Wildlife Gardening Information Pack

Wildlife Gardening Information Pack Gardens are an important resource for our native wildlife. This information pack has been designed to provide you with the necessary information to garden in an environmentally-friendly way, which will benefit wildlife. Contents 1. Introduction to Wildlife Gardening 7. Compost 2. Trees, Shrubs and Hedges 8. Feeding the Birds 3. Wildflower Meadows 9. Plants for a Wildlife Garden 4. Ponds and Wet Areas 10. Plants to Avoid 5. Pest Control 11. Wildlife Garden Calendar 6. Homes for Wildlife For more information contact Denbighshire’s Biodiversity Officer on 01824 708263 or email [email protected] Denbighshire Countryside Service, The Old Gaol, 46 Clwyd Street, Ruthin LL15 1HP www.biodiversityindenbighshire.co.uk 1. Introduction to Wildlife Gardening Gardens are an increasingly important resource for wildlife in the UK. As our open countryside is farmed intensively and land is developed, the opportunities for wildlife decrease. 84% of British households have a garden – that’s about 15 million gardens or over 2 million acres. If managed in the right way, gardens can provide ideal habitats for animals and plants and make a significant contribution to wildlife conservation. Recent research has shown that an average sized garden, managed with conservation in mind, can support up to 3000 different species of plants and animals. But close-mown lawns and carefully weeded borders offer few opportunities for wildlife. This series of wildlife gardening leaflets aims to provide you with the necessary information to turn your garden into a rich and varied habitat for native wildlife. Wildlife needs food, water and a place to live and breed. These can be provided whatever the size of your garden. You may already have features in your garden that attract wildlife. In creating a wildlife garden we are trying to recreate some of Our wildlife garden at Loggerheads Country Park the habitats that would be found in the wild, though on a smaller scale. Variety is the key The key to a successful wildlife garden is variety. Different plants attract different species – and native plants are best. We have a complex, mixed community of wildlife that has evolved together over the last eight to ten thousand years. Many plant-eating larvae only eat the leaves of one specific type of plant – always a native one. The greater the variety of natives you plant, the wider the menu you are providing and the greater variety of wildlife you are likely to attract. Most species will be eaten by more than one animal and tend to support hundreds of different species. In contrast, non-native plants usually only support single figures (though in their native countries they are too likely to feed hundreds). The colour, fragrance and shape of flowers determine what insects can feed on them. For example only moths with long tongues can reach deep down into flowers with long narrow petal tubes, like evening primrose and honeysuckle, to feed on the nectar. But short-tongued insects feed on short flowers. Pale flowers are more easily seen in poor light, so are attractive species active at dusk. Purple flowers attract butterflies and bees. Bumble bees feed on nectar Fragrance also attracts different kinds of insects. in native flowers like thistles To attract many flying insects, like bees, butterflies and moths, you will need to provide nectar-rich flowers. Traditional cottage garden or wild flowers tend to produce more nectar than modern hybrid varieties. Avoid double- flowered varieties as these make it difficult for insects to access the nectar. Plants that produce berries and seeds provide food for insects, birds and mammals. With all these different resources in your garden, you can build up a complex food-web involving a wide range of wildlife. Adding features like Berries are enjoyed by a range of garden ponds, deadwood piles, bird and bat boxes will birds, like this thrush further enhance the habitat for wildlife. More for the environment A wildlife garden not only benefits the local fauna and flora – by gardening in a more environmentally-friendly way you can have a positive impact on the planet by conserving resources and reducing your carbon footprint. Having native plants in your garden benefits the local wildlife because they can utilise the species far better than exotic varieties. But there are more benefits: native plants are used to local conditions such as the amount of rainfall, temperature and soil type. This means they don’t need to be watered or fertilised and can tolerate dry spells in summer, so you save water and don’t need to use inorganic fertilisers (the production of which emits large quantities of CO 2). Growing your own vegetables, salad