The very heart and soul of our garden. Just like the soil and the plant, you guessed it, often taken for granted and often abused!
What is meant by wildlife? It sounds scientific - an Ecosystem. The definition of Ecosystem in the dictionary: “A biological communityof interacting organisms and their physical environment”.
With our wildlife looking to our garden for refuge we need to create a garden aimed specifically for their needs - a ‘garden nature reserve’.
Lets have a look at the groups of creatures we are aiming to provide a home to!
The first and most important group are Invertebrates. These are the oldest creatures around, with many varied types in any type of habitat. The survival of higher life-orders, i.e. the Vertebrates, depends in some way or other on invertebrates. This could be as a direct food source or indirectly due to the good they do in enabling plants to grow. That said, some of our insects are beneficial and some are not so beneficial to plants but we must not forget, particularly as gardeners, that ALL are a necessary and vital part of an ecosystem.
It’s fair to say that of the least useful group to plants are the so-called Bugs or the Homoptera order. This is the group that consists of plant-sucking insects and includesthe leafhoppers, scale insects and aphids. Whilst this group may not be a plants best friend they are, particularly the latter, a primary food source for many birds. Other orders include:
The list above is in no order of importance but the Oliochaeta order would still top the list if it were! It is widely agreed that without them there would not be the range of plants we have, and without plants there could not be life! Following a detailed study of the earthworm (in his back-garden), for his book in 1881, Charles Darwin was one of the first prominent figures to sing their praises. "It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organized creatures".
The next group are of course the vertebrates. It is widely agreed that Fish were the first vertebrates to inhabit our world, with fossils found dating more than 500 million years! Then came Amphibians and were the first vertebrates to venture onto land. They are thought to have emerged from the oceans almost 400 million years ago. The class, with about 4400 species worldwide includes tailedamphibians - newts;and taillessamphibians - frogs and toads. Tailed amphibians may be mistaken for lizards but unlike reptiles, amphibians have no scales on their skin and must therefore stay close to water to keep their skin moist. Amphibians are cold-blooded and as such in cool regions must hibernate throughout the winter.
Then we have the Reptiles, all of which have characteristic scaled bodies. They are also cold blooded so their body temperature will vary with the temperature of the environment. They therefore need to get their body heat directly from the sun as against the food they eat. As they rely on external sources of warmth, in cool regions they hibernate throughout winter. There are in excess of 2000 species worldwide, and they are of course - the snakes and lizards. They still have an unfortunate and mistaken reputation and as such are probably the least welcome inhabitant in our garden.
Which is why they are all now protected.
Next come the Birds; vertebrates containing animals with feathers and unlike our previous groups of animals birds are warm-blooded. Believed to have evolved from the largest reptiles, dinosaurs, they still share a common link...they develop from embryos in eggs outside the mother's body. However unlike most reptile eggs those of birds have hard shells. There are many birds to be found in gardens and their dependents on gardens is perhaps more than most of our other animals.
The final order are the Mammals; the name applied to warm-blooded animals that nourish their young with milk. Mammals are covered with varying amounts of hair. They also have the most highly developed nervous systems of all animals.
So that’s the wildlife we will invite and accommodate in our garden. The conclusions we have reached so far is that ALL our wildlife is important but the invertebrates are the most important. As we develop our garden nature reserve the features of our garden, such as a lawn, flowerbeds, water-features etc., will of course become their habitats.
Habitats
Native plants form the backbone of local ecology. Insects, birds and other animals cannot survive without the food and shelter they provide as many of the introduced plants offer little to our wildlife and can even disrupt food webs by depriving the wildlife their customary diets.
Any good wildlife garden should have a pile of old rotting logs! Very soon after its creation, log piles will be utilised by a vast range of creatures. It will provide shelter to invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles and small mammals. A variety of insects will use it when hibernating and over wintering. Its other virtue is that the log pile is also a valuable food source and breeding ground for many insects.
So, many plants we often refer to as ‘weeds’ are in fact vital for insects and birds; the seeds may provide valuable food for many birds before the winter, e.g. thistle seeds are a favourite food of the colourful Goldfinch, and butterflies for example love nectar rich stinging nettles.
A vast amount of our natural ponds and wetland areas throughout the countryside have already been lost and will probably continue during the future years. About 80% of all ponds in Britain today are now to be found in gardens and has been a lifesaver for our amphibians. Garden ponds are normally in sheltered places, and as there are normally fewer predators amphibians have a good chance of surviving. No wildlife garden would be complete without a pond. Apart from providing welcome drinking and bathing sites for birds and mammals, and a much-needed habitat for frogs, newts and toads - it will also provide a home for many invertebrates and aquatic flora.
The pond aimed at helping wildlife should try to replicate natural ponds i.e. be informal with gently sloping banks for ease of access for vertebrate fauna and have plenty of cover. Careful consideration needs to be given to the pond should go, particular with regards to the proximity of trees and shrubs and the safety of children and pets and other wildlife. Ponds will always look best at the lowest part of the garden, but bear in mind there may be a problem of water running from further parts of the garden into the pond. The best time of year to start work is in the spring.
The pond should have shelves for planting and at least one gently sloping side. An area of bog would also be a good idea as many creatures will like this type of habitat, particularly amphibians and reptiles.
Leave the water to settle for a few days to allow the pH to reduce before fish are introduced. Plant up the pond and bog garden. As well as providing food, refuge and spawning grounds for pond life, submerged and floating plants release life-sustaining oxygen directly into the water as a result of photosynthesis. The plants also absorb the carbon dioxide released by animal, fish and plant waste and compete for the mineral salts which helps prevent the build up of algae. Use water surface covering plants, e.g. water lilies, to help filter the light and stabilize water temperature in summer.
Predatory Pond Skaters will be one of the first invertebrates to appear as they skip along the surface catching it’s unaware victims! Water Boatman will not be far behind - characteristically rowing across the water. Capable of spending some time underwater and along with it’s larvae, fiercely predatory, even taking small fish. Though not strictly limited to the aquatic environment, the Great Diving Beetle will soon find it’s way to the pond. Often flying from one pool to another at 3-5cm long this is the largest and most voracious predatory aquatic beetle; feeding on tadpoles, small fish and other insects including their larvae. It’s own larvae reaches 5cm long and continues the adult’s fearsome reputation.<
