Wildlife Garden; The Minimum

[nightshade]

I altered my garden when I noticed the lack of sparrows,the cheeky little
circus troupe that says spring and summer were just not there!
The formal pond softened,and became a 2mtr."stream"with a deep pool and large areas of shallows,which will eventually be shaded by three types of hazel.Solomons seal and pachysanda along with ferns like harts tongue take care of the ground cover
The fence covering of non native shrubs were taken up and bare root natives planted hazel hawthorn dogrose dogwood alder etc.
I have a soft spot for Iris ,especially the small blue varieties,
The garden already had a couple of trees, planted when I first moved in, a Rowan and a Weeping Birch to these I added a crab John Downey and a cherry along with a willow and another apple tree
The rest of the cast is a bamboo nigra, an elder black lace, varigated privet
buddlia, honeysuckles and white jasmin
There is a border chorus of native and non native flowers mainly perennials
big showy cosmos in particular,there are many more plants too many to list
The minimum would for me be the Buddlia,there are three types.
Apple tree
Birch
Flowering currant
Hazel
Cherry Pie (Heliotrope Aborescens, best of this type)
I thought this would be easy but there is really nothing I would leave out
I even miss the eucalyptus I cut down years ago at nearly 40 feet the tree hummed with bees and insects when it was in flower
So can anyone suggest a wildlife garden planting plan for a small garden or that could give a discreet boost to an existing one

[pheonix]

the berries on cotoneaster type plants always seem to be popular with thrush type birds

[Kayleigh]

Hi,

Pyracantha (firethorn)Orange glow has red berries is good to grow against a wall or fence.

There is also a cotoneaster that grows into a small tree that I have seen Fieldfares, Redwings, Thrush and Blackbirds use.

[nightshade]

Hi Kayleigh,the pyracanthas are in the front garden and they do bring in the birds you mention, my sparrows seem to like it as well
Phoenix mentions cotoneaster,I had an evergreen tree type which resembled an umberella, a great favourite with long-tailed tits
Cotoneaster has many forms and the flowers bring in bees on all of them,I have one that hugs the ground and lurks around the pond,another appeared in a crack in a path and proceeded to cover a bare wall with a gorgeous fan
of flowers then bright red berries a bargin, no need for a garden even!!

[nightshade]

Having mentioned plants that do not need a garden how many more are there
Nasturtiums are a real riot,they climb,they heap,they spread horizontally they
come in passionate reds to washed out yellows,and all shades in between,
I planted some in a posh strawberry pot with plenty of vermiculite and feed pills and they ,flowered on and on heaping against a wall and cloaking a concrete path
Morning Glory grown in a pot can climb and cover a multitude of ugly objects
and insects adore them, (get the camera out)
There must be more

[Boo]

Elderflower berries are also very popular, unfortunately they also cause the birds to leave large purple blotches everywhere, but they are the first to disappear in my garden, closely followed by the rowan (mountain ash). The birds haven't touched the cotoneast or pyracantha at all this year. However, I have been putting currants and sultanas out for them, perhaps that is why!

[Pat]

I get through 6lb of currants a week, the birds seem to love them especially the blackbirds.

[nightshade]

One of the most important items in a wildlife garden is water,food in a suburban enviroment is relatively easy to find but water to drink and wash in
safely is suprisingly scarce,and could be almost non existent in some of this countrys drought areas.
First decide what will suit you then think again! what will suit the wildlife,a small ,unobtrusive dish,free-standing bird bath,pond or pool
Choose a site,fairly open so predators like cats can be seen quickly,with cover close by,a bush or tree, a sunny spot is nice and where you can see it
from a regular viewpoint, sitting or standing, dont dig holes until you have lived with it for a while
Even a dustbin lid set in the ground is better than nothing,the hardware is a matter of choice /availability,send us some pictures of your creations!
advice is free

[Kayleigh]

One plant I would'nt be without is my Lavender. The bees love it but when the flowers die off the sparrows eat the seeds and collect the stems for nest materiel. I bet the nest stays smellig fresh all summer

[nightshade]

Lavender is a wonderfull plant but not many people prune it correctly, it gets leggy and woody,then gets thrown out
There are so many varieties they fit anywhere and the smell when the hot sun is on it and the oil is peaking oooer!