Make your garden a wildlife hub this winter

Organic gardening revolves around working with nature and the environment and building the right balance in your growing space – from the soil up.

This should always include places for beneficial insects to assist you in striving to keep you and your plants happy and healthy. At Garden Organic we know the value of attracting ladybirds, spiders, birds and amphibians into our demonstration garden. If you can work with them, and support them, your garden will be all the better for it – particularly in the fight against pests.

Make your garden a wildlife hub this winter

Hedging is a superhighway for birds and mammals such as hedgehogs (which will happily munch on
those slugs!) Hedges also provide much-needed food and shelter, particularly during the winter
months. And November to March is a great time to plant them.

I’m lucky enough to have several types of hedging at Garden Organic, including beech and
hornbeam, which keep their leaves over winter and provide shelter for insects. Hawthorn,
blackthorn and holly are also great hedging choices for wildlife. Leave them unpruned during winter
and early spring so wildlife can take full advantage of the food and shelter they offer.

Hedging plants don’t need to be big to provide benefits, however. We also grow smaller ‘herb
hedges’ from rosemary and teucrium, both of which attract many pollinators during the summer
months. A double bonus!

We have two large ponds at Ryton, which attract all kinds of wildlife. One of them is overhung by
hornbeam, however, so leaf debris can be a problem. Leaves in ponds will decay and can go on to
cause the pond water to become more acidic, affecting the wildlife within.

In order to prevent this, it’s a good idea to net yourpond during autumn and winter