Your Wildlife Garden. Jackie Bennett
in water to make it easier to swallow.
RECIPE for bird cake
¼kg (½lb) suet or lard, melted
½kg (1lb) dry ‘cake’ mixture: seeds, nuts, oats, dried fruits, cake etc
A mould: small bowl, half a coconut shell or empty plastic carton
Put the dry mixture into the mould and pour the melted fat over it. If you intend to hang the ‘cake’ from the bird table, place a piece of string in the bowl before pouring in the fat. Leave to set and tip out onto the bird table.
KEEPING THE POND ICE FREE
It is important to keep at least some part of the pond free of ice throughout any cold spells. This not only allows birds and other visitors like foxes to drink but also stops a build-up of gases under the ice. As organic matter decomposes gases are released which, if trapped by a layer of ice, will build up and poison existing pond life. A simple and cheap method of allowing the pond to ‘breathe’ is to float a block of wood on the surface of the water. Then, when the pond freezes remove the wood, leaving a gap. A child’s plastic or foam ball will also prevent ice forming over all the surface, but avoid lurid colours which can scare away potential users.
MAKING PLANS
This is the best month for planning out a new garden layout. Even if you only envisage a few minor changes, it is a good idea to try them out on paper beforehand. If you are starting with a bare plot or considering a fairly major project like digging a pond or planting a mini-woodland, it is essential to think it through in some detail before you ever put spade to earth.
Habitat/Feature
CHECKLIST
Consider first of all which features already in the garden are useful to wildlife — mature trees, for instance, a compost heap or a pond of some kind. Use the list above to identify elements you want to keep. Draw a rough plan of the garden and mark in these features. Next, decide which features could be improved to make them more wildlife friendly, such as adding stepping stones to a steep-sided pond or replanting an existing border with nectar-rich flowers. You might wish to turn part of the lawn over to a wildflower meadow but, before you do, consider which areas it would be practical to grow long and which parts you really need to keep as a conventional lawn. Be prepared to play around with this plan — all winter if you have to. Try all sorts of combinations, bearing in mind how much work they will involve, until you are happy that the layout is one that will suit you and your lifestyle, as well as the needs of the wildlife you want to attract.
ORDERING WILDFLOWER SEEDS
Many native species are not yet available as pot-grown plants in garden centres. This means that there is no option but to grow some varieties from seed which is more readily available. You will need to order from one of the wildflower specialists (listed on p140), or check out the seed packet displays in supermarkets and garden centres.
Annual flowers are particularly easy to grow and they don’t necessarily have to be native as long as they are colourful and nectar-rich. Night-scented stocks, cornflowers, candytuft, snapdragons and sunflowers will attract insects and therefore increase the range of birds that visit the garden. Half-hardy annuals and biennial plants can also be raised from seed and incorporated in borders, where they will act as a magnet to summer bees and butterflies.
If space is a problem, hardy and half-hardy annual seeds can be sown directly into large pots, where they can be left to grow on to full size. The pots can then be moved around the patio to create instant colour.
FLOWER SEEDS
HALF-HARDY ANNUALS African marigold (Tagetes erecta) N, B French marigold (Tagetes patula) N, B Heliotrope (Heliotropium) N Petunia N Tobacco plant (Nicotiana) N
HARDY ANNUALS Candytuft (Iberis umbellata) N Common poppy (Papaver rhoeas) B, H, Nat Corncockle (Agrostemma githago) N, Po, Nat Corn chamomile (Anthemis arvensis) N, Nat Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) N, B, Nat Larkspur (Delphinium consolida) B, Po, Nat Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) N Mignonette (Reseda odorata) N, C Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) H, C Night-scented stock (Matthiola bicornis) N, M Poached egg flower (Limnanthes douglasii) B, H Pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) B, H Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) N, B, S Virginia stock (Malcolmia maritima) N, B
BIENNIALS Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) B, H, M Forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica) N, B, Nat Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) B, Po, Nat Great mullein (Verbascum thapsus) B, Nat Sweet rocket (Hesperis matronalis) N, Nat Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) N Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) N, B, S, Nat Wallflower (Cheiranthus cheiri) N, Nat