It is easy for gardeners to concentrate solely on the confines of their property’s boundary without considering the wider impact their efforts can have on local ecosystems. The Royal Horticultural Society — the UK’s leading gardening charity — has made suggestions about how gardeners can positively affect the wider environment in their area.
According to the society, a 2023 State of Nature report found that a sobering 43% of all UK bird species are at risk of being lost over the coming decades — the highest figure of any animal group. Residential gardens can be a valuable haven for many birds and in turn, they provide a lot of joy to people who enjoy bird watching. Birds play an important role in the ecosystem including naturally removing slugs and other pests from your garden. A spokesman from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said: “Supplementing food is one way to help, but our gardens can provide more for birds if it’s been designed, planted and maintained to provide a healthy menu and happy home all year round.”
Resisting the urge to tidy your garden can provide birds with a much-needed habitat. Leave seedheads standing for as long as possible to provide seeds and insects for birds. This will help them get through the hungry gap that coincides with the energy demands of singing, defending territories, building nests and laying eggs. If possible, leave hedges grown for as long as you can from now, ideally until late August. It is also worth leaving nesting material lying around such as fallen leaves, twigs and moss as these are all vital construction pieces for our flying friends.
Leaving your grass long will also prove to be extremely beneficial, not just for birds but also for other animals, including bees. Some short grass areas will allow blackbirds, thrushes, and starlings to search for worms and other invertebrates, so aim for both short grass areas and some long grass areas in your garden. Moving them at different intervals will provide different options for a variety of fauna in your garden to enjoy.
When you are planning your garden routine next year, it is advisable that you trim your hedges as early as possible. Species of birds such as robins, blackbirds and song thrushes start nesting as early as March so it is important they can be accomodated with somewhere safe to house their young.
Dense hedges and clipped topiary provide safe hideaways for young birds as they go through the vulnerable phase of developing their adult plumage — it provides them protection from predators. Hedges that contain berries will benefit from you cutting one side this year and the other side next year to ensure there is fruit on offer for birds in some capacity.
Prunings from the hedges can be neatly stacked between stakes driven into the ground to create a type of dead hedge. This structure will provide a great habitat for a variety of wildlife and nesting sites for different birds such as wrens.