Hi all. Thank you to all who offered their advice re my garden. I will certainly leave the peanut feeder, be less tidy round the edges, and review my planting to get more going on for the bees and butterflies etc. Touching on the issue of chemicals, I don't really use any as we have a couple of frogs in our pond and don't want to contaminate it, or their food ( slugs etc.) but I do have a bit of a greenfly problem starting.is the old soapy water option the friendliest thing?
I don't use soapy water on aphids ... I leave mild infestations for the birds to deal with ... if there's a lot of aphids early in the season before the birds are taking them all I just brush most of them off with my fingers or a jet of water from the hose, always leaving some to keep the bluetits etc coming back for more.
Encourage the birds to the area by hanging feeders around the areas where the greenfly congregate - you'll soon have a balance that works
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I only feed the birds Sunflower hearts and peanuts (in feeders) now, with a scattering of suet pellets in winter time. Scatter some of those sunflower hearts around the ground - the ground feeders will appreciate them too. I find many of the bird species disappear from my garden at this time of the year but they will be back, so don't be disheartened if this happens. They are finding food elsewhere.
I stopped using chemicals of any sort around 4 years ago and really do notice the difference and the tip from Dove about the feeder near infestations really does work. If you don't already grow one, a Pyracantha is a must for their berries in the wintertime for the blackbirds.
Mark's advice re hedgehogs is also great. We now have regular visits from the hogs.
Echo what everyone else says, but would also add a feeder of black niger seed which the goldfinches and siskins here absolutely love.
Bee friendly plants that flower early in the year are really good, shrubs like cotoneaster will be alive with them around this time of year and if you can allow some weeds like dandelions to grow the bees will love you
If you have some space behind a shed or outbuilding, a patch of nettles is a great foodsource for the caterpillars of some of our lovely butterflies.
Posts
Hi all. Thank you to all who offered their advice re my garden. I will certainly leave the peanut feeder, be less tidy round the edges, and review my planting to get more going on for the bees and butterflies etc. Touching on the issue of chemicals, I don't really use any as we have a couple of frogs in our pond and don't want to contaminate it, or their food ( slugs etc.) but I do have a bit of a greenfly problem starting.is the old soapy water option the friendliest thing?
I don't use soapy water on aphids ... I leave mild infestations for the birds to deal with ... if there's a lot of aphids early in the season before the birds are taking them all I just brush most of them off with my fingers or a jet of water from the hose, always leaving some to keep the bluetits etc coming back for more.
Encourage the birds to the area by hanging feeders around the areas where the greenfly congregate - you'll soon have a balance that works
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanks Dovefromabove. Great tip about the feeder/ greenfly. would never have thought of it .Will certainly give it a try.
I only feed the birds Sunflower hearts and peanuts (in feeders) now, with a scattering of suet pellets in winter time. Scatter some of those sunflower hearts around the ground - the ground feeders will appreciate them too. I find many of the bird species disappear from my garden at this time of the year but they will be back, so don't be disheartened if this happens. They are finding food elsewhere.
I stopped using chemicals of any sort around 4 years ago and really do notice the difference and the tip from Dove about the feeder near infestations really does work. If you don't already grow one, a Pyracantha is a must for their berries in the wintertime for the blackbirds.
Mark's advice re hedgehogs is also great. We now have regular visits from the hogs.
Last edited: 24 May 2017 18:18:01
Echo what everyone else says, but would also add a feeder of black niger seed which the goldfinches and siskins here absolutely love.
Bee friendly plants that flower early in the year are really good, shrubs like cotoneaster will be alive with them around this time of year and if you can allow some weeds like dandelions to grow the bees will love you
If you have some space behind a shed or outbuilding, a patch of nettles is a great foodsource for the caterpillars of some of our lovely butterflies.
Nestlings will benefit from mealworms but they are pricey, I don't offer them all year round, just in the breeding season.