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Seeds for Change Wellness
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Making a Wildlife Garden
Making A Wildlife Garden
Source
With a little help anyone can attract a wide variety of wild plants and animals into their garden or patch
of land. By making a few simple changes, in no time at all you will be sitting back and enjoying your own
"local nature reserve". The wildlife that visits your garden will give you plenty of entertainment and you
will have more time to enjoy it too, because with a rich-habitat wildlife garden there is less need for
weeding, clipping, mowing and spraying. You will be working with nature. When that happens life is
easier for people, animals and plants.
As a wildlife gardener you will be making an important contribution to nature conservation. Wildlife is
coming under increasing threat in this country, not alone in urban environments but in the countryside
as well. The contribution of modern farming, new non-native forestry plantations and destruction of old,
Dutch elm disease, building work and new roads will increasingly put pressure on our native plants,
animals and habitats. Wild flowers such as primroses and cowslips are becoming rare in some areas -
mainly because this habitat is being destroyed.
Wildflower meadows are being built on, ploughed, sprayed with herbicides, or simply fed with fertiliser to
encourage more grass to grow. Losing all these wild flowers is bad enough, but of course as the
meadows disappear then we are also destroying the habitats for many of our butterflies and moths, our
skylarks and all the beautiful creatures which live there. It’s time we all started to do something. Starting
your own wildlife garden can be your contribution.
As a wildlife gardener you need to take an interest in all the wild green spaces in your neighbourhood.
Most of the large animals need more territory than the average garden will supply. For example,
hedgehogs will roam over a number of green patches, and although your wildlife garden may be
thronged with wild birds from time to time, probably only a few pairs are nesting there. It is important to
think of your garden as a "service station" for passing wildlife. If someone sprays the nettle-patch in the
churchyard, or chops down the old trees in the park, you will lose some of your wildlife visitors. Your
success will be strictly limited if your garden has to operate as a self contained island in a sea of tarmac
and concrete.
GROW SOME NATIVE PLANTS
The food chain begins with plants. Many of the grubs, caterpillars and other plant eaters are extremely
specialised. They may well be able to eat the leaves of only one particular plant type, and when this is
the case the plant will always be native. For example the caterpillars of the Small Tortoiseshell butterfly
eat nothing except the young leaves of nettles. All native plants - trees, shrubs and wildflowers will have
their own dependent leaf eating creepy-crawlies, so if you grow a range of plants you will attract a wider
variety of insects which means a wider variety of birds and animals to feed on them.
ALLOW ROOM FOR DECAY
Dead material is important as food for wildlife. In fact, far more types of wild creatures feed on dead and
rotting material than on living plants. Try not to clear away all the garden rubbish. If the lawn is covered
with fallen leaves, rake them up and throw them under a hedge. Hedgehogs will curl up and hibernate in
piles of old leaves.
CUT DOWN ON CHEMICALS
At the bottom end of the food chain, plant and animal life is very vulnerable. When the first greenfly
appear in spring it is always tempting to spray them with a chemical poison. Please don’t. (If you have
just a little patience, you will see that a well balanced, rich habitat garden has ways of dealing with
greenfly, slugs, caterpillars and all other creatures which the modern gardeners call pests).
As soon as the greenfly appear you will begin to notice little wriggly grey ‘maggots’ hunting them. They
are Ladybird larvae and can wipe out hundreds and hundreds of greenfly every day. If you spray the
greenfly then you will almost certainly kill their natural predators. Then your plants really will be in
trouble because the "pests" always recover more quickly than the predators.
The other effect of chemicals is even more serious. All the animals you love best depend on plants or
plant eating animals for food. For example hedgehogs will eat dozens of slugs; baby blue-tits will keep
their parents busy collecting hundreds of caterpillars. If you spray the greenfly or put down slug pellets
you will inevitably finish up poisoning the baby blue-tits and hedgehogs as well.
