Your garden is the perfect place to enjoy both home comforts and the beauty of nature. Indeed, sitting under a pergola and simply listening to the sounds of nature can be incredibly relaxing and therapeutic. However, how can you bring nature into your garden if it’s currently devoid of wildlife? Here are the best ways to attract more wildlife to your garden and appreciate the natural world.
Plant trees
One of the best ways to attract wildlife to your garden is to plant trees. This is because trees offer shade, safety, a place to rest, and a source of food. In fact, by planting trees, you could be helping out a wide variety of insects, birds, and mammals by giving them food and a place to live.
By planting fruit trees, you could provide even more food for many animal species. For example, crabapples are enjoyed by rabbits, squirrels, mice, and various insects, so if you plant a crabapple tree, you’ll attract so much wildlife to your garden. Check out your local nurseries to find a wide range of beautiful flowering crabapple trees.
Here in BC, we enjoy numerous flowering trees in the spring, from crabapple and cherry to rhododendrons and magnolias. Their blossoms are a bright and beautiful sign that spring is on its way, and a pleasant contrast to the other green shades of the gardens and yards.
Provide food
If you don’t have enough space to plant many (or any) trees, then there are still other ways you can feed wildlife. The most obvious way to feed animals in your garden is to install a bird feeder—this option is perfect for birdwatchers. Or if you get hedgehogs in your garden, you could feed them cat or dog food—this is very convenient if you already have pets!
Provide water
If you’re providing food in your garden, you’ll also want to set out some water. This is especially important in the summer when many animals can become overheated and dehydrated. A birdbath could be a fantastic feature in your garden, or you could simply set out a small dish near your trees or shrubs. Placing the dish near plants will make animals feel safer to approach since they’re hidden from view.
Build a pond
Of course, a great way to provide water in your garden is to build a pond. Having a pond also means you can keep fish and frogs in your garden, which is a fantastic way to introduce more wildlife. If you do decide to build a pond, make sure this area is well-lit at night—you don’t want anyone falling in!
Provide shelter
Having a pond means you’ll be giving aquatic life a place to live, but if you want to provide shelter for other animals, you could start building/buying animal homes. For example, if you want to have more birds in your garden, you could get a birdhouse alongside your bird feeder and birdbath. You could also get creative and make shelters like hedgehog houses and butterfly houses. Whatever species you want in your garden, you could research how to make a shelter for this animal.
Your garden is the perfect place to relax and enjoy nature. If you want to attract more wildlife to your garden, make sure you provide food, water, and shelter, and think about planting some trees or building a pond.
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