MANY of you may have watched in amazement, as I did, at the excellent images and filming on the BBC Spring Watch programme recently aired a few weeks ago. The storylines, trials and tribulations were as exciting as any drama or soap opera. These same scenarios may well be playing out in your own gardens as worried and stressed parent birds frantically race around the garden to tend to their fledgling brood.

From a gardener’s point of view it reinforced to me the importance of what we have to play with when we are selecting plants for our own plot. Quite often the type of plant we would like to select for the garden may not be suitable for many of our nesting birds – many birds generally like to nest in dense shrubs and a lot of these are native. The common hawthorn, sloe, holly and the field maple grown together make an excellent hedge. Allowing some brambles, honeysuckle and a little ivy to develop within the hedge will add value to the hedge and enhance its ecological and biodiversity credentials.

If you look around your own garden you may find the remains of an old boundary hedge that may have got lost over the years.

Managing and maintaining these hedges at the right time of the year will help to maintain important wildlife corridors for birds, mammals, insects and amphibians for many years to come.

The hedge may need to be clipped and this should be delayed until after nesting season.

It is best done in August by giving the hedge a clip over with some shears, as most of our bird species will have fledged by this time. Some hedges may need to be cut during the nesting season, depending upon the species and circumstances relating to damage to buildings or cases relating to insurance issues. If this is the case, the hedge or shrubs should be carefully checked first for any nesting birds and the vegetation should not be cut to the extent that the nest is revealed and the birds disturbed.

It should always be remembered that it is an offence to knowingly disturb the site of any nesting bird.

As previously mentioned, it is not just our feathered friends that benefit from a good hedge. Many species of insects live in and around hedges and will go through the full life cycle within the canopy. At the base of the hedge many different species can be found like the black hunter beetles that will make short work of any marauding slugs and other pests that may trouble the gardeners plot. Ultimately, these insects provide an important larder themselves in providing a tasty meal for frogs, toads and newts and the occasional lizard.

Quite often, the bottom of the hedge may be suitable as an ideal site for a mixture of native flora. This may include primrose, cowslip, ragged robin, ox-eyed daisy and, if you are lucky, an orchid or spotted orchid.

Again these areas need to be managed and the use of a strimmer, mower or shears should be delayed until late July and early August so that the plants can set seed and continue to thrive for the following year. Often you may find landowners or local authorities cutting a small swath of about half a metre from the curb’s edge to keep things tidy and manageable and leaving an similar area free from the base of the hedge uncut.

This floral oasis needs a little help from nature itsself to help it survive and perpetuate year after year, this comes in the form of a small yellow plant called the yellow rattle, which is semi-parasitic on our native grassland species and helps to control and regulate the rate of growth to the benefit of the ragged robin and orchids. It is in these areas we may also find ground nesting birds and their young. Many warblers nest on or close to the ground in dense thickets, slightly larger birds like the pheasant, partridge or the occasional mallard can also be found.

Finally, when you are selecting new plants at the garden centre or if you are thinking of making changes in the garden, spare a thought for the wildlife that may already exist there. There are many plants out there that benefit both gardener and wildlife, enabling both to enjoy the same plot for many years to come.

TO DO THIS WEEK

  • Continue to plant vegetables including runner beans, cabbage, broccoli and celery
  • Sow courgettes, pumpkins and squashes directly into their growing position
  • Keep the pond balanced, covering around a half to two thirds of the surface area with floating plants like water lilies
  • Recycle grass clippings, composting them in a bin or using them as a mulch