Little Green Space

LITTLE GREEN SPACE

Originally published in the Peak Advertiser on 10 July 2008

The summer months are perfect for enjoying the garden, and it is even nicer if you can share your patch with some of the local wildlife.

There is so much you can do in your garden to encourage wildlife, and many species will reward you by helping out! Frogs and toads, for example, may not be able to tackle that clump of weeds in the flowerbed, but they will gobble up slugs. And ladybirds are fantastic things to have about – they eat aphids, the enemy of any gardener who has tried to grow perfect roses.

It can be hard to know where to start if you have never tried wildlife gardening before, but there are lots of quick and easy things that you can do.

In fact, something as simple as leaving a few empty terracotta pots turned upside down in the flower border will soon create a mini habitat that is teeming with life. And often, having a wildlife garden can actually save you time.

Ten Tips for a Greener Garden

Here are ten ways to create your own little green space. Do just one, two …or all ten!

1. Feed the birds. A few feeders in your garden will attract a variety of different birds. Try peanuts for blue tits and niger seeds for finches. Do make sure that you continue to provide a food supply, as they really come to rely on garden feeders during winter. Oh, and don’t forget to put some water out too.

2. Plant a butterfly garden. Butterflies and bees love buddleia, sedums, lavender and thyme. Many of these plants are easy to grow and need little maintenance. And what could be nicer on a sunny day than sitting in the garden with butterflies flitting around you?

3. Build a pond. This is one of the best things you can do to help wildlife, as ponds are a disappearing habitat in Britain. Frogs, toads, dragonflies and damselflies will take up residence within a few months of a new pond appearing. And you may even be lucky enough to find newts in your pond. Do be careful, though, if you have young children, as ponds can be dangerous for little ones.

Create a Habitat for Mini-beasts

4. Make a log pile. This one’s easy! Get hold of some logs, pile them up in a corner, and leave them alone. Little creatures will move in. Log piles are especially good for invertebrates like ladybirds. There are 45,000 species of invertebrates in the UK, and 2000 of these are rare or threatened. A log pile will provide a habitat for these creatures and could really help them to survive.

5. Plant a tree. If you have a big garden plant a big tree such as oak, ash or beech. Trees for smaller gardens include holly, hawthorn and rowan. Or how about a tree that gives you food, such as apple, plum or pear? All are fantastic for wildlife.

6. Put up a nesting box. Within ten years a nesting box can provide shelter for 100 baby blue tits. Or at the other extreme, if you have the space, how about a barn owl box? There are also bat boxes, butterfly houses and ladybird mansions. You could create an entire town for wildlife!

7. Leave an area of your lawn uncut. As the grass grows it will often be joined by wildflowers that will attract bees and butterflies. Bees are vital in the garden for pollinating fruit and vegetables. And it doesn’t take so long to mow the grass!

8. Plant a hedge. This takes a bit more effort, but hedges are fantastic for wildlife. They provide pathways and shelter for small mammals, and provide places to nest for thrushes, dunnocks and finches. Berries are produced in autumn and are a great source of food for many creatures. Hawthorn, buckthorn and holly are all good hedging plants.

9. Start a compost heap. Insects love them, and if you make or buy an open wooden container, toads and birds can get to the insects. Plus compost heaps are good for the environment – less waste goes to landfill, which means less greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere. Pile in all your fruit and vegetable peelings along with torn up cardboard and teabags, and before long you’ll have bucketloads of rich, crumbly compost – all for free!

Leave It Alone!

10. Make a messy area. Find a corner. Add some branches or twigs, and maybe a pile of leaves. Leave it alone. Let the nettles grow. Hedgehogs love this sort of environment, and hate to be disturbed. If you don’t like how it looks, create a natural screen with trellis and honeysuckle.

All these ideas are great for wildlife, but they are great for people too. Wildlife gardens are particularly good for children, who will delight in discovering and learning about all the creatures that share our planet.

If you are worried about the garden looking a mess, you shouldn’t be. Just keep some areas neatly trimmed and mown, and the wild bits will look like they are supposed to be like that – which, of course, they are!

And if your neighbours make any comments about the change in your garden, you could explain what you’re up to and even gently encourage them to do the same. Soon we could have a whole network of little green spaces springing up all over the Peak District. And wouldn’t that be nice?

If you get the wildlife gardening bug there are many more ideas at www.wildaboutgardens.org.

I would love to hear from anyone who is creating their own little green space in the Peak District. If you already have a wildlife area in your garden, at your local school or place of work, or have been inspired by this article to try some of the ideas, please email me at penny@littlegreenspace.org.uk or write to Little Green Space, PO Box 7590, Matlock DE4 9BT.

Penny at Little Green Space