Wildlife and children

Posts

• tui34 Posts: 3,493

  March 2023

  Hello @grubb.alasdair9ilLNt-7
  
  How exciting for you!!!  Congratulations!!  You will enjoy having two girls in your home. I expect you will get lots of suggestions for your garden from experts on this site.  
  
  Send photos of your garden as it is now.

  A good hoeing is worth two waterings.
  
  

  1
• wild edges Posts: 10,497

  March 2023

  My boys are 3 and 5 at the moment and having lots of wildlife in the garden has been great for them, although not so great for the snails who get regularly rounded up, assigned names and personalities, and get to use the play equipment. I don't know if snails enjoy the swing but they spend a lot of time on the slide...

  Anyway first step is to assign space for the kids and then work out safe wildlife areas around that. Plants tend to get a bit battered around young kids so manage your expectations. I could show you photos of my garden pre and post kids but I don't want to put you off. Luckily wildlife doesn't worry too much about aesthetics and actually prefers a neglected garden in many cases. With twins on your hands you'll be lucky to have time to cut the grass anyway.   Log piles in shady corners with ferns work well for finding creepy crawlies. A bird bath and/or feeding station somewhere the kids can see but not touch is great. There are lots of easy and tough plants like ivy that can be great in the right place like growing around a rock pile that you swear you'll make into a proper wall when you get the time (again might just be me but the lizards like the rocks and the kids like the lizards). Steer clear of anything that will end up being a cat toilet for obvious reasons. Ponds are great and aren't as unsafe as some parents will make out as long as you design the surroundings carefully or fence them off to prevent unsupervised access. Plants lots of herbs and easy edibles for browsing and smelling (mints and lemon balms are popular), lots of tactile plants like Lamb's Ears (Stachys). Watch episodes of Peppa Pig that show Grandpa Pig's garden and plant what he grows so it's relatable (seriously). Plant an apple tree and other fruit now because it'll take a while to establish. I haven't eaten a strawberry in years thanks to the boys getting there before me. Wild strawberries are great too and you get a longer cropping season. I don't have a huge garden but pack it in and go vertical if needs be and you can make the most of whatever you have.
  

  If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  

  10
• Papi Jo Posts: 4,254

  March 2023

  A beautifully worded answer to the OP, @wild edges and a great plea for "reasoned wilderness".

  1