A garden free from chemicals rarely suffers from any sort of epidemic as nature has a way of balancing
things out if left to its own devices. Try to work with nature and understand it, not to master it. It is
somewhat like a pet dog, no matter how much you train it, it will always have its own personality and
independence.
PROVIDE LOTS OF BREEDING SITES
Wild creatures need somewhere safe to breed. Native plants and decaying leaf litter will keep many
small creatures happy. However bringing some big lumps of timber into the garden and building a log
pile will help further. In no time this mini-habitat will be alive with all kinds of wood boring beetles, wood
wasps and grubs. In autumn numerous toadstools will appear.
If the pile is big enough it may nest spiders or even a pair of wrens or robins. The insects will attract
birds and animals, and hedgerows are an important breeding habitat for many of these. Planting a
mixture of Hawthorn, Field maple, Wildrose and Wild privet will provide this hedgerow environment.
Nesting boxes provide a good substitute for holes in dead trees where many birds would normally make
their home in a woodland environment.
THE WILDFLOWER MEADOW
Informal Lawn: If the grass is left unmown for just a few weeks towards the end of spring you will be
surprised at just how many wildflowers will stick their flowerheads up for the first time. There will of
course be daisies and dandelions mingling with the blue of speedwell, the yellow catsear and the funny
looking flowers of the plantains. After the display has faded you must cut the grass, if you don’t the
grasses will overshadow the leaves of the rosette plants and the daisies will die out.
Spring Meadow: You could on the other hand leave the grass uncut from early spring right through
summer to July and let all the wonderful spring flowers and grasses do their thing. Some of the wild
flowers you can expect to find in spring meadow are Cowslips, (still to be found in old pastures), Lady’s
smock or Cuckoo flower (a food plant for butterflies), Meadow buttercup, Yellow rattle (a semi parasitic
plant which feeds off grasses), Oxeye daisy, lots of vetches and trefoils and all the grasses.
Summer Meadow: A summer meadow requires yet another mowing regime. Mow the grass regularly
through the spring (not too short) and then leave it uncut from midsummer to autumn. The taller
wildflowers such as Field scabious and Greater knapweed will encourage lots of butterflies to drop in
and perhaps breed. Cut the hay in the autumn and don’t forget to remove it.
MAKING A WILDFLOWER MEADOW
Improving an Existing Meadow: There are a few ways of making a wildflower meadow. If the grass is very
weedy and starved you can leave it uncut for a few months in summer. You could be surprised at just
how many wildflowers have been going unnoticed all these years.
More likely however, you will probably only have Dandelions, Yarrow, Buttercups and Clover, a very
pleasing combination, but one that could be greatly improved by introducing some of the more choice
plants. This can be done in two ways:
(1) Wildflower seed which you can buy in most garden centres these days can be sown onto an
established lawn. It is pointless just scattering the seed over the surface. You must scarify the surface.
This involves ripping bare patches in the lawn with a rake, exposing the soil and removing a lot of the
old matted grass. It is important that the seed is in good contact with the soil so the area should be
rolled after the seed is sown. This method will only work if the soil fertility is very low. If it isn’t the
grasses will grow too quickly and swamp the young seedlings. Even with perfect conditions germination
will be poor, so it is advisable to sow a lot more seeding than is necessary.
(2) Alternatively you can sow the seeds in trays of seed compost. When they have germinated transfer
them into individual pots for planting out in spring or autumn. Planting can be made much easier by
using a "bulb planter", and while you are at it you could plant some bulbs. Some such as wild Daffodils,
Snowdrops, Crocus, Winter aconite Snakeshead fritillary and Bluebells look very attractive in a spring
meadow.
Starting from scratch: The best way of making a wildflower meadow is to start from scratch with bare
soil. This can be a bit daunting but shouldn’t be, as it is just like sowing a new lawn with a few
differences. The most important difference is low fertility, so use no fertiliser when preparing the soil
and even remove some topsoil if necessary.
