Make the Most of your Winter Garden for the wildlife
Wildlife andWinter is not a time of the year that we traditionally associate with spending time in the garden. It is more likely to conjure up images of sitting in the warm indoors, with a roaring open fire and a warm drink to hand. But the winter can be the perfect time to work in the garden and even to enjoy your garden if you know how!
For wildlife, winter is the most difficult season of the year. Food is scarce, and the weather is more likely to cause damage to the dwelling places of animals or simply kill the animals themselves if temperatures drop low enough and no shelter can be found.
Feeding the birds that come to your garden is a great way to help local wildlife to thrive, and birds are so enjoyable to watch it will also provide you a great deal of pleasure. Bird seed and food such as fat balls can be purchased fairly cheaply, and you can even have a go at making your own. If you have children, this is a fun and educational activity for them to enjoy and is easy and cheap entertainment!
There are other animals in the garden too – hedgehogs may come into the garden as well as birds and at this time of the year they will be looking for food and shelter. Meat based cat or dog food, or crushed dog and cat biscuits are perfect, but you can also buy special hedgehog food. A bowl of water will also be appreciated, but contrary to popular opinion milk is not good for hedgehogs and should not be left out for them as it causes diarrhoea.
They will also be looking for shelter, so piles of leaves and logs will be very attractive to a sleepy hedgehog. They also offer food as the creatures that hedgehogs like to eat such as slugs will also make a home in these dark sheltered places. If your really want to go above and beyond for the wildlife you could get some Steel Shelving and have mini houses built around your garden with food, windows, doors and even things inside different wildlife can make homes from. You can get these products from places like Rackzone who will do a quality range of products at reasonable prices.
To get the most out of your winter garden, an outdoor space that is like a home from home is ideal. Transform a shed into a little place to get away form it all and be at one with nature. A hut is also a great addition to a garden, as it is compact and homely, and can be used all year round.
Getting the most out of your garden is one of the most rewarding parts of life. It is proven that being out and about in the fresh air and amongst nature is good for health, and the wildlife can benefit too!
