Is Your Garden Ready?
With winter gone, many wildlife denizens in our gardens are emerging anew and, whilst the weather is warmer and resources more plentiful, our wild friends still need our help.
With many species’ natural habitats in decline, gardens are vital to wildlife, and creating a wildlife haven in your backyard is one of the easiest ways of helping the environment.
Even minor efforts towards wildlife-friendly gardening make a big difference, with variety and year-round support being key to success. Should you not wish to make major changes to your existing garden, a corner dedicated to wildlife will suffi ce. A water feature, from a small bowl to a pond (with sloping edges and night-time cover to prevent hedgehogs and small pets from drowning) is a basic, however, if you have cats in the house it is best to forego a birdbath. Food and shelter are vital for all species; nest boxes for birds, hedgerows, wall climbers and piles of dead wood and leaves make ideal homes year-round. Choose a range of native fl owers, trees and shrubs that provide pollen and nectar over several months to ensure that bees and butterfl ies, our most important pollinators, are well provided for. Poppies are not only gorgeous but also an excellent source of pollen from May to
October, rosemary offers culinary delights both in the garden and the kitchen, and foxglove, comfrey and clovers add colour and variety to the pollinators’ menu.
DORSET WILDLIFE TRUST
© Briony Baxter
Saving rainwater for watering the garden and using natural pest control instead of chemicals instantly upgrades your environment-friendly status. Recycling appropriate food scraps for composting makes for fi ve-star accommodation for many insects, vital for a healthy garden. And if you do not have a garden, don’t be discouraged; a window box or a hanging basket on a balcony are also great ways of helping wildlife.
If you’re already doing these things, enter the 2017 Wildlife Friendly Gardening competition: www.
dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife-gardening.html. Or ‘Say YES to wildlife’ and support the conservation work of Dorset Wildlife Trust:
wtru.st/sayyesdor.
Niina Silvennoinen Dorset Wildlife Trust
(South Coast) Ltd. (S th C t) Ltd 159 Fernside Road, Poole BH15 2EW
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