Gardening!

Hi Coal

I hope you haven't made it too neat!  There are benefits to having a messy garden.  Your leaves for example make excellent foraging potential for insect eating birds and they also provide some protection to your flower beds and offer a place of sanctuary for small creatures, that like to hibernate.

I'm not an expert on gardening by any means, but I do leave the leaves, unless they are strewn across the lawn, and I also avoid cutting out the dead foliage from my summer beds until the spring.   Admittedly it makes your garden look unkempt in the winter but as I said above does offer good protection and food source during the cold winter. 

If you want to know no more why not check out the blogs which offer great ideas for your garden and how to protect your visitors during this time of year.

Hi Coal,

Good advice from Kezmo, and a wonderful excuse not to do any gardening during the winter months!

Hi Coal

I have to admit that our garden is not too tidy either {blush}

We have a large 'Gum tree' that continually drops its bark and large 'hand' sized leaves so it is continual with the raking the lawn etc.

As for the garden borders. we leave the leaves because the blackbirds love to seach through the leaf litter for worms, insects etc.... so I am sure that the other small birds will apprecaite the leaf litter for the same reason.

We do not cut the dead folige. and tidy it up until the spring as it has it uses for overwintering wildlife.

Not to forget the little Beasties.  Of course a Beastie log 'Hilton Hotel' is a good idea too so there is no disturbance at all

We found a hibernating Red Admiral Butterfly under one of our plastic plant pots one day (out in the open on a cold day) and we moved it into our garden shed ( there are holes in the floor for it to escape too). Amazing what you find.

As Kezmo has said there will be lots of information on the RSPB/blogs for wildlife Gardens.

Sparrow: LOL

Regards

Kathy and Dave