A Walk on the Wild Side

 

Had a lovely day yesterday running my "Wildlife Friendly Gardening" course. I have been so lucky this summer, for the weather to have been so poor, my course days have been lovely. The weather was beautiful for this time of year and the butterflies were amazing - I've never seen anything like it....the beds were aflutter with Tortoiseshells large and small. There were also Red Admirals and Peacocks although to a lesser extent.

We were making insect houses with some hollow stems from the garden and it put me in the notion for rereading Sticky Wicket. It's such a good book - so informative and inspirational....Pam Lewis is the doyenne of wildlife gardening.

So now that I'm in a wildlife friendly kind of mood, I'd thought I'd share some simple tips for helping the wildlife in your garden.....
 

• A pile of old logs in a corner will provide an ideal habitat for many insects, especially beetles, and will also attract frogs, even newts in damp areas.
• A mini insect house can be made easily by tying together hollow stems and placing in a sheltered corner or pushed into the bottom of a hedge.
• Water is essential for birds in the garden - a small shallow container raised off the ground will suffice and a further container filled with a mix of fine soil and sharp sand will be appreciated as a dust bath to clean their feathers/
• Grassess and bamboos make fantastic winter shelter for wildlife including wild bees and ladybirds.

Happy Gardening!