- 28 July 2022
Introducing one of 2022’s biggest outdoor trends – rewilding.
Alongside sustainability and recycling, planting wildflowers and plants to create habitats for local wildlife is becoming increasingly popular. As priorities have changed through lockdown, people now want to make the most of their garden space and create a place that they love to spend time in. No matter what kind of outdoor space you have, you can make the most of it!
Try following some of our top tips to create a wildlife friendly garden this Summer:
1. Plant wildflowers
Planting wildflowers is an effective (and beautiful!) way to attract pollinators to your garden, including bees and butterflies. You should aim for a variety of flowers with different colours and shapes, as bees have different length tongues that are adapted to feed from different flowers! Not only will this attract wildlife, but your garden will look stunning. No matter whether it’s a corner of your garden, a planter or allowing an area of your lawn to grow wild, the minibeasts will thank you for it.
2. Make bee and bug hotels
Making a mini hotel for bugs is super easy and helps to provide a safe environment for them, as well as keeping the kids busy! You can make these out of wood, straw, dry leaves and things you might have lying around in the garden, for example bricks and old roofing tiles. Not only could you create one for bees and bugs, but you could consider creating a larger hotel to attract hedgehogs, and even frogs!
Take a look at the website below for some inspiration:
3. Help the Hedgehogs!
Hedgehog numbers are declining at a rapid rate in the UK, but there are things you can do to help them! Compost heaps, log piles and leaf piles can create nesting and hibernation sites for hedgehogs to keep them safe.
One of the most important things you can do to help hedgehogs is to create a ‘hedgehog highway’. They travel around one mile every night through parks and gardens to find food and potentially find a mate, meaning they need to get around easily! If they get stuck in your garden, they’re never going to fall in love! By creating a small hole in your garden fence, around 13x13cm, so that Hedgehogs can pass freely through your garden, you can make their mission easier!
Hedgehog charity Hedgehog Street have lots of information online about the things you can do to get involved. Take a look at their website: https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/
4. The humble bird box
Birds are a key part of your garden’s ecosystem, so provide them with a nice little hidey hole and they will flock! You could provide them with seeds and other protein and fat-rich food to help them thrive.
If you have any top tips for attracting wildlife to your garden, let us know!