July in the Wildlife-friendly Garden

So here it is, the Big One, the month when - on a sunny day - there is an audible hum throughout the wildlife-friendly garden. Hoverflies hang in the air with precision, bumblebees mosey around on their endless mission, and everywhere has turned into a bustling insect metropolis.

Many hoverflies are wasp mimics, but note the large eyes and funny little antennae on the front of its face, proving that this is definitely not a wasp

Another very common group of hoverflies mimic bees rather than wasps, but again note the huge eyes, something you won't find on bees.

July is the month when you are likely to see the greatest number of butterfly species in the garden, and the same is true of moths if you put out a moth trap.

If you're lucky enough to have House Martins nesting under the eaves or Swallows in an outbuilding respectively, they may well try to fit in a second brood. However, this is the last-chance saloon for Swifts to get their youngsters fed and fit, for all will be gone or close to going, back to Africa, by the month end.

Our headline Giving Nature a Home activity for the month is small ponds. Maybe you've got one already, in which case this is a good month to do a bit of hoiking of excess weed, a little at a time.

And if you don't have one yet, do give it serious thought. I've yet to met anyone who has regretted it, although peering in can become quite addictive!

If the weather turns dry (which seems a distant prospect if the conditions we've all been encountering this June is anything to go by!), keeping those birdbaths filled up is perhaps one of the most important jobs. This young Crow in mine last year went in with as much trepidation as many a human toddler!

How about taking some semi-ripe cuttings of your best wildlife shrubs and climbers? If you've never done it before and think that it sounds like something for the green-fingered only, try something like a rose or honeysuckle and you'll be amazed how much they just want to grow.

To do it, cleanly cut about a 10cm length of a non-flowering stem, just beneath a leaf. Trim off all but the upper leaves. Then push the bare stem down the edge of a pot of gritty soil. Water, put it somewhere sheltered outside, don't let it dry out, and apart from that you can pretty much forget about it until the following year when new shoots will almost certainly appear.

I also like to sow biennials in July. They are the spring-flowering plants that like to germinate now, grow a little rosette of leaves before autumn, and then they're well set up to burst into life in the spring. Foxglove, Honesty and wallflowers are all easy to try, and will give you colour and nectar aplenty.

Oh, and don't forget to to take time to just marvel at life in its joyous abundance.