Prepare the site by removing all unwanted perennial weeds like Docks, Thistles, Couch grass etc. While
it is best not to use chemicals it may be the only option in the preparatory stages. Choose one such as
"Weedall" which is non-residual and does least damage to wildlife. Remove any stones and rake until
you have a fine filth. Leave it for three or four weeks. This will allow the soil to settle and the fresh crop
of weed-seeds you have exposed will have germinated. These weeds can then be sprayed with
weedkiller.
Choice of Seed: Early autumn is the best time to sow your meadow with midspring the alternative. The
seed mixture you choose will depend on your soil type and whether it is going to be a spring or summer
meadow. The grasses are not very choosy and should grow in most soils and either type of meadow. As
long as you don’t choose Ryegrass you can’t go wrong. Ryegrass is a tough vigorous grass used for
hardwearing lawns and football pitches and must be avoided at all costs.
A non-Ryegrass mix from the garden centre will make a very nice meadow. You can spice up your mix
by collecting some grass seed from the nearest piece of wasteground. Wildflowers are more choosy
and you will have to choose the right ones for the right situations. For a spring meadow choose
Cowslip, Speedwell, Catsear, Selfheal, Hoary plantain, Yellow rattle, Salad burnet and lots of Ox-eye
daisy. For a summer meadow again choose lots of Ox-eye daisy, Meadow buttercup, Lady’s bedstraw,
Wild carrot, Common knapweed, Field scabious and Meadow cranesbill. When the seed has been sown
run over it with a rake and then I lightly firm with a roller.
Stretch some black cottonwith pieces of foil on it over the whole area to keep the sparrows off. If the
conditions are right the grass will be up in about a week, and by the end of September the grass will
need its first cut. The best way is to use a shears. If you use a mower make sure it is very sharp,
otherwise it will pull the young seedlings out. Never cut lower than 2" and afterwards use the roller to
firm in any loose seedlings. A lot of the wildflower seeds will not germinate until the spring, and for the
first season there will not be many flowers, so there is no reason for not mowing through the summer.
Set the blades as high as they will go and remove the clippings.
This will encourage the grass and wildflowers to spread out and will produce a good root system. Come
the second season your meadow should be ablaze with colour and it won’t be long before the wildlife
begins to move in.
Cutting the Tall Meadow: When the time comes to cut your meadow you will be faced with two foot tall
grass and there is no way your fly-mow or push mower will be able to cope. The traditional way of
cutting hay is with a scythe but this is back breaking, so too is a shears. The best way of cutting a small
area is to use a strimmer, for larger areas you may need to get in a motor-scythe. This and the
strimmer could be hired out for the few days they are needed. Leave the hay to dry for a few days.
This allows the seeds to fall out and the insects that were living amongst the stems to find new homes.
You must not let the hay rot back into the soil or you will only have a tangled mess of nettles and hog
weed. Remove it and you can look forward to a meadow of tall swaying grasses and brightly coloured
flowers alive with butterflies.
A BIRD TABLE
You can help birds and attract them to your garden by providing food for them during the cold winter
months. It is important, however, to continue feeding them once you start, as they come to rely on such
readily available supplies.
A bird table is very simple to construct. A piece of timber about the size of a tea-tray will do. It should
have a rim all round to prevent food being blown away. Small gaps at the corners will make cleaning
easier. Nail this to a post and site it away from shrubberies which only provide cover for cats etc. A twig
stapled to the side of the table will provide a perch for birds before feeding.
Water should be provided as birds must bathe to keep their feathers in good shape. A hole can be cut
out so that a shallow bowl can be fitted.
Hooks are also useful as food such as nuts can be hung from them. Low vegetation or grass beneath
the table will encourage ground feeding birds such as the Dunnock, Wren, and Blackbird.
Any of the following foods can be provided: cheese, cooked potato, cake, wild-bird seed, peanuts (not
salted), suet, nuts, fresh coconut, fresh fruit, raisins, fat, moist bread, oatmeal, meaty bones or tinned
dog food. Salted foods, dried coconuts or dehydrated foods should not be provided.
