Will this work for insects and birds?

Astraeus

So, as part of our garden redesign, we are going to end up with a 3m run of boundary which needs either a wall or a fence on it. I am designing the garden largely with nature in mind and thus I thought to fill the gap along the boundary with something like the picture below:
Either side are wooden posts and, in the middle from the ground to a height of around four feet are logs, bamboo canes and twigs to provide a habitat for insects and amphibians (we have a large pond close by). Above that are wires pulled between the two wooden posts onto which I will train plants (the red). I am leaning toward pyracantha to a height of 10 feet, trained on the wires in quite an open structure to allow birds to fly through. I am then thinking of growing ivy over the logs to a height of four feet to add to that habitat. Hopefully with the insects will come the amphibians and the birds.

I am a complete newbie when it comes to wildlife gardening and I don't want to embark on this is people vastly more knowledgeable than me consider it to be a poor habitat or environment for wildlife. I'd welcome any comments please, good or bad!

Thanks

A.

bertrand-mabel

A great idea. The pyracantha will be pollinated by the bees and then the berries appreciated by the birds.

Ivy is also a fabulous plant for wildlife even though some gardeners don't like ivy. This time of the year the birds are taking the berries and in the spring the flowers are pollinated by bees and other insects.

How about making a bug hotel to hang on the uprights? You need a small round plastic pipe and insert open tubes from bamboo is good. Fix it to the uprights and the different bees will visit to lay their eggs. Great to see the different sealings that the different bees use.

Lovely to have a large pond and hopefully you get dragon/damsel flies as well as water boatman, wirrlygig beetles, diving beetles and possibly newts and frogs.

Again a great idea and great to watch it develop and see the wildlife it brings to you.

josusa47

I'm a huge fan of ivy but I'll admit it can be more than conveniently vigorous.  There are lots of cultivated varieties which are more controllable than the wild type.  Have a look at a nursery called Fibrex, ivy is one of their specialities and I have found them very good people to deal with.

Astraeus

Thanks both.

I had earmarked some of the less vigorous varieties of hedera to try to keep it under control as much as possible. I hadn't, however, come across Fibrex but I shall definitely be in touch with them after your recommendation.

Thanks

A.

Fairygirl

Whichever ivy you use, it'll need maintained. The smaller leaved varieties might be more suitable for your plan though 
Three metres isn't very wide. Most Pyracanthas get quite big in the right conditions, and two would be more than enough in a stretch that size, but from your drawing, it seems you want them in pots. They won't do very well in pots. It would be better to get them in the ground, or failing that, build a bed for them 

Astraeus

Thanks @Fairygirl. You're right, two will be plenty. 🙂

I've tweaked the design to accommodate a gap in the paving in front of the boundary, which will allow me to plant the pyracantha straight into the ground. I've also done a bit of research into ivy and look to opt for the hedera helix Glacier, which has a 2x2m spread. With maintenance from me, that should be limited in its vigour enough to allow me to keep it tame.