How to Encourage and Enjoy Wildlife with Little or No Garden
How to Encourage and enjoy Wildlife with little or no garden
If you want the pleasure of from seeing wildlife up close then there are lots of things you can do yourself to encourage all sorts of critters. Most items used to help encourage wildlife can be bought ready made but you can also design and make your own which can be fun or use the intranet to help with a design. Here are just a few things you can do to get you started:
Offer a source of water
A bought bird bath or drinker can be set up in your garden, yard or on balcony. You can purchase or make a hanging bath/drinker which takes up very little space. But any shallow bowl is suitable either on the floor or raised on any surface you have available. Keep the drinker clean and topped up with fresh water. Then sit back quietly and enjoy watching the birds
Plant a window box or fill a pot
Use planters, window boxes and hanging baskets to attract birds, butterflies and insects to a space. Choose bright coloured sun loving flowers especially those that grow naturally in a meadows. You can even grow small fruit trees in pots. Put in some evergreen too for insects to hide in. If you have a wall you want to brighten up then you could grow some ivy or honeysuckle in a planter against the wall.
Birds nesting
Make or buy a nesting box. There are plenty of designs available online. Depending on the species of bird you want to attract will determine the design you choose. Do some research first to ensure your bird box is suitable. Of course birds will nest in trees and in hedgerows if you have the growing already. Ensure you don’t cut or trim these when birds are breeding. The main bird breeding season is recognised as being between 1 March and 31 August
Set up bird feeders
There are many different types of feeders to hold different types of feed. Also different designs. But you don’t need to make it complicated. Even if you don’t have a garden or a balcony you can get feeders that stick to windows. Or again make your own feeder. Fill your feeders up with different food types as this will attract different species of birds. Just be aware that bird feeds and feed left spilt on the ground can also attract unwanted pests. Keep the feeders clean and clean up any split food.
Go wild
Letting a small area grow wild in your garden or plant natural wild flowers to attract insects, butterflies and birds. You can also make this a lovely feature in your garden with cornflowers, foxgloves, poppies, and chamomile.
Create a natural pond
Adding a natural pond need not be a big job. Something as small as a washing up bowl can be used. Bury the bowl if you wish and add gravel rocks and pond plants. Make sure the wildlife can get in and out using stones and logs. An old ceramic sink makes an attractive pond feature in a garden and does not take up much space. Put plants around your pond either in planters or in the ground to add shade. Use rainwater to fill the pond and then wait for tater wildlife to find it themselves.
Build an insect hotel
Pile up some spare logs, broken tree branches, bits of twigs and push some dead leaves into the spaces. This will attract woodlice, beetles and other insects encouraging them to make a home there as the wood rots. Just use any space you can spare and the insects will be most appreciative. There are lots of ways to make bug hotels depending on the type of insects you want to attract. Be careful with placing a bee hotel though as they may also attract wasps.
Plant Fruit Trees or bushes
Plant fruit trees or bushes in your garden and leave some fruit on them for the insects. The butterflies will just love to feast on the fruit as well as the birds and bees. Fruit trees and bushes can also be planted in pots for a balcony too.
(the picture shown here is of a butterfly feeding on a plum from our tree, we had left some ripe fruit to feed the wildlife and they loved it)