With Spring just around the corner, it’s an ideal time to prepare our gardens for the warmer months ahead and do all we can to ensure we’re making a difference to the natural world.
Large or small, your garden can be a haven for wildlife and there are some simple things we can all do to get closer to nature. Knowsley Council’s ecology team have come up with some tips to help you make the most of your garden all year round.
Planting for pollinators
Many flying insects need sources of pollen and nectar to survive, so planting a range of pollinator-friendly plants all year round, not only gives you a beautiful garden, but also creates a haven for visitors like butterflies and bees.
There are lots of nectar giving plants which can be planted throughout the year. Remember never to use pesticides on plants in flower and avoid plants with double or multi-petalled flowers.
Spring: Primrose, Aubretia, Sweet Rocket, Field Maple, Cherry
Summer: Lavender, Cat Mint, Thyme, Heliotrope, Red Valerian, Hebe, Buddleia
Autumn: Michaelmas Daisy, Sweet Scabious, Hyssop, Ice-plant, Common Ivy
Create a space for nature
A small space is not a barrier to gardening for wildlife. Here are some small changes that can have a big impact.
- Plant a window box or container with pollinator friendly plants, such as lavender or marjoram or night-scented stocks or tobacco plants for moths.
- Creating a pond is one of the most important things you can do for wildlife in your garden. Even a small sink or tub pond with a few aquatic plants can make a great wildlife habitat.
- Make a small gravel garden planted with nectar providing plants such as scabious or place pots sewn with wildflower seeds in a paved area.
- Build an insect hotel to provide the right habitat for the thousands of species living in your garden.
- Create a window box outside your window. You can even make them out of upcycled plastic bottles and some rope.
- Try filling an old welly with soil and scattering a few wildflower seeds in there. Don’t forget to make a small hole in the bottom to let out water.
- Put old pallets to good use. When stood upright and turned backwards, they’re can be converted into three-tier, wall-mounted planters for trailing plants, flowers, or herbs.
Bird boxes and feeders
Attracting birds to your garden is easy. Providing bird food in a feeder will support feeding throughout the year.
Please place feeders off the ground, hang food from a feeder in a tree or on a bird table and clean up spilt food to discourage pests.
As natural nesting sites are in decline nest boxes in gardens can make a real difference for breeding birds.
Create an eco-friendly driveway
Hard paved driveways and gardens increase your risk of flooding as surface water can’t be easily absorbed into the ground.
Alternatives to hard surfaces include pebbles and gravel, which provide some drainage, permeable paving or laying down grids on top of a grassy drive to prevent it getting muddy.
You can also plant up a drive or walkway with shrubs and grasses that will withstand impact, such as thyme, creeping jenny, bugle and grape hyacinths.
Plant a hedge, instead of a fence. Hedges are a better choice of boundary for wildlife as they absorb water, heat and CO². They also allow wildlife to move between gardens and other spaces and provide feeding and breeding opportunities.
Cool your home
Currently around 20% of homes are at significant risk of overheating during the summer months.
Plant more greenery around your house. Shrubs and trees have a great cooling effect.
Grow a mini meadow and mow less often over the summer. Longer grass is fantastic for wildlife and cooling down the garden. Climbers such as roses, ivy, clematis, jasmine and honeysuckle are great for cooling down external walls.
And how about composting?
Composting is not only an environmentally safe fertiliser, it also helps you save water, energy, fuel, and money! The use of a natural fertiliser made from compost will help your garden grow lush and promote healthy growth in seedlings and plants.
It will also make your garden much more welcoming and hospitable to wildlife helpers like honeybees, butterflies and of course, worms!
Compost can be made from kitchen scraps, lawn clippings, newspapers, leaves, wood chips, coffee grinds — almost any food products except for processed and meat or fish products.
For more information contact our Environmental Sustainability team at ess.enquiries@knowsley.gov.uk
GO WILD IN YOUR GARDEN (accessible)