A garden isn’t just about plants, pots and pavers, it should be alive with birdsong, butterflies and chameleons.
Make a home for helpful garden creatures
1. Compost heap:
Earthworms, nematodes, and micro-organisms are essential for soil fertility and making nutrients available to plants. If you haven’t got a compost heap, soil covered with leaf litter is just as cosy.
2. Water feature:
Dragonflies and other water-loving insects love to dance across the water. Frogs will help keep the mosquitoes in check to balance your ecosystem. And if there’s a little shallow bit, you’ll tempt birds by offering them a bath.
3. Dead trees or logs:
Carpenter bees, woodpeckers and barbets love to nest in dead trees. If you’ve already felled your tree, leave a few logs behind so fungi and insects involved in decomposition can colonise it.
4. Sandy patches:
Birds love to have a sand bath or just sunbathe in a sandy patch. This is also where lizards and solitary wasps lay their eggs – you may not be a wasp fan but these guys are really good for your garden.
5. Dense shrubbery:
Let a part of your garden run wild and dense so birds and insects can nest there. A little untidiness here and there will be welcomed.
What to plant to attract birds to your garden:
A variety of seeds and flowers will have many different birds and insects coming back for more.
1. Nectar:
Plants such as aloes, strelitzias, agapanthus and salvias are irresistible to sunbirds.
2. Berries:
Bulbuls and other fruit-eating birds will be attracted to your garden if there are berry-bearing plants. Indigenous wild olive, wild peach, black-birdberry and waterberry trees will do the trick.
3. Seeds:
Grasses attract seed-eating birds and are very trendy in gardens. There are lovely looking varieties, some variegated, others tinged with red or purple. You can also attract birds using a feeder and wild bird seed.
Browse 1000’s of products available to you. Select your country to Shop Online.
