David Wilson Homes plants its feet firmly in wildlife gardening

New homeowners in Berkshire are being encouraged to give their garden a new lease of life to create a haven for wildlife in preparation for the warmer weather.

A wildlife friendly garden in a typical show home

David Wilson Homes has teamed up with the RSPB to give its customers five top tips this season on how they can give nature a home while the warmer weather is kicking in.

The tips and tricks on what to do as the seasons change are fun for all of the family and have been carefully selected by David Wilson Homes to fit around a small budget and a time frame of less than two hours.

So if you want to do a little bit to help preserve Britain’s wildlife or you want to transform your garden for all of nature to enjoy this season, David Wilson Homes and the RSPB have got you covered.

1. Create nature highways and byways

Team up with your neighbour to make a safe corridor for wildlife to travel between gardens. Add small gaps (approximately 13-15cm) at the bottom of fences to allow hedgehogs, frogs and other small animals to get in and out of the garden.

Adding a climbing plant to your fence or garden wall gives a ladder for wildlife to climb in and out of gardens.

Make sure you put tall plants around the nature highways to give wildlife somewhere to shelter when entering the garden.

Rob Allen, Sales Director at David Wilson Homes Southern, said: “Garden fences and walls can make it difficult for wildlife to navigate between our gardens. Something small like a hole in the fence or climbing plant can make it easier for animals to travel safely around properties.

“With wildlife highways installed at a number of our developments across Berkshire already, our residents are one step closer to a wildlife friendly garden.”

2. Help garden birds scrub up well

During warmer weather water can be scarce for birds but providing a bird bath gives them a reliable source of clean water for drinking and keeping their feathers in tip-top condition. Buy a ready-made bird bath or create one using a shallow watertight bowl, dustbin lid or plant tray.

Make sure you add pebbles and rocks to the bath to give birds better grip and fill it with rainwater or tap water. Then watch our feathered friends use the bird bath to cool off and keep clean.

3. Sow the seeds of sharing

If you have a plant which is particularly popular with wildlife, share it with your neighbours and friends and encourage them to make their garden wildlife friendly. Collect seeds, seedlings or cuttings from any wildlife friendly plants in your garden and pass them on to neighbours to use themselves. To share a plant you can collect seeds from the plant itself, lift out seedlings from the ground or take a cutting of the plant.

Good wildlife-friendly flowers to pass on to your neighbour include Geranium, Iris, Primula or ornamental grasses.

4. Help moths spread their wings

Moths aren’t given as much attention as their daytime cousins, the butterflies, but they are an important part of the garden food chain for birds and bats and can be fun to watch in the evenings.

Plant nectar-rich plants for moths to feed on during the evening, choose plants such as honeysuckle, jasmine, sweet rocket or hemp-agrimony which are ideal food for moths.

When your plants are flowering, walk around your garden with a torch to see if any moths are drinking the nectar from your flowers or turn on your outside light and see what moths are attracted to it.

Rob continued: “Our partnership with the RSPB is important to help demonstrate how we can protect and enhance the biodiversity of the local area, benefitting our customers and the wildlife around our developments.

“We’ve handpicked these fantastic tips from the RSPB as an easy way for customers moving into their new homes to do their bit for nature in spring and summer.

“Spring is the ideal time to get planting and give a much needed boost to wildlife in your garden by making sure you pick plants which suit birds, bees, butterflies and other insects.

“Here at David Wilson Homes Southern, we want to work closely with our customers to ensure our British wildlife is preserved at our developments as this is extremely important to us.”   

David Wilson Homes and the RSPB recently announced that their partnership has been renewed and extended for another three years, aiming to deliver more wildlife friendly housing across the county.

Adrian Thomas, the RSPB’s wildlife gardening expert, said: “We all enjoy seeing wildlife in our garden. A garden just does not feel right without birdsong, buzzing bees and the wonderful natural sights and sounds that make our garden a peaceful refuge from everyday life. The brilliant thing is creating a wildlife friendly garden can be simply, giving you something to enjoy and be proud of, as well as helping our wildlife that is increasingly dependent on British gardens.”

David Wilson Homes Southern is currently building at the following developments in Berkshire: Croft Gardens in Reading, Montague Park in Wokingham, Newbury Racecourse and The Chase at Newbury Racecourse.

To find out more information about the developments, please call the David Wilson Homes sales team on 0844 811 4333 or visit www.dwh.co.uk.

For more information about any of these top tips or to become a member, please visit the RSPB website http://www.rspb.org.uk/