When Spring arrives, our home gardens begin to come alive again as the
bleak months of winter end, temperatures rise and the hours of daylight
increase.
And, as the early season bulbs create blankets of pastel-coloured flowers
on the ground, they’ll be accompanied by a scent of freshness in the air as
the new buds of early flowering perennials, shrubs & trees begin to open,
revealing their blossom and tender new leaves within.
And, as these fragrances disperse into the air, they’ll become the
biological signals that trigger many different species of animals out from
their winter dormancy, to begin feeding, finding mates and ultimately
producing their next generations.
A Springtime occurrence that will have been repeated over hundreds of
thousands of millennia which has been integral in the continuity of healthy
ecosystems and the balance of their biodiversity.
Ecosystems where every one of the component species has a role to play
whilst occupying a place within that ecosystem’s natural food web.
Whether they’ll be a primary consumer that feeds on plants, a composter,
organic recycler, parasite or predator, they’ll all be a part of what should
naturally be a balanced system.
Unfortunately though, this isn’t always the case nowadays, particularly
where the actions of humans have destroyed natural habitats, polluted
rivers and applied broad-spectrum chemical pesticides to crops that not
only kill plant pests, but beneficial wildlife too.
These actions, along with a changing climate, have unbalanced
ecosystems and have consequently made Britain one of the most nature-
depleted countries on the planet.
Reassuringly though, much conservation work is ongoing to restore
natural habitats, replace lost woodlands and protect Britain’s nature, in
the hope that this country’s declining biodiversity will be restored again.
But this isn’t going to be a rapid process so, to support the conservation
work, it’s possible that millions of Britain’s home gardens could be helping
nature too, simply by becoming safe locations for native wildlife to live
within or just journey through.
So how could Britain’s gardens help?
Well, the onset of Spring will be an ideal time to start, since this is when
many wildlife species become active again and have to replenish the
energy they’ll have lost during the winter months.
And so, it’s important that our gardens provide food for the wildlife, by
planting nectar-rich early-flowering plants for the bees, queen wasps and
butterflies to feed from, and by adding organic material for the numerous
soil-dwelling creatures to feed on by adding organic mulch amongst the
flower beds.
These soil-dwelling creatures often remain unnoticed hidden within the
soil, but they are vital for creating and maintaining the rich nutritious soils
that underpin healthy ecosystems, breaking down the organic material as
they feed on it and recycling its nutrients back to the plants.
But there’s also another group of creatures that are just as important, and
these are the herbivores that feed on living plants, the leaf chewers and
sapsuckers, which gardeners usually refer to as ‘plant pests’.
However, these ‘plant pests’ exist in the lower levels of nature’s food
chains where, for millions of years they’ve been consumed by other
creatures and have become the keystone species that sustain an
ecosystem’s biodiversity.
So, it’s vitally important that these plant-eating creatures are present
within a garden if the garden is to become wildlife-friendly, since allowing
them to survive on the plants, will allow the many creatures that feed on
them to survive too.
However, it’s understandable that gardeners and growers will want to
protect certain plants from the damage caused by the plant-eating
creatures, especially if the plants are being grown as edibles.
But this doesn’t need to be done with chemical pesticides, since these will
usually kill the beneficial creatures too. Instead, there are effective
barriers and non-toxic deterrents that are available for home gardeners to
use nowadays. Environmentally safe alternatives that don’t eradicate
plant pests but instead repel and deter them from damaging plants.
Allowing them to remain in the garden as part of the garden’s biodiversity
where they will be the food of their predators.
This is particularly important during Spring and when aphids begin
infesting garden plants.
The Rose aphids for example, which will be one of the first species of
‘plant pests’ to appear on the new growth and flower buds of most
cultivated roses. But these Rose aphids soon attract the ladybirds that will
be emerging from hibernation, which not only begin eating the aphids, but
laying their eggs amongst them. Eggs that soon hatch into ladybird larvae
that voraciously eat the aphids too, reducing the infestation as nature
intended.
However, spraying the roses with a chemical pesticide (which includes
organic Pyrethrum), will not only kill the aphids, but the ladybirds and any
other beneficial insects nearby too.
And it won’t just be beneficial insects that are affected, since killing the
aphids will also remove an important food source for Bluetits who rely on
Springtime aphids to feed their newly hatched chicks.
If however, the aphid infestations are severe despite the presence of
ladybirds and other predators, the infestation could easily be reduced
using a fine jet of water from a hose.
So in summary, keeping a garden wildlife-friendly simply involves not
using chemical pesticides, having a succession of nectar-rich plants
throughout the year, as many other plants, shrubs and if possible trees,
for wildlife to shelter within, organic-rich soil, a source of clean water and
finally, a degree of tolerance and acceptance of the plant-eating creatures
that ultimately form the foundations for healthy balanced ecosystems.