We used to have a very small garden space in our old house but our new house now has plenty of garden for us to work on and we are both very excited about creating a haven for the local wildlife. We already have a variety of birds that come to visit including great tits, song thrush, wood pigeons and house sparrow. The garden is a bit of a jungle so we need to do a lot of clearing, pruning, that sort of thing, to get it how we'd like. We are obviously wary about destroying any habitats, instead we'd very much like to add more plants and trees that will benefit the birds and other wildlife so that we can have a garden teaming with nature. We already have some large crab apple bushes and an apple tree which are very popular but we were wondering what else we could plant that would in time grow to benefit these birds? We live in Ireland so that's the climate we have to work with. I'd imagine that certain fruit or nut trees would be good. We do actually have an acorn tree at the back of the yard.
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Creating Garden Haven for Wildlife (1 Viewer)
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MTem
Well-known member
Please don't take this the wrong way, and I may well be reading too much into your wording ..... but the fact that it's a 'bit of a jungle' might be your biggest asset if you really want a wildlife garden, and also do be careful about too much clearing and pruning now that the nesting season is in full swing.
I have found that creating just a small area of colour and order (the classic garden if you like), lots of trees and shrubs that produce fruit and berries, and leaving the nettles and brambles everywhere else - perhaps with a very few access paths and places to sit - has worked really well.
Jungle is good!
My very best wishes whatever you do - at least considering wildlife in your plans is a great start.
Mick
I have found that creating just a small area of colour and order (the classic garden if you like), lots of trees and shrubs that produce fruit and berries, and leaving the nettles and brambles everywhere else - perhaps with a very few access paths and places to sit - has worked really well.
Jungle is good!
My very best wishes whatever you do - at least considering wildlife in your plans is a great start.
Mick
Abbeybirder
Well-known member
I have an area in my garden as you would call a jungle full of brambles, nettles unpruned (for around 4 years) Rose Bushes, a old dry wall, a old fence and uncut lawn (for around 4 years).
The rest of my garden as a low cut lawn with borders full of shrubs, flowers, bulbs, nettle, brambles and a few trees this I find makes for a great nature garden but I do have the advantage of having a brook and unmanaged scrub land at the back of my house and just behind this there are open fields trees and a coppice which help to bring in wildlife.
The rest of my garden as a low cut lawn with borders full of shrubs, flowers, bulbs, nettle, brambles and a few trees this I find makes for a great nature garden but I do have the advantage of having a brook and unmanaged scrub land at the back of my house and just behind this there are open fields trees and a coppice which help to bring in wildlife.
I totally agree, jungle is great for wildlife, of course. At the moment though we can't really access any parts of the garden due to everything being overgrown. We need to clear some of the weeds, make a few pathways and cut down the small bit of lawn which is nearly a metre high as the last tenants neglected the garden entirely. I don't want to do too much to disturb the wildlife but I would like for us to be able to enjoy the garden and to be able to plant some of our own plants and trees.
Sounds like a paradise for all kinds of Wildlife
We live in Galway over in the West. I'll check out some of those you've mentioned. thanks
NearlyNoviceBirder
Well-known member
Don't forget water - a pond and/or bird baths will encourage them in.
I am also looking at blackthorn hedging at the moment, perhaps to replace our leylandii eventually. The Leylandii are very broad and support a lot of nests as well as providing hawk-and-corvid proof corridors, but I think something like blackthorn would provide more food at the same time.
I am also looking at blackthorn hedging at the moment, perhaps to replace our leylandii eventually. The Leylandii are very broad and support a lot of nests as well as providing hawk-and-corvid proof corridors, but I think something like blackthorn would provide more food at the same time.
I'll definitely look into creating some kind of water feature, that was one of the other main reasons why we wanted to clear away some of the overgrowth in places. There's one corner that's overgrown with weeds and such, it really is a bit of a mess and I think it would be the perfect place to put a small pond. I know the problem is that everywhere is a home for something so its a difficult call to make when you remove overgrowth. I do however think it will benefit with a pond in the long-term and that's the only place suitable really. I am going to wait until after the bird season before I go and start trimming hedges etc but I did want to get prepared in the meantime time. I was wondering if anyone can recommend a hedge trimmer that i'll be able to get to some of those hard to reach places with? Thanks
Found a long-reach hedge-trimmer that comes with 5 adaptors that you can fit to it to achieve different cutting techniques. I'll get that and then hold out until later in the Summer when the birds have finished nesting.
Kits
Picture Picker
Our sister site Gardener's Forum has a board devoted to Gardening for Wildlife and Conservation which you may find interesting.
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