Gardening for Wildlife: A Haven for You and Nature
There are an estimated 24 million gardens in the UK, and this represents a great opportunity to address the UK’s 60% wildlife population loss since 1970.
Now spring is here, those of us lucky enough to have gardens will be thinking about ‘tackling it’.
Drop the ‘products’
Thankfully, most of us have now left behind the weedkiller approach to gardening and are embracing a more nature-sensitive approach. Sure, there is still a lot of concreting over to park another car, or laying down plastic grass, but I guess we don’t all want to spend time maintaining a garden.
Ease up
The good news about gardening for nature is it’s relatively low maintence. Yes, you can leave those leaves on the ground around planted areas – it’s good for the soil and provides habitat for hedgehogs, frogs and slow worms, all predators of slugs. Yes, you can leave areas totally alone – many of our more colourful butterflies favour nettles as a food plant for their caterpillars. Setting areas aside can provide nesting sites for bees (we need them), and a great habitat for other invertebrates, thus ensuring a food source for all those hungry chicks in their nests.
Make it easy
I first became aware of the wildlife potential for gardens when interviewing Dave Goulson with his excellent book The Garden Jungle. Since then, there have been some brilliant books published to make gardening for nature easier. Traditional gardening can go hand-in-hand with a more nature friendly approach. Gardeners’ World presenter Frances Tophill is also the head gardener at the Sharpham Trust and her book. Rewild Your Garden: Create a Haven for Birds, Bees and Butterflies is the perfect book for any gardener looking to get back in touch with their wild side.
Dig in!
So, from planting for pollinators to installing a pond we have compiled a selection of essential books to get you gardening in a way that can be a haven for both you and the wildlife that benefits.
Nigel Jones is our resident bibliophile and runs the East Gate Bookshop in Totnes