All Creatures Great and Small Welcome - Encouraging wildlife in your Garden

Now that I finally had my own garden I wanted to make it as welcoming as possible to wildlife,

including insects and birds. 

PROVIDING FOOD AND WATER FOR BIRDS 

I installed a bird bath, bird feeder and a bird house as soon as I could and the previous owner had left a little ‘insect hotel’ which I kept and put on the fence. 

SUSTAINABLE GARDENING

I never use synthetic pesticides or peat-based compost. Instead I bought organic compost to start with and then made my own using a compost bin. 

To try to deal with slugs and snails that targeted my vegetable raised bed, I used slug nematodes with some success. Slug nematodes are microscopic worms used as an organic, natural pest control. They are safe for pets and wildlife. My longterm plan though is for my pond to attract frogs and toads to contain their numbers.

I planted a wide variety of flowers, plants and shrubs to encourage bees and butterflies to visit my garden. Bees and other pollinators will thrive with: Lavender, Catmint, foxgloves, honeysuckle, Rosemary, Sage, Bluebells and many more. 

BUILDING A POND 

Being near water is my happy place! I decided to create a small pond and build a peaceful and calming little space around it. 

To make things easier I went with a ready-made pond shape with built-in shelves (to help any creature that visits the pond come in an out of the water)  but you can also get pond liners to create your pond from scratch. 

I put pebbles inside the pond and then oxygenating pond plants to help keep it clean. I will add some water lilies as well later on. 

I put a variety of plants around the pond to make it visually attractive, but also to give shade and shelter to creatures like frogs and toads which I hope will eventually use the pond. 

It is a good idea to add stones around the pond, again so that creatures can use them as a path to come in and out. 

SOME UNTIDY CORNERS

I made sure that left a few untidy spaces in the back garden with longer grass or small piles of twigs to provide shelter for wildlife. 

My garden now welcomes a variety of insects and birds and I even have resident foxes who visit it at night, and even sometimes during the day. 

I can also see small insect larvae swimming in my pond and there is whole ecosystem in my compost bin!