This blog is about the nice bits
Here are some aspects of my garden that make it a home for creatures of all kinds as well as for me. My inspiration these days comes from this book written by Andrew Timothy O’Brien of gardenweedsandwords.com
Using a dead tree
When our apple tree finally died and fell down I cut off the small branches and left the spider-like trunk as a feature while I decided what to do with it. I rather like it.
Swivelled it 90 degrees it sits parallel to the fence and is now a feature like a Tate installation for cats to sit on and bugs to live in. I like the idea of keeping every piece of living stuff in the garden rather than cutting it up and taking it away.
The local stray cat who now lives with us apparently.
All the twigs and tiny branches make a twiggy pile at the foot of the bird feeder which brilliantly stops the pigeons and squirrels from gathering to eat the dropped bird food. The tiny birds like robins can hop in the twigs and eat the left overs.
Using packing straw
Mail order plants arrived in a box of straw so I stuffed the straw into pots and left them tucked around the edges of the garden to make bug homes.
I did the same with dried moss.
Make a woodpile
from a bag of logs from Amazon.
Have a birdbath
Throw everything in a corner
I have a back corner where I chuck all green matter including flowers from the house, cardboard and everything cut or pruned. The pile just sits there cooking away being eaten and decomposed by bugs. I don’t use it for compost making, it’s more a living pile adding to the life in the garden.
Yes some may say it’s messy. It’s a matter of what one’s garden is for. Mine is for living creatures and to have them stay I need to give them a home.
Make a small pond
I made a small pond and wrote about it here
Apparently having a pond is the number one way to have more diversity in your garden and mine now has damsel flies, dragon flies, newts, little pond bugs, pond snails, and bees sitting on the water plants having a drink.
Birds
Bird feeders are such a joy to watch every day of the year that I couldn’t be without them. Yes bird feeders make a bit of a mess on the ground but the little birds soon eat that up. Rats are always around here in London but for years now I haven’t seen any in the garden. I reckon they keep themselves to themselves.
Keep them filled all year round.
Welcome so-called weeds
I’ve decided to welcome dandelions up to a point and not see them as a problem so that saves the trouble of “weeding”. If I see too many I just snap the flower head off. We can decide for ourselves how many we want.
Foxes
Foxes romp through the borders and squash things flat when they have a snooze in a sunny spot. They have preferred routes around the garden and have pummelled the plants in their path. I’ve decided not to mind.
Those are the joys in my garden. My next blog will show you the compromises, squashed bits, impassable bits and small problems wildlife can also add to the garden.
Thankyou for reading and do subscribe if you’d like to by adding your email above.
Happy summer to us all.
Julie
Brilliant post, everyone has their own idea of what a garden should be. For me I share your enthusiasm for making your garden nature friendly. We get so much joy and pleasure from seeing and hearing birds, animals insects etc. whilst out walking. So sharing and having wildlife in our garden makes so much sense and adds enjoyment to our garden space no matter how small or big.
oh Norman how lovely to hear from someone who feels the same. It really is a state of mind isn’t it, to see a garden as a place we have to share rather than somewhere to battle to keep control over all the time. Very best wishes to you and thank you for reading and commenting.
I’ve adopted the same approach to dandelions. Interesting to see your twiggy pile at bottom of bird feeder. I have put up with the pigeons because they do hoover up the fallen seed leaving nothing for the rats but of course the pigeons leave a mess!
Relaxed gardening is the best!
Thankyou so much for reading and replying Lesley. Yes pigeons here in London are a fact of life, they never give up but at least they isn’t a swarm of them in the garden any more. Just the few persistent ones. Hurrah for dandelions and very best wishes to you.
Every time I see your garden and I look at my really wild, overgrown garden I am completely overwhelmed. Yours is so lovely.
Hold on a minute. Please don’t be overwhelmed. It’s only plants. I do hope you also enjoy your garden and appreciate how wonderful it is that everything grows so well. Tell us how you get on, and thankyou so much for commenting and for reading my blog.
Gardening tends to be a solitary activity so it is always good to read your posts and, especially, to see photographs of your garden. Many thanks!
Thankyou Stephen, yes I must admit I go into the garden to be on my own and out of contact with anyone and any thing. I am in my own little world in my garden. Thankyou so much for sending a comment and for appreciating my blog. Very best wishes to you.
Your little corner of the blog world is so inspiring to me. Thank you for sharing your garden – it helps me to see things in a new light.
Thankyou so much for commenting Annie, it is lovely to hear from people who are interested to read my blog. Being inspiring is lovely and I too am inspired by tv programmes, magazines and lots online. Very best wishes, Julie
What a lovely place you have. I’m with you on the dandelions and also have a yard full of plantain. I just keep thinking someday I may have a medical need for these plants. Now sadly I don’t feed the birds because of all the outside cats that have homed here but I love your idea of the sticks on the ground for protection.
Would the cats really endanger the birds or do you think birds are smart enough to avoid them? Hard I know to find dead birds. I hate it when mine kill a bird. Thankyou for commenting, it’s always lovely to hear from you. I’ve forgotten where in the world you hare Beverly. Very best wishes, Julie
Julie thank you for reminding me of your previous post about the pond! I have a trough that I repurposed as a pond last summer, it has a lot of lovely aquatic plants in it doing really well, but bar what I can see on the surface (a few pond skaters), I don’t think there is a lot happening in there and I need to move it onto one of the flower beds like yours. Trial and error! I’d love to see some dragon flies hovering around it! And maybe one days frogs, who knows!
WEll I have newts but no frogs. Apparently you can’t have both as they eat each other. I have dragonflies but frankly not that much going on in mine either. Thankyou so much for getting in touch, it does make it all worthwhile when I hear from like minded people. Very best wishes to you, Julie
The squirrels eat breakfast here every morning along with various birds and the two old feral girl kitties; the last of the seven feral cat colony that I have fed and cared for during the last ten years. They al bring so much joy, especially since all my dogs have gone to the Rainbow Bridge.
oH how lovely. It does feel good to give wilder animals a sense of a home doesn’t it. We have a stray cat who lives with us now but I had to stop letting him in the house because he wouldn’t stop spraying even though we neutered him. He’s very happy here though. very best wishes to you and thank you for commenting and reading my blog.
As I have grown older, I have tried to discern the thing or things that truly bring me joy. One of those things is simply seeing life in my garden. Like you, I love creating a welcoming space for squirrels, chipmunks, birds, bees, butterflies, and dragonflies. Even the oft dreaded wooly aphids (they look like little fairies to me!) make me smile, knowing the birds will take care of them and the other pesty critters. I don’t mind if my garden is not totally neat and tidy all of the time. It’s more important that it is busy with life! Thank you for your delightful posts! I enjoy each and every one!
That’s lovely to hear Janet, I so agree that a garden full of life big an small is a huge joy. And to have that we must make creatures feel safe and welcome. Thankyou so much for being so appreciative of my posts, it does make it all worthwhile. Best wishes, Julie
So nice to see you use everything nature gives us! It’a lovely garden!
thankyou so much Lori for taking the time to comment and thankyou for your kind words. I hope you have a lovely garden too. Best wishes, Julie
I like the idea of the twigs under the bird feeder I’m going to steal that idea Thankyou 😁
Ah that’s great, sorry for the late reply. It’s a good use of twigs. Best wishes, Julie