Winter is coming... and here's what you can do to help wildlife in your garden
25/11/2024
As the nights draw in and the temperatures fall, you may be spending more time indoors, with the heating turned up and/or snuggled up under a blanket! Our wildlife doesn't have that luxury, so here are some things that you can do to help out.
Leave it alone - tidying your garden can wait till spring.
- Leaves, sticks and twigs provide shelter for a multitude of creatures; 'dead' seed-heads are a source of food; hollow stems become winter homes for insects.
- A compost heap is warmer than the rest of the garden and may be home to slowworms, frogs or even hedgehogs through the cold season. Best to leave it undisturbed until the warm weather returns!
- Use a rake or a broom if you need to move leaves (leaf-blowers kill insects and cause unnecessary pollution). No need to bin them - they provide homes for insects and rot down to provide food, especially for earthworms, the gardener's best friend!
Just sweep the leaves under a hedge or onto dormant flower beds, or make a pile. If you can add twigs and sticks, all the better.
Provide additional food & drink
- Fat balls, sunflower seeds and unsalted peanuts will help the birds get through the winter. It's a win-win, as you get to watch them while they feed!
- Water is always essential. I found that my traditional stone/concrete birdbath was prone to freezing, and the solid ice was hard to remove, so I put a large shallow plastic saucer on the ground and filled it with water. When it freezes, the disc of ice can be tipped out and replaced with fresh water. It's also easier to keep clean.
Give them shelter
- Log piles and rocks look great in a wildlife garden and provide shelter.
- Cracked flower pots can be laid on their side to make homes for toads (or turned upside down as long as there is an access hole); newts will often hide under stones or flower pots.
- Put up bird boxes
- Plant a hedge! Dense, spiny branches are great nesting spots and abundant flowers and berries will feed all manner of insects and birds. Now is the best time for planting shrubs and trees - the Woodland Trust has a range of affordable hedge mixes.