In Horto Feritas

In Horto Feritas Wildlife Gardening Notes & Thoughts by C J Betts In Horto Feritas Published by Betts Ecology Ltd, Martley, Worcester ISBN 1-900023-08-3 978-1-900023-08-5 © 2012 Christopher Betts British Library Cataloguing in Public Data. A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library. The author asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means digital or mechanical — electronic, internet, photocopying, recording or otherwise — without the prior permission in writing of the author and publisher. In Horto Feritas ABOUT THE AUTHOR Christopher Betts has been interested in natural history since boyhood. His earliest memories of wildlife are squirrels — they were red then — in the oak trees in the family garden at the edge of Wyre Forest in Worcestershire, and a rare sighting of a migrating hoopoe on the lawn. That was in 1949. In the decades since he worked first in industry in Birmingham, travelling and studying natural history in his spare time and collecting just about everything one could collect in the natural world — plants (grown in a greenhouse as well as dried & pressed), insects, fungi, nuts, shells, rocks, fossils, feathers, bones and anything curious. Entomology was and remains a particular passion — he sent mites from a sextant beetle to the Natural History Museum when he was a young teenager. He moved into academe relatively late, in 1980, and progressed from student to graduate to lecturer and tutor. He became a Chartered Biologist and founded the Betts professional practice in 1985, dividing his time between England and France and working with his gardens and other sites, habitats and their denizens in both countries. Other works by the same author include the Checklist of Legally Protected British Species; Illustrations of the Legally Protected British Species; British Wild Plants in Natural Associations; Sentier Botanique; Pourquoi les gens visitent-ils Sospel? and various short items and papers. Dr Betts is Honorary Editor of the Worcestershire Naturalists’ Club and a Fellow of the British Naturalists’ Association. www.betts.eu scan me 1 In Horto Feritas PREFACE In these times of environmental awareness and increased interest in biodiversity, a large and growing literature on wildlife gardening and wildlife in gardens is almost inevitable, and very welcome. Add the uncountable blogs, web sites and other internet resources and it can be seen to have become a huge subject. When I write anything about wildlife, many names of those whom I have met or known, and who have helped me over the last half century one way or another, and contributed so much to natural history, come to mind: Dr Norman Hickin, Sir Christopher Cadbury, Sir David Attenborough, Col. Bill Clayden, Col. Norman Clayden, Len Hill, Dr Peter Alma, Dr Andrew Malloch, Prof. John Rodwell, Prof. Chris Baines, Harry Green, Andrew Fraser, Fred Fincher, Sir Peter Scott, Phil Drabble, Frances Pitt, Dr David Bellamy to mention just a few whose names may be recognised by many readers, and not forgetting my parents John and Monica who did so much for nature conservation in the early days of the movement, and all those of the Worcestershire Naturalists’ Club and British Naturalists’ Association. It is hard to express sufficient thanks to all these people who were so kind, courteous and generous with their knowledge and time. Well aware that it is nigh-on impossible to avoid regurgitating at least some material, I have tried to offer a different “take” on the subject of wildlife gardening which I hope isn’t boring, confusing or, perish the thought, patronising. Gardens and wildlife are addictive and enduring passions as all who enjoy them know, so this is an attempt to capitalise on that and emphasise an approach that encourages a population and community (in the ecological sense) mindset and application. That is not to say that I have ignored the encouragement, recording, management and enjoyment of individual species, far from it, but the rewards of applying a little phytosociology, for example, can make the emerging whole greater than the sum of its botanical parts. This book is a rather unstructured discourse about wildlife gardening, not an instruction manual on how to make one, although I have included a few tips here and there and plenty of planting suggestions. The views I have expressed are mine and not necessarily those of the Practice. I hope you enjoy it. 2 In Horto Feritas CONTENTS For those in a hurry ........................................................................ 5 Chapter 1 Taking Stock ................................................................. 7 Habitats map ................................................................................ 7 Biological recording in the garden ....................................................... 9 What to record ............................................................................ 13 Identification .............................................................................. 13 Chapter 2 Collecting Specimens ...................................................... 16 Alien invaders .............................................................................. 19 Chapter 3 The Garden as an Ecosystem ............................................. 22 Chapter 4 The House and Other Structures ......................................... 24 Outhouses, greenhouse and garage .................................................... 31 Green roofs, living walls and the like .................................................. 34 Chapter 5 Lawns and Longer Grass ................................................... 39 Lawns ....................................................................................... 39 Longer grass ................................................................................ 40 Calcifuge grasslands ..................................................................... 41 Mesotrophic grasslands ................................................................... 42 Calcicolous grasslands .................................................................... 43 General note on grassland establishment ............................................. 45 Cutting regimes for grass areas ......................................................... 45 Chapter 6 Flower Beds ................................................................. 48 Bees ......................................................................................... 50 Scent ........................................................................................ 51 Chapter 7 The Vegetable and Fruit Garden ......................................... 53 Chapter 8 Shrubs, Shrubberies and Hedgerows ..................................... 56 Rose beds ................................................................................... 56 Shrubs as focal points and in mixed shrubberies ..................................... 58 Hedgerows.................................................................................. 60 Chapter 9 Trees — Ornamental and Fruit ........................................... 65 Sex and death .............................................................................. 67 Shade ........................................................................................ 68 Chapter 10 Rockeries, walls and paving ............................................. 71 Animals under stones ..................................................................... 79 Chapter 11 Pools, ponds and water (marsh & bog) ................................. 80 Chapter 12 Utility areas — compost heap, weedy places & habitat corners ... 86 Glossary and abbreviations .............................................................. 89 APPENDIX I: Classification by molecular analysis for non-specialists ............. 91 APPENDIX II: Tips on equipment, curating and caring for collections............. 96 Equipment .................................................................................. 96 Labelling ...................................................................................105 APPENDIX III: Wildlife gardening plants — selected lists ...........................107 APPENDIX IV: Wildlife homes & feeders ..............................................129 Bird boxes .................................................................................129 Bird tables feeders and baths ..........................................................130 Bat boxes ..................................................................................131 Terrestrial mammal boxes ..............................................................133 Amphibian “houses” .....................................................................134 Invertebrate “houses” ...................................................................134 For your notes ............................................................................137 Index for Main Text ......................................................................146 3 In Horto Feritas 4 In Horto Feritas FOR THOSE IN A HURRY Take an “ecosystem approach” and think of the whole garden as a place for wildlife, not just a designated area within it. If you hate the idea of being a slave to your garden, recall William Kent’s dictum that nature abhors a straight line and know that a little less formality, not too much pruning and tidying, a few

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