Diary Of A Wild Country Garden

Some people may say that it's all very well talking about gardening and attracting wildlife if you have a large garden with many different areas but what if you have a patio area or a window box, is it still possible to be a wildlife gardener?  To this, I would say Yes absolutely! Every person in every type of garden can attract wildlife  and can grow something that some kind of wildlife will see as a great food source or shelter. If you have a patio garden, no grass, no shrubs or trees literally all paved over, you can still have a wildlife haven. A Bird Bath In A Small Garden . A birdbath on the patio will provide water for birds and a place for them to bathe and keep their feathers clean which is incredibly important. People often talk about feeding the birds but a birdbath is just as important if not more so and fewer people have them in gardens. So yes even in a tiny space you can have a birdbath, there are many different designs and sizes.  A Bird In T...

I went out this morning to fill up the bird feeders and to add a new one. It has been so cold here lately and we have had hard frosts and snow and high winds I am concerned for the birds. It was really cold so I did not intend to stay out long, although I was well wrapped up.  However, I walked back up to the house I was struck by the most beautiful bird song. I saw the robin high up on one of the shrubs clearly and proudly singing his little heart out. No doubt starting to re-establish his territory. I heard other birds, sparrows I think, a blackbird, a coo of a wood pigeon. As I stood still and silent I began to hear more and it was the most wonderful orchestra of birdsong. I thought people would pay to go sit in theatres to hear this most stunning of music and here it is all around me.  As I stood there silent and perfectly still I noticed a large male blackbird nearby. He was intent on kicking up the leaves and searching for food underneath. He looked at me but ...

Is anyone else feeling the winter blues...?  I don't mind January too much really. Maybe it is because we have had days of grey cloudy skies, gales and winds and hard-driving cold rain. In reality, the weather is not as severe as we might get at all and we have had much more severe conditions.  In a way, it is a quiet time,  welcome after the hectic time of December and a New Year is always a chance to adopt new habits, new hope for the future. However it is still mid-winter, cold, windy, rainy and I still cannot get out in my garden very much. Our heavy clay soil is sticky and difficult to walk on and ruins the grass and soil if walked on much so we keep it to a minimum.  I watch from the patio eagerly looking for signs of new life and I know they are there. I generally feel quieter, more sluggish, more in hibernation mode in January. So just reflecting and looking forward. We are moving away now from the winter Solstice which was on December 21st. It is often...

First of all Happy New Year! I do hope you had a wonderful time over the holidays and are refreshed and ready for this year.  Now that the Christmas and New Year celebrations are over for another year most of us have taken down our decorations and they are all packed away.  The last to come down tends to be the Christmas tree. It has looked beautiful for the past few weeks, all decorated and glistening but now its time is over.  If it is a real tree what do you do with it?  I have just come back from a walk and seen a few sad trees laid out on their sides in front of gardens. I wonder if the owners are waiting for the council to take them away or if they will be loaded up in the car and taken down to the communal tip...   However, maybe there are uses for the old tree that wildlife can benefit from more. Here are some ideas. Chop off the branches from the trunk. Lay them over some old logs and cuttings and they will provide a really protective and...