nice safe place to pupate. Shallow bird baths or even a small dish of water in your garden will also be inviting to butterflies.
How To Attract Bees
Bee numbers have been falling drastically recently.
In fact it is estimated the bee population in the UK has fallen by 10 to 15% over the last few years, so we can help slow the decline by giving them a haven of flowers and herbs. We also need bees in our gardens for pollination, making trees, plants and flowers bloom.
Bees love plants with striking colours and fragrances, elaborately shaped petals and ample nectar. Look to plant lavender and buddleia, together with campanula, foxglove, thyme, mint, wild pansy, marjoram, sweet pea, sage, rosemary and chrysanthemums. Bees also like different flowers close together, so that they do not have to fly very far, therefore try planting large flower beds or borders around the edge of your garden. Bees will also be attracted to onions and chive plants, together with native fruit trees like apples and pears.
How To Attract Birds
It's relatively easy to attract birds to any garden or outside space by using feeders and tables to supply a ready food source, but remember to position bird tables away from places where cats can get to easily.
Or why not put them near prickly bushes to put off unwanted predators? It is best to keep bird tables clean and regularly replace the food. Did you know sunflower seeds provide great food for birds once the flowers have died?
A good assorted range of plants in your garden, including fruit trees, colourful cottage garden plants, annuals and wildflowers, will encourage birds to visit you. And deciduous bushes, dense evergreen trees, clematis and honeysuckle can all offer shelter for nesting blackbirds and robins. Birds also need to bathe often to keep their feathers in trim, so even a small bird bath can be hugely inviting. And lastly remember to give birds a chance by putting several bells on your cat's collar, which should give birds some warning a feline is approaching!
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