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Why we’re going wild for gardening this summer
Posted by Claire Boote, on June 11, 2021.
Estimated reading time: 1 minute(s)
After a chilly spring, it’s not just the flowers in our gardens that are finally blooming – nature is buzzing, tweeting and wriggling into life. With natural habitats in decline, gardens are more important than ever as a home for wildlife. Here’s how you can make your patch the most popular hotspot for nature in the neighbourhood.
Plant for bees and butterflies
Is there a more evocative sound of a summer’s garden than the buzzing of bees? Bees are one of our most important insects – flowers and fruit just wouldn’t exist without them. And who doesn’t love the elegant beauty of a flowerbed full of floating butterflies? Sadly, climate change and loss of habitats such as wildflower meadows and woodlands have meant a sharp decline in the number of bee and butterfly species over the past few decades. Luckily, they have excellent taste and are attracted to some of the loveliest and most fragrant flowers around.
To keep these pollinators coming back day after day, plant your beds with shrubs such as lilac, honeysuckle and buddleia, and smaller plants such as aster, foxglove, snapdragon, cornflower and scabious. If you have a small garden, or even just a balcony, pots of lavender will be a magnet for bees and butterflies. (Did you know, bees actually see in ultraviolet so flowers in blue/purple are particularly attractive.)
When your garden is awash with butterflies but you don’t know your Painted Lady from your Red Admiral, use this handy species guide from The Wildlife Trusts. Your garden will also be a great spot for the next Big Butterfly Count, a three-week survey by Butterfly Conservation starting 16th July.
Feed the birds
Waking up to the dawn chorus or sitting in your garden with a cuppa enjoying the softer ‘dusk chorus’ is a joy. Make sure birds feel welcome in your garden by providing a regular source of food at different levels and a source of water, such as a bird bath or pond.
Hanging feeders will attract sparrows, tits, finches and siskins, while blackbirds, thrushes and robins will appreciate food on tables or scattered on the ground. Energy-rich seeds, nuts, dried fruit and suet balls are great, although avoid putting nuts or suet into plastic mesh bags as birds’ feet can get tangled in these.
Spread out your feeding areas – while some birds are sociable (and nice to watch from your window) others are shy and will prefer some cover. Also, well-spaced out food will reduce competition between birds. Consider other dangers and place feeders out of reach of cats and keep them protected from greedy squirrels – the RSPB sells a range of squirrel-proof bird feeders as well as giving great advice on what to do to attract birds to your garden.
Cosy beds
The most successful wildlife gardens aren’t just about inviting nature over for dinner and drinks – you need to create the cosiest rooms for them to bed down and stay.
A variety of shrubs and trees provide nesting sites for birds and insects; log and leaf piles are attractive to lizards, toads and beetles; and ponds provide a habitat for frogs, newts, dragonflies and other aquatic invertebrates. But also consider providing some bespoke additions such as:
- A ‘bug hotel’ to encourage a variety of creatures such as lacewings and ladybirds to hibernate in your garden over winter
- Stylish bee bricks, which can be inserted into walls, are designed to house non-aggressive native species such as sole bees and red mason bees (Green&Blue sell some nice ones)
- A hedgehog box can encourage our cute spikey friends to nest, breed and hibernate in our garden – particularly important as numbers are said to have halved since the turn of the century (BBC Gardeners’ World have tips on making your own)
Whether your garden is a space to relax, to entertain friends, or a place to potter and keep busy, many of us have enjoyed how they’ve brought us closer to wildlife in this past year. Now that life slowly becomes busier again, let’s keep watching, listening and living with the fascinating friends on our doorstep.
What to wear when gardening…
It has to be one of our comfiest bras yet, ‘Eden’. This bra offers great support and exceptional comfort due to its enclosed front-fastening zip, soft and wide under-band and padded straps. Made from organic cotton to keep you cool when gardening, this is the debut style in our sustainable range. Organic cotton eliminates the use of toxic and persistent chemicals, improves soil health and increases water conservation: all of which is better for the environment and for farmers and their communities. The wildlife in your garden will thank you for it!
