David Domoney explores how to help winter wildlife enjoy your garden and the benefits associated in doing so.

1 November 2021

Gardens FOR Winter WildlifE

During the colder months it’s helpful to look out for our fellow friends who enjoy spending time in our gardens. From amphibians and birds to pollinators, there’s a plethora of wildlife that we can lend a helping hand through winter. Here are some ideas of how to help winter wildlife in your garden.

 

 

Water Works

When attracting birds to the space, give them all they need to make the stop off in your garden a pleasant one. Leaving them fresh water to drink and bathe in is ideal. A lovely stone or a cast iron bird bath can even be a wonderful decorative feature in your garden. Place it in the centre of a Sandstone Circle to make it the perfect focal feature, whilst the paving adds shape to the space and helps to separate the areas in your garden.

 

 

Feature Paving

To achieve an art deco style garden, the Slate Feature Circle will work wonders to add some a dark, mysterious ambience to your garden. Topped with a natural slate plinth, finished with a bowl on top will have a striking impact. So, ensure you position it somewhere that you can see from your home to spot which birds are paying your garden a visit.

 

 

Winter Wildlife Food

Plants offer a multitude of things for wildlife, such as shelter and food, so having a good mix of plants that offer these things throughout the year is a great way of ensuring wildlife feels welcome. Certain species will be more attracted to different plants, so here are a few to incorporate into your garden.

 

 

A Colourful Feast

Through winter, having shrubs that provide berries is a great start to add to birds’ diets. Cotoneaster horizontalis is a wonderful ornamental addition, with striking colour in the autumn as well as fruits from September to November that are enjoyed by robins, blackcaps, and bullfinches. Not only is this shrub a treat for birds, but the flowers that bloom in spring attract bees.

 

 

Festive Garden

For evergreen colour and structure all year round, Ilex aquifolium (common holly) provides glossy green leaves that are joined by red berries, for that classic Christmastime look. Plant in a sunny or partially shaded spot and this hardy plant will provide bright red berries for greenfinches and waxwings.
 

A popular addition to any garden style, roses will produce rosehips if the spent flowers are left in place on the plant. Specifically, the rose hips of Rosa pimpinellifolia (burnet rose) are high in antioxidants and are a fantastic snack for waxwings and blackbirds. The small, compact bush blooms with creamy white flowers in spring, growing best in full sun with well-drained soil.

 

 

Walk This Way

When prioritising wildlife in the garden, one of the top tips is to not tidy up too much. Instead, leave areas to run wild, offering more space for shelter and for insects to congregate, which in turn provides food for other species.

 

 

Wild Planting

Create a wild corner in your garden by sowing wildflower seeds and leaving log piles to invite little critters to the space. It doesn’t have to be huge, and it doesn’t have to detract from the aesthetic of your garden either because the wildflowers such as poppies, yarrows, daisies, and pansies will bring a burst of colour whilst attracting pollinators.

 

 

Landscaping a Wilderness

A wild corner can have a really magical effect. By adding a winding walkway up to or through your wild spot using the Tudor Cobbles can have a really enchanting impact as the warm tones meander through the garden.

 

 

Look After Garden Wildlife

With Bonfire Night at this time of the year, ensure you aren’t putting wildlife in danger when lighting it. The best thing to do is build the bonfire on the day you plan to light it, which saves hedgehogs from taking shelter.

 

 

However, if the bonfire does need to be built in advance, surround it by chicken wire to stop creatures getting in. Then, before lighting, use a broom and a torch to thoroughly check the base of the bonfire for any wildlife that has made its way in. Listen out too for a hissing sound which is the noise that hedgehogs make when they’re scared or threatened.

So, lend a helping hand to our garden friends this winter by ensuring your garden is a safe and inviting space that offers food, water, and shelter. Then when you’re curled up with a warm drink, you can watch wildlife enjoy your garden from the comfort of your home.

 

This month I have selected a video of one of my favourite gardens filmed in warmer months which also makes for a wonderful sancturary for wildlife during the winter months.

 

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