I've waited 30 years for a garden!

[badgerwatcher]

Hello everyone. We (that is, my partner, my son and I) have just moved in the last month to a house with the most incredible garden, and I just needed to tell someone! We've never had a garden. Now we have one that is so overgrown, we can't reach the edges yet. The week we moved in, my partner met a Badger in the garden, so I spent the next week or so hanging out of the upstairs windows all night trying to acquire night-vision! One evening I walked into the kitchen without switching the light on, and glanced out of the window, and there was a Badger, wandering around eating peanuts that I'd put out for the birds. We went and sat in the dining room in the dark, and watched all evening as the house was surrounded by Badgers and foxes. We are not in the country, just on the edge of a town, backing onto a chalk downland nature reserve, so I can't believe my luck! Now we time our (candle-lit) evening meals for badgerwatching, and often see young foxes playing in the afternoon sun. We think the Badgers have a sett under the summerhouse, and another under the shed, as there are big holes dug out, and they have loo areas at several points around the front and back gardens. The garden is also full of birds, mainly dunnocks, blue and great tits, collared doves, jays and green and greater spotted woodpeckers, and today a female sparrow hawk swooped and caught a collared dove outside my partner's office window, and proceded to kill and eat it on the patio in front of us, which was exciting and horrifying both at once, but I've never been that close to a sparrow hawk. We are still completely over-awed by the beauty of the place. Hopefully, I will be able to bring any questions to this forum, for help and advise, and keep you updated as we discover more about the garden. We can see a distant orchard, but can't reach it yet for the undergrowth, which we don't want to hack around too much for fear of disturbing the wildlife!

[Wild-Woman]

Hello badgerwatcher and a very warm welcome to WAB. Your garden sounds wonderful.Made for wildlife by the sounds of it.What a great way to spend a candlelit evening, watching your very own Badgers.
I hope you'll be able to send some pictures in the future that will make us all green with envy.
As you have mentioned, all the undergrowth will contain wildlife-eggs from various species, nymphs, and creatures going into hibernation. Think I'd be tempted to wait a whole year cycle before I changed anything in the garden and if you love it how it is..leave it.
The rewards are great from wildlife so enjoy every minute of it.

Julie

[John]

Hi Badgerwatcher

First of all may I extend a warm welcome to WAB.

What an incredible first garden to go to. One that I would think would be the envy of almost anyone on this forum.

I would endorse what Julie has said regarding the garden. Leave it be for a while and try and do a long term plan for it. With the wildlife you already have making the wrong decisions could lose you the Badgers and Foxes and I don't think you want that.

Having wild areas in a garden is a must if you want to encourage all forms of wildlife and you seem to have an abundace of this. The only thing that seems missing (as you haven't mentioned it) is water. If you haven't got that on your land perhaps building a small pool may help to encourage birds to bathe and drink, Frogs and Toads to take up residence and also possibly Newts as well.

I wonder what the Dragonfles and Damselflies will be like next year. It sounds like a garden that will draw them in.

Finally with all that wild space you need to plan some feeder stations carefully. You could have a bumper winter with some incredible birds visiting you. As it gets colder birds will become more dependant on human intervention. I have 3 feeder stations on the go in Winter and each of them is crawling with birds when it gets cold and I have only been here two years.

Keep us in touch with how things are going and if you can post some photos so much the better.

John

[smartie]

Warm welcome to WAB. Like others I look forward to hearing about your wonderful garden. And I would agree entirely with what has been said about leaving well alone until you see what comes up both by way of plant and animal life in the main growing/breeding season next year.

And from my experience I'd say go very slowly and carefully with any clearing you do. When we took over our garden the previous owners (who called themselves "property developers") had hacked down anything - apart from a few trees - that they couldn't use the lawn mower on, and we have had to spend years encouraging wildlife back in.

[Earth Hart]

Hi badgerwatcher, firstly, a harty welcome to the WAB website, for Wonderfully, Wacky Wildlifers

And secondly, you, your partner & son are (& folks, I mean this in the nicest possible way) lucky barstewards to land such a place, it sounds ideal. As everyone is saying, take it slowly in what you do. Personally, I would not touch it for a year, to get to know it & its own little environments. From what you say, could you live in Sussex, I used to live on the outskirts of Brighton, & had Badgers & foxes visiting my garden. Sady now, I live in a first floor flat with No Garden & I Do Miss my Garden. I'm Green with Envy.

[smartie]

Originally Posted by Earth Hart

I'm Green with Envy.

And he means that very literally

Sorry EH, couldn't resist.....

[Alan]

Hi John, and welcome to WAB.

I wish my very first post read like yours!

I would say the above advice is pretty good. Personally though, I’m afraid I’d be too impatient to just leave it! Since the undergrowth will be dying down a bit now, I’d try to find a way through (maybe there is an existing overgrown path?) and cut or push a small way through, just too allow me to explore a little, even if it means I’d have to crawl under the undergrowth! I’d just HAVE to get to that orchard! I don’t think it would do any harm doing this when you consider what others often do to their gardens!

I’d map it, and note all the species or animals and plants I could recognise right now. Document what you do, maybe in a journal, with photos and such like. It'll make great reading in the years to come.

You’d be surprised how quickly the Badgers and other night-time visiting animals will get used to lighting. So I’d start leaving one room light on, and when they get used to this, I’d consider putting up an outside light. As long as it’s shining from above them, it should be ok. If there's food there, they'll come!

