Untidy Gardens make the best homes for wildlife

Article posted in the Independent Online:

A detailed study of biodiversity in town and city gardens has found that they offer a vital refuge for animals and plants ? provided that those responsible for their upkeep are not too fastidious as gardeners.

It has also found that many of the preconceptions about wildlife gardening are not true. Small gardens are just as good as big gardens at attracting wildlife, suburban gardens are not always better than city gardens and non-native plants are not always harmful to native insects and birds.

Britain's 16 million gardens are a haven for hundreds of species of animals and plants that would find it impossible to survive on intensively farmed land, said Ken Thompson of Sheffield University.

"Gardens are amazingly diverse even compared to natural habitats that are good for wildlife. Gardens are more interesting on a small scale because they are so variable. All the wildlife responds to these variables," Dr Thompson said.

"Compared with an equivalent area of modern intensive farming, gardens are much, much better in terms of everything you measure, whether it is spiders, bugs or birds," he said.

"It sounds heretical, but from a biodiversity perspective most farmland would be improved by having a housing estate built on it," he told the British Science Festival.

Dr Thompson was involved in the first detailed study of the wildlife inhabiting British gardens when he and his colleagues surveyed 61 gardens in Sheffield between 1999 and 2002. They found an "astonishingly diverse" array of flora and fauna.

They also identified a range of simple measures that improved a garden's habitability for wildlife. "The top thing is to grow more big shrubs, trees and hedges," Dr Thompson said.

"These massively increase the volume of vegetation in your garden and a lot of vegetation means a lot of places to live and a lot of stuff to eat," he said.

"Don't be too tidy: don't be in a hurry to clear up everything when the garden stops flowering. Just leave a bit of stuff lying around.

"There's a mistaken belief that wildlife gardening is something special, something different, something odd and that a wildlife garden needs to be untidy, messy and not something you'd be proud of, but that's not true," Dr Thompson said.

The best gardens for wildlife needn't cost lots of money, and many of the "wildlife" products sold in garden centres are unnecessary, he said.

"Decking is a disaster. One of the findings of the Sheffield study was the very clear relationship between hard surfaces of any sort and less wildlife. It doesn't matter what it is ? as long as it's hard, it's bad," he added.

How to get a more natural garden

*Plant large shrubs and let them grow big. Shrubs and trees produce more vegetation where wildlife can live and eat.

*Allow at least some flowers to turn to seed and the lawn to grow tall. Don't be in a hurry to clear up fallen leaves.

*Create a pond for insects, frogs and toads. Think before stocking it with fish which will eat insect eggs and larvae.

*Don't illuminate your garden at night with bright lights. This will disturb many nocturnal creatures, such as moths.

*Create a compost heap ? they are miniature nature reserves in themselves. Compost also enriches the soil

Making Compost

It’s not rubbish, it’s renewable. Why throw your kitchen scraps in the bin when you could be using them to make your garden more lovely and attractive to wildlife?

A compost heap makes a delicious refuge. Larger mammals come to root around for old fruit, hedgehogs to eat the slugs, and reptiles and amphibians love the warmth it generates. It’s also a great way to attract the elusive slow worm.

Ideally site your compost bin in a reasonably sunny site on bare soil. If you have to put your compost bin on concrete, tarmac or patio slabs ensure there’s a layer of paper and twigs or existing compost on the bottom. Choose a place where you can easily add ingredients to the bin and get the compost out.

Have a container available such as a kitchen caddy or old ice cream tub. Fill your compost caddy or container with everything from vegetable and fruit peelings to teabags, toilet roll tubes, cereal boxes and eggshells. Take care not to compost cooked food, meat or fish.

Empty your compost caddy along with your garden waste into your compost bin. A 50/50 mix of greens and browns (see pages 6 and 7) is the perfect recipe for good compost.

It takes between nine and twelve months for your compost to become ready for use, so now all you need to do is wait and let nature do the work. Keep on adding greens and browns to top up your compost.