THE HEDGEROW
Tree and Shrublife: A woodland type environment is a very good means of introducing diversity into
your garden. A tree will provide food, shade, shelter, support, a home and a host of different
environments for plants and animals . For this reason trees and shrubs are very desirable in an energy
rich garden.
March is a very good month for planting. In a small garden a hedge provides perhaps the best means
of introducing native plants. Hawthorn, *Field maple, Yew, Native private, Holly, Dog rose and *Beech all
make marvellous hedgerow plants. Each of them supports its own particular range of dependent insects
(143 in the case of the Hawthorn for example), and of course the dense twiggy growth provides good
cover for nesting birds and shy creatures such as the hedgehog. Plant two year old nursery-grown
seedlings in blocks, with about 200mm (8 inches) between the plants. If your garden is big enough, do
plant a tree or two. Oak is the best for wildlife and supports up to 284 species of insect, but it grows
quite large. Alder and Silver birch are also good for wildlife, and there are native Wild cherries, Rowan,
Crab apple and Field maple too - all suitable for gardens. *Non Native
Climbers such as Honeysuckle and Ivy will use trees as support but these also can be grown in the
tiniest garden or terrace. They both grow quickly, do well in sun or shade, and they provide nectar,
edible fruits and valuable cover for wildlife.
By mid-October most plants have finished but the Common ivy is just beginning. Its flowers are
particularly important as a rich source of autumn nectar. The sweet sticky droplets glisten in the
October sun, and on bright days a mature Ivy plant will be alive with the buzz of horseflies and
decorated with the brilliant colour of lingering Tortoise shells and other overwintering butterflies. One
species of butterfly, the Hollyblue, depends on the flowers and young shoots of ivy to feed its autumn
brood of caterpillars.
Bramble is another plant providing prickly shelter. It is a marvellous plant for wildlife all year round,
providing a blossom rich in pollen, and leaves which feed a whole host of native insects. The
blackberries though, are the bramble’s crowning glory. Like many other wild fruits they are at their best
in September bringing a real splash of autumn colour to the hedgerow.
They are a favourite food for Blackbirds and Thrushes. The Elderberry bears fruit in September too,
and its popularity, particularly with Starlings is obvious when you see the purple staining on the
pavement beneath their roosts.
December is a good month for pruning trees and shrubs. One way of maintaining a plentiful supply of
the leaves of native shrubs and trees in a small garden is to to grow several of them as coppiced
shrubs. You may well not have room for full grown specimens of large trees.
Lack of space may prevent you from enjoying their flowers and fruit but most of their dependent insects
and other resident creatures simply need a supply of tender leaves. If you cut any of these trees or
shrubs down to the ground in December, then they will shoot up again the following spring and provide
a crop of vigorous shoots and ample food for an enormous range of caterpillars and other leaf eaters.
GROWING TREES FROM SEED
Growing native trees from seed is both easy and fascinating making a satisfying and personal
contribution to conservation. Seeds may be sown directly where the trees are to grow or in weedfree,
well prepared soil in a corner of the garden or in old grow bags, seed trays or yoghurt pots with holes in
the bottom. Seeds should be sown in a peat/sand compost using a separate tray for each species,
which are then stood in water until moist. Cover with clear polythene and stand trays away from direct
sunlight. In the garden, seeds can be sown about 10cm apart and covered with their own depth of soil.
All seedlings should be transplanted after one seasons growth to provide them with more space in
which to grow, to prevent deep tap roots forming and to encourage a fibrous root growth. Transplants
are ready for planting in their final position when about 2 feet high. Late autumn, when the soil is still
warm, is the best time for planting.
Never let the roots dry out while planting. Keep the young trees well watered and clear of competing
weeds for the first two years and protect from rodents and grazing animals.
The following native species should be treated as described:
ALDER (Alnus glutinosa): Cut small cone bearing twigs from the tree in autumn. Dry cones on trays and
separate seed by shaking. Store in sealed containers and sow the next spring.
