[Xurek]

Hey guys.

Reading alot of posts lately especially over at the Autumnwatch message boards and I am getting very jealous about just how much wildlife people get coming into their gardens and it's made me want to take steps to making my garden more attractive to more. I don't have a huge garden and where I live I realise I am restricted to what I will see but I think it has potential to get quite alot of different species. At the back outside there are quite a few trees (Rowan is abundant, plus maple sycamore and silver birch) and we live next to farmland. We get a few birds coming in now and again and have had bluetits nesting in a birdbox, we have a resident fieldmouse who likes to steal nuts from the bird feeders.

My question is what advice would you give me to start making it more attractive. What should I plant (trees/shrubs/flowers) to attract more butterflies and bees and insects in general? When should I plant them? Any tips for encouraging more birds to come to my garden? I understand this request is very general but I'm just not sure where to start.

Thanks for any help in advance.

[cabbage]

I've got a very small garden - think postage stamp sized - but with a little care its possible to get a decent amount of wildlife in. I'm a bit of a beginner really, this is my first garden but heres a few tips I've been given and tried.

[b]Don't be too tidy[/b]. If you can leave one or two weeds in an out of the way spot do so, lots of butterflies like nettles and thistles for example. Let the grass grow a couple of inches more than normal and when you cut it leave some of the cuttings on the lawn.

[b]Dead wood[/b]. There's nothing insects like more than dead wood and if you've got insects then you'll attract birds and mammals. Again you can just leave these in out of the way places where they can't really be seen and thus don't disturb the beauty of your garden if you like but a few trimmed branches strategically placed in your borders or under hedges can be quite pretty.

[b]Water[/b]. I don't have room for a pond in my garden but if you do then it'll be a big boost. If you can't manage a pond then think about a bird bath - this is the right time of year to buy them too. I got a beautiful stone birdbath cheap in my local garden centre's autumn sale a couple of years ago and the birds LOVE it! There's a queue to get in some days!

[b]Plants[/b]. Think about what you've got planted and try to provide lots of nectar rich flowers. Try to put in plants that flower early and late in the season as well as some that flower through the summer as these are the times when insects will be looking for food thats scarce elsewhere. To be honest I'm not very good at identifying plants but I have a purple [b]Buddleia[/b] (sometimes called a butterfly bush) that is absolutely covered in butterflies in August and September. Its also a really pretty plant in its own right. Again insects will attract bigger animals.

[b]Berries[/b]. You've got a good start with your rowans already there but if you can provide trees and bushes that fruit then the birds and the bees will thank you! Trees and bushes big enough for birds to hide and nest in are very useful.

[b]Feeders[/b]. I have four birdfeeders in my garden, one with mixed garden friendly seed, two with nyger seed and one with peanuts. You can hang these from trees or put in a feeding station pole. Make sure you put them at a reasonable height so cats can't get at them and put them near cover so the birds can hide if threatened.

I live just outside Edinburgh and regularly get tree and house sparrows, dunnocks, robins, coal tits, blue tits, great tits, siskins, greenfinches, goldfinches, starlings and collared doves. I've also had the very occasional visit from a greater spotted woodpecker who goes for the nut feeder. On one afternoon last winter I had 18 goldfinches in my garden - remember it really is postage stamp sized! One added benefit from this (some might actually see it as a curse but I like it) is sparrowhawks. I have a female sparrowhawk who visits my garden very regularly and more than once I've spent a fascinating few minutes watching her hunting some birds hiding in the bushes next to the feeders - thats why you have to provide cover for them to hide in! She'll take one every now and again but thats nature.

The birds are also messy eaters, they will drop seeds and bits of nut and these will attract mice. Personally I've got nothing against mice as long as they stay outdoors - they're quite cute wee guys really! Make sure to clean up regularly though otherwise you might start to attract rats if theres a lot of food lying about. I draw the line at rats I'm afraid.

[b]Nestboxes[/b]. If you have room then these are a must (Unfortunately I don't :( ) Think about hedgehog homes and butterfly or ladybird homes too. I got my parents one of these nestboxes with a camera in last year for their christmas but they didn't get anything in it this year - typically a pair of great tits chose to raise their family in an old home made nest box on a treestump right next to the brand new state of the art bought one! Just shows though birdboxes needn't be expensive, the birds don't care if they're home made!

This is all a bit obvious but i hope it helps! I'm sure someone else will be along with better advice in a minute :)

[Xurek]

Wow what an awesome reply! Wasn't expecting that, you've covered everything [:D]

When is the best time to plant a butterfly bush and will it just be available at the local gardencentre?

