desperate for advice please
clints
Posts: 3
I have a lovely yet tiny garden that i have cultivated over the last 6 years to be wildlife friendly, i have a hedgehog house that is now used on a regular basis and lots of bird feeders etc, i have a wildflower section too. my problem is that we have to move and im heartbroken as the new house has no garden just a large paved area with a side section where you could put pots. I am going to leave the hog house as it is established but want to know if anyone could advise me how to start all over again but with no actual garden!!! I will be grateful for any advice at all as i am at a loss where to begin, thank you
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Posts
Poor you!
The easy part is the bird feeders - put those out, either on a bird table or hanging from a post, and the birds will come in time.
After that, spend some time thinking of which insect-friendly plants you had, and which could fit comfortably into pots - you coulld start with a mixture of summer flowers like calendula, poppies and snapdragons, but the majority of shrubs can be grown in pots, too.
Good luck!
Oh, I do feel for you. I agree with Alina - get the bird feeders up, a bird bath, a nest box (for next year) when you know what kind of birds you need to cater for . There has to be fencing/wall that you can cover with climbers - bird friendly/insect friendly. Would it be possible to lift one or two of the paving slabs to give you planting pockets? When you find out the sunny bits of the garden you could add an insect house. What about a half barrel pond or bubble water feature? It's a challenge but I'm sure you will get a great deal of pleasure in creating a different type of wildlife friendly garden - Good luck.
You could buy an old half barrell and line it with plastic and make a pond out of it with a ramp so frogs etc can get in and out. You can put bricks in it to make shelves for water plants etc and you then may get dragonflies. In addition, hedghogs may still visit if they can get in so make a hole in both sides of your fence. My mother has a small completely paved garden and she has a vixen and cubs under her raised small garden shed.
I have a small concrete backyard...... it has a pond, lots of pots, hanging baskets, wall planters, climbers, etc.....I also painted the brick walls white, set up a mosaic style patio table and chairs and woohoo, I'am in spain
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you could also lay planks of wood and have raised beds...
Hi clints, my garden was completely paved over and a desert to wildlife when I moved in. I took the slabs up and imported topsoil, and planted lots of bee- and butterfly-friendly plants, made a small pond in an old tin bath, bought a bird bath, hung some bird feeders, put up nest boxes and planted climbers to cover the walls. I also made a log pile and stuffed leaves behind pots for creatures to shelter in. I have had lots of birds, bees, butterflies and hoverflies visiting my tiny plot, and the frogs love it. Whatever you do to your garden, think of it as a project that will benefit you and the local wildlife. I'm sure that in no time at all it will be a wildlife haven.
Kate
hi kate, your wee haven sounds wonderful, and im sure it will be an inspiration, there is one good side to all this, NO WEEDS OR DIGGING!!!!
Thank you all for the wonderful ideas and inspiration!! I will keep you posted