Our guide to a beautiful, wildlife-friendly garden

Get ready to transform your outdoor space into a bustling habitat for all creatures great and small. Welcome to our guide on creating a wonderful, wildlife-friendly haven and a buzzing ecosystem right on your doorstep! Here's what you need to know:
Firstly, shelter is key. Providing various types of shelter, such as bird boxes, hedgehog houses and bug hotels, ensures a safe space for wildlife to rest, nest, and seek refuge from the elements. Creating a variety of habitats not only attracts an array of creatures, but they also add a charming touch to your garden.

Next, make the most of all available space with climbing plants and trellises! Whatever your size of garden, these natural habitats offer both shelter and food sources for various wildlife. They create cosy nooks for insects to hide, and a vertical wonderland for different climbing creatures.

Creating a wildflower meadow within your garden is also a great idea for wildlife habitats. By leaving patches of long grass, planting wildflowers, and avoiding excessive mowing, you provide food and shelter for a wide range of insects, small mammals, and birds.

Finally, the cherry on top is adding a wildlife pond. A small pond, even as little as 1 meter in diameter can attract frogs, newts, and a wide variety of insects. It not only serves as a refreshing water source for wildlife, but also provides a breeding ground for amphibians. If you don't have the space for a pond, bird baths or shallow saucers of water are a great alternative.

When planning your wildlife sanctuary, ensure you choose plants that are beneficial to local wildlife. Native plants will provide much-needed food and habitat. Also, avoid using pesticides and opt for organic alternatives to keep your garden chemical-free. We will go on to discuss the best plants for particular garden wildlife in the following section.

Wildlife that's good for your garden

Are you ready to dive into the wonderful world of garden wildlife? Well, get ready to meet your green-thumbed pals who not only add charm to your space but also play crucial roles in creating a balanced ecosystem.

Here at Find Me a Gift, we have teamed up with the UK's leading designer and manufacturer of wildlife friendly products for the garden, offering a variety of innovative nesting sites and feeders for all our garden critters. They work extensively with wildlife experts, including TV's Simon King, to develop products that will massively benefit our wildlife, and ensure a thriving ecosystem.

The products are manufactured using FSC certified timber sourced from well-managed forests, recycled timber, and other recycled materials where possible. Conservation is at the heart of the company, with an area in Devon having been converted to an organic wildflower meadow with organic cider apple orchards, and 4000 native trees through the charity Moor Trees.

In this section we will go into the different types of wildlife that play key roles in your garden, and offer gift ideas to encourage wildlife to set up home.

Bees

First off, let's talk about pollination. We wouldn't have those beautiful blooms without our buzzing buddies - the bees! These diligent workers flit from flower to flower, transferring pollen and helping plants reproduce. And hey, they're not alone in this mission! Other pollinators like butterflies and hummingbirds also lend a helping wing or beak!

Of the many species of bees, their are 3 main groups that will visit our gardens on the hunt for nectar and pollen: bumble bees, solitary bees and honeybees. To keep them happy and thriving it's essential to provide a variety of flowering plants throughout the seasons - It's like having a never-ending buffet for them! Choosing the right plants is crucial if you want them to consider sticking around, preferring open-petalled flowers so that they can reach the pollen easily. Cosmos, Geraniums and Asters are brilliant choices, with Scabiosa, Eryngium and Foxgloves also good options. If you want to continue looking after the bees into the colder months, plants like Actaea Simplex and Japanese Anenome will both flower in autumn, and Sarcococca Hookeriana will flower in the winter.

Now, let me introduce you to a bee-rilliant funky home for non-swarming bees - the Interactive Solitary Bee Hive. This bee-friendly abode provides a cosy dwelling for solitary bees to rest and nest. This particular species are safe around children and pets, and are excellent pollinators!

Solitary bees are attracted to holes in wood, so this hive is the ideal design for them, and with a flip-top roof and Perspex covered tray, it makes it easy for you to take a sneak peek into their world and see how any nesting and larvae are getting on.

Another great option, especially during the winter months, is the Bee Barrel. By hanging it south facing, the holes can catch some morning rays to provide some heat, and keep these little fellows protected from the elements.

When spring time comes, the adult bees will emerge and go forth to pollinate your flowers and vegetable patches once again.

Birds

Birds are a delightful addition to any garden, bringing colour, song, and movement to the space, and if that wasn't enough, they lend a hand by munching on harmful insects! Attracting birds to your garden is easy with the right food and placement of a few bird-enticing garden accessories.

