How to go wild

MENTION “wildlife gardening” and it probably conjures up an image of an unmanaged tangle of long grass and nettles from which David Bellamy might pop up at any moment and enthuse about the lovely compost. But actually, this isn’t gardening; it’s just neglect. Gardening implies at least a little bit of planned management on our part.

Another problem with getting your head around wildlife gardening is that, in a way, there is no such thing as wildlife.

Instead there are thousands of different species, each with subtly different requirements.

A garden that is designed to attract butterflies would look very different from one that would be popular with amphibians. In fact, even among such a small group as amphibians, of which there are only seven species at large in the North-East, what suits a frog might not suit a toad. And as for newts? Well they will eat all the frogspawn.

But before you give up in despair at being unable to decide which of Britain’s thousands of species of obscure moth or beetle you would prefer to attract to your patch, the good news is that wildlife gardening is essentially quite straightforward.

For a start, every garden is a wildlife garden.

Every natural part of the garden and even some of the artificial bits are good for something. From the gold standard of a pond brimming with plants to the less obviously wild patio with pot plants, there is something that will call it home. Even so, if your ambition is to attract as much wildlife as possible, there are a few simple things that you can do to improve on the standard bare soil and roses – unless, that is, your particular interests in wildlife are earthworms and aphids.

In Britain, the natural state of being is predominantly to be covered in woodland.

Hence most animal species in this country are adapted for an association with some part of a tree.

From the bugs that nibble the leaves, to the spiders that snare the bugs, to the birds and bats that hunt the spiders, there is a whole food chain just waiting for a tree to start it off. Most gardens are too small for a fully-grown English oak, much celebrated in wildlife gardening lore for providing a home to about 400 different species of insect, but many gardens could easily fit in a birch, a rowan or a holly. Even in a tiny garden there is usually room for a fruit tree, which has the added benefit that you get a share of the spoils (we should never forget that we are also wildlife).

Even more alluring to wildlife than a tree is water. Everything needs water and as far as gardening goes, the simple equation is wet equals wild. There are plenty of books that can tell you all the features that you need for the perfect wildlife pond, but water is such a vital commodity: no matter how you provide it, it will be gratefully received.

When our kids were young I made do with an old washing-up bowl, which was principally there to grow on a few taddies, but which was soon utilised by the aphid-eating hoverflies which laid their eggs in it. Even just a tray of water is likely to be more effective in bringing birds in to your garden than a fully-stocked bird table as the birds might otherwise have to fly quite some distance to get a drink.

The cardinal sin with wildlife ponds is to introduce fish, as they hoover up a large proportion of the other inhabitants, but even a pond with fish is better than no pond at all. I have to confess that I can’t resist the temptation of koi carp, which are the gluttons of the fish world.

Nevertheless, my pond still manages to provide a home for a few hog lice and shrimps in its depths, pond skaters across the surface and some bright green spiders that hang over it from the iris leaves. By way of repentance, I have also put in a small fishless pond, a couple of feet square, that does for the newts.

Once upon a time a large part of my job was to take primary school groups on mini-beast hunts. The obligatory National Curriculum element to this was to demonstrate that different animals lived in different habitats. We would start off with a tour round grassy glades, getting the children to smell the “pig poo” and “dog wee” plants, whose revolting smells drew in the insects (very popular with primary school children).

This was the habitat of the froghoppers and flower beetles, of snails and spiders, the animals whose food chain started with the green and flowery parts of plants.

To contrast this we took them into the dark, dark wood, to the dead leaves and rotting logs and to that part of the food chain that dines on the dead. Here was a whole new community with woodlice and millipedes, harvestmen and centipedes and, at the top of the pyramid, fat toads that would wee on your hand if you picked them up.

The moral of the story for wildlife gardening is, of course, that to maximise the variety of wildlife in your garden, you need both food chains. The live plants bit is straightforward: if you don’t have at least some, then by definition you don’t actually have a garden.

The dead plant food chain could be based round some logs, which do have the advantage that they can be made into an attractive, rustic feature, but the best way to cater for all these detritivores, to give them their proper name, is to have a compost heap. A proprietary plastic compost bin will do fine if neatness or lack of space dictate, but build an old-fashioned open compost heap and not only will you satisfy thousands of hungry worms and woodlice with your wilted leftovers, but your local robin will be your friend for life.

The truth then about wildlife gardening is that you have actually been doing it all along, and your garden will already have been visited by dozens of species. But that’s no excuse to rest on your laurels (or indeed any other sort of bush in your garden). There is always scope to do something to attract even more wildlife in.

Go l’eau

EVERYTHING needs water and as far as gardening goes, the simple equation is wet equals wild. If we asked your local wildlife for their top ten tips, this is probably what they would come up with:

• Provide water, even if it’s just a tray;
• Lots of species either climb or fly so create a third dimension with trees, shrubs or climbers;
• Compost your green waste – it’s good for wildlife, good for the soil and good for the planet;
• Variety is the spice of life. The more different plants you grow, the more different insects you will attract;
• Grow some plants that flower at the beginning and end of the year, which is when nectar is most needed. Anything can make a living in June;
• Keep it simple. Highly-cultivated flowers tend to be poor sources of nectar so include some simple flowers, such as garden herbs;
• Not everything likes peanuts. Give your birds a variety of food served up in a variety of feeding receptacles;
• Disinfect your bird feeders regularly. Birds need their pots washing up to avoid infections.

􀁥 Don’t cut back everything in winter.

Leave somewhere for creatures to hibernate, 􀁥 Provide water. This is so important, I’ve put it in twice.