Gardening for Wildlife

Collectively our gardens provide such a huge amount of habitat for wildlife and being able to nurture and encourage local wildlife can be very rewarding. Our resident expert in wildlife gardening is David Beeson who will keep you up to date with the happenings in his well established wildlife garden. David has a long standing involvement in ecology and has a degree and Biochemistry. He has taught and provided materials for many academic institutions including Cambridge University. David has also been heavily involved in The Otter Trust and helped organise a conference in 1976 which lead, indirectly, to the ban on otter hunting.

Nowadays David and his wife, Annette, are retired but still maintain their amazing eco-friendly garden…… handing over to David:

“Today many people are starting to develop a wildlife-friendly garden, but here at Forest Edge ours has been up and running for nearly twenty years now and we have a good deal of experience that we can share with others. Join us monthly, as the year progresses, to experience the ups and downs of an eco-friendly garden. Hopefully the articles will stimulate you to enjoy the ‘added dimension’ achieved by giving wildlife a space in your garden too.”

David also runs his own blog at https://nwhwildlife.org/

Please note that the articles below were originally written in 2008 and 2009.

N.B. much of our content was on an old site, we are planning on manually transferring this over but if you are interested in contributing please get in touch to discuss.

Wildlife Gardening in August

Wildlife Gardening in August

Christmas Present Ideas for Wildlife Enthusiast – So what will Father Christmas be bring your friends this Xmas? I know what I want! Bees. I had a brief, and painful…

Wildlife Gardening in July

Wildlife Gardening in July

Spring begins to merge into Summer – As the freshness and lime green of the UK spring merges into July so the sound of wildlife changes. Here the dawn chorus is …

Wildlife Gardening in June

Wildlife Gardening in June

Orchids and Photovoltaic Systems – The cold winter and spring has indeed influenced the wildlife. Plants were still flowering later than I might have predicted for…

Wildlife Gardening in May

Wildlife Gardening in May

Wild Orchids – When the calendar shows ‘May’ wildlife enthusiasts think ‘orchids’. Certainly some will flower before this date but now is the main time to start searching.

Wildlife Gardening in April

Wildlife Gardening in April

Yucky UK Wildlife – The recent flash floods in northern Kenya, that have caused chaos in the Samburu National Park remind me of one of the possible positive …

Wildlife Gardening in March

Wildlife Gardening in March

The Importance of Wildlife Gardens – Wildlife in the UK must have been so different before human numbers started to build up in the Bronze Age.

Wildlife Gardening in February

Wildlife Gardening in February

An Insight into the less-fashionable plants – I’m as bad as the next person: I just do not see the less-fashionable plants. Be honest…

Wildlife Gardening in January

Wildlife Gardening in January

You know how it happens. Something, perhaps quite trite, just ‘gets to you’. It nags away at the very seat of one’s soul and whenever one’s guard drops…

Wildlife Gardening in December

Wildlife Gardening in December

Well another series of Autumn Watch has been and gone – and what a delight it has been yet again. We are so fortunate in that the BBC has such an effective …

Wildlife Gardening in October

Wildlife Gardening in October

Controlling the Growth of Grasses – Yellow rattle, Rhinanthus minor, is a meadow plant that everyone should know. Not that it is overly showy…

Wildlife Gardening in September

Wildlife Gardening in September

Life and Death in the Countryside. I’m sure you’ll all have similar stories to these but they reflect all our interest, and concern, in wildlife and green issues in general…

Wildlife Gardening in August

Wildlife Gardening in August

A flash of orangey-bronzy-brown was all that was needed to awake me from my quiet contemplation, and for my semi-comatose brain to register that high summer was indeed here.

Wildlife Gardening in June

We are fortunate in having at least three owl species in the local area. Occasional barn owls are seen in the garden, but our enclosed woodland edge habitat…

Wildlife Gardening in May

Well our rats are few and far between, but if one were to substitute rabbits for rats then I can quite understand the problems experienced by the dear folks of Hamelin.

Wildlife Gardening in April

The longer days and bright sunshine of middle and late March has really stimulated our local ecosystems. The frog spawn has hatched, without disturbance…

Wildlife Gardening in March

It really is great to be alive at this time of the year. The days are lengthening, so there is the stimulus of light in the morning to help me drag myself out of bed.

Wildlife Gardening – Population Changes

In recent years egrets have, quite naturally, moved into the UK. Presumably their required niche became available due to climate change or change in their population.

Wildlife Gardening – Garden Varieties

It’s always puzzling why we have certain wildlife in the garden and not other species. If you and I compared the birds that visit our bird tables they could well be different.

Wildlife Gardening – Ecology

The ecology of a wildlife garden – the sun’s generous supply of energy reaches the Earth as sunlight energy, which can be employed for many useful purposes…

Wildlife Gardening in November

Much of the terrestrial life in the wildlife garden is now on ‘pause’, with comparatively little showing itself. Over-wintering butterflies…

Wildlife Gardening in October

The days of mellow wistfulness are with us now. The misty mornings, the dew hanging like small diamonds on the grass and bushes, the spiky sweet chestnut fruits …

Wildlife Gardening in September

We have just returned from a short visit to Devon. Wildlife was not our main preoccupation but we did manage to visit and view three wild flower meadows.

Wildlife Gardening in July and August

Butterflies – As the soils have dried out, so the summer butterflies have hatched into the sunshine. High summer treasures are around in good numbers.

Wildlife Gardening in High Summer

Summer can be a magnificent time in the wildlife garden, but this year atmospheric and soil water has been enhanced and this can change biological systems dramatically.

Wildlife Gardening in May and June

Wildlife Gardening in May and June – Our main native hedge is rimmed by greater celandine, campions, dame’s violets and a motley selection of other plants.

Wildlife Gardening – The Arrival Of Spring

Spring, as delightful as it might be, is a time of fluctuating weather with warm sunshine one day and cold, blustery showers the next.

Wildlife Gardening in March and April

Wildlife Gardening in March and April – The main attractions in the early months of the year are centred on our Spring Meadow

Wildlife Gardening – Setting the Scene

Wildlife Gardening – Setting the Scene

Here at Forest Edge our Wildlife Garden has been up and running for nearly twenty years now and we have a good deal of experience that we can share with others.