How to create and maintain a garden for wildlife


Less is more

To transform your plot into a natural and wildlife heaven, you only need one golden rule :

- Do nothing

Or at least, as little as possible, in order to keep all your available time to observe, photograph and learn to recognize the possible rare flower that might have taken root.

Now, for the silver rule:

- Never use herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers. Whatever will be, will be.

Enriching indigenous wild flora

What we mean by wildlife is, of course, indigenous plants, and not exotic and rare specimens.
The best way to promote wildflowers in your garden is to check out embankments, brownfields, waste grounds, and railway edges in the spring. After spotting a spot with a good selection of local wildflowers, return in early summer when the most interesting flowers are in full bloom and harvest a few of the weeds still in place. By spreading your wild hay, with a little luck, you will see poppies, blueberries, or buttercups bloom the following spring.

Associations, clubs or online shops may also sell mixtures of wild seeds.

Planting a hedge

The hedge is a rich and irreplaceable habitat for many plants and animal species. So instead of the classic cedar hedges, you should mix and multiply the different types of plants to make a real countryside hedge. With changing colors, dense, bearing fruit and berries, hedges are essential for the urban biodiversity, providing the food and shelter to insects and birds. The species may include hazel, blackthorn, elder, broom, privet, dogwood, some honeysuckle here and there, etc etc. ..

Creating habitats for wildlife

- The dry stone wall

The lizards will be able to warm themselves in the sun on the south side

- The small pond

The available water will be used by the insects and animals for drinking and daily cleaning. The mud may be used by the swallows to build their nests. Amphibians and insects will be able to colonize the pond in order to reproduce. However, do not make the edges too steep as some animals like the hedgehog may drown.

- The nest

The nest boxes may be of different types depending on the species of birds you’re looking for, but generally the easiest to achieve is the mailbox-type nest. See more rules for setting birdhouses

- The drilled log

The solitary bees and wasps will make their home into the tubes, and in retrun will help pollinate the garden. The holes should be about 5/16" in diameter and about about 31/2" deep. More info : garden bees

- The shelter for the ladybirds

Ladybirds love lodges made in a lamellar structure.

- The home for the hedgehogs

The hedgehog is happy with a small cavity under a pile of wood. You can make it more comfortable by adding some dry leaves, wood plank floor, and waterproof cover over the shelter. Site the shelter in a quiet place and don’t disturb the box once it’s occupied. You might frighten a nesting mother and cause the young to be abandoned. More info on hedgehog homes



First written in : August 2009 (modified: August 2009)

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