Making my messy garden into a wildlife garden
I live in a Victorian end-of-terrace house on the coast in Sussex in the south of England with my husband Mike and whichever of my two adult children is currently home. It’s on a large plot by modern standards with garden both front and back, and I’ll upload a garden plan before too long. We’ve lived here since 1997, wanting something smallish as our first rung on the property ladder. But we liked it so much we never moved: it’s a quiet informal road, the neighbours are great, and just 15 mins walk into town or to the beach or to the countryside.
About my messy garden
It’s early January and I’m not an all-weather sort of person, but today was warm and sunny so I went into the garden. It’s mid-way into winter: the hop leaves on one obelisk have dropped and their vines died back, but the akebia on another is only just starting to turn.
We have a great view of the hop obelisk from our bedroom window. It has a little rusted metal robin on it that I gave Mike for Christmas the other year. Every morning Mike and I sit in bed with a cup of coffee and listen to radio comedy for half an hour before getting up.
We have our bedroom on the ground floor as it’s a converted garage. By rights it should be a dining room or office, but it’s the best bedroom I could wish for! It has French windows which open on to the patio, offering views of the bird feeder and from there into the back garden. In the summer we open the doors wide and let the morning air in. In the winter, like today, if it’s light enough, we sit and look out hopeful of the glimpse of a wren or squirrel.
Garden thugs
I’m a little self-conscious about our garden because it’s untidy. This is mainly due to lack of time as I run my own business full time, and we like weekends away in our campervan. Years ago I worked for a garden centre, so we have some nice shrubs which have been left to do their own thing, but in general my aspirations massively outstrip my accomplishments!
The bold, tough, fast growing plants such as Rosa Mundi Rosa gallica ‘Versicolor’ (a stripy apothecary rose given me by a friend) and the golden hop Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’ thuggishly tend to take over everything else. I did start to feel like I was beginning to get on top of the garden during covid, but it’s fought its way back ever since!
Luckily our garden is still fairly photogenic in places (all the pics in this post were taken in November or December 2024). I just have to be careful of the angle, so as to avoid the overlooking neighbours, the extensive compost heap, piles of empty flower pots, or leaning wooden structures! I exclude the obelisks from this criticism by the way – we put them in four years ago (during our covid garden blitz) and they still seem to be holding their shape. We have three: one on the patio which the squirrel uses as a short cut to the bird feeder – it was covered in French beans this year; one for the hops, and one for the akebia.
Wildlife likes a messy garden
So I’m describing a messy garden! And I hear that wildlife likes a messy garden! We have foxes, hedgehogs, squirrels and all kinds of birds. Bees nest in the lawn and in the compost heap. We take part in Plantlife’s No Mow May every year and then Let It Bloom June. I leave seedheads on plants such as Jerusalem sage Phlomis fruticosa and miscanthus for the winter.
My new pond
I’ve heard that adding a pond, even a small one, can be a game changer for wildlife. So my next step in my wildlife garden journey is the little pond I just received for Christmas from Mike! I’m starting small in the knowledge that I can always trade up later if it goes well.
What I know about ponds is:
- the bigger the better to avoid sudden temperature changes or evaporation
- partial shade to avoid overheating
- don’t site it under a tree as you’ll always be fishing out leaves
- keep it child-safe (no problem there currently!)
- changes in level within the pond allow for planting and insect hideouts
- keep the rim flush with the ground rather than raised
- add planting nearby to allow for critter cover and access
A small wildlife pond
The pond I chose was only 60cm wide by 80cm long, 30cm deep and pre-formed in a naturalistic shape. It has different levels for planting, and a little ramp for small creatures to wander in and out.
The pond is only small because I measured my ideal place to put it, and I’m assured that even the smallest stretch of water can be beneficial to wildlife in a big way! The place I have in mind is not too far from a garden bench so I can sit and look at it. It’s got a few shrubs nearby for a bit of shading and cover for wildlife. It’s near a tree but not so near that it’s in full shade and shouldn’t be troubled by fallen leaves.
So before too long, Mike or I or our son Rowan will be out there digging a hole. Not today though it’s getting cold.
Check back soon for my next update!