ASH (Fraxinus excelsior): Collect keys when fully ripe in October. *Stratify for 18 months and sow in the
second spring
Source
With a little help anyone can attract a wide variety of wild plants and animals into their garden or patch
of land. By making a few simple changes, in no time at all you will be sitting back and enjoying your own
"local nature reserve". The wildlife that visits your garden will give you plenty of entertainment and you
will have more time to enjoy it too, because with a rich-habitat wildlife garden there is less need for
weeding, clipping, mowing and spraying. You will be working with nature. When that happens life is
easier for people, animals and plants.
As a wildlife gardener you will be making an important contribution to nature conservation. Wildlife is
coming under increasing threat in this country, not alone in urban environments but in the countryside
as well. The contribution of modern farming, new non-native forestry plantations and destruction of old,
Dutch elm disease, building work and new roads will increasingly put pressure on our native plants,
animals and habitats. Wild flowers such as primroses and cowslips are becoming rare in some areas -
mainly because this habitat is being destroyed.
Wildflower meadows are being built on, ploughed, sprayed with herbicides, or simply fed with fertiliser to
encourage more grass to grow. Losing all these wild flowers is bad enough, but of course as the
meadows disappear then we are also destroying the habitats for many of our butterflies and moths, our
skylarks and all the beautiful creatures which live there. It’s time we all started to do something. Starting
your own wildlife garden can be your contribution.
As a wildlife gardener you need to take an interest in all the wild green spaces in your neighbourhood.
Most of the large animals need more territory than the average garden will supply. For example,
hedgehogs will roam over a number of green patches, and although your wildlife garden may be
thronged with wild birds from time to time, probably only a few pairs are nesting there. It is important to
think of your garden as a "service station" for passing wildlife. If someone sprays the nettle-patch in the
churchyard, or chops down the old trees in the park, you will lose some of your wildlife visitors. Your
success will be strictly limited if your garden has to operate as a self contained island in a sea of tarmac
and concrete.
GROW SOME NATIVE PLANTS
The food chain begins with plants. Many of the grubs, caterpillars and other plant eaters are extremely
specialised. They may well be able to eat the leaves of only one particular plant type, and when this is
the case the plant will always be native. For example the caterpillars of the Small Tortoiseshell butterfly
eat nothing except the young leaves of nettles. All native plants - trees, shrubs and wildflowers will have
their own dependent leaf eating creepy-crawlies, so if you grow a range of plants you will attract a wider
variety of insects which means a wider variety of birds and animals to feed on them.
ALLOW ROOM FOR DECAY
Dead material is important as food for wildlife. In fact, far more types of wild creatures feed on dead and
rotting material than on living plants. Try not to clear away all the garden rubbish. If the lawn is covered
with fallen leaves, rake them up and throw them under a hedge. Hedgehogs will curl up and hibernate in
piles of old leaves.
CUT DOWN ON CHEMICALS
At the bottom end of the food chain, plant and animal life is very vulnerable. When the first greenfly
appear in spring it is always tempting to spray them with a chemical poison. Please don’t. (If you have
just a little patience, you will see that a well balanced, rich habitat garden has ways of dealing with
greenfly, slugs, caterpillars and all other creatures which the modern gardeners call pests).
As soon as the greenfly appear you will begin to notice little wriggly grey ‘maggots’ hunting them. They
are Ladybird larvae and can wipe out hundreds and hundreds of greenfly every day. If you spray the
greenfly then you will almost certainly kill their natural predators. Then your plants really will be in
trouble because the "pests" always recover more quickly than the predators.
The other effect of chemicals is even more serious. All the animals you love best depend on plants or
plant eating animals for food. For example hedgehogs will eat dozens of slugs; baby blue-tits will keep
their parents busy collecting hundreds of caterpillars. If you spray the greenfly or put down slug pellets
you will inevitably finish up poisoning the baby blue-tits and hedgehogs as well.
A garden free from chemicals rarely suffers from any sort of epidemic as nature has a way of balancing
things out if left to its own devices. Try to work with nature and understand it, not to master it. It is
somewhat like a pet dog, no matter how much you train it, it will always have its own personality and
independence.