Oh you’re going to have so much fun. I’m so envious..

Good luck, and don’t forget you’ll get plenty of help and advice here.

Alan

[jennyb]

Hi Badgerwatcher,

Your garden sounds really great. I hope you will be able to take some photos for the gallery. I am also green with envy about the Badgers (I have been desparately trying to get Badger photos for quite some time!) However, I am probably not quite so green as Earth Hart - you may want to take a look at his photo in the members mugshot gallery to understand Smartie's comments about him!

Welcome to WAB and please keep us informed with your progress.

Jenny

[badgerwatcher]

Hi, I posted a reply and it disappeared! Is there a delay?

[badgerwatcher]

Well, that answers my own question! I don't know where it went. If anyone finds a long rambling reply, it's mine. Thank you all for your lovely warm welcome. I'll redo my longer reply when I have the energy. It took me ages to write the other one.

[onionade]

[quote=badgerwatcher] I don't know where it went. If anyone finds a long rambling reply, it's mine.

hehe

Hey Badger watcher, definitely sounds like a cool house, watch out for them Badgers burrowing under house's foundations though.

[nightshade]

I agree with the above,explore and make a plan do not slash and burn
it is late in the season for a lot of animals (esp.Bats) your garden and
serendipity seem to go together!
Lots of photos now and in the spring (before and after record),welcome to WAB

[rlchew]

Hello Badgerwatcher

Welcome to WAB.

What an interesting introduction. You are certainly lucky to have found your wilderness garden even if it did take 30 years!

Take good care of it. These mini nature reserves are so important. Please let us know more and try and post some Badger photos in the gallery for us.

Richard

[badgerwatcher]

Thank you all. Don't worry, I definitely am going to watch the garden for at least a year before I change anything, so I can see what plants and wildlife I have. I didn't mention the insects, amazing specimens, especially beetles, and spiders, and lizards and slow-worms, and snakes according to the neighbours, who were a bit disappointed I didn't look horrified when they told me! Bring 'em on, I say! And frogs, as there was a pond which has been filled in, so we need to dig it out. Any tips on setting up ponds appreciated, please.

[badgerwatcher]

Encouraged by the fact that my last reply has appeared, I will add some more! I have a new camera, not my strong point, photography, but will endeavour to send photos. Haven't worked out to transfer them to my computer yet! If all else fails, I'll read the manual!
I can see Badger and Fox paths through the undergrowth if I crouch down. Unsure whether to clear them a little more to create access routes for us to explore, or whether to avoid them, and try to cut other unobtrusive paths through. The garden is cut in terraces, climbing the side of the Downs. We're in South East Kent, by the way. I've always loved chalk downlands, ever since, as a small girl, I discovered Eyebright growing in Arundel Park, whilst lying of my stomach in the grass, and planarian (I think, water slugs?) in the moat among the catmint, and insisted on taking them home and making a pond for them. I still can't believe I own a chunk! It's a great responsibility, especially as we back onto an area of special scientific interest, or whatever the term is. Sorry, it's a bit late at night. I'm getting vaguer than usual. Goodnight! Great to meet you all.

[badgerwatcher]

Afterthoughts, things I forgot to say- Yes, we're busy setting up feeders everywhere, John, seeds, peanuts, niger, fat blocks, and are putting dishes of water out for anything that might want it. We have bird houses and nesting boxes yet to put up, and need to get bird baths, but I'd like a pond with a stepped waterfall, as I always loved going to Kew gardens when I was young, and watching the sparrows bathing in the waterfalls. Must get batboxes too, haven't seen any bats yet. Or Hedgehogs. I'm beginning to keep a journal, Alan, and wish I'd started it sooner, but didn't know what I was moving to! And good idea about the map. Lots of plants we haven't identified yet, which look a bit drab at present, but may do something wonderful later. As for getting the Badgers used to lights gradually, they don't seem to bother them at all. We have outside lights which we leave on quite often, so that we can see them more clearly. The neighbours say they can sit in their garden, and the Badgers walk about and ignore them, but I'm not going to push my luck that far yet.

[Wild-Woman]

Sounds like your garden ought to be declared a site of special scientific interest too! If it's part of chalk downlands, I'd be on the look out for rare orchids if I were you, especially in Kent. With any luck your garden may also be host to some rare butterflies, perhaps the odd Adonis if you've got horseshoe vetch tucked away in some corner.
I regularly visit the Kent reserves so if you wanted to pm your reserve location I'll happily look up what you could find there. I'm North Kent btw.
Keep us posted on your Badgers and wildlife-we just love it!

Julie

[FungiJohn]

Hi John and a very warm welcome to WAB. Enjoy!
John

[nightshade]

Regarding Bat boxes,there are many on the market that are not up to
snuff,Schwegler are the best type FF1 in particular
The boxes should be made from 1" thick untreated wood because
they do like to be warm!
This is my favourite website Warwickshire Bat Group

[badgerwatcher]

Thanks for info re batboxes, nightshade.Have stored Warwickshire bat group in Favourites to peruse later. I'm a bit worried by the whole new thought that Badgers may burrow under house foundations, onionade! I'll keep an eye. The ones I am seeing are not as big as I imagined Badgers to be, from sightings of dead ones by roadside. They are about two feet long, if that. I suppose they are not very old, so mum and dad are staying away. My name's Geraldine, by the way, as I think people are calling me John!