I can honestly say, when I began my garden way back in 2007, wildlife was not really something that I considered much. How times change. Now, I often stand at the bedroom window, looking out at the beach garden in the front of the house and am constantly amazed at the numbers of birds, mainly robins and sparrows, that fly around, perched on the assorted rusty metal sculpture, drinking from the bird bath or emerging from the elaeagnus hedge, which definitely doubles as a bird hotel.
The same can also be said, sat at my desk, looking out over the back garden from the large Velux tm window in the roof. It is extremely rare not to see large numbers of birds, blue tits, sparrows, robins and the occasional magpie, pigeon and seagull. All my rear garden boundaries are tall and have hedges or dense ivy in front of the 6-foot panels. Here once again they are the natural habitat for many of the birds to build their nests.
Providing shelter for birds
Densely planted areas do much for birds and for their food supplies and if there’s space for some undergrowth, so much the better.
If you refrain from cutting your borders back in autumn, the plants will provide seed for finches and sparrows. Invertebrates shelter in the dry herbage, to be hunted by wrens and goldcrests and the dying plants can also look much prettier than bare soil, especially when frosted.
Furry mammals
Over the years I have seen many foxes in the fields in front of the house and strolling down the road in which we live but I’ve never seen any evidence of them, present in the garden. As far as squirrels are concerned, up until late September this year when I saw a single one run up the large conifer tree, I’d not seen one anywhere in all the previous years. We have always had a dog since moving here, first out Jack Russell, Albert, and now our small terrier, Chester, so they may have some influence on what wildlife ventures into the garden.
Butterflies and bees
Since I began gardening, I have obviously become more aware of which plants to grow in order to attract wildlife, notably butterflies and bees. I seek to encourage more to visit with plants in the back garden like buddleja. I now have several specimens like Buzz Magenta and Buzz Lilac, Butterfly Heaven, and also the orange ball type, Buddleja globosa that are all growing behind the pond area.
Bird song
Birds can make gardens more even more beautiful and it can be so magical to sit outdoors and hear a song thrush, or great tit calling from the flowering lilac trees. I reckon it can give as much pleasure as growing perfect flowers. When a robin sings a wistful little tune at this time of year, doesn’t that make winter more bearable?
Looking around my garden there are a number of plants that are perfect for attracting the birds. I have several standard holly shrubs and a large hedge front and back, and although their berries are often ripe by autumn, birds such as song thrushes and blackbirds don’t usually feed on them until late winter when they are really ripe.
Nesting and roosting
I’m not a lover of bare wooden fences, so all of the fence at the side of the house is covered with ivy and it gets trimmed once a year in readiness for a variety of birds to make their nest in there. Common wild ivy is the best for birds. This is the most wildlife-friendly plant, but it does need managing. It will provide dense cover along with winter berries and nectar for our pollinators.
Natural food
In terms of trees, I planted a Swedish Whitebeam, which is good for the birds. Its distinctive, glossy lobed leaves with grey hairs on the undersides give a silver-grey appearance to this whitebeam. Densely leaved, the rounded crown with a neat outline reaches up to 10m (33ft). Clusters of frothy white flowers appear along the branches in late spring providing nectar for insects, followed by bunches of shiny bright red berries in the autumn favoured by thrushes and blackbirds. The berries stand out well against the golden shades of autumn leaf colour.
The heaviest berry-bearer in my garden, is the pyracantha, or fire thorn, I have a couple in the garden, one at the back and one close to the front door. They can be pruned to almost any size or shape and are a bird magnet.
They produce a white blossom then masses of winter berries but do also have vicious thorns. You can grow the shrub either as a hedge, wall plant or clipped to size in a large container.
So go check your plot, you may have more wildlife attractions than you might imagine!
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