(Bees in the Garden)

Attracting Wildlife into Your Garden

As well as beautiful flowers, attracting wildlife into your garden can make it more interesting and provide extra all year round interest. If you attract the right kind of visitors, you will also be able to help defeat some of the common garden pests.
Aim for a balance with nature, slugs eat waste, frogs eat slugs, some birds eat insects and all have a place in a wildlife friendly garden.

How To Encourage Wildlife Into Your Garden

• Good Source of Water. A good source of water will attract many visitors who will come to rely on this source of vital commodity. Water can help attract butterflies, frogs, toads, birds and many more.
• Provide Shelter. A key issue is making wildlife feel at home. This involves having some tall trees and bushes for birds to feel safe in.
• Don’t Keep garden too tidy. It is tempting to always want to clean things up. But, a few well placed plants and objects will encourage wildlife to stay.
• Bird Tables. Bird tables need to be protected from predators and so need to be high up off ground, well away from jumping cats.
• Year Long Round Mix of nectar rich flowers. Attracting wildlife is complementary with growing some of our most popular flowers. Flowers rich in nectar will attract butterflies and hoverflies. Try growing plants such as buddleja, Foxgloves, Lilac, Michaelmas Daisy. Some less popular plants like Globe Thistle are also very good for wildlife.
• At the end of the growing season, don’t cut everything back. Old Sunflower stems and seeds will provide valuable food during early winter and other stems provide shelter.
• Don’t harm wildlife, through slug pellets. At least, scatter them properly under the surface (overkilling slugs and wildlife).
• Grow Some Nettles in back of garden. Nettles are a great plant for making compost and attracting wildlife.

Related Posts

• How To Attract Wildlife into the Garden
• How To Attract Butterflies into Your Garden
• How To Make Your Garden Eco Friendly