Gardens

Make your garden wildlife paradise

From the smallest urban back yard to the spacious ‘English country garden’ – there is a mixture in Marden. Together, they make up a significant area where wildlife proliferates if left to itself, or with a little help from the owners.

Some gardens are fortunate enough to retain some of the wild plants that were there before they were created, or have grown from seed blown in. Many have a profusion of cultivated flower- and berry-bearing plants that support the invertebrate life that hedgehogs, voles, birds and reptiles need. Ponds, even the smallest, bring a whole new dimension – every animal needs water.

Microclimates created by gardens can attract a myriad invertebrates struggling to survive in the adjoining countryside. Scarce local species of moths and other invertebrates are regularly identified by local enthusiasts using social media to help each other with identification.

All three of our common reptiles are regularly found under logs or compost heaps, and garden ponds attract increasing numbers of spawning amphibians as housing development swallows up other sources of water. Several bat species are regularly recorded above gardens, and residents map the whereabouts of local hedgehogs to build a picture of the village population.

Most woodland and farmland birds turn up occasionally to join the garden regulars, especially during winter. Spring, however, is when our rare turtle doves turn to gardens to hoover up spilt seed from feeders – an essential aid to getting them into breeding condition after migration from Africa. Few gardens elsewhere in the country are now privileged to have such an iconic bird.