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.
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Happy summer to us all.
Julie