PROVIDE LOTS OF BREEDING SITES
Wild creatures need somewhere safe to breed. Native plants and decaying leaf litter will keep many
small creatures happy. However bringing some big lumps of timber into the garden and building a log
pile will help further. In no time this mini-habitat will be alive with all kinds of wood boring beetles, wood
wasps and grubs. In autumn numerous toadstools will appear.
If the pile is big enough it may nest spiders or even a pair of wrens or robins. The insects will attract
birds and animals, and hedgerows are an important breeding habitat for many of these. Planting a
mixture of Hawthorn, Field maple, Wildrose and Wild privet will provide this hedgerow environment.
Nesting boxes provide a good substitute for holes in dead trees where many birds would normally make
their home in a woodland environment.
THE WILDFLOWER MEADOW
Informal Lawn: If the grass is left unmown for just a few weeks towards the end of spring you will be
surprised at just how many wildflowers will stick their flowerheads up for the first time. There will of
course be daisies and dandelions mingling with the blue of speedwell, the yellow catsear and the funny
looking flowers of the plantains. After the display has faded you must cut the grass, if you don’t the
grasses will overshadow the leaves of the rosette plants and the daisies will die out.
Spring Meadow: You could on the other hand leave the grass uncut from early spring right through
summer to July and let all the wonderful spring flowers and grasses do their thing. Some of the wild
flowers you can expect to find in spring meadow are Cowslips, (still to be found in old pastures), Lady’s
smock or Cuckoo flower (a food plant for butterflies), Meadow buttercup, Yellow rattle (a semi parasitic
plant which feeds off grasses), Oxeye daisy, lots of vetches and trefoils and all the grasses.
Summer Meadow: A summer meadow requires yet another mowing regime. Mow the grass regularly
through the spring (not too short) and then leave it uncut from midsummer to autumn. The taller
wildflowers such as Field scabious and Greater knapweed will encourage lots of butterflies to drop in
and perhaps breed. Cut the hay in the autumn and don’t forget to remove it.
MAKING A WILDFLOWER MEADOW
Improving an Existing Meadow: There are a few ways of making a wildflower meadow. If the grass is very
weedy and starved you can leave it uncut for a few months in summer. You could be surprised at just
how many wildflowers have been going unnoticed all these years.
More likely however, you will probably only have Dandelions, Yarrow, Buttercups and Clover, a very
pleasing combination, but one that could be greatly improved by introducing some of the more choice
plants. This can be done in two ways:
(1) Wildflower seed which you can buy in most garden centres these days can be sown onto an
established lawn. It is pointless just scattering the seed over the surface. You must scarify the surface.
This involves ripping bare patches in the lawn with a rake, exposing the soil and removing a lot of the
old matted grass. It is important that the seed is in good contact with the soil so the area should be
rolled after the seed is sown. This method will only work if the soil fertility is very low. If it isn’t the
grasses will grow too quickly and swamp the young seedlings. Even with perfect conditions germination
will be poor, so it is advisable to sow a lot more seeding than is necessary.
(2) Alternatively you can sow the seeds in trays of seed compost. When they have germinated transfer
them into individual pots for planting out in spring or autumn. Planting can be made much easier by
using a "bulb planter", and while you are at it you could plant some bulbs. Some such as wild Daffodils,
Snowdrops, Crocus, Winter aconite Snakeshead fritillary and Bluebells look very attractive in a spring
meadow.
Starting from scratch: The best way of making a wildflower meadow is to start from scratch with bare
soil. This can be a bit daunting but shouldn’t be, as it is just like sowing a new lawn with a few
differences. The most important difference is low fertility, so use no fertiliser when preparing the soil
and even remove some topsoil if necessary.
