Wildlife Gardening
The wildflower garden
Wildflower gardening is all about choosing plants for their natural function
as well as their looks. If you choose carefully, you can encourage a variety
of wildlife to visit your garden throughout the year. Different species
use different parts of plants – leaves, nectar, fruit or seeds.
And all wildlife is part of a food chain: grow the right plants, insects
will arrive to feed on them and birds will then feed on the insects.
B&B borders
Forget bedding plants – think bed and breakfast! Why not establish
a B&B for the bees and butterflies. A good B&B will provide a
range of plants to satisfy the appetites of a variety of insects that
visit flowers for nectar and pollen. It will also be located in a sunny
spot and out of the wind. This is because butterflies, in particular,
like to bask as they feed. Many of the plants in the list below are native
species, including some that have become rare in the countryside, with
herbicides having destroyed their traditional haunts.
| Bugle | Golden rod | Spirea |
| Honesty | Yarrow | Hollyhock |
| Wallflower | Ice plant (Sedum spectabile) | Ox-eye daisy |
| Hebe | Buddleia Davidii | |
| Perennial cornflower | Michaelmas daisy |
Don’t cut plants back after flowering – leave them so that birds can feed on the seeds. Grow sunflowers, teasels and evening primroses and you may attract seed eating birds such as greenfinch, goldfinch and linnets.
Herb beds
Herb beds provide the best aromas in the wildlife garden. Not only are
they useful in cooking, they’re a welcome retreat for insects and
birds. Many of our culinary herbs produce pollen rich flowers and good
seed heads.
Herbs for damp soils:
Angelica
Mint
Lemon balm
Bee balm
Pennyroyal
Sweet cicecly
Herbs for dry soils
Hyssop Lavender
Tansy Winter savory
Rosemary Marjoram
Fennel Borage
Thyme Dill
Wild containers
You can keep a mini wildflower garden in pots – it isn’t size
that counts! Plant annual meadow species in a pot – cornfield annuals
will work well - and once they’ve produced seeds you can collect
these and use them for the following year. Provide a variety of habitats
for your pots – a little shade, a sunny spot, a watery area. If
you are particularly short of space, hanging baskets can provide a wonderful
display and can include herbs such as chives, caraway, thyme, curled parsley
and marjoram. Similarly, a window box can boast a fine display of herbs
and annuals attracting bees and butterflies. An interesting fact is that
native wild flowers are especially suited to the harsher environments
containers usually produce.Raised beds
A raised bed can be easily maintained by the physically disabled or elderly
and could contain a variety of colourful annuals which provide a feast
for insects. Annuals can also be a useful stop-gap for your wildflower
garden while you plan a more permanent design.
Annuals
| Cornflower | Marigold | Tobacco plant |
| Candytuft | Virginia Stock | Sweet William |
| Cosmos | Poached egg plant | Snapdragon |
Nettles
Nettles are the food plant for the caterpillars of peacock, red admiral
and other butterflies. You only need a small area – plant them in
an old tub or pot buried in the ground to stop them spreading, in a sunny
spot. Cut back small areas later in June and July since some butterflies
will only lay eggs on fresh young leaves.
If you are really committed to gardening for wildlife, the first step
should be to take a careful look at your use of herbicides and pesticides.
Pesticide use in gardens and farms has long been an issue of concern.
In fact, two years ago almost ten per cent of garden pesticides were removed
from sale in the UK, bringing us into line with EU legislation. Common
garden shed products like lawn feeds, nettle guns, weed killers and rose
pesticides were abandoned by manufactures who realised that their products
would not meet stringent new EU standards.
The enduring problem is that most of us want immaculate lawns and weed-free
borders. But there is a price to pay for perfection – and it is
our native wildlife that is paying it.
Spray chemicals liberally onto unwanted weeds and pests and you don’t
just kill your target beastie. Any animal or plant is part of the food
web, so if you kill one species, it won’t be long before the balance
of nature is disrupted.
Surely there is a natural way around this? Try not to classify all uncultivated
plants as weeds – they’re almost all valuable food sources
for insects and other wildlife. If you do have a problem with a wild plant
that needs to be controlled, try to avoid using weed killers – especially
those which stay in the soil. A generous mulch of straw or bark chippings
will suppress weeds as well as retaining soil moisture. Fungicides and
weed killers don’t just kill weeds and mildews – they kill
the friendly earthworms and other soil animals which are vital to the
health of your garden soil.
Avoid using slug pellets. Hedgehogs and song thrushes can die if they
eat slugs which have been poisoned with them. If slugs and snails are
busy munching through your flower beds, try laying a circle of sharp sand,
ash, soot or broken egg shells around your plants – they won’t
cross it. Alternatively, set up a pitfall trap – a cup or jar with
a little beer in the bottom, sunk into the ground, is ideal.
If your vegetable patch is under attack, try planting marigolds to attract
the predatory wasps and hoverflies which attack caterpillars, aphids and
other pest larvae. You can also use diluted soapy water (or washing up
liquid) to deal with greenfly and blackfly – it’s believed
not to harm butterflies and caterpillars.
Encourage frogs, toads, birds, bats and hedgehogs into your wild garden
and them let them feast on your unwanted guests!
