A spring in your step

As spring arrives, there is an adventure to be had each morning exploring which new plants and flowers have sprung up overnight. It might be snowdrops or daffodils, crocuses or primroses. At the same time, the wildlife around us is getting both busier and “buzzier”. This is an ideal time to get out and get your garden into shape for the warmer months.

Inviting guests

One of the joys of being in the garden is spotting birds and listening out for their chirps, songs and calls.

Providing nest boxes is a great way to encourage birds to set up home in your garden, and to keep them local. BBOWT’s Homes for Wildlife leaflet has instructions and tips on how to build a bird box. Download this leaflet from the Learn & Discover section on the BBOWT website at bbowt.org.uk, or ring 01865 788307 to ask for a copy.

Remember to make sure that birds have a ready supply of food in seed feeders. Different seeds will attract different birds. Blue tits and great tits will love a mixed wild bird seed or sunflowers in hanging feeders.

Goldfinches can be attracted by using a special niger seed feeder, with very small holes. Robins and chaffinches like to eat off table-shaped feeders.

Plants and vegetables

A practical and attractive way of enhancing your vegetable patch is to practise companion planting. You can plant rows of flowers between your vegetables to add colour and protect your precious crop. Interplanting your broad beans with nasturtiums and marigolds will encourage hoverflies to visit. Hoverflies lay eggs that hatch into grubs, and those grubs eat huge quantities of blackfly, one of the worst garden pests. Marigold roots also give off secretions that destroy soil-dwelling nematodes that can damage crop plant roots. Basil planted among tomatoes will ward off whitefly.

You can also choose plants that will encourage beneficial insects. Planting lavender, coriander, echinacea and sunflowers in the garden will encourage hoverflies, ladybirds and lacewings, all gardeners’ friends that feed on many pests.

Insects are also very good pollinators. A garden needs plenty of bees buzzing around to really thrive. Providing a range of colourful flowering plants that produce nectar from early spring to late autumn like tobacco plants and wall flowers will attract essential pollinators to your garden.

It’s ‘neat’ to be messy

Finally, remember that while neat and well manicured gardens look really nice, wildlife prefers things to be, well . . . wild! So it is always good to leave patches of rough untreated areas in your gardens. This can also add visual interest to your garden, making it more varied and diverse.

There is a simple principle for making your garden a thriving haven for wildlife: more flowers attract more insects. More insects attract more birds and other wildlife. More wildlife makes your garden a beautiful place for everyone.

  • To find out more about BBOWT log on to: www.bbowt.org.ok