a thread about Biodiversity/Gardens/Landscape in the UK...

[LemonSwan]

So last few weeks there have been lots of amazing threads about tackling the environment issues.

After watching Davids 'Break Boundaries' - it was surprising to see that biodiversity is the category we have done the most damage too!

So much of these climate change issues are problems so large its questionable whether we can make a significant difference as individuals - but this problem of biodiversity is one that only we can improve. Most greenspace in urban environments is private garden. Any one with a driveway, garden or roof has the power

So this thread is for anyone to discuss how they are helping to support biodiversity in the UK, and by extension do their bit to mitigate against flash flooding, heat island effect, improve air quality and carbon capture.

Some ideas:

• no-mow May
• sown some wildflowers
• put in a native hedge
• sacrificed some/all lawn for a border for pollen
• switched their driveways for permeable
• built a pond
• put in a green roof
• planted host plants for insect breeding
• fresh water - bird baths, butterfly baths etc.

etc. etc.

Excited to hear about what everyone has been doing and what plans anyone has :)

I've been trying to make our garden as insect/wildlife friendly as possible, partly because I want to & partly to make up for next doors AstroTurf/patio monstrosity! Literally nothing is alive in their garden bar the algae that grew in their overground pool last summer!
We haven't mowed much this year; have lots of fruit bushes which we don't net so the birds can eat them. This year we grew a buddleia & have had so many types of butterflies this year. We have several established bee houses in which we get miner bees & leaf cutter bees laying their eggs each year. We've just put up some new ones ready for next year. We've planted a honeysuckle, have an open air compost heap; lots of herbs, a tree & thorny bushes for cover. In our south facing front garden we have Mediterranean herbs which are drought resistant & like poor soil.
The only thing we don't have is a pond - have small kids though.
We've had visits from a dragonfly & elephant hawk moth caterpillar this year too.

Just noticing on this drizzly day that the small bumble bees have left the marjoram and are concentrating on the annual fuschias(which have been drawing them in anyway,) must be nice and dry inside the hanging flowers! So sometimes the fancier non natives do offer something for the wildlife.

Ponds ponds ponds!
Literally the best thing ever. And obvs wild flowers

Hi everyone. What a fab thread! I'm another one who is excited by compost heaps. I've been successfully making my own compost now for 14 years (as well as bags and bags of leaf mould). My lawn is 40% weeds but the bees and other insects just love it so I so don't mind too much. I have a bird bath too but am looking to do insect and hedgehog houses as well as maybe a small pond (or ponds).

Very pleased to see starlings and sparrows reappearing in my garden after a hiatus of several years.

Gardening is so good for mental health too.

People need to stop tarmac-ing their front gardens - it’s a massive flood risk and so bad for the environment.

There is also a difference between cornfield annuals (poppies and cornflowers etc which are more labour intensive and not so good for wildlife) versus actual wildflower meadows.

@ChazsBrilliantAttitude yes borage & mallow! I’m eyeing them up ready to harvest the seeds, they must have been in my wild mix but the bees have been loving them more than anything else in my garden. I will add the others for next year.

@Excelthetube if I do a Lille micro pond in a container, do you have any tips to keep the water clear? The only reason I’ve not done one before is because I have no clue what to do with one. Will a couple of little pond plants be enough to keep it clear or do I do something else?
Thanks

@LemonSwan I love that you are going to try to guilt the new owners into keeping the garden wildlife friendly with pictures of your visitors!

Our current garden has two wildflower areas plus I am useless at mowing the lawn and it is slowly turning to Clover. Also have a small wildlife pond.

Moving house though and the new garden is all paved/artificial grass. Will be pulling it up and putting in a clover lawn plus water areas and planting lots of pollinator friendly plants.

Lovely thread. I am already doing some things, including a minipond which all sorts of insects have colonised. It is very satisfying.

Re: harvesting seeds from wild flowers, do they need to be dried out first or can they be sown straight away?

