Trevena Cross Owner Graham has created a new pond and wildlife area at the top of the nursery where he lives – away from the hustle and bustle of the garden centre and areas open to the public.
Keen on natural environmental management of the garden landscape, and on taking full advantage of the wonderful ecosystems we are surrounded by, Graham has decided to help create the desired living conditions for a range of garden helpers, by making some subtle and fairly straightforward changes to the landscape.
For one, he has installed new bat boxes to provide valuable roosting sites for these fascinating creatures, where they don’t currently exist. Bats, which can prey entirely on insects (and lots of them!) are important members of the food chain and an important source of pest control – eliminating the need for chemical pesticides.
Of course our garden insects are very important too – as vital cross pollinators for a range of flowering plants, and Graham has helped create insect habitats too, by simply stacking big hollow canes – incredibly basic, but very inviting, to a range of insects.
A wildlife area wouldn’t be complete without a water feature, and perhaps Graham’s biggest addition, is a wildlife pond, built with shallow sloping sides to ensure any small animals, such as hedgehogs, can crawl out and won’t get trapped. Next to the pond, which will attract the insects, bats, and a range of other wildlife, is a stack of logs – a great place for slug-loving frogs to lurk and find their prey.
Basic changes in the garden, that consider our garden wildlife as well as aesthetics, can create the most interesting and lowest maintenance spaces.
Why not give it a go? – Make just one or two changes in your garden to encourage more wildlife, and let nature get on with it… Let it do what it does best!
