Behind the Name
At Wild by Design we are passionate about attracting wildlife in our gardens. A recent study found that the total area of private gardens in the UK was equal to the Norfolk Broads, Exmoor, Dartmoor and Lake District National Parks combined (432,964 ha).
Think of your garden as your own private nature reserve and see how many different species you can attract. Value your gardens wildlife and not only will it repay you with endless hours of enjoyment, but you will also be doing your bit for our native flora and fauna.
Please see below our easy tips and information to help you create a wildlife friendly garden. Alternatively, get in touch and we will ensure that your garden is inundated with wild visitors!
There are many easy measures you can take to help welcome wildlife into your garden. The easiest of which is to give access to water. This is best achieved through a pond with a shallow or sloping area, but a bird bath works too. Try to have one on a plinth and one on the ground, or one with access from the ground.
Wood piles help to encourage beetles and, if large enough, hedgehogs into your garden. Having gaps in your fencing is also crucial as this allows animals to move freely around gardens. If you really want to make a difference, rip up those stark fences and plant a mixed native hedge.
Bird feeders are one of the most common ways to attract birds into your garden. There are many different seeds and nuts which attract different species. Please see our bird specific section to find out what to offer your local birds. Another tip – leave seed heads on flowers over the autumn and winter. These can be a vital source of food for many birds.
Insects are the key to attracting all kinds of wildlife into your garden. Leave a small patch of garden that you don’t work or disturb, and pile it up with some mixed garden waste. Areas like these are always brilliant for encouraging insects and this in turn helps attract animals higher up the food chain.
If you have already taken smaller measures but you are keen to do everything you can to attract animals, there are more substantial measures that we can take that will take your wildlife to the next level.
Wildlife ponds are one of the best ways to achieve this. They act as a hub for your garden, a place to bathe and drink as well as bringing in animals that will only be present in gardens with a pond. Mixed boundaries on your pond is the way to go, offering a variety of habitat to your residents.
Bug hotels are a brilliant for insects and a simple bug hotel is easy to pick up from garden centres. They can make wonderful features in your garden, being elaborate and varied. These are something that we can make to your design and specification, which children love.
Mown lawns are the garden equivalent of a desert. Labour intensive and pretty uninspiring, lawns can be substituted with wildflower and grasses. Wildflower turf is one of the best ways to bring in pollinators and offer them a varied and wholesome diet.
This can be on the ground, or on our countless wasted roof spaces. Wildflower installation will also save you a lot of money in the long run and free you or your gardener up in the garden.
Attracting all this wildlife necessitates a place to enjoy it and we can do this by building you a hide. This could be a simple screen and bench for you to sit and watch, or a more finished and furnished garden room. A garden room with windows or retractable openings will allow you to watch the world and wildlife go by and give you the best chance to see a range of animals.
We offer biodiversity reports to help you see how much your garden attracts both before and after work. We can also offer mini wildlife tours, showing you where to find your wildlife once our measures have been implemented. This is a fantastic way for us to show you what is coming into your garden and for you get your family as passionate about our native wildlife as we are.
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