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Building a wildlife garden (1 Viewer)

I know a lot has been said about planting trees for birds. I was thinking about planting a plum tree in the garden as I can probably squeeze in 1 tree. The area I live in is surrounded by woodland, lots of cherry trees nearby too. So I was thinking that plum would offer something else thats not neccesarily on the menu locally, for us and the birds. It would also give the birds somewhere to perch in the garden and I could hang feeders from it when it gets a little bigger.

Wise move or not?? Your comments please lol
 
Scubapauly,

when we moved to Bristol there was an established plum tree in the garden. Every year it was covered in starlings when the fruit was ripe. Problem was, the garden was covered in plum stones and fruit, and we never got one.

Cheers, :eat:
 
Hi Pauly its a bit of a tricky one this - fitting trees in a 10m X 4m - you've already come up with one solution using fastigate trees like your prunus amanogowa - you can do this wih fruit trees like your plum too by getting ballerina or miniaret cultivars. They won't offer much shelter for your birds though although your pyracantha would do that and you could interplant with low growing native shrubs.

Alternatively you could get one grafted on a restricting rootstock to keep it small enough for your garden. I think I'd be tempted to avoid a plum and go with something else though due to the shape they form (they like to and deserve to spread). Have you considered a silver birch (you could go native with Betula pendula or go ornamental with something spectacular like Betula utilis, B. jaquemontii jermyns, B. nigra heritage, B. grayswood ghost, B. albosinensis septrionalis, the list of awesome birches is endless).These cast a light shade making them pleasant for you and any plants beneath them, look nice have a reasonably upright shape, and have seed heads the birds seem to go for.
 
scubapauly said:
I was thinking about planting a plum tree in the garden


We have a 'morello' cherry tree in the garden, 5 years or so ago the birds found a taste for the cherries, haven't had a pie since. Tree is also quite small.
Click to expand...
 
Isurus said:
Have you considered a silver birch (you could go native with Betula pendula or go ornamental with something spectacular like Betula utilis, B. jaquemontii jermyns, B. nigra heritage, B. grayswood ghost, B. albosinensis septrionalis, the list of awesome birches is endless).These cast a light shade making them pleasant for you and any plants beneath them, look nice have a reasonably upright shape, and have seed heads the birds seem to go for.
Click to expand...

I thought about birch, but was told that the roots are quite close to the surface so it would probably lift up the patio.

This is my problem with putting in a tree. I have no lawn, just a big patio. Easier to keep clean with the two dogs, and they dont walk mud through the house. Any tree has to fit in the top left hand corner and will be in the shade of the 5ft fence.

Now I have a few shrubs in two of the borders I need some 'filler' in between until they get bigger. Here's some pics of what I have to wor with and what I've done so far.









 
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Looking good pauly,

I would leave a few spaces in between the plants for some colourfull annuals. They realy brighten the place up.
 
Hi Pauly, Is that an Acer Sangokaku in the first picture? I probably wouldn't put a plum in that left corner if it were me as it might overshadow the whole space. Have you considered a large bushy shrub like a hazel (maybe a purple or gold form) or one of the bigger dogwoods? both will provide food and shelter for birds and would maybe be a bit better suited to your space.
 
Isurus said:
Hi Pauly, Is that an Acer Sangokaku in the first picture? I probably wouldn't put a plum in that left corner if it were me as it might overshadow the whole space. Have you considered a large bushy shrub like a hazel (maybe a purple or gold form) or one of the bigger dogwoods? both will provide food and shelter for birds and would maybe be a bit better suited to your space.
Click to expand...

In the first picture you can see the red dogwood I put in on Tuesday.

Plum might not be the best choice of tree then if it is going to get so bushy as to put the rest of the garden in the shade. The whole right hand side of the garden should be a great sun trap for most of the day come the summer.

I wanted to go for a tree in the left corner and then maybe have some wild flowers growing round the bottom. Just throw down a lot of seed and see what happens really.

I need to find out about the birch, whether there is a chance of it's root lifting the patio.
 
Paully

Go to a quality garden centre or nursery, find a knowledgable assistant, tell them what you are trying to achieve.

