If you want your garden to thrive all of the year around, a wildlife friendly garden is the answer! It is much harder during the winter for wildlife to survive, so why not give nature a helping hand? No matter the size of your garden, whether acres of land or a balcony, there is plenty that you can do to help wildlife during these cold months.
The first thing that you can do is create a bird table or bird feeding area. Small birds struggle to find food in the winter so ensure that you keep it well stocked. If there are a lot of cats in your area, make sure that you keep it in a place firmly out of their reach!
There are all sorts of nuts and seeds that you can buy to keep the birds happy, and also make sure that you provide water for your feathered visitors – you might even attract the odd squirrel looking for a cheeky snack!
If you have a hedgerow in your garden, you may well have hedgehogs curled up underneath it! Remember, if you are planning on building a bonfire on fireworks night to check for any hedgehogs beneath it as it is attractive place to sleep for a hedgehog! It is a great idea to plant some larger plants such as trees and bushes if you have room as they look beautiful and provide a home (fruit bushes also provide food) for a lot of small animals and birds.
If you really want to enjoy the outdoors throughout the winter months as well as the summer ones, have a look at the Cotswold Shepherds huts. The Shepherd’s Huts here are a great addition to your garden, and add an extra room to your home, for you to really be able to relax in the great outdoors.
If you have the room, a pond is a brilliant way to attract wildlife to your garden, and everyone knows that being around water is relaxing so will benefit you as well! Have a look at this tutorial on building a pond to get you started, and before long you will be playing host to beautiful dragonflies, families of frogs and maybe even the odd duck! It doesn’t really matter what size the pond is, there are a lot of beautiful tiny ponds, you could also add a water feature to suit the style of your garden.