1. Building or putting up a bird box
Having a bird box or two in your garden is a great way to attract birds, and January is the perfect time to put them up.
Bird boxes are simple to make using basic tools, and it shouldn’t take too long to put one together if you’re reasonably handy with a saw, screwdriver and few bits of woods. The RSPB .
Place your bird box on a tree or fence, about 3m above the ground, and not too near things like feeders or heavy cover – but near enough a large tree or bush so that box-nesting birds like blue tits and great tits will be able to get there without being caught by smash-and-grab predators like sparrowhawks.
The most important thing to remember with a bird box is to make sure it isn’t disturbed. Nesting mothers will not appreciate being interrupted, by you or by a woodpecker, so place the box where you can see it from a safe distance, and make sure that you don’t open it until later in the year after everyone has fledged.
2. Keeping an area of your garden ‘wild’
Step away from the lawnmower.
No, really. We’re inviting you to take a break and watch your lawn grow, and grow, and grow!
Tidy and manicured lawns are the norm across the British Isles, but keeping a section wild and overgrown for wildlife will encourage a range of invertebrates and mammals into your garden. In spring and summer, the pollinators that grow there will become a favourite for bees and butterflies. Longer grassy areas will provide shelter for small mammals like wood mice and shrews. Plus it means you can reclaim your weekend – a real win-win situation!
3. Putting up a bird feeder or table
Winter is a particularly challenging time of year for birds to find food. Aside from bushes with berries, birds enjoy seeds and nuts which you can put in a feeder or on a table for them to feast upon. If you regularly replenish the food, you can watch the birds return as they’ll know you’re providing a reliable source of food. Why not have a go at making some homemade fat balls?
As well as your many bird feeders, you can leave out other types of food to help all of your garden visitors.
Fruits like apples and pears can be left out for your garden blackbirds and visiting winter thrushes to feast on, and any passing foxes and badgers might stay for a healthy treat too. If your hungry hounds aren’t eating all their food, leaving out dog or cat food (not the fishy stuff!) will also make a welcome snack for other mammals such as hedgehogs.
Talking about hedgehogs, they can travel up to a mile every single night to find food and a mate. It’s a great idea to create a gap at the bottom of your hedge or fence to allow these hedgehogs and other small mammals to pass through – and while you are doing it, persuade your neighbours to get involved too to create a hedgehog highway
5. Create a water feature or pond
Last January we showed you how to make a garden pond from an old washing up bowl. At the time Chris Packham said: “it’s the single most important thing you can do to support life in your garden.”
Creating an area for invertebrates like newts, frogs and toads in your garden will in turn attract a broad array of wildlife to your garden. Expect dragonflies, damselflies and a whole host of birds.
If you don’t have the time or the space to create a garden pond, leaving out water for birds to wash in can be a real help. Most birds get their water from food, however making sure it is clean and not frozen during the winter months will ensure that it’s of use to our avian friends.
6. Leaving a pile of dead wood
Being a good gardener isn’t always about keeping things neat and tidy.
Leaving a pile of wood in your garden a great way to encourage wildlife. It’ll become an impromptu bug hotel, hosting all kinds of life. Bring your own style to it and make it a garden feature – it’ll be around for many years. Wood piles are great for providing shelter and a place to rest for a range of species, from spiders and beetles to hibernating hedgehogs.
7. Compost your garden waste
Help maintain your garden by putting organic food waste to good use. Every time you cut the stem from a broccoli, chop up carrots or make a salad; put the leftovers in a pot – when it’s full take it out to the garden and put it on your compost heap. When spring and summer finally arrive; cuttings from the grass and leafy plants in the can be added too, and a few layers of cardboard really help get things moving. It’s a marathon not a sprint when it comes to composting; after several months you’ll have a ripe organic mulch perfect for adding to the soil for that natural boost.
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8. Plant a herb garden
Having a mini-herb garden is simple, doesn’t take much upkeep and that can provide you with fresh herbs all year round. It’s great to have the convenience of those fresh flavours on your doorstep, it helps reduce your carbon footprint and also cuts down on the un-recyclable plastic packaging so many supermarkets wrap their herbs in. Some of the thicker herbs like thyme and sage provide cover for beetles and other insects too.
9. Keep your garden organic
Everyone wants their plants to grow the biggest and best they possibly can - but adding chemicals and pesticides in order to do this can be harmful to the natural world. Scientific evidence shows that chemicals that end up in watercourses can be detrimental to the biodiversity of rivers and harm the wildlife that lives in them, so using organic growth enhancers like homemade compost and protecting your plot with nets rather than chemicals is the best way to make sure your veg is a prizewinner for nature.
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Bees are vital to our ecosystem as one of the key pollinators of most of our food crops -and there are a range of plants which you can grow in order to encourage bees to pay your garden a visit. Lavender, for example, will brighten up your garden as well as encourage bee activity. Plantlife runs an annual 'Pots for Pollinators' campaign, encouraging people to grow flowers in their gardens and balconies – no space is too small to help our wildlife!
11. Get a water butt and collect rain water
Collecting rain water in a butt or container is one really easy way in which you can help nature this year and save on your water bill. Often in the spring and summer plants need extra watering so by collecting rainwater you can recycle the water and add nutrients back into the ground – and it’s also much better for your plants than the water from the tap. You can even use this water to top up your washing up bowl pond, too!