Even though we don’t go outside into our gardens as much during the winter, they are still full of wildlife. It’s important to make sure they have plenty of nourishment until the nature bursts into life again in the spring.
This year has been particularly mild (we’ve still had tomatoes in the greenhouse until recently!), so flowering plants have survived for a lot longer. However, we do have frost forecast in the coming weeks so think ahead!
There are still plenty of small garden birds outside, feeding on seed heads and berries, but by keeping seed feeders full, this ensures that they always have food easily available.
You can also delay trimming and chopping in the garden until much nearer the spring. This also ensures there are plenty of seed heads left for birds to forage.
Late flowering plants, such as ivy or Mahonia japonica (pictured above), will continue a supply of nectar for bees and other pollinators, so it’s important not to chop these back until nearer spring time.
Saving the planet’s biodiversity
The Cop 15 UN Biodiversity Conference is an incredibly important event which begins next week in Montreal. The biodiversity crisis will end up affecting every single person if we don’t make changes right now. The 2019 State of Nature report found that there has been a 13% decline in wildlife in the UK since the 1970s, and this decline is set to continue.
The conference will bring together Governments to agree on a new set of goals for nature over the next decade. The conference has been delayed three times since Covid so it’s really important to set these targets as soon as possible.
What am I reading?
An Antony Gormley sculpture has returned to Yorkshire Sculpture Park after being moved. The tree stump that it originally resided on was deteriorating, so it’s had to be moved numerous times, now hopefully for the final time. This park, near to Wakefield, is a wonderfully inspiring winter walk, with sculpture from famous artists throughout the whole park, as well as different exhibitions. It’s well worth a visit.