Prepare the site by removing all unwanted perennial weeds like Docks, Thistles, Couch grass etc. While
it is best not to use chemicals it may be the only option in the preparatory stages. Choose one such as
"Weedall" which is non-residual and does least damage to wildlife. Remove any stones and rake until
you have a fine filth. Leave it for three or four weeks. This will allow the soil to settle and the fresh crop
of weed-seeds you have exposed will have germinated. These weeds can then be sprayed with
weedkiller.
Choice of Seed: Early autumn is the best time to sow your meadow with midspring the alternative. The
seed mixture you choose will depend on your soil type and whether it is going to be a spring or summer
meadow. The grasses are not very choosy and should grow in most soils and either type of meadow. As
long as you don’t choose Ryegrass you can’t go wrong. Ryegrass is a tough vigorous grass used for
hardwearing lawns and football pitches and must be avoided at all costs.
A non-Ryegrass mix from the garden centre will make a very nice meadow. You can spice up your mix
by collecting some grass seed from the nearest piece of wasteground. Wildflowers are more choosy
and you will have to choose the right ones for the right situations. For a spring meadow choose
Cowslip, Speedwell, Catsear, Selfheal, Hoary plantain, Yellow rattle, Salad burnet and lots of Ox-eye
daisy. For a summer meadow again choose lots of Ox-eye daisy, Meadow buttercup, Lady’s bedstraw,
Wild carrot, Common knapweed, Field scabious and Meadow cranesbill. When the seed has been sown
run over it with a rake and then I lightly firm with a roller.
Stretch some black cottonwith pieces of foil on it over the whole area to keep the sparrows off. If the
conditions are right the grass will be up in about a week, and by the end of September the grass will
need its first cut. The best way is to use a shears. If you use a mower make sure it is very sharp,
otherwise it will pull the young seedlings out. Never cut lower than 2" and afterwards use the roller to
firm in any loose seedlings. A lot of the wildflower seeds will not germinate until the spring, and for the
first season there will not be many flowers, so there is no reason for not mowing through the summer.
Set the blades as high as they will go and remove the clippings.
This will encourage the grass and wildflowers to spread out and will produce a good root system. Come
the second season your meadow should be ablaze with colour and it won’t be long before the wildlife
begins to move in.
Cutting the Tall Meadow: When the time comes to cut your meadow you will be faced with two foot tall
grass and there is no way your fly-mow or push mower will be able to cope. The traditional way of
cutting hay is with a scythe but this is back breaking, so too is a shears. The best way of cutting a small
area is to use a strimmer, for larger areas you may need to get in a motor-scythe. This and the
strimmer could be hired out for the few days they are needed. Leave the hay to dry for a few days.
This allows the seeds to fall out and the insects that were living amongst the stems to find new homes.
You must not let the hay rot back into the soil or you will only have a tangled mess of nettles and hog
weed. Remove it and you can look forward to a meadow of tall swaying grasses and brightly coloured
flowers alive with butterflies.
A BIRD TABLE
You can help birds and attract them to your garden by providing food for them during the cold winter
months. It is important, however, to continue feeding them once you start, as they come to rely on such
readily available supplies.
A bird table is very simple to construct. A piece of timber about the size of a tea-tray will do. It should
have a rim all round to prevent food being blown away. Small gaps at the corners will make cleaning
easier. Nail this to a post and site it away from shrubberies which only provide cover for cats etc. A twig
stapled to the side of the table will provide a perch for birds before feeding.
Water should be provided as birds must bathe to keep their feathers in good shape. A hole can be cut
out so that a shallow bowl can be fitted.
Hooks are also useful as food such as nuts can be hung from them. Low vegetation or grass beneath
the table will encourage ground feeding birds such as the Dunnock, Wren, and Blackbird.
Any of the following foods can be provided: cheese, cooked potato, cake, wild-bird seed, peanuts (not
salted), suet, nuts, fresh coconut, fresh fruit, raisins, fat, moist bread, oatmeal, meaty bones or tinned
dog food. Salted foods, dried coconuts or dehydrated foods should not be provided.
