Whether you have a window box or a large garden, there are many ways to encourage biodiversity – the amazing range of plants and animals and the habitats in which they live. Creating and conserving habitats for wildlife helps the food chain, reduces flooding, increases pollination and makes our air and water cleaner.
Have you room for a window box?
Even if you don’t have a garden you can still help preserve biodiversity. A balcony, window box or roof terrace can be an important habitat for wildlife – from blackbirds to bumble bees and butterflies. If you live in a block of flats, try to persuade your neighbours to green their balconies at the same time as yours.
Group pots together (and protect them from too much sun and wind) to cut down on water-loss in the summer.
In the garden
If you’re lucky enough to have a garden then you’ll have a wonderful opportunity to interact with the natural environment. Every garden can make a positive contribution to biodiversity. But sometimes efforts to ‘improve’ gardens can be misguided and end up using too many pesticides and wasting water.
Here are a few tips to help turn your garden into a thriving:
- Composting: start to compost garden and uncooked vegetable waste using a purpose built bin or compost heap.
- Ponds: Consider adding a pond to your garden – it will attract frogs, toads, dragonflies and sometimes even more exotic wildlife like newts. Make sure the pond has gentle sloping edges to allow wildlife to get in and out of the pond easily and safely. For further information contact the London Wildlife Trust (external website).
- Don’t be too tidy: Try to create a wild area that is not disturbed frequently. Leave some of your tidying up until the spring. This can help hibernating animals and provide birds with seeds over the winter. Ladybirds like to shelter in dead flower stalks too. Make a log pile from dead untreated wood. This provides an important habitat that will encourage mini-beasts like caterpillars, spiders and beetles.
- Go native: Choose native plants as these will benefit the borough’s wildlife the most. Adding a tree or hedge to your garden can provide food and shelter for many species. Also, woody vegetation helps filter the air and keep areas shaded and cool.
- Birds: Attract birds into your garden by providing good quality and varied bird food throughout the year. Put up a nesting box in a safe spot. Information about feeding birds and nesting boxes is available from the British Trust for Ornithology (external website).
- Water: try not to use sprinklers. Remember, infrequent watering is better than regular sprinkling as it encourages the roots to search for water. From June onwards, let your grass grow a bit longer. It will stay greener for longer without needing to be watered. Choose plants for their drought tolerance, for their compatibility with your soil and their intended position. You can
ask your local garden centre or plant shop for advice.
Organic gardening
One of the best ways to get the most out of your garden is to manage it organically. Organic gardeners focus their energy into increasing the natural health of their soil, choosing appropriate plant varieties, and working with nature to produce a healthy and productive garden.
Try growing some fruit and vegetables. You might be surprised at how much you can grow in a small space. Plant flowers such as marigolds and poached eggplants amongst your vegetables. They attract ladybirds and hoverfly, which eat greenfly and other pests.
Refuse to buy peat or plants grown in peat. Peat bogs are a finite resource that store carbon that has been removed from the atmosphere over thousands of years. There are many alternatives to peat such as mushroom compost, which is widely available and often cheaper.
Does it need to be paved?
Many people pave over their front gardens to park their car. Sometimes this is essential, for example if you have a disability. But think carefully about the environmental impact. Extra paving means less garden space and possibly fewer trees. It also means water can’t soak into the ground which puts extra strain on the drains. If you need to pave use permeable paving materials which allow water to soak into them.