Easy Ways to Invite Wildlife into Your Summer Garden
Written by Toby Patrick
While increasing the amount of wildlife in your garden can enhance the aesthetics of your outdoor living space, it also has a variety of environmental benefits including increasing biodiversity and reducing the impact of climate change. Whether you are motivated by saving the planet or just improving the prettiness of your garden, here are some simple ways you can increase the number of animals and insects visiting your garden in summer.
Flower choice
One of the simplest ways you can attract wildlife to your garden is by reconsidering your choice of flowers, plants and shrubs. Flowers like Hollyhocks, Geums and Lavender will act as a magnet for bees in summertime.
Similarly, Buddleja, Sedum and Hebes will leave you with a butterfly-filled garden. If you have specific animal or insect in mind that you’d like to attract, it may be worth researching which plants are most likely to draw them in.
Don’t over-tidy
While it can be tempting to constantly have your pruners out in summer, allowing your garden to have a bit more of a rugged look can actually act as an invitation to wildlife. Butterflies and hedgehogs for example are fond of longer grass, so don’t worry if you go a few weeks without mowing your lawn.
The same goes for any fallen branches, twigs and berries. While you may view these as an eyesore, smaller animals like squirrels view them as a meal and will happily visit your garden if they are on the menu.
Bird food and shelter
Attracting more birds to your garden won’t just keep little ones entertained, they also act as a form of natural pest control. If you want to turn your garden into a bird sanctuary during summer, simply add a birdhouse and bird food then sit back and watch your yard turn into a bird rendezvous.
Some birds, such as kingfishers, are more likely to pay you a visit if you have somewhere for them to bathe. A garden with a pond or bird bath will increase the likelihood of birds like kingfishers being spotted in your garden.
Compost
We might think of compost as a necessity for our plants, but it’s also critical to the many insects that rely on compost as a source of nutrients and shelter. Looking after your compost, adding nutrients and even composting food waste to create more compost are all great ways to attract smaller insects to your garden.
Build a pond
Finally, if you are feeling a little more adventurous and you are blessed with a large garden, why not build a pond in your backyard? You can add your own fish to your pond once finished, but you could also leave it empty and ready to be invaded by an army of frogs and newts.
A pond can be any size, so it really depends on what size garden you are working with. There are various tutorials online if you want to add a small pond to your garden while larger projects may see you enlist the help of a construction company.