First things first, let's talk about planting shrubs and trees that bear berries. Not only will they add a burst of colour to your garden, but they'll also serve as a tasty treat. Ivy, Holly, Hawthorn, Honeysuckle are but a few that will have them hopping from branch to branch, snacking as they go.

Bird feeders are another excellent way to attract some feathered friends. These handy contraptions can be a game-changer in attracting a wide variety of birds. But here's the secret: diversity! Birds have different preferences and needs, just like us. By offering a variety of feeders, you'll be welcoming a huge range of wild bird species to your garden, big and small. Just position your feeders in a relatively open area so they feel safe from prying predators. Birds are constantly on high alert and like to know there is an easy escape route should they need it.

There is an array of bird feed you can offer - various seeds, suet which provides an excellent source of energy, and mealworms which are great in the breeding and fledgling season. You will want to keep the food available at all times, but be sure not to overfill as you don't want to attract unwanted guests to the table.

This beautiful Sunflower Bird Feeder makes for a stunning pop of colour to your green space, and the perfect feeding station for our feathered friends.

Bird nesters are also a wonderful addition to any garden, creating a safe and secure weatherproof space for nesting. Bird boxes and nesters can be fixed to walls or hung from trees, all you need to do is ensure they're at a safe distance away from prowling cats and predators, and not close to your bird table or feeders, as the commotion will likely hamper breeding.

This artisan Fair Trade Tahera Nester is the perfect shape for smaller garden bird species to nest or roost. It is a handmade high quality product made from hogla grass and recycled saris. Hogla grass is considered a weed in Bangladesh as it grows in abundance near the shores and can overgrow across harbours, rivers and ponds. Villagers therefore remove it, but have found wonderful sustainable ways to use it in producing baskets, cushions, placemats, and of course these trendy bird apartments! With the bright colours of the saris, each nester is unique and a gorgeous addition to your trees.

Alongside nesters, birds spend a lot of time building their own, and our Hanging Ceramic Sheep With Wool is an adorable little hanging ornament, providing much needed bedding for our feathered friends. They simply peck some wool out of the sides and take it off to build their nests.

Once the wool runs out, you can simply refill it with various materials for nest building - pet hair, fine dry twigs and moss to name but a few.

Water is another important element for birds, both to drink and bathe in. Be sure to keep the water clean and regularly changed, but be ready to sit in awe watching our feathered friends splash around in utter delight.

Add a touch of class to your garden with our Shenstone Theatre Bird Bath & Drinker. A gorgeous lightweight bird bath and drinker which sits low to the ground, with multiple rims for extra animal safety. Insects can happily drink from the shallow edges, whereby birds can jump straight in.

Made from recycled materials, this bath features a line from the popular W.H. Davies poem 'Leisure', reading 'What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare'.

Ladybirds

Ladybirds, also known as ladybugs or lady beetles, are delightful little insects that bring joy to gardens and meadows with their vibrant colours and playful nature. These charming creatures play a vital role in our ecosystem by serving as natural predators for aphids, those pesky plant-sucking insects that can wreak havoc on our beloved greenery!

Ladybirds are characterised by their small, round bodies, usually adorned with bright red or orange wings with black spots. These lovely insects are a favourite among children and nature enthusiasts alike. They are generally harmless to humans and garden plants, making them a delightful addition to any outdoor space.

When it comes to their behaviour, ladybirds are voracious aphid eaters. They possess a unique adaptation that allows them to release a yellowish liquid from their legs, which acts as a defence mechanism against potential predators. Ladybirds are also known for their remarkable ability to fly, enabling them to cover large areas and find aphid infestations.

In their quest for egg-laying sites, ladybirds prefer plants that produce an abundance of pollen-rich flowers. These flowers not only provide a perfect habitat for eggs but also serve as a valuable source of food for the emerging larvae. This preference for pollen-rich plants ensures that ladybirds have an ample food supply for the next generation, while simultaneously contributing to the pollination process. Flowers and herbs such as coriander, dill, fennel, scented geraniums, cosmos, and coreopsis are all great plants for attracting ladybirds.

This Ladybird House is another enticing abode. Produced from sustainably grown birch and oak wood, this beautiful little house provides the ideal habitat to encourage ladybirds into any garden. In the summer months they will use it to rest in, and in winter it becomes a cosy place to hibernate in.

Butterflies

Butterflies are beautiful and important pollinators in any garden and often travel quite vast distances. A healthy butterfly population is a great sign of a healthy ecosystem as their caterpillars are a vital part of the food chain for insects and birds.

