Make your garden a wildlife haven
A wildlife garden can bring added pleasure to its creators.
The bigger the garden the more scope it offers to attract birds, animals and insects.
What you plant, and how you arrange your garden, is down to the individual, who may want to encourage a specific species or maybe widen the scope and do all that is possible to get as many non-human visitors as possible, other than cats and dogs, which may undo any hard work you have put in.
Glenn and Anne Burley have a one-and-a-half-acre garden at their home, Top Lodge, Glendon, part of which has been developed as a wildlife haven.
Mrs Burley said: "It was a new garden 18 years ago so we have achieved a lot in a comparatively short space of time.
"Encouraging wildlife is part of the natural course of nature and we tend to live and let live and let things take care of themselves.
"I can stand and watch everything from my window, that way I do not disturb anything.
"We have foxes, badgers, rabbits and weasels, which some people may think a pest but these help to keep the balance of things.
"About the only thing I haven't seen is a hedgehog, though we do have an ivy covered log pile but they are timid creatures so we may have them but I have yet to see them.
"We have many birds visiting – woodpeckers, yellowhammers, all kinds of tits, goldfinches – as well as many butterflies and elephant hawk moths.
"For anyone wanting to start a wildlife garden there is so much you can do but I suggest the first thing I would say is put in a buddleia, they are brilliant for attracting butterflies."
Her garden also has a stream and pond and is home to many creatures, none more so than frogs. She said: "Put in any water and the frogs will find it."
Other suggestions include erecting a nest box, bird table and bird bath but before you start hammering your nest box to a tree or fence, ensure the opening does not directly face the bright sun as this will be detrimental to the young chicks when they hatch.
Ambitious people could also erect a nest box for another flighted creature, the bat, especially if living near open countryside.
Log piles can be home to beetles and centipedes as well as hedgehogs, but if you do see a hedgehog, do not feed it bread and milk; this can kill them as their dietary tract cannot cope with this form of food.
Use either cat or dog food.
Nuts and raisins are readily appreciated by badgers and squirrels and any scraps of food will suit the fox and maybe another flighted scavenger, the red kite.
An ecological dustbin, the red kite once helped clean up the streets of London but can now sometimes be seen in the skies above Northamptonshire.
When planning any garden, always bear in mind any children who may want to help, and ensure ponds and any 'wild' areas which may contain nettles or thorns have suitable barriers.
Top Lodge is taking part in the National Open Gardens scheme and will be open from 2pm to 5.30pm on Sunday, June 14, but visitors are also welcome by appointment throughout June and July. Call 01536 511784 for details.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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