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Gardens are great places to interact with nature through plants as well as different animals. Though most people are involved in cultivating plants but wildlife gardening is also a thing. Having animals such as birds, insects, invertebrates and mammals in your yard can be exciting and refreshing. This interestingly does not entail a lot of work. It simply requires making some changes and creating a suitable habitat for these animals to thrive in your backyard.
There is a need for you as a gardener to think of the needs of the animals as well as insects that come around your garden so as to create a balance that will accommodate them all. There is a lot of declining species of animals such as sparrows, hedgehogs, stag beetles, etc., simply because they do not have homes to dwell in.
As a wildlife gardener, you should design your yard in a way that helps these kinds of animals find refuge and survive. It can be as little but as thoughtful as cultivating flowers that provide nectar for moths or introducing a body of water such as a pond for pond skaters, frogs, newts, and birds to drink from. Make your fence green instead of plain to attract various kinds of wildlife and so on. You can read all about it in this article http://www.wlgf.org/wlg_intro.html.
The beauty of all these is that if you get the right balance, you will have created a food chain that helps manage your garden’s eco-system. It is all about how you manage your garden to make it habitable for wildlife.
So how can you make your backyard wildlife friendly?
How to Cultivate a Successful Wildlife Garden
You can help the wildlife population in your yard by doing some little things which can include:
Let the Soil Be
Unless you are planting, let the soil alone and do not dig. Instead, you should lay compost on it. This will help increase the population of earthworms and also provide a home for invertebrates as well as foraging birds such as robins and blackbirds.
Avoid the Use of Insecticides
One thing to totally avoid if you will encourage wildlife in your yard is the use of insecticides. A good supply of insects helps the eco-system and provides food that encourages birds to come around and eat. Using insecticides is detrimental to most animals and this does not bode well for wildlife. Rather than trying to eradicate the pests, what you should do is control them in a way that does not impact on plants. With this, you will be able to re-establish the balance between pest and their predators.
Consider the Birds
Naturally, birds will visit places where they can find food to eat and a place to nestle. Attracting birds to your garden requires that you provide a range of foods such as insects, seeds, and fruits that will attract them. Ensure you plant trees where they can nest in or you can even put up nest boxes for them.
Also, you can add a bird bath to your garden but make sure it is shallow because birds will not use deep baths.
Provide for Pollinators
Butterflies, moths, and bees feed on nectar and also help to pollinate plants. To encourage their presence in your yard, ensure you cultivate species of plants that they can feed on. You should also provide suitable habitat for caterpillars that form these butterflies and are likely to be present in your backyard.
Proper management of your yard will help provide a nest and food for bees especially in their active periods. You can plant native oak trees and trees with blossoms and berries. Oak provides habitat and support for several hundreds of butterflies, and moths.
Stack up Logs
You can create a home for various species of animals by stacking up logs in your garden, making things like bee hotels and a hedgehog house. By putting stacks of logs and stone piles, you will begin to draw invertebrates to your yard. You can place the logs under bushes and put sods of soil on top of the logs for humidity. This will enable the growth of ferns and invertebrates.
Looking to start gardening or improve on yours, you can visit sites like http://www.gardeningguidance.co.uk where you can find some more tips.
Conclusion
Animals and wildlife are essential factors in the eco-system and as a gardener, you should strive to preserve their population. By simply managing how you set up your garden, you will be able to achieve this.
We have shown you a few things you can do to achieve this. It’s now up to you to make this work in your peculiar situation.
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