Once your compost has turned into a crumbly, dark material, resembling thick, moist soil and gives off an earthy, fresh aroma, you know it’s ready to use. Lift the bin slightly or open the hatch at the bottom and scoop out the fresh compost with a garden fork, spade or trowel.

Don’t worry if your compost looks a little lumpy with twigs and bits of eggshell – this is perfectly normal. Use it to enrich borders and vegetable patches, plant up patio containers or feed the lawn.

Types of compost heap

• A literal heap – a loose pile – is good for animals that might like to burrow into it, such as hedgehogs and toads.
• A dustbin-style compost bin is good for worms and invertebrates but larger animals won’t be able to find a way in.
• Make a traditional boxed compost heap with planks, posts and chicken wire.
• A compost heap with several chambers is ideal. Once you’ve filled one section with scraps, you can leave it to rot while you put fresh waste into another. If you don’t have space, try to build in access to the bottom of the pile with a door, so you can use the old stuff while you’re adding to the top.
• Avoid chemical activators. They can be poisonous to wildlife.
• Autumn leaves are good for the heap.
• Compost needs to be damp to keep it decomposing, but not soggy-wet. Sunlight should stop it from going slimy.

How to Prune safely and effectively

Whether they are grown in a pair of sleek galvanised steel containers outside your front door or planted among perennials in a border, box topiary shapes are among the most useful plants in the garden, providing structure, texture and all year round colour.

Although box balls, cones, cubes, pyramids, domes, spirals and a menagerie of animal shapes are among the trendiest things you can grow, they quickly lose their appeal when a crisp outline is lost beneath a shaggy coat of new growth. The answer: give plants a trim in June.

When to prune

Box will burst into life in March and lots of lime-coloured shoots will soon conceal the dark green shape beneath. Although you'll be itching to prune shoots back as soon as possible, don't.

Trimming young, sappy growth in the spring is likely to bruise the foliage, leaving you with a topiary shape that is unsightly. It is best to prune in mid-June, when the leaves are hard and leathery, and again in late summer if necessary. Don't worry if you did prune in the spring, the bruising will be eventually hidden by the subsequent flush of growth.

How to prune

It's possible to trim simple shapes - such as cones and balls - by eye, but for greater accuracy use a garden cane as a cutting guide for straight edges or make a template.

To prune balls, take a length of garden wire and twist it into a circular shape that can be held and moved over the plant as you prune. To ensure you are left with a perfect sphere, make the frame smaller than the mass of foliage.

Restore a cone shape by standing above the plant and pruning in an outward direction from the centre, working around the plant with an easy to handle set of secateurs. Alternatively, rest three canes on the sides of the cone and push into the ground. Secure the canes at the top to make a wigwam and bind the sides together with garden wire. Use your shears to prune to this framework.

Topiary spirals may look complicated, but it is easy to re-establish an overgrown specimen. Working from top to bottom with your secateurs, prune the upper surface of the spiral making sure you remove the foliage as far back as the main stem. Next, trim the upper and then the lower turn of the spiral to create its curved edges.

With practice, pruning topiary is a doddle. For the greatest success use a pair of hand held trimmers to leave a lovely clean finish, and regularly step back to double check your progress - unfortunately, if you make a mistake there's no turning back.

Pruning a Deciduous Shrub - Deciduous shrubs such as Forsythia (Yellow Bell's), are those that lose their foliage during the winter season and have a unique ability to renew themselves almost indefinitely. Some of these shrubs growing in the eastern part of the country are alive and healthy after more than a century, yet these plants don't appear to be to be more than five years old. The secret is proper pruning. Each year a deciduous shrub produces many shoots from the plants base or roots. Wait to begin pruning deciduous shrubs until they are three years old. The best time to prune deciduous shrubs that do not bloom in Spring is late winter. Wait to prune shrubs that flower in Spring until after they bloom. The goal is to remove all but 1/3 of the plants shoots. Below is a basic guidline for pruning deciduous shrubs.

