help our wildlife.

Kennine
Kennine Forum Participant Posts: 3,472
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Many people are now setting aside an area of their garden to allow wild plants to grow and provide a habitat for wildlife. .

Allowing just a percentage of the garden to grow wild is helping nature. 

We have a triangular area at the very tip of our back garden  where we are encouraging wildflowers, grasses and other vegetation to provide that much needed habitat. One side has a 2 meter hedge,

It is screened from the other areas of the garden by shrubs and although we have only lived in this bungalow for under a year we are already seeing the benefits.

IMO helping nature is so important in this era of intensive farming where hedgerows and borders between fields are disappearing rapidly. .

Comments

  • Takethedogalong
    Takethedogalong Forum Participant Posts: 17,027 ✭✭✭
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    edited September 2016 #2

    Our whole garden is wildlife friendly, some wild areas left, plants chosen to attract bees and butterflies, a pond for frogs, newts, grass snakes, small dustbin lids all over for bird baths and other wildlife. Hedges and shrubs for nesting and food. We have put up nest boxes as well.

    Have been in our house, which is Victorian for a long time, and kept all our hedges, as have our neighbours, they are so important for sparrows.

    To date, we have a family of resident squirrels, a resident Tawny Owl, dozens of sparrows, lots of different tits, Jackdaws,  doves, pipistrelle bats, a regular visiting fox, hedgehogs. We get other birds as well, including Goldcrests, Woodpeckers, Sparrow Hawks, etc... But rarely see Starlings now, which is a real shame. We used to get the huge flocks visit our trees, but not as many now. Still not bad for an urban garden though. Hedges and water are two main attractants we findHappy

  • huskydog
    huskydog Club Member Posts: 5,460 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited September 2016 #3

    I think the chap down the road is hoping to attract monkeys ,as his garden looks like a jungleUndecided

    we have lots of wildlife ,we put out seed for the birds ,nuts for the squirrels and some dog biscuits in the ally at the bottom of the garden for the fox ,we used to see a hedgehog but haven't seen it for couple of months , we used to watch them on the night
    vision cameras in the garden 

  • Pliers
    Pliers Forum Participant Posts: 1,864
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    edited September 2016 #4

    We only have a small garden, in a moorland edge village.

    We have bird feeders, of course, but have also planted large pots with insect friendly shrubs. Our pyracantha and cotoneaster bushes attract lots of bees in the spring, and birds love the berries in the autumn. 

    It's surprising what you can achieve in quite a small space.

  • Takethedogalong
    Takethedogalong Forum Participant Posts: 17,027 ✭✭✭
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    edited September 2016 #5

    We don't feed hedgehogs, mainly because we have inquisitive dogs, but our neighbours have returning hedgehog visitors. I think they feed them either cat or dog food, which they love! Last year we had the foxes quarrelling doing that high pitched scream much
    beloved of Midsomer Murders! At least we think it was quarrelling, could have been foxes in love!Embarassed