Any suggestions on what bushes/flowers attract the bees the best and also the best time of year to plant them?

Thanks again!

[Pross1]

Lavender is also a good bet for insects. You could also try planting spring bulbs under the shrubs. Honeysuckle is also good for walls & fences. You could mix with Ivy or Jasmine.

As for feeders, I only use sunflower hearts & get a great variety of birds, but make sure you keep them topped up, especially in the colder months.

I agree with the nettles & log pile. Behind sheds is a great place to hide them.

Try to keep to native plants & trees for variety of insects & therefore birds. If you check with a nursery rather than garden centre, they can advise on best plants for your soil type & when to plant.

[cabbage]

ORIGINAL: Xurek

Wow what an awesome reply! Wasn't expecting that, you've covered everything [:D]

When is the best time to plant a butterfly bush and will it just be available at the local gardencentre?

Any suggestions on what bushes/flowers attract the bees the best and also the best time of year to plant them?

Thanks again!

Its all just stuff I've picked up from other people so don't take it as gospel! Ok thats my back covered if its all wrong :)

[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/8990.shtml]http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/8990.shtml[/url]

You can plant a buddleia now or wait til spring but probably best now to give it time to get established so that it'll flower next year. Mind you, I notice you're in the Highlands so your situation might be a bit different as I guess your first frosts will be here already! If its getting cold then probably best wait til Spring!

I got mine as a cutting (I'm a cheapskate!) but its a very popular plant and I imagine most garden centres will carry them. You're looking for a buddleja (or buddleia) Davidii. Mine is four years or so old and is about five feet high and three or four feet wide, long slender stalks which droop over with purple (or I've also seen white) conical flowers at the tips. Not sure how big it'll grow eventually! Its hardy - well at least it is here in central Scotland, a local garden centre will be able to give you local advice for your location but i think it'll be ok.
Its supposed to like well drained soil but its flourishing in my heavy clay muck :) Cut it back right down to the ground in Spring and thats all the care it needs.

It isn't native so if thats something that concerns you then be aware of that, but the local butterflies don't seem to mind, the flowers in Summer can be literally covered with them.

From my own experience Berberis is another good plant for wildlife, the bees love it! So much so that I had a colony of bees set up home in a hole under my patio right under the bush :)

[WildSam]

ORIGINAL: Pross1

Lavender is also a good bet for insects.

Lavender is great for attracting butterflies and other insects into your garden. We planted a few Lavender plants in our front garden. A few years later it has spread all over the front garden and into the back garden. It looks fantastic. [:D] A garden that plants itself, what else could you ask for? [;)]

[Sandra]

We've a big garden, over half an acre.

We mow the middle bits of the grassy areas (they're not lawns!![:D]) because (a) my daughter requires a space to practice her camogie (which, at some stage, involves me standing trembling in the goal while she belts balls at me a 100 mph) and (b) so it looks someway tidy. We let the edges grow wild.

We also planted some native trees, hawthorne in particular, and also encourage wild flowers.

We've a couple of nest boxes up and plan to install more next weekend. We don't need a bat box as they already roost in the house.

We're seriously considering a pond this year (especially after the raft spider discovery) so, if anyone's ever made one from scratch I'd be grateful for advice.

[Hawk_Eye]

We did have a pond. Due to size restraints what we did was cut a water butt storage thing in half along it's longest side then set that in the ground. We also added a pump etc because we were putting the cold water fish from the aquarium into it and that was pretty much it. Unfortunately we found a couple of fish dead or missing a few weeks later so put a piece of wire fence over the top but that didn't stop whatever took the fish because within a couple of months they were all gone. We did get a frog on a fairly regular basis for a while but it disappeared. So it's been filled in and this coming year we're looking at growing herbs in it.

[Sandra]

Oh dear! That doesn't sound very encouraging! [:D]

Our pond, if it goes ahead, won't have fish in it. There is a heron in the vicinity and putting fish in a pond would be like ringing the dinner bell!

I'm thinking more of the newts and frogs and the raft spider too. Also, if it's shallow enough at the edges then the birds will be able to bathe there as well.

Any insects will feed my bats on summer evenings too.

[Pross1]

Make sure it's at least 24 inches deep so it doesn't freeze. Use a liner if you can and cover the edge with pebbles if possible. Shallow areas are good for letting wildlife in & out. Plenty of oxygenating, marginal & deep water plant are good. try to use native plants if you can. Being in Ireland, if you leave the hole for a few hours & it'll soon fill up!![;)]