Nature is undoubtedly the best habitat for wild animals, but you can also make your own garden animal-friendly. Wild animals can nest in various garden areas, and they will feel even more welcome with proper planting and garden design. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that you have to make your outdoor space look exactly like the wild. With the right landscaping, your outdoor space could resemble nature, regardless of size. In addition, there are many simple things you can do to help the animals and share your garden with them in a hospitable manner. For example, you can ensure that they have access to different habitats and provide the garden area with sufficient feeding areas. Here are some tips that can help you create such a garden by considering the most important factors.
Provide a living space and make your own garden animal-friendly
These days, any help for wildlife can make a big difference. Even the smallest gardens can provide different habitats for wild animals in winter. Additionally, there are many ways to introduce natural homes for feathered friends and other outdoor wildlife species. It's best to create as many living spaces as possible without overcrowding the garden. Be guided by the space available and focus on making such microhabitats as good as possible. Even the most modest areas, often overlooked, can be home to numerous representatives of the animal world. Here are some of the most common examples of this:
- Garden areas such as the lawn, for example, with long, uncut grass, are an important habitat for all kinds of insects and small animals. These also provide a feeding place for birds that feed on them.
- Adding flowering plants and shrubs provides nectar-rich food for butterflies and bees, as well as seeds, berries and cover for birds and small mammals.
- For many species of birds and mammals, trees and hedges in the garden provide sleeping and nesting places as well as valuable protection from predators and bad weather conditions.
- Furthermore, garden ponds and water features can be a habitat for a variety of animals - from invertebrates and amphibians to bathing garden birds.
- Also think about your wood and compost piles, as well as the decaying and discarded clippings from your garden. These can be incredible places for animals to live, eat and hibernate.
- By considering all of these options and key factors, you can make your own garden animal-friendly and make it a natural habitat for wildlife. Below are some simple steps you can take to make the whole remodeling process easier for yourself.
Instructions for animal-friendly garden design
The garden can therefore become a haven for wildlife, although the first priority should be to make the outdoor area a chemical-free zone. Keep your garden soil free of pesticides, fungicides or other chemical substances. Spraying herbicides and pesticides can be fatal to local animals. This is especially true for frogs and other creatures that like to use your water feature, for example. If you absolutely need to control some pests, you can use some of the more environmentally friendly or variantsTry home remedies for insects. The more you do to encourage creatures to enter, the more you will be able to enjoy your garden space, and here's how to do it.
Position and maintain feeding places and nesting boxes correctly
You can use an automatic feeder as a quick and easy solution to feed yourMake garden area more attractive to birds. However, you can also build a feeding station yourself as a DIY project without any prior knowledge. If you feel like DIY, you could try making a birdhouse out of a reused plastic bottle. If squirrels are a problem in your area, it may be better to opt for vending machines instead. These only allow smaller birds access to food.
The type of bird food you put in the bird feeder also affects the types of birds that visit your garden. For example, mealworms are popular with insectivores such as sparrows, while goldfinches have a preference for niger seeds. Regular cleaning and maintenance of the homemade feeding station is an equally important matter. When it comes to ready-made or homemade nest boxes, you should place them in a protected location, out of the reach of predators. Place in spring when the birds are feeding their brood,high-protein bird food such as fat ballsand seeds in winter. A nesting box or feeder should also be located near a dense bush such as a hydrangea or climbing rose. This means that small birds such as blue tits can fly in and out to eat without having to fear predators.
Grow plants suitable for butterflies and bees
Butterflies and moths, like most other pollinators, feed on the nectar of almost every flower, but their caterpillars are picky and may only have one or two plant species to live on. The brimstone butterfly caterpillars, for example, only feed on sea buckthorn bushes and lay their eggs there. To attract a variety of beneficial insects such as butterflies and other insects to your garden, you should grow a variety of plant species that bloom at different times of the year.
Rotten fruits are also an excellent food source for butterflies. The long, thin tubes of honeysuckle are particularly popular with butterflies, and bluebells and foxgloves are great for bees. Flat flowers such as daisies and wild carrots also attract these and a number of other insects. Try to find out what species of butterflies and moths are active in your area and plant their caterpillars' food plants to maximize your chances of attracting them. Thus, you can cater to different creatures that live there. It also looks more visually interesting if you add blackberries, currants orPlanting gooseberriesand thus make your garden animal-friendly. This will allow more shrubs to fill your garden area and feed pollinators such as butterflies, bees and hoverflies.
Make the most of the compost and make the garden animal-friendly
Adding a compost pile made from kitchen scraps to the garden area can be an environmentally friendly way to reduce waste. The best part is that you can also create a haven for beneficial insects. These include small invertebrates such as millipedes, woodlice and spiders, which are an excellent source of food for other wild animals. Those tooown vermicompostingwith leaves and other organic material can optimize this process.
Additionally, you can improve your garden soil by spreading your own compost around the garden area. Worms ensure better soil drainage and transport important nutrients to the surface. Compost bins consume waste and also nourish the garden soil, helping you keep your garden plants healthy. This is also a suitable habitat for mushrooms, frogs and grass snakes. However, only put raw food scraps in unless you can keep rats out of it. Also the right oneCaring for compost in winteris important. When it's ready (this can take a few months to a year), spread it on your beds. Never use peat – peat bogs are special habitats and should be protected.
Support nocturnal wildlife
If you want to make your garden pet-friendly, you should also ensure that garden walls and fences have holes at the bottom. This allows nocturnal creatures such as hedgehogs and frogs to pass through the garden area more easily. There are many wild animals at night looking for food or shelter. Plants such as honeysuckle and evening primrose are also night-blooming and release their scent after dark, which can attract pollinating insects. Such nocturnal insects can therefore also represent an attractive meal for bats and other insectivores.
Additionally, you can also help bats by reducing or removing artificial lighting in your yard and around your property. Artificial lighting can prevent bats from seeing objects in their path. This could potentially lead to collisions with obstacles. As for hedgehogs, these wild animals are also nocturnal visitors that can keep the garden ecosystem in balance. For this purpose, you can coordinate with your neighbors to add a hole for hedgehogs. Another possibilityHelping hedgehogs, consists of building them a house for nesting and overwintering.
Design a sustainable garden that is animal-friendly
The concept of sustainability is always current and the environmentally friendly mindset is another important part of animal-friendly garden design. This can have a positive impact on wildlife as well as extending beyond the garden. It is important to consider the choice of materials when designing your outdoor spaces.
- First and foremost, peat mining can impact vital habitats. Therefore, try to avoid using peat by finding alternative forms of compost.
- You can also save water by collecting rainwater in rain barrels and barrels instead of the tap. The natural rainwater is also more suitable for garden ponds and water features.
- Also try growing native garden plants to reduce your carbon footprint. Also, make sure wildflowers are grown from legally collected seeds and not dug up from the wild.
- Try to recycle wherever possible. To do this, use reclaimed, old materials when building raised edges and other garden structures. For example, old pallets and scaffolding boards can be great building materials.
- Also try to avoid using pesticides and use non-toxic, chemical-free alternatives.
