GARDEN DESIGN FOR WILDLIFE

CREATING A GARDEN WITH WILDLIFE IN MIND

As garden designers, we know that a great deal can be achieved through the plants we select; some plants are better than others in providing food or habitat space for wildlife. But first, let’s talk about insects. Why should we be attracting insects into our gardens? Because they are the foundation of the food web, fodder for birds and small wild mammals; without insects nothing else would survive. And insects – from larvae to fully fledged creepy crawlies – feed on plants. 

Some insect larvae are very specific about what plants they feed on – in some cases this relationship has developed over decades, even centuries, and for this reason native plants often top their wish list. We try to create a ‘wild’ area of planting in our gardens, it may be native grasses and flowers, or simply a native tree or shrub – much depends on the surrounding landscape and on the size of the site. But the point is, it is possible to improve biodiversity in even the smallest of gardens!

DON’T FORGET THE BEES

Providing a nectar source for pollinating insects is also important. Why? Because mammals (yes, humans too) rely on pollinators to produce plants that bear fruit for their own consumption. Our native bees are under threat from pesticide use and habitat loss, so choosing the right plants can help their situation. For instance open-flowering species provide easier access to nectar, and a variety of flower shapes promote insect diversity. It’s also worth extending the flowering season beyond summer to provide nectar throughout the year, even a winter-flowering shrub can feed a bee on a sunny winter’s day.

Meadows are the ultimate buffet for pollinating insects and we often include them in our designs. It’s a shocking statistic that 97% of our native meadows have been lost since the 1930s, and with this comes a huge loss of insect life. Turning even a small area of your garden to meadow can help –  something as simple as letting a sunny area of lawn ‘re-wild’ will bring many more butterflies and moths. 

WILDLIFE CORRIDORS

Creating wildlife corridors between neighbouring gardens (and the landscape beyond) will result in larger habitat spaces for wildlife. This could be anything from planting trees and shrubs to connect to a neighbouring plot, to cutting a hole in the fence for a ‘hedgehog highway’. It is also worth looking at what resources are missing in the neighbouring gardens, whether it be Spring blossom, Autumn berries, or the all important water source.

LESS IS MORE: PUT YOUR FEET UP ONCE IN A WHILE

Doing less maintenance in the garden can benefit wildlife too, whether it be leaving fallen leaves in the beds over winter to feed the worms (and enrich the soil!), or forgoing the green waste bin in favour of log piles or leaves, ideal for hibernating hedgehogs, frogs and bugs. 

These creatures are predators to pests like aphids and blackfly. Having resident wildlife will save you reaching for the spray gun – by planting nectar-rich plants and creating habitat for them, they will repay the favour by ridding the garden of pests!

So there it is, a whistle-stop biology class, which we hope has demonstrated that every garden can play its part in encouraging wildlife. This is a subject close to our hearts and we factor it into every project we work on – after all, creating a garden is an investment in all our futures.