Give them as much information as you can, where the sun is at various times of day, eg 9.00, 12.00, 15.00 & 18.00. Also size of garden and height of fenses etc. The more informantion about the site and what you want to achieve the better the chance's you have of getting what you want.

Good luck
 
hayfieldgolfer said:
Paully

Go to a quality garden centre or nursery, find a knowledgable assistant, tell them what you are trying to achieve.

Give them as much information as you can, where the sun is at various times of day, eg 9.00, 12.00, 15.00 & 18.00. Also size of garden and height of fenses etc. The more informantion about the site and what you want to achieve the better the chance's you have of getting what you want.

Good luck
Click to expand...

Funny you should suggest that, as thats what I did this morning. I took the arial shot of the garden with me to help explain. Something I hadn't thought of was the conifers in the garden next door. The guy I spoke to pointed out that they would use up most of the water that my tree would need, so getting it established could be hard.

In the end I've gone for a Hawthorn tree which I'm going to grow in a large pot. This way I can make sure it has enough water and the pot will stop it from getting too big.

Pictures to follow...
 
Have you thought about a Fatsia japonica for a pot on the patio? They are evergreen and hardy and have big leaves. They look stunning in a corner. I have three in the gaden and going to get another in spring next to the pond im going to build.
This gardening bug will not stop now.
The log roll is a good idea. You will get lots of mini beasts living in it.

Keep sending in the photos.
 
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willowa said:
Have you thought about a Fatsia japonica for a pot on the patio? They are evergreen and hardy and have big leaves. They look stunning in a corner. I have three in the gaden and going to get another in spring next to the pond im going to build.
This gardening bug will not stop now.
The log roll is a good idea. You will get lots of mini beasts living in it.

Keep sending in the photos.
Click to expand...

I think with the two trees now and the pyracanthas, thats probably all the big stuff the garden will stand.

I wish I had room for a decent pond, but reading the books, I'm tempted to put a tiny one in. Not sure tho. Because of the dogs and the site of the garden I don't really get anything in it wildlife wise, hence the reason for the spurt of gardening. But I think if I did put even a small pond in, it might attract some insect life as well as benefitting any birds that do eventually venture into the garden. It really would be nice to get some damsel fly pics.

Looking forward to adding to my macro shots this summer.
 
When putting a pond in to ensure that it won't freeze totally you need a depth of at least 18 inches (I'm a non-metric dinosaur) in at least one area. This can be difficult with a small pond, it becomes more of a water-filled hole. If you are wanting to encourage the birds then a water feature that allows a little standing water would suffice. For insects though you have to go the whole hog and dig a biggie.
 
Keith Dickinson said:
When putting a pond in to ensure that it won't freeze totally you need a depth of at least 18 inches (I'm a non-metric dinosaur) in at least one area. This can be difficult with a small pond, it becomes more of a water-filled hole. If you are wanting to encourage the birds then a water feature that allows a little standing water would suffice. For insects though you have to go the whole hog and dig a biggie.
Click to expand...


I second that. You could consider a bird bath. The birds will enjoy it. or you can get ones that hang up.
 
scubapauly said:
I wish I had room for a decent pond, but reading the books, I'm tempted to put a tiny one in. Not sure tho.
Click to expand...
10m x 4m? You do have room for a decent pond - go for it - with a butyl rubber liner if poss. We built a pond in our last garden (will get around to it in this one eventually!) and it transformed things......frogs, toads and newts materialised out of thin air; chasers, darters and damselflies invaded in squadrons.......fantastic!

Best thing you can do in a wildlife garden.......go on - you won't regret it!
 
If you're really stuck and not going with the 'real pond' option, why not try one of those 'half barrels'. You can still get a couple of pond plants into it and the insects will come. They're a good option for someone who really wants a water feature but stuck for space.
 
Dizzy said:
If you're really stuck and not going with the 'real pond' option, why not try one of those 'half barrels'. You can still get a couple of pond plants into it and the insects will come. They're a good option for someone who really wants a water feature but stuck for space.
Click to expand...

Half barrel sounds like a good idea. I'll have to look into that one.
 
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