Growing up in Hertfordshire, I was captivated by wildlife, especially butterflies. My passion for their beauty and grace never wavered, even as my knowledge lagged behind. I loved exploring the fields and woods, but when I moved to Great Yarmouth in my mid-teens, my love of wildlife faded into the background of my urban existence.
About eight years ago, I moved into a small apartment with a roof terrace and my old love of nature resurfaced. Medical issues prevented me from exploring the countryside, so, I joined Butterfly Conservation and received a booklet on gardening for butterflies. I bought a few planters, soil and bulbs, and created a small outdoor area to attract birds and insects.
Soon after, I moved again, this time into a house with a real garden! It was small and already planted with herbs and insect-friendly plants, including a beautiful buddleia. Over the five years I lived there, I tended the garden and spent many hours watching the Red Admirals and Peacocks that regularly visited over the summer.
Embracing wildlife
This year, my partner and I moved into our first home, with a lovely sized garden that’s a blank canvas. While we focus on indoor renovations, we’re planning for the garden, which is already home to a diverse range of wildlife.
We discovered a bat that visits at dusk to feed, a collection of small frogs in the grass, and a resident hedgehog. So, we built a house and feeding station for them, and they keep returning. Hopefully, they’ll winter in the garden. Several moths and butterflies visited over the summer, as well as various birds, including a sparrowhawk.
Joining Butterfly Conservation’s Wild Spaces initiative has inspired us to create a wildlife haven at the back of our garden. We want to plant a hedgerow species native to the UK, and long grasses, as well as a thyme lawn.
Creating a wildlife-friendly garden
Despite spending most of our time and effort renovating our new home, we still find time to do some planting towards the back of the garden, which we would like to keep natural. There is now an elder tree from which we hope to use the flowers to make cordial and wine over the coming years. Many native bird species eat elderberries, so it will support the wildlife. We planted a blackthorn against the back fence. This, too, is a native hedgerow plant and it will double as a cover for the metal fencing there — and who doesn’t love sloe gin?
In the spring, we plan to put in some blackberry plants. We have already planted some bare-root plants so we can watch things settle and grow. They don’t look like much now, but they should come into their own next spring and summer.
We also created a wildflower area to one side with some reed fencing behind it, and we’re hoping to see a lot of wildflowers next spring and summer.
Gardening for insects
Everything has survived so far, and we’re hopeful that there’ll be a lot more growth and colour when the flowers and fruit arrive. Unfortunately, the rain and cooler weather this year has had an impact on the number of insects, particularly butterflies, prompting the Butterfly Conservation to declare a Butterfly Emergency. East Anglia Bylines produced an article earlier this year asking where are all the insects? So, we have added a couple of bug hotels to the back fence, hoping to attract some permanent residents.
We leave the grass long over the spring and summer to provide protection for wildlife. Tolerating some long grass and weeds in the garden provides a habitat for many insects, including moth caterpillars. The long grass has been beneficial for our resident hedgehog, who brought in a mate over the summer. Lots of frogs love hopping through the grass, too! One of my favourite moments recently was finding a beautiful spider web spun between the long grass, with a fly caught in it.
The weeds are native plants, which provide cover and food for insects, which in turn provide food for the other animals that frequent the garden. In all honesty, I love native plants. Dandelions, with their long blooming period, are one of my favourite flowers and are listed by the Royal Horticultural Society as one of the RHS Plants for Pollinators. I discovered a wild strawberry plant in my garden, too, and I make sure to leave that alone.
No doubt many people will just see our garden as a mess. But, we delight in seeing the wildlife our garden brings, and have more wildlife-friendly landscaping projects planned. Log piles and rock areas will create diverse places for even more wildlife to live, feed and visit.
Just spending five minutes outside in a wildlife-friendly garden provides untold wonders and magical moments to enjoy. You just need to open your eyes and mind to embrace it all.
Longer version of Michelle Walkling’s article published by Butterfly Conservation Norfolk Branch
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