Definite planting for pollinators and our garden is abuzz with so many different bees and is full of butterflies. We have an area dedicated to wildflowers and cultivated pollen-rich plants and have made a conscious effort to keep native species as well as planting a tree for every one we have had to remove. When we moved here 20 years ago it was horribly sterile and Japanese zen style but now it's a proper country garden. We have frogs, snakes, hedgehogs and toads. I'm not crazy about the amphibians and reptiles but if they stay out of the house that's fine! We also have bats which I know is great but I really wish we hadn't (kissing the loft extension goodbye!)

We half half clover/ daisy lawn and half something else I've forgotten the name of, with purple flowers.
Love the idea of a "clover lawn"!

Just looking online, it's self-heal / prunella.

Also came across the term tapestry lawn!

Oh thank you

Having now looked at pictures of tapestry lawns they seem to be rather more, erm, intentional than my rough patches of weedy grass!

And we just had a giant frog jumping around our conservatory

Thats never actually happened before so I think the thread summoned that haha

Re: harvesting seeds from wild flowers, do they need to be dried out first or can they be sown straight away?

@tattymacduff
I would probably go half and half to be on the safe side. Then you can come back and tell us

SEED SAVING: www.growwilduk.com/wildflowers/how-grow-wildflowers/seed-saving

Thanks LemonSwan. I will report back!

Great thread! We’re hoping to move amd new house has a pond and log pile. Currently we have compost heap, fruit trees, lots of plants that attract pollinators and loads of dandelions and clover. I leave hips on the rose bushes and have pyracantha for berries and a big sweet chestnut tree.

Not hugely keen on the idea of a snake in the pond as the current owner found recently but I guess you have to take what you can get ! Will be upping number of pollinator plants , having a wildflower area and might look at just mowing paths.

"if something is not eating your plants, then your garden is not a part of the ecosystem"

I wish something would eat the mint, I don't like to eat myself though I enjoy the flowers.

.

Afternoon all Come to check in with everyone.

Absolutely love mint @MinesAMassiveSalad

What mint do you have? I find all the flower types fascinating.

When we moved into our house last year the previous owners left a water feature in the front garden. We removed the decorative bit and pump and popped some bricks in they had also left around so wildlife can climb out and my mum gave us some oxygenating plants for it. We've got frogs now. The front is mainly tarmac but there's a border so for next year I'm going to plant lots there (to be fair the previous owners have left some decent shrubs and a tree, it's not barren) and ive hung up some bird feeders which are visited quite often now.

The garden was concrete mainly when we moved in. We've had it turfed with large borders. There's an overhanging tree from the neighbour's which is a little annoying as it blocks a good bit of the sun but the birds love it so we're not touching it.

I'm going to do a washing up bowl pond in the back garden at some point. Can't go bigger as we have a little one and a smallish garden.

I've fixed a bug hotel to the garage and there's two bird boxes away from the sun. I also sowed a load of pollinator friendly seeds for this summer in the new borders, we've had lots of butterflies and bees and other buzzy visitors that I can't identify but seem to like the flowers.

When I can afford to Im going to put some hedge at the back, not sure what type yet but something with berries the birds like and gives some cover probably.

Our fences are knackered and in one of them there's a hole at the bottom which I've noticed wildlife using. When we can get the fences sorted im going to ask the neighbour if we can put a hole in the new one.

jer barren gardens make my heart sink. There's a few in my street. No shrubs or small trees and only a couple of flowers. They don't even have the decency to let it go a bit wild in a small patch. What's worse, is that they barely use the garden anyway.

I've had a small compost pile going in an old food waste bin (that's on the larger side) for about 2 years now. It has lots of worms in it and the stuff at the bottom is the most amazing looking loam :) but what I'm confused by is when I spread it on top of my containers/planters as mulch as advised by Monty it just dries out and doesn't seem that nutritious/beneficial - any tips? Am I not compacting it down enough after spreading?

Does anyone have any advice on attracting wildlife without attracting rats?
They are a real problem in my area, but I'd still like to do more in my garden.

Sad isn't it @megletthesecond. When we bought this house it was eye opening how many houses online were advertised with the selling point of "fantastic landscaped garden" which consisted of slabs, astroturf, hot tub with a bare structure over it and some fake hanging baskets.