Magical, messy wildlife gardens.
I sometimes wonder why we seem so bent on spoiling and destroying stuff. There's a main road locally that in the summer is rich in orchids and other wildflowers. Such a treat to see. That was until last summer when the council decided to keep what must be a good two mile stretch mown flat. Now it just looks.....flat, flat and green. Similarly I often see parks and other open space which often leave me thinking .... "oh if only they left that bit a bit wilder " or "That's fab, wouldn't it be great if they did more!" Things could be so great! I'm guessing it's a lot to do with how we've become so accustomed to noise, straight lines and tidied up drabness; we've lost our ability to see beauty and to appreciate how it can make a differance in our lives. Fortunately in a lot of places positive change is apparent as more and more people are realising the positive health benefits of being surrounded by beauty, wiggles and all.
In a wildlife garden it's important to curb the desire to tidy up too much and instead deliberately leave a few places messy. This might be easier if they're at the end of the garden (the end of our's is the messiest bit!) or if, like a meadow area, they're surrounded by neat edges, thus emphasising; it's supposed to be like that. Instead of throwing away a lot of the garden rubbish in the autumn begin to see it as valuable habitat enhancer in itself. For much of the health of a wildlife garden can be measured in the health of it's wriggly, mini beast population. It's the fascinating creepy crawly world, much of it unseen which provides the food source for larger creatures such as small mammal, slow worms, and foraging birds. So wherever possible, see if you can leave little piles of twigs and leaves to collect at the back of the border or stuffed under the hedge. Piles of logs can also be used to create a wonderful living feature in the garden providing a home for fungi, trailing wildflowers and a whole host of invertibrates. Lastly, create a good compost heap if you can. These can become amazing magnets for wildlife maybe even encouraging sloworms and grass snakes to breed.
In a wildlife garden it's important to curb the desire to tidy up too much and instead deliberately leave a few places messy. This might be easier if they're at the end of the garden (the end of our's is the messiest bit!) or if, like a meadow area, they're surrounded by neat edges, thus emphasising; it's supposed to be like that. Instead of throwing away a lot of the garden rubbish in the autumn begin to see it as valuable habitat enhancer in itself. For much of the health of a wildlife garden can be measured in the health of it's wriggly, mini beast population. It's the fascinating creepy crawly world, much of it unseen which provides the food source for larger creatures such as small mammal, slow worms, and foraging birds. So wherever possible, see if you can leave little piles of twigs and leaves to collect at the back of the border or stuffed under the hedge. Piles of logs can also be used to create a wonderful living feature in the garden providing a home for fungi, trailing wildflowers and a whole host of invertibrates. Lastly, create a good compost heap if you can. These can become amazing magnets for wildlife maybe even encouraging sloworms and grass snakes to breed.