With the stresses of today’s world and currently being in lockdown, having a haven at home can help focus your mind and distract from what is happening, even if it is for just a moment. Mix this with the health benefits of getting ‘back to nature’ and you have a perfect recipe for creating a wildlife friendly garden.
The perfect wildlife garden isn’t about overgrown borders, rampant weeds and mess, it is a haven for both you and the animals that visit it. Size doesn’t matter for wildlife, any garden can provide a ‘service station’ stop.
Ideally, your wildlife garden should provide food, water and shelter from both the elements and predators. Food can be provided in the form of feeders for birds, food plants for caterpillars, bee and butterfly friendly flowers. Water can be a bird bath, a small wildlife pond made from a container or a full scale pond.
If you have a lawn, you could leave a patch unmown and see what butterflies, moths or other insects this may attract. Plant some wild
flowers into your lawn and provide food for caterpillars of butterflies like the orange tip or meadow brown. If you have a courtyard, try planting climbers which can provide food and shelter for many insects as well as birds, or pot up some bee and butterfly friendly plants in containers. Even a window box can provide a food stop for hungry pollinators or you may have seen photos of birds that have chosen to nest in one!
Don’t forget this is your haven too, so make sure you have allowed yourself some seating so you can observe the life that is happening in your oasis for nature.