THE HEDGEROW
Tree and Shrublife: A woodland type environment is a very good means of introducing diversity into
your garden. A tree will provide food, shade, shelter, support, a home and a host of different
environments for plants and animals . For this reason trees and shrubs are very desirable in an energy
rich garden.
March is a very good month for planting. In a small garden a hedge provides perhaps the best means
of introducing native plants. Hawthorn, *Field maple, Yew, Native private, Holly, Dog rose and *Beech all
make marvellous hedgerow plants. Each of them supports its own particular range of dependent insects
(143 in the case of the Hawthorn for example), and of course the dense twiggy growth provides good
cover for nesting birds and shy creatures such as the hedgehog. Plant two year old nursery-grown
seedlings in blocks, with about 200mm (8 inches) between the plants. If your garden is big enough, do
plant a tree or two. Oak is the best for wildlife and supports up to 284 species of insect, but it grows
quite large. Alder and Silver birch are also good for wildlife, and there are native Wild cherries, Rowan,
Crab apple and Field maple too - all suitable for gardens. *Non Native
Climbers such as Honeysuckle and Ivy will use trees as support but these also can be grown in the
tiniest garden or terrace. They both grow quickly, do well in sun or shade, and they provide nectar,
edible fruits and valuable cover for wildlife.
By mid-October most plants have finished but the Common ivy is just beginning. Its flowers are
particularly important as a rich source of autumn nectar. The sweet sticky droplets glisten in the
October sun, and on bright days a mature Ivy plant will be alive with the buzz of horseflies and
decorated with the brilliant colour of lingering Tortoise shells and other overwintering butterflies. One
species of butterfly, the Hollyblue, depends on the flowers and young shoots of ivy to feed its autumn
brood of caterpillars.
Bramble is another plant providing prickly shelter. It is a marvellous plant for wildlife all year round,
providing a blossom rich in pollen, and leaves which feed a whole host of native insects. The
blackberries though, are the bramble’s crowning glory. Like many other wild fruits they are at their best
in September bringing a real splash of autumn colour to the hedgerow.
They are a favourite food for Blackbirds and Thrushes. The Elderberry bears fruit in September too,
and its popularity, particularly with Starlings is obvious when you see the purple staining on the
pavement beneath their roosts.
December is a good month for pruning trees and shrubs. One way of maintaining a plentiful supply of
the leaves of native shrubs and trees in a small garden is to to grow several of them as coppiced
shrubs. You may well not have room for full grown specimens of large trees.
Lack of space may prevent you from enjoying their flowers and fruit but most of their dependent insects
and other resident creatures simply need a supply of tender leaves. If you cut any of these trees or
shrubs down to the ground in December, then they will shoot up again the following spring and provide
a crop of vigorous shoots and ample food for an enormous range of caterpillars and other leaf eaters.
GROWING TREES FROM SEED
Growing native trees from seed is both easy and fascinating making a satisfying and personal
contribution to conservation. Seeds may be sown directly where the trees are to grow or in weedfree,
well prepared soil in a corner of the garden or in old grow bags, seed trays or yoghurt pots with holes in
the bottom. Seeds should be sown in a peat/sand compost using a separate tray for each species,
which are then stood in water until moist. Cover with clear polythene and stand trays away from direct
sunlight. In the garden, seeds can be sown about 10cm apart and covered with their own depth of soil.
All seedlings should be transplanted after one seasons growth to provide them with more space in
which to grow, to prevent deep tap roots forming and to encourage a fibrous root growth. Transplants
are ready for planting in their final position when about 2 feet high. Late autumn, when the soil is still
warm, is the best time for planting.
Never let the roots dry out while planting. Keep the young trees well watered and clear of competing
weeds for the first two years and protect from rodents and grazing animals.
The following native species should be treated as described:
ALDER (Alnus glutinosa): Cut small cone bearing twigs from the tree in autumn. Dry cones on trays and
separate seed by shaking. Store in sealed containers and sow the next spring.
ASH (Fraxinus excelsior): Collect keys when fully ripe in October. *Stratify for 18 months and sow in the
second spring