and fruit reduces your carbon footprint because your food only needs to travel from your garden to your kitchen table – rather than across Britain, or even the world. And there is no packaging. Growing your own food is also hugely satisfying and it tastes great! Keeping chickens is another good idea if you have enough space. A water butt can be used to collect rainwater from your gutters, so you don’t need to use mains water for your plants. Using rainwater in the garden conserves water levels in our reservoirs, which can become very low in periods of drought, leading to hosepipe bans. Collecting rainwater in a water butt is also a good way of using water that would otherwise be wasted. A garden for everyone A wildlife garden is not a garden left to run wild. It is a garden inspired by nature that both wildlife and people can enjoy. We hope the guidance in our wildlife gardening information pack will help you to transform your garden into a haven for wildlife, providing plenty of enjoyment for people too. 2. Trees, Shrubs and Hedges Many of our commonest garden inhabitants originally lived in woodlands, which have suffered huge declines in extent across the UK. And the loss of traditional management that created glades and dappled edges means that most remaining ancient woodlands are a tangle of impenetrable undergrowth. Garden shrubbery can create a mini-woodland edge, providing a home for a wide variety of wildlife, from foxes, badgers and squirrels in larger gardens to mice, hedgehogs, butterflies and a wide variety of birds. Hedgerows can provide a valuable scaled down version of this woodland edge and are a sheltered, safe corridor through which wildlife can move. A variety of birds will nest and shelter here and a good mix of shrubs will provide food most of the year. Some woodland edge flowers can be grown at the bottom of hedgerows. Native trees and shrubs will provide nectar-rich flowers, buds, berries, fruits, seeds and nuts and places to breed, shelter and hibernate. Where: • Plant trees and shrubs in a corner with a sunny edge. A shrubby border, meandering in and out of the sun will perfectly resemble the dappled shade of a woodland glade. • Use hedgerows as a boundary instead of fences, to screen off an area of the garden such as a vegetable patch or wild area, to provide shelter from the wind or privacy. How: • Carefully plant to compress what you would find in a real wood into a mini reserve by developing several layers of plants, one above the other, from trees to wildflowers and include logs and leaf litter. • Even in a small garden try to grow at least one tree. If you have space, plant small trees about 3m apart. Large trees will need a lot of space. • Plant trees between November and March but not if the ground is frozen or waterlogged. Bare rooted plants are cheaper, but the roots cannot be exposed for too long, so prepare the ground before taking out the whips. • Dig a hole deep enough to meet the soil mark on the stem. Break up the soil in the bottom and add some compost or well-rotted manure. Place the plant in the hole and spread out the roots. • Replace the soil and firm in with your heel, making sure the tree is upright. Protect it with a guard if necessary and keep the base free of weeds with a mulch. • Keep the sapling watered during its first year. • To form the second layer, inter-plant the trees with shrubs. Plant at about 1m spacing and prune them hard to encourage dense, bushy growth. • Once the shade begins to develop start adding the wildflower layer. This will mean there will be gaps for the first couple of years as the trees and shrubs develop; mulch these to avoid weeds taking over. Coarsely chopped tree bark is ideal as it will also begin to establish the dead wood and decaying matter vitally important to many small woodland creatures. • Create a few log piles around the edges around which wildflowers can grow, to provide an important habitat for mini-beasts and fungi. Small mammals, amphibians and reptiles will also use these areas. • Once trees and shrubs are strongly established plant some climbers which will grow through the layers. These can quickly take over though so will need controlling. Hedgerows: • A variety of species can be used. 70 – 75% hawthorn provides a thorny, dense base for nesting birds and plentiful blossom and berries. Intersperse with four to six other species that flower and fruit at different times, for example, 15% field maple and 2% each of holly, native wild privet, dogwood, guelder rose and dog rose. If it is a large hedge include a tree every 10 – 20m. • Plant whips between November and March, using bare rooted plants apart from holly which is best pot grown.

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