This summer, we put a call out for homeowners to come forward who were up for the challenge of helping wildlife in their gardens. Over four blogs, I’ll be sharing the ‘behind-the-scenes’ story of the garden mini-makeover videos we made.
What the homeowners didn’t have were massive budgets, a dozen burly workers and oodles of time, like you see on the telly.
Instead, they were asked to spend around £250, and had just one day to make some improvements, with just a little bit of help from me. We wanted to show the reality of what almost anyone can do on a limited budget and with only a bit of time to spare.
Today, we’re aiming high! See the video here. Photos by WildSide Productions, except the one of Sian's feet, by Sian herself!
Sian lives in a second-floor flat in Peterborough, the first home she has owned, which as we all know is a special life moment. She has a small north-facing balcony without any canopy, which brings with it challenges but opportunities, too. And at the start it was totally empty. Blank canvas time!
At her online consultation, Sian said she’d like anything that will make it a great space for her and for wildlife, which is, of course, the combination we applaud! She is a social influencer in the world of vegan food, so ideally she would also like the chance to grow something edible.
In the design she and I put together, we factored in space for a little bistro seating set – a couple of folding chairs and a table – that she would buy as part of her budget. That way she can spend quality time out there, with all the more chance of spotting any wildlife that visits. Doing a scale drawing was vital to ensure everything would fit in; these little sketches don't need to be anything sophisticated.
The foundation of any wildlife-friendly garden is the plants, so the plan we agreed was to surround the seating area with lots of pots and planters. The balcony only gets a bit of sunshine in the morning and again in the evening in summer, and that restricted our plant choice. The majority of vegetables and garden flowers are, sadly, sun worshippers, but don’t despair – there are still plenty of plants you can use that have their origin in woodland, and some herbs like mint and chives can cope with some shade. There are some great climbing plants to try as well.
Because Sian is often away at weekends and is a busy woman, the plants will also need to fend for themselves at times, so we chose pots that are as large as possible – plants in small pots need watering and feeding much more often.
I also recommended that Sian mix together a planting medium of 50:50 peat-free compost (which is pure organic matter) and a soil-based loam (soil is a mix of organic matter and tiny rock particles). Pure compost can often stay rather too wet.
Top tip: With a balcony, check whether there is any weight restriction. Pots full of soil, water and plants can be very heavy. Also safely secure any items, manage and fire safety risks, and make sure your balcony is safe for children should they use it.
I couldn’t be there with Sian on the day due to covid restrictions, but we were able to keep in contact by phone. Sian started by putting up a trellis for her climbing plants – in a small space, growing upwards is a way of fitting the most plant volume in. There are woodland climbing plants such as climbing hydrangeas that will tolerate a north wall.
She also added a railing planter, another great way of maximising planting space, and that will be the brightest spot so she added her shade-tolerant herbs there. And then she planted up all her pots –the plants were from a peat-free supplier in recycled plastic pots.
Top tip: Adding some woodland bulbs to the pots would be a lovely addition for spring – Wild Daffodil, Scilla siberica and of course native Bluebells would all look a treat.
It can be quite challenging for any creatures to get to a balcony – basically they need to have wings! Much wildlife also prefer big bits of habitat, whereas a balcony full of plants is more like a little vegetated ledge on a big bare cliff. So, I always say to celebrate every visitor you get to a balcony; revel in every moment that a bee lands or a bird visits. But it will happen.
Sian is extra lucky in having a mature tree a short distance away from the balcony, so you can imagine canopy birds like blue tits and great tits naturally wandering close enough to be tempted across, so we felt it was well worth putting out a bird feeder, a small birdbath and a birdbox (with a 32mm hole so that it is suitable for House Sparrows, Great Tits or Blue Tits).
Top tip: There’s little point putting up a bee hotel on a north-facing wall – they should face south. You can try a more general bug hotel, but climbing plants make a brilliant natural hiding place for insects.
Even with the distraction of a film crew, Sian managed her whole transformation in a day. Bravo!
From a space where it was difficult to imagine any creature stepping foot, hopefully she now has a place that will signal a welcome to any passing bee, bird or moth.
Plant choices
Climbing plants
Budget
Total £294