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July is a bustling month for wildlife, with many young creatures venturing out for the first time. Your garden can be a vital haven for them as they learn to navigate the world. You might spot baby frogs, toads, and newts leaving their ponds in search of cool, damp shelter, while young blackbirds and robins hide in hedges as their parents forage for worms. If you're lucky enough to host them, baby hedgehogs will also be emerging and learning to find their own food.
This makes July a great time to provide a little extra support, especially if your garden isn't yet fully equipped to offer all the natural resources these creatures need.
Here are some specific actions you can take this month to make a big difference for your garden's wild inhabitants:
Protect Young Amphibians
Low-growing plants around your pond provide crucial hiding spots and shelter for baby frogs. Long grass is also incredibly beneficial. When it's time to mow, always check thoroughly for amphibians in taller grass, or consider delaying mowing for a couple of weeks to give them time to disperse safely.
Delay Hedge Trimming
Many bird species, including blackbirds, thrushes, house sparrows, greenfinches, and goldfinches, use hedges for nesting and may still be active in them until late August. It's best to avoid trimming hedges until early autumn and always conduct a thorough check for nests beforehand.
Sow Biennials for Next Year's Pollinators
Now is an excellent time to sow biennials that will provide a feast for pollinators next year. Wonderful options include honesty, teasels, and foxgloves.
Support Hedgehogs
If the hedgehogs visiting your garden appear a little thin, or if natural food sources are scarce, offering them some assistance can be incredibly helpful. Leave out fresh water and a small amount of meat-based dog or cat food (chicken flavor is often a good choice). This extra nutrition can help them, and their emerging young, fatten up as they learn to forage. If you find the food attracts cats or foxes, consider building a hedgehog feeding station to ensure your prickly visitors can feed safely.
Manage Perennial Meadows Thoughtfully
If you have a perennial meadow, you can use a strimmer to cut it back. To maximise benefits for wildlife, cut half of the meadow now and the remainder in about a month's time. Leave the seed heads where they fall for a couple of days to allow seeds to scatter into the soil. Afterward, remove the clippings for composting. You can then mow the meadow to a shorter, even length, but remember to remove all clippings. This is crucial as most wildflowers thrive in low-nutrient conditions, and removing the clippings prevents soil enrichment.
Cultivating a Thriving Wildlife Garden: The Bigger Picture
When it comes to supporting nature and wildlife, variety is truly key. To get started, consider these fundamental additions and practices:
Add a tree: Fruiting trees are particularly beneficial.
Provide water: A pond, bird bath, or even a simple dish of water can make a huge difference.
Create log piles: These offer shelter and food for many insects and small creatures.
Avoid pesticides: These chemicals harm the very wildlife you're trying to attract.
Embrace a little wildness: Don't feel the need to prune or tidy your garden too often.
From these basics, aim to add a wide variety of plants and flowers of differing heights, including ground-covering plants. Whether they are wild, cultivated, native, or non-native, all can contribute positively. The most impactful approach for the environment is to choose the "right plant in the right location." This means selecting plants suited to your existing soil and climate, reducing the need for extensive soil amendments or excessive watering.
Incorporating wildflowers into your garden is also a fantastic idea. Many are endangered and could disappear from the wild, and they offer a unique and vital food source for insects and bees.
Remember, having a garden that supports wildlife doesn't mean it has to look "scruffy." Don't feel pressured if you prefer a mostly short lawn or neat edges. What truly matters is the joy your garden, and the wildlife within it, bring to you and your family.
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