How to plan a garden party

For peace of mind, begin planning your party in the garden six to eight weeks in advance. This will allow you time to gather all the supplies that you need, including garden party decor, gifts, and menu items. Planning ahead also gives your guests time to RSVP and make travel plans, if needed. Don't panic if you find yourself short on time; you can still plan a great party! Planning ahead simply reduces the risk of conflicts with guests' plans and may increase your garden party’s attendance.

If making the invitations yourself, think first about who you are inviting to the party. Consider a flower-themed design, or focus on herbs and vegetables as your inspiration. A general garden invitation can be made from simple construction paper or card stock. Just fold the paper in half, and either decorate with flower or veggie stickers or create your own designs with paint or markers. If you’re short on time, you can purchase personalized or pre-printed garden party invitations online. We recommend mailing your invitations three to four weeks prior to the party—any sooner and your guests may forget, any later and your guests may already have plans. For this party, colors will depend on which direction you take the theme. If veggies and herbs are the focus, stick with lots of greens, tans, and yellows. If flowers are the main focus, any bright or pastel colors will work great. For goodie bags, purchase small toy gardening tools, gloves, sun hats, and flower-themed items like flower rings and pinwheels, seed packets, and assorted candies.

To set the mood there is no better way than lighting your area properly but elegantly. There are a few places where you can get mood setting party lights or solar lights that will bring your garden to life. Most good garden centre shops will sell them. They are easy to install as they require no wiring and because they use solar power they cost nothing to run. The effect these solar lights will give to the party are remarkable.

Make sure your guests are seated comfortably. There is plenty of outdoor furniture available from a garden centre that will accomodate large parties and become a centrepiece for the evening. It is important to chose furniture that is eye catching and materialistically perfect whilst still being great value for money ofcourse. It will give your guests the wow factor as soon as they arrive.

Most importantly, sont let the evening be spoilt by the typical British summertime weather. The chances of rain in late summer and autumn are quite high but with a gazebo the party can go on completely uneffected and into the night. It will cover all four sides and is large enough to accomodate dozens of guests, furniture, banners, foods, lights, heaters and whatever else your party needs. They are great value for money and can be used year after year and party after party. Keep the food coming from the barbecue and entertain as if it was 40 degrees outside.

With the end of the summer approaching, the nights can sometimes get a a little chilly. It is a shame to head back indoors so early. A simple, cheap and effective may to heat your party is to get a patio heater. There are several options to chose from but most people tend to opt for the gas powered patio heaters. They range from £150 to £400 depending on how much you are willing to pay. It is debatable that you actually get any more benefit from spending large amounts of money. You can get just as effective results from a £200 patio heater. Gas bottles are easy to fill. Most, if not all, caravan shop will refill your gas bottle if you take it to them for a very small fee.

Take care of your patio heater by covering it in damp weather and you will have something that will make family and friends talk about your garden parties and barbeque’s for years to come. Patio heater covers may seem a pointless expense, but you will soon realise that it is a cheaper alternative than buying a new patio heater every year.

Keep the dogs out of the shrub beds

If you sit down and calculate the time, money and effort you put into your own beloved garden, it is easy to feel sorry for those that are affected by animals destroying their beauty. Dogs seem to be the main cause for concern. Whether its pulling up plants in the shrub beds, urinating on topiary or running all over your newly laid lawn, you can often be left tearing your hair out looking for solutions to keeping your pets (and other peoples) where they should be.
Now there is a simple, cheap and effective solution. Available in most good garden centres is a variety of devises that emit sounds that only animals can hear. The Yeoman is one of those brilliant inventions and one of the most effective on the market. The Yeoman Keep Pets Off emits an ultra sonic sound wave that the pet can hear. Each time you pet moves into an area the vibrations set off the unit and the ultra sonic sound waves are irritating to your pet and hence your pet should move away from the area. Ensure the unit is positioned in the centre of the area you want the pet to keep off on a flat surface. It can even work indoors. Does your dog jump on the sofa or on your bed the minute your back is turned? For soft suraces like beds and sofas set to high sensitivity and for hard surfaces such as table tops set to low sensitivity.