Looking at how to attract wildlife to your outdoor space is a great idea, I’m using outdoor space as the descriptor as with modern living this can in reality mean anything from a garden to a window box flower display. Improving the appeal of these spaces for wildlife is not difficult and you will be rewarded by the sights and sounds of nature while knowing you are helping our British wildlife species with the food and habitat they require to thrive.
British wildlife is diverse, from birds and small mammals to bees, insects and butterflies, they all benefit from a little care and provision within our outdoor spaces. Often it is very simple to improve the value of space for wildlife, here are 3 ways you can achieve this at home.
Allow Nature To Take Its Course
Although you don’t have to let your garden go to pot, leaving a small area less manicured and available for wild plants to flourish will attract wildlife. Often the plants that we choose for their looks are not the ones that benefit our wildlife the best. Bedding plants are a prime example of where we choose on looks predominantly. But plants like Pansies and Petunias do not provide much for bees and other pollinating insects. They have low levels of nectar, or worse this nectar is inaccessible. So simply choosing plants that naturally coexist with our own wildlife can make a great difference. Flowers like Follyhocks, Foxgloves, Delphiniums and Comfrey offer Bees and other pollinating insects a much better outlook as well as being attractive to look at. Attracting more insects helps encourage bats and birds who feed on insects, so often a small change can encourage a large variety of wildlife to call your outdoor space their home.
Lawns
Lawns are not of a massive value to wildlife, but this situation can be easily improved by mowing less often and keeping a small area or border uncut. Encouraging daisies, buttercups and clover to grow will offer shelter and food for insects who will then breed and provide food for birds and small mammals like hedgehogs and mice. To keep things healthy try and avoid chemical weedkillers or lawn feeds, using these can be disastrous for wildlife and the biodiversity they create.
Paying Attention to What You Plant
If you’re interested in creating a garden that attracts more wildlife then an outdoor space with trees and shrubs is a must. Of course, this requires a decent amount of outdoor space, but if you do have room for them then the benefits are massive. Not only do trees like Silver Birch attract a whole range of wildlife, but they’re great for reducing noise and even helping with the climate of your garden. The good news is that when it comes to trees for the garden there are lots of suitable choices – so whatever you like the look of, there should be something to suit you and your garden.
If you have any tips on how to attract wildlife to your outdoor space then we’d love to hear them