As the world outside our windows begins to awaken with the spring, our thoughts often turn to our gardens.... And what a fantastic time to get outside, what with spring flowers peeping, and birds singing with joy!
Gardens can be a great refuge for our wildlife, especially struggling creatures like song thrushes, hedgehogs, frogs and toads, house sparrows, bumblebees and butterflies. Did you know that gardens cover almost 3 times as much land as the RSPB owns? They can also provide stepping stones of good habitat for wildlife across an otherwise hostile landscape.
Often, it’s only a few small changes that are needed in order to make your garden helpful to wildlife. Here at the RSPB’s wildlife garden at Flatford in Suffolk, it’s our mission to teach and inspire people to bear wildlife in mind whilst gardening....
Five simple things you can do that will really make a difference are:
1. Choose flowers for nectar and pollen, to help our bees, butterflies and other pollinators.
2. Build a log pile, or edge your paths with logs – deadwood provides food and shelter for many small creatures, which in turn are food for bigger creatures.
3. Introduce a bit of water – whether it’s a saucer of water or a pond, water is one of life’s essentials!
4. Leave a bit of your lawn uncut. Longer grass is home for many insects and invertebrates.
5. Leave a nice, dense area of shrubby planting somewhere quiet. The thick, undisturbed cover means wildlife feels safe. If you can plant a tree or two, even better!
If you’d like more info on gardening for wildlife, our Homes for Wildlife pages are especially designed to guide and advise you!
If you’d like to see wildlife gardening in action, why not plan a visit to Flatford Wildlife Garden? It’s free entry, and a beautiful setting in which to pick up a few tips. Open every day from 29 March until 3 November.