A wildlife-friendly winter garden: 7 easy, peat-free ways to help
Shwmae, everyone!
As the nights draw in, life gets tough for the birds, hedgehogs and insects that share our gardens. Food is scarce, water freezes and shelter is hard to find. The good news? A few small changes can make a huge difference, and most of them mean doing less, not more. Here are seven easy ways to help.
1. Plant berries
Berry-bearing shrubs are a natural winter larder for birds. Cotoneaster horizontalis is covered in bright red berries that last into winter, and holly gives food and thick, prickly shelter too. Autumn is a great time to plant both.
2. Leave some mess
Hold back on the big autumn tidy. Hollow stems, seedheads and a layer of fallen leaves give insects somewhere to spend the winter, and seedheads feed finches and other small birds.
3. Build a leaf or log pile
A quiet corner with a heap of leaves or a few old logs is a perfect winter shelter for hedgehogs, frogs and beetles. Please check bonfire piles for sleeping hedgehogs before lighting them.
4. Make a hedgehog highway
Hedgehogs roam a long way each night looking for food. A small gap, about 13cm square, at the bottom of your fence lets them travel safely between gardens.
5. Keep water topped up
Birds need water to drink and bathe even in winter. Check your bird bath on frosty mornings and float a small ball in it to help stop it freezing over.
6. Plant a hedge instead of a fence
A mixed hedge gives food, shelter and nesting spots all year round. Cornus alba 'Sibirica' attracts birds and butterflies and adds winter colour too. Have a look at our hedging plants.
7. Go peat-free and pesticide-free
Peat bogs are home to rare wildlife and store huge amounts of carbon, so choosing peat-free compost helps wildlife far beyond your garden. Skipping pesticides keeps your garden safe for bees, ladybirds and the birds that feed on insects. At our nursery we grow everything in peat-free organic living soil, with no pesticides or herbicides.
Bringing nature home
Every small change adds up. You can browse our sustainably grown plants or read more about our growing practices.
Until next time, happy gardening!
Garden City Cymru