Time to tidy things up in the garden

With the last of the summer flowers in the garden wilting away, it’s now the time to help mum and dad or your grandarents with tidying in the garden. Along with the flowers disappearing, and the trees losing their leaves, you will probably notice fewer insects, birds and other wildlife around the garden.

Clearing the garden every autumn takes away any form of shelter for wildlife, making it tougher to survive the winter. So before you sweep away all those piles of colourful leaves, and tidy the garden completely, take a few steps to keep any wildlife that shares your garden,  comfortable throughout the winter.

Provide shelter

Place bird boxes around the garden and, depending where you live, bat boxes. You might have been lucky enough to see bats flying around your house during the summer nights. Not much is known about where bats hibernate during the winter in Ireland. If you have a big garden, then install a bat box in a sheltered tree to encourage them during the winter too. Leave any large leaf piles in the corners undisturbed until after the winter as there could be creatures already taking sanctuary there. 

Leave out fresh water and food

Water is harder to come by for birds in the winter so leave out fresh water on a daily basis for the birds, and for late night visitors such as hedgehogs. Food is also harder to come by so keep a birdfeeder stocked regularly with seeds, butts and berries. Leave out cat or dog food, or boiled eggs for hedgehogs, but in small amounts only to prevent larger scavengers such as foxes from intruding.

Pondlife

If you have a small pond, maintain that too in case you have any fish, toads or frogs hibernating in it. While we’ve had mild weather so far, don’t rule out the pond freezing over at some stage during the colder months. Pierce a hole in the top of the ice to prevent any toxic gases from building up that could harm any fish and frogs.

Prepare to welcome spring

When winter thaws out, you will hear more birdsong and notice more critters and creatures coming back into the garden. Wildlife is attracted to a growing garden, so prepare for these creatures coming back by planting more bulbs now for a full a vibrant spring and summer garden.