One
of the best ways to find out about new wildlife gardening ideas is to
visit other people's gardens and see what works for them. We hope that
many of you will be able to call in and see how the local wildlife is
taking to the new garden at Allet, designed by Robert Regan and built
by BBC television's Ground Force team with help from Trust staff and volunteers.
The ideas can all be adapted to work in domestic gardens, whether large
or small, so here is a tour, on paper, of the garden's features, taken
from the interpretation boards on site. If any of you would like to send
in your own wildlife gardening tips and ideas, please do so. We may be
able to use them in a Letters page or on future wildlife gardening pages
to inspire other members.
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This wildlife garden design was born from the imagination of Robert Regan, a 13-year old schoolboy from Bude in North Cornwall. The BBC Ground Force Team were enthused by Robert's design and on September 10th and 11th 2002, an overgrown and scrubby meadow was transformed into a garden crammed with features for both people and wildlife. |
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BIRDTABLES/FEEDING STATION Many garden birds would not survive a cold winter without supplementary feeding. Here the feeding station is surrounded by suitable habitats for roosting, nesting, bathing and feeding. Many of the plants in this garden are fruit bearing, providing a valuable food source for birds. Other garden plants are naturally attractive to insects such as greenfly - placing feeders close by can encourage birds to feast on these 'pests'. WILDLIFE HABITATS This garden is packed with features designed to both attract and keep wildlife. The usually empty shady space beneath the decking is crammed with all manner of materials - from bamboo bundles and logs to corrugated iron and stone and is a paradise for mammals, reptiles, amphibians and insects. To the south side of the deck are insect habitats and butterfly houses. |
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PLANTING Not all plants in a wildlife garden need to be native (with the exception of the pond), but their functions are the same; to provide as much colour, scent, food and structure for wildlife as possible, and for as much of the year as possible. As this garden matures we will be adding more and more native plants. |