Searchable Information
an eclectic collection of interesting information about health, work, money and life style.

How to Attract Wildlife into your Garden

Here is how to attract wildlife into the garden:

  1. Feed the birds – Use apples, peanuts, seeds, and fat balls and watch the number of wild birds in your garden increase. Feeding the wild birds is even more important in the winter when food supplies are scarce. And don’t forget fresh water as birds do have a need to drink as well.
  2. Make a habitat – Make or put up habitats for your nature friends. This includes birdhouses and shelters for birds as well as hedgehogs, butterflies, bees and other insects. You can find plenty of choices at the garden center or simply make your own with a little wood and a few other materials.
  3. Plant wild flowers – Meadow or wild flowers look lovely and natural in the garden but also serve to attract a large number of friendly insects from butterflies to ladybugs to bees and birds, wildflowers will really help the abundance of wildlife in your garden.

    You can order simple seed packets online or purchase them at your garden center. These are very easy to grow as they are used to growing under the most natural conditions. This also means that you won’t have to worry about watering a certain patch of your garden, which in turn helps the environment.

  4. Build a wildlife pond – This doesn’t have to be fancy or a big task. A simple standard size plant pot will do. Choose one without a hole in the bottom. Make a hole in the ground roughly the size of the pot and insert the pot into the ground so only one inch or so of the pot is sticking out of the ground. Insert a few large rocks in the bottom of the pot (this will help frogs and other water animals have a place to support themselves on). Fill with water.

    Then plant several water plants in the pot - Mentha cervina and Nasturtium aquaticum are good choices but your local garden center staff can easily help you choose appropriate ones too. Sit back and observe the aquatic wildlife flourish. Remember to always use precautions if young children will be using the garden.

  5. Don’t be a manicurist – The best way to attract and keep wildlife into your

How to Make a Natural Bird Feeder

Birds are fantastic creatures. Not only do they serenade us with their sweet song and are lovely to watch but they also help keep our garden eco-system friendly. Birds remove a whole host of creatures and insects from the garden and help keep the vital balance in nature.

Feeding them is the number one way to increase their numbers in your garden. Here’s how to do it:

  1. The best natural bird feeder is simply being as natural as possible in our food choices. Using natural twine, string up peanuts (in their shells) and hang from trees. You can also string up apples, rosehips, berries seed head and kitchen scraps.
     
    Decorate your creations by tying fir cones to the bottom. For example you can attach a fir cone to the bottom of the string and place a few apples or fat balls on top. The fir cones will help the birds balance.
     
    You can tie these edible bird feeders from old tree branches all around the garden – the more the merrier.
     
  2. Construct your own feeder – This is far easier than it sounds. As long as the birds are fed you really don’t need anything fancy. An old piece of wood and something to attach it to will do – you can use the top of an old shed or a sturdy tree branch. Simply nail your platform in place and add nuts or seeds to attract the birds.
     
    You can also use old twigs shaped and tied together to form a nest shape which you can then attach to the trees.
     
    A pre-made bird house can be given a special touch with a little non-toxic paint and a few edible decorations such as hanging berries and peanuts.
     
  3. Don’t forget the water – Birds need hydration just like humans. If you don’t have an actual bird batch then simply add a few old pots of water throughout the garden. The birds will find their way to them and use the water to drink as well as cool down.

Making a natural bird feeder isn’t difficult. Simply use your imagination and remember the task at hand – keeping the birds fed and happy – it really doesn’t require a whole lot but you will get a lot of pleasure from enjoying these lovely creatures all year in the garden.