Help! I’ve destroyed habitat :(

[oatmilk4breakfast]

Long story short, can you help me think of quick fix replacements for some very mature plants we’ve had to remove? We bought (v luckily at age 40!) a small terrace with a scrappy but lovely gardeners garden at the back. I love nature (I run outdoor forest school classes for kids) but work full time and don’t have time to maintain the beautiful borders she’s had. the real problem though was the fence - it was 40 years old, rotten and a danger for children.

It was covered in beautiful Ivy there was enormous jasmine bush and our neighbour’s wisteria was old woody exhausted and basically growing through our window. The patio was cracked and broken and uneven and also a danger…my husband convinced me it all had to go so we paid for a new fence and everything got cut down.

I feel terrible. AND as I thought would happen… the HUGE spiders that used to feed on the abundant life it all sustained are now coming into my house!!! I love spiders outdoors but due to some horrible experiences am now phobic - it’s a physical fear reaction (I need to address this).

any gardeners can you help? How can I quickly put in something that might act as a bit of an alternative food source and home for these creatures. I can’t have them in my house. (Lived there two years now and genuinely none before). I know it will take years to replace such mature plants but what can I do in the meantime?

We are waiting for new patio so anything I do needs to be in pots for now…please be kind, I’m a bit of a mess this morning.

I don’t think it’s possible to recreate a habitat like that quickly - sorry! BUT the spiders have all scattered looking for a new home and I doubt your house will provide what they need so I imagine they will disperse elsewhere rather than being a long-term issue.

When the new patio’s down you can plant some shrubs and climbers that will be nature-friendly but manageable, but they will take a few years to get to a decent size so you will probably want some quick filler plants as well.

Thank you! I know I’m so gutted even though I don’t know quite what else we could have done, there was barely any fence left and it was a hazard, oh dear…thank you so much much for your ideas though, really appreciate it.

If you don't mind the ivy coming back it grows very quickly, or a species clematis to climb - they grow quickly and make a good twiggy tangle for birds nests.

Are you sure they aren’t giant house spiders rather than coming in from the garden?

Giant House Spider

I always thought house spiders and outdoor spiders were not interchangeable.

If you are looking for a fast climber that spiders will love, I recommend passiflora. Even the smallest supermarket pot can grow 8m in one summer. Spiders seem to love mine.

They aren’t, @Koulibiak. At least, giant house spiders can’t live outside. I have seen a few recently although I usually only see them in mating season but I guess they are there all year round! OP said HUGE and they are the only really huge spider in the UK 🕷

I know, I saw one so big last year in my living room, I first thought it was a mouse!

We have some old bricks stacked including old ventilation ones and the spiders seem to love the gaps between them, perhaps checking some skips and building a little spider wall..? Letting the ivy come back is your best better, it's fantastic for all sorts of life.

if you are willing to pay exorbitant prices, you can always pay to have mature trees or bushes installed. if you google you will find companies that do this. One I know of is majestic trees but I don't know if they just do actual trees. you will find other companies that do this but its expensive.

Thank you all for all the suggestions I appreciate it so much!