Pollinators are at risk worldwide, but help can begin at home if every gardener does a little extra to give them what they need. Carol Klein shares her expert advice
It is easy to feel proprietorial about our gardens. They are ours, after all, and the British are famed for their love of boundaries, for staking their claim and for defending it against all comers. Yet, whether we like it or not, we share our gardens with a host of other creatures, some of them permanent residents, others just visiting. In recent years, most of us gardeners are becoming increasingly aware of the role we play in making our plots as welcoming to wildlife as possible − and even the smallest garden plays an important role.
There are over 23 million gardens in the UK so, together, the difference they can make in terms of offering hospitality to wildlife is enormous. I was born just after the end of World War Two and, since then, wildlife in both numbers and diversity has been increasingly challenged. The use of agricultural pesticides, herbicides and fungicides affects and very often destroys ecosystems and the creatures within them. Wetlands have been drained, destroying one of our most important and unique habitat s. Thousands of miles of hedgerow were torn out to create ever bigger fields for ever-larger machines to produce cheaper food for bigger profits, until it was realised that the erosion it caused was counter-productive. Some of those hedgerows have been replaced, but the fine balances that existed may take many years to re-establish.
Our soil has been impoverished and woodlands have been razed to the ground to build roads. Every day we hear of some wildlife tragedy − butterfly numbers being at an all-time low, the demise of the hedgehog or the plight of our bees.
Every little helps
Bu hikaye Gardeners World dergisinin September 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Gardeners World dergisinin September 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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We love June
We're cruising towards midsummer: this is a month full of love and abundance. Wherever you look there will be something in your garden that lifts the spirits and makes you glad to be alive. We have colour to cheer us, we have leaves that still have the bounce and freshness of small puppies, we have the first berries fattening up, there are birds frantically parenting very demanding broods of chicks, the bees are all over the place, it's prime barbecue and picnic season, and we have lawns as lush and green as billiard tables. What a month to fall in love.
Your wildlife month
The female will usually lay one clutch of up to eight eggs
An edible garden in pots
Join Lucy Bellamy in creating an edible container garden for all seasons, as she harvests what's ripe now and starts later-season crops
Garden craft with kids
Fill the summer holidays with fun nature makes for kids, including botanical printed t-shirts, seed sowing in upcycled food containers and a hanging home for beneficial insects. Jaime Johnson and family show you how
Secrets of a COLOURFUL GARDEN
Using a colour theme is an easy way to give any garden a strong, unified character - Nick Bailey shows you how
Indoor plants, outdoor treats
Break the rules and give your house plants a summer holiday, with Michael Perry's mixed pot display ideas
YOUR PRUNING MONTH
The first few weeks of summer are a good time to get spring-flowering plants in shape. Follow Frances' guide for best results
Gardening for wellbeing
As the pressures of modern living bear down, our outside spaces can provide soothing respite for our minds and bodies, says Arit Anderson
Your greenhouse guide to A fruitful summer
Get the best from your greenhouse fruit and vegetable crops this summer, with these tried and trusted growing tips from Adam Frost
Stars of the show
Agapanthus is the perfect midsummer plant, flowering with spectacular blooms from June onwards and, as Monty explains, it loves to grow in a pot