Whilst prepping and pruning your garden, it is important to take into consideration the other residents who reside there. Making a safe and inviting habitat for local wildlife, birds and insects can significantly improve the local ecosystem of your surroundings. All gardens, despite the size, can offer up a huge variety of different habitats for wildlife. There are a range of simple and accessible things that you can do to help make your outdoor space habitat safe.
Below are a collection of helpful ideas to help you make your outdoor space habitat safe this season:
An easy and accessible way to accommodate wildlife without having to alter your current garden, is to add the addition of a bird house or water feature, so wildlife such as birds and squirrels can attend, eat, and breed in safety. By having a designated spot such as a house or place to feed, the wildlife is protected when residing in your garden, whilst still protecting your current shrubs and foliage from being eaten or destroyed.
Another easy way to make your outdoor space habitat friendly, is to specifically add nutrient and nectar filled plants to your garden. Doing this, will help to facilitate wildlife in their journey to forage and feed for themselves. It is important to note that the plants and flowers that you plant will be dependent according to the season. An example of this would be planting Ivy in the Autumn, as this is a reliable source of nectar for autumnal wildlife. Furthermore, ensuring that you have a wide range of colourful nectar-rich flowers in Spring and Summer will help to attract bees, wasps, butterflies and other wildlife.
Let’s think sustainable!
A sustainable way of accommodating wildlife is to create a habitat zone. These can be built using twigs and branches from your garden. This allows insects such as butterflies to set up camp and complete their transition from caterpillar to butterfly in a safe environment. Strategically creating these habitats under direct sunlight or in direct shade (depending on your local wildlife), can help to encourage the arrival of certain insects and animals seeking respite.
Another simple way to be sustainable is by collecting rainwater. This can be easily achieved by reusing a bucket or water butt. The acidity levels of rainwater are naturally ideal to quench the thirsts of your plants and local wildlife. By having a rainwater bucket, it not only allows birds and wildlife to drink clean water, but it also ensures that your plants are receiving chemical and toxin free water.
When making ecological improvements to your outdoor space, it is important to utilise the natural and organic environment. If you would like to know how we can help you to achieve this, visit our services page on our website to see the range of services we offer to help improve the horticulture in your own garden. Services Archive – ProHort
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For more information on how to turn your garden into a habitat that wildlife can thrive in, get in touch. Our friendly office team will answer your call in just two rings or get back to your email within the hour.
As the spring season approaches, it is the best time to start thinking about spring plant protection for your garden.
It is important when planning your garden that you take into consideration environmental risks surrounding your plants such as pests and harmful substances.
Also, it is important that prior to planting your flowers, shrubs, and herbs that you consider the placement of them in your garden as well as the timing that you plant them. Spring can be deceiving and although the lighter sunnier mornings make us think that it is time to start planting, they can be deceptive. Spring frost can ruin your plants whilst they are still infants, making their growth and potential limited. Some strong flowers we suggest for this period of the year are M. soulangeana ‘Lennei or Camelia ‘Black Lace.’ For more recommendations click here.
With the frequent arrival of storms recently in the UK you may think of investing in shelterbelts and windbreaks. They are semi-permeable barriers that help to provide shelter for your plants from the force of the wind by reducing the velocity of the wind.
The windbreaks can also support you in protecting your soil in these weathers. It is vital that you ensure you are usually top-quality soil when planting in the early spring season as the plants need as much nutritious support to thrive successfully. The windbreakers can also support by minimising soil erosion, in turn protecting the plants and their rhizomes.
If you are unsure if the soil you are using is of excellent quality or is adequate to assist your garden in bloom, contact our team and we can help you by completing a Soil Analysis. Click here to learn more about our Soil Testing Services.
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Storm Damage – How can we help here at ProHort?
With the severity of this winter’s storms continuing to affect the stability of many of our trees, it is becoming ever more prevalent that the changing climate is having an effect on the UK’s weather, causing post storm damage. With storms becoming more severe and erratic, the management and planting strategies for our woodlands will require adaptation to cope with these events. It is therefore essential that trees are strategically placed in the right places, to ensure our forests’ resilience to climate change.
Increasing climate change means that storms normally only seen in North-East Scotland have now spread across the UK. Woodlands that were considered safe are now suffering from damages and in some cases have been completely destroyed by storm damage.
Infact, after the most recent storms, it has been reported that 4,000 hectares of woodland were affected, this equates to an estimated 8 million trees. Many species of trees anchor roots, and woodlands shape themselves in a way to help them withstand the British weather, however it appears that further action is required to compensate for these worsening storms.
The 4,000 hectares that were reported to be effected, also included trees that are still standing adjacent to windblown areas. However, these will need to be felled, as they are now vulnerable due to their weakened root systems. With the more recently reported storms including storm Eunice and Franklin, this is an urgent point to be considered.
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RHS Garden Bridgewater
RHS Garden Bridgewater has recently opened its doors to its fifth extraordinary new garden in Salford which they claim to be ‘Europe’s biggest hands-on horticulture project!’
RHS Garden Bridgewater
Only a mere hour from our door in Barlaston, the Royal Horticulture Society has opened its first urban garden, aiming to create a vibrant and immersive experience created by the hands of its own local community. The mesmerising gardens have come to fruition because of the union of horticulture enthusiasts surrounding the Bridgewater Garden, the local community, and Salford City Council- all working in collaboration with RHS.
The 154 acres of green space has a history going back to 1840 when it was originally built for the 1st Earl of Ellesmere named Worsley New Hall. It historically states that the grounds of the house took over half a century to landscape! Mixing entertainment into the outdoors, whilst still preserving the wildlife opportunities, it was so remarkable that Queen Victoria visited the hall herself on multiple occasions.
They have incorporated 250,000 new plans into the site alongside the currently existing ones and have presented them in a contemporary layout, each garden offering a new atmosphere. The RHS have used the existing landscape as the foundations and recycled the majority of the existing materials, such as the bricks from the previous building, to build new infrastructure, alongside introducing new materials such as sustainable timber. All being created at the hands of the members of the community strongly teaches the message that everyone can do their own part in assisting the environment. Making your surrounding environment sustainable is a project where everyone is welcome to join in!
The garden has also focussed on the benefits of gardening and how it is supporting to improve mental health. They are working alongside local healthcare professionals to promote ‘social prescribing’ as a way of helping reduce mental health matters. Incorporating cafes and social zones promotes people to get together and enjoy the natural earth simultaneously.
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Wondering how you can incorporate aspects of the inspiring and impressive gardens into your own? We offer a variety of services, which can be found on our website, to help you plan and prep your garden so you can be as ecologically friendly and sustainable whilst creating an oasis in your own garden.