To attract these delicate creatures be sure to plant lots of brightly coloured flowers with nectar-rich blooms. Some great options include Sedum, Echinacea and Aster, with Milkweed being a great source of food for caterpillars.

In addition to providing food sources it's also important to create sheltered areas for them to seek refuge from predators and inclement weather. Planting dense bushes and shrubs, such as Buddleja (known as butterfly bush) or lavender, can provide butterflies with a safe place to rest and hide. Butterfly houses are a great accompaniment too for rest, feeding, and even laying their eggs.

The Butterfly Barn is an attractive little home with slatted spaces for the butterflies to rest in. It also offers a feeding station at the base where you can leave food for them. They can only consume liquids, sipping water for hydration, and obtaining sugars and nutrients from nectar, tree sap, rotting fruit and even dung! Maybe go with the over-ripe fruit for their feeding station though!

Frogs

These remarkable creatures have long captured our curiosity with their unique features, diverse habitats, and astonishing capabilities. From their mesmerizing ability to change colours, to their harmonious chorus of croaks, frogs never fail to entertain and amaze us. Aside from that of course, they are master pest controllers, gobbling down slugs and snails that could otherwise wreak havoc on your veggies!

These little amphibians love to hide and hunt in dense areas of vegetation. Be sure to leave some fallen leaves under trees and shrubs too, and watch out for them in grassed areas. When it comes to shelter, logs and rocks are the perfect solution, providing cover from the elements, predators, and also a place to hibernate. 

Frogs will also require a water source, be it in the form of a lovely lush shallow pond, or even simply just a saucer. Frogs need access to wet sites for egg-laying and to create their homes. Position your pond in an area where it will have sunlight, but also some shade for those hot summers. Add sloping sides, and use rocks and stones along the edges to create ramps in and out. Native plants in and around the pond will also help oxygenate the water, and give these little guys some much needed shelter from predators.

With a love of damp shady places to set up home, we offer a couple of great options for our amphibious friends.

The Frogilo Frog and Toad House is a gorgeous little froggy bungalow, with a cut out in the base to allow for contact with the damp soil beneath - a must have for any relocating frog or toad! They love to dig, so a dirt floor is perfect.

Another great choice is the Frog Log. Designed by naturalist Simon King, it's made from an environmentally friendly material called Clayplas, and blends in with the natural environment. It provides a cool safe space, and the wood effect design cleverly hides them away from predators.

Hedgehogs and Small Mammals

Last but not least, lets not forget the small mammals like hedgehogs and shrews. These also contribute to a healthy garden by munching on insects, keeping those populations in check.

Hedgehogs are known as the 'gardener's friend' as they don't do any damage to your garden, but they happily munch away on all the pesky insects busy wreaking havoc!

They are omnivores so have a very varied diet, from slugs and insects through to baby mice and even small snakes! If you want to provide some much needed sustenance for our spikey friends, you can leave them clean shallow dishes of water and food. Especially during those winter months, this extra boost to their food supply will be most welcome! Hedgehogs like cat food, and will also eat some fruit and vegetables. Apples and raw carrots are great options, but there are quite a few items that can be toxic to hedgehogs, so be sure to do your research first.

Hedgehogs can travel up to 2 miles in a night on the hunt for food! Creating a hedgehog highway is a great way to make their lives easier! Simply make a hole in the bottom of your garden fence so they can move around the neighbourhood without barriers or danger. Creating access points between gardens is a great way to prevent hedgehogs getting out into the roads, and allows them to roam freely and safely.

As they are nocturnal animals most of their activity is done during the night. When the daytime comes they will often try to shelter in compost heaps, and anywhere they can hide away, but they are often in danger of gardening forks, lawn strimmers and indeed predators. Providing a home for them brings them shelter and much needed safety.

The Igloo Hedgehog Home is a great choice, with ample space for even a mother and her hoglets. With a steel frame to ensure rigidity, this home is beautifully adorned with brush wood and rattan bands, and lined to make it fully waterproof. The attractive design allows it to blend in with it's natural surroundings. Simply pop some dry leaves and grass inside for bedding, and make sure you position it next to some shrubbery, facing away from the wind, and you'll have some new neighbours in no time!

Wildlife Gardening

It's clear that beneficial wildlife is essential for a vibrant and balanced ecosystem in your garden. So, why not create a haven for these helpful critters? Embracing the magic of nature will bring a whole new level of joy and success to your gardening journey.

So, grab your tools and get ready to welcome nature's finest visitors! Let your creativity run wild and watch your garden thrive as a peaceful haven, buzzing with life!