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You do not have to compromise the beauty of your garden to make it attractive to wildlife. If you love to hear the birds chirping and to see the beauty of butterflies in your garden there are a few simple ways to say welcome to them.
Leave Some Long Grass
Let the grass in a corner of your garden grow and it will provide somewhere for small animals such as voles to hide, as they are quite nervous of creatures that are larger than them. The long grass will also give the butterfly caterpillars somewhere to find their food.
Bird Boxes
Having a few bird boxes in your garden will give the wild birds somewhere to shelter from the extremes of the weather. They will use them for nesting to, but be safely out of the reach of predators.
It is best to buy wild bird food that is designed to give them all the nutrients they need. The old tradition of giving them scraps of bread and bacon is not good for their digestive systems and is more likely to attract rats than birds.
Ponds
Can you remember the thrill of seeing and hearing a frog for the first time when you were a child? They are creatures that are in so many storybooks that children love to see them in real life. Have a shallow pond to encourage them into your garden, and let the children watch them turn from frogspawn into tadpoles and eventually into frogs. This is a great introduction to the world of nature for children if all ages.
A pond will also attract dragonflies and it is amazing how beautiful some of those can be.
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Keep It Damp
If you let your garden dry out too much the wildlife will soon disappear. You do not have to have the whole garden soaking, but you should keep the areas that are meant to attract wildlife damp. An irrigation system with a Grundfos CR pump is the simplest way to do this, and then you can be sure that the worms, caterpillars and all the other tiny wildlife creatures will be happy to stay in your garden.
Care For The Hedgehogs
If you have a family pet and leave their food outside, you may well see a hedgehog or two. They are really fond of dog and cat food as well as dried fruits and cooked vegetables. They will happily wander around your garden and can often be quite friendly. Just avoid feeding them milk or bread as these types of foods can be bad for their health.
Build A Log Pile
Next time you are trimming the trees in your garden use the branches to build a log pile. As these should always be made of untreated and unpainted wood, freshly cut branches are ideal. This will attract a huge variety of mammals, amphibians, and insects into your garden.
Butterflies, bees and other flying wildlife tend to like bright colors. Have a few plants that have vivid colored flowers and this together with some of the suggestions above will make your garden a haven for wildlife.