Here are three really simple items every garden needs to make a real difference to how their garden functions as a complete ecosystem and wildlife habitat:
1. Water butt
Ideally more than one! I’m always staggered when I visit or work in a garden without water butts. I’m amazed that some people don’t see the need to collect and store water when it’s in abundance, to be used for times when the inevitable dry spell or hosepipe ban occurs. Water is such a precious resource - and rainwater is so fabulous - that I don’t understand why every garden doesn’t have at least one water butt.
Anyone that already has some guttering or a downpipe from a gutter can install a water butt with very little effort. There are kits which can be joined into an existing pipe to divert some of the water: when the barrel is full then the water simply flows back down the downpipe. Someone once asked my how many water butts they should have and I said “As many as you can afford and have space for!” That person now has four barrels in a row being fed from one downpipe. After the initial cost of the system’s outlay, it now more than pays for itself because it saves using metered tap water.
The final bonus of using water stored in water butts is that it’s clean and chemical-free. Unlike tap water, which contains chorine and sodium, rainwater is all-natural and your plants will really appreciate it. Just make sure you either regularly remove the lid to stop the water going stagnant, or leave the lid off completely. If you do the latter, pop some chicken wire or netting over the top so that birds and other wildlife can’t get inside and drown.
2. Compost heap/bin
Everyone needs a place to make compost. Unless you have the tiniest of gardens, I encourage you to find space. It’s worth it, I promise! I don’t add any food waste or kitchen scraps to mine because I don’t want to attract rats. That includes tea bags and banana peelings too. But even a small compost bin will enable you to recycle your garden waste and add it back to the soil in the form of mulch or compost. There’s nothing better than home-made compost.
I heard on a radio program once that the ideal location for a compost bin is that bit of your garden which gets the afternoon sun and would be perfect for a relaxing seating area. And in my experience of my client’s gardens, those are the perfect spots for compost bins! If you think about the process of decomposition, you want a nice warm spot which isn’t damp or dark. Microbes and bacteria work faster at warmer temperatures and if you want them to turn your garden waste into amazing compost then it’s important that you position their ‘home’ in the best location for them.
It’s up to you whether or not you turn it (I don’t): if you have a small bin then you could but I prefer to leave it. Just ensure that you layer up in the correct proportions and don’t add too many grass clippings (I don't add them to mine at all). If you have enough space for an additional bin, then have one devoted to leaves so that you get leaf mould after a year. This is wonderful for adding as a mulch because the texture is gorgeous.
3. A messy area
Yes, you read that correctly! A messy area! I believe that every garden benefits enormously from a messy area, particularly wildlife. And it’s the wildlife that most of us are so keen to encourage into our gardens. Well if you have a messy area, you won’t need to try so hard to encourage them because many of them will have made a home and are already there. If you can create an undisturbed habitat area for bugs and insects then you're ahead of the game.
When I say a messy area, it can be as messy as you like but ideally include the following: sticks (from old prunings), logs, dead herbaceous stems, and old dead vegetable plants like bean stalks. What you want is a mix of dry brown material rather than wet green material, so a pile of grass cuttings will turn into a stinky pile of rotting goo whereas a pile of sticks will soon become a habitat for a variety of little critters. Unlike the siting of a compost heap, this messy area could well be sited in a cooler, damper or shadier part of the garden, perhaps underneath a shrub or tree, or tucked round by an unvisited area. Little bugs are not going to want to setup home in full blazing sunshine and most of us reserve the sunniest parts of our gardens for our own enjoyment.
Finally, once you've got your messy area established, don’t disturb it. It can be very tempting to go and have a look and see what is making itself at home, but resist. There’s no harm in adding fresh materials when you have them but do this carefully so you don’t squash anything in the process. Make sure that other visitors to your garden are aware of your messy area so they don’t clear it up by accident. Don’t add any materials which are diseased or infected with pests, or perennial weeds, or anything else that will spread itself around while your back is turned!
