Gardeners often dread spending time in the garden at this time of year as you can easily feel pressured to start tidying up outdoors to prepare for spring. However, the animal experts at Wildlife Trusts are asking gardeners to instead do absolutely nothing, as a messy garden is one of the best ways to help birds survive the cold weather. They said: “Did you know there are things you can do to help wildlife without moving a muscle?”
Certain birds like robins, blue tits and wrens are more likely to die in late winter from slow starvation as insects are their main source of food and the ground has been frozen for months. Insects start to come back in February when the temperature slowly begins to rise, so now is the time to have piles of leaves all over your lawn as it will encourage birds to start foraging in your garden.
One expert explained: “Leaving a duvet of leaves is a great way to provide a perfect hiding spot for insects that are shutting down until spring (insects’ version of hibernation is called diapause – basically pushing pause on their lifecycle!).”
Leaf piles help protect many insects from the cold, and will encourage these critters to begin laying eggs as soon as they start to wake up.
If there are more insects in your garden then smaller British birds like robins will be able to easily find food and are more likely to keep coming back to your property every day to eat.
It is a natural way to help out your local wildlife without spending any money, and as an added benefit the leaves will break down which will feed the grass more nutrients.
Fallen leaves will feed a lawn nitrogen, which is the main nutrients to support grass growth so it is more likely to come back greener and thicker once spring properly arrives.
Having a messy garden is one of the easiest ways to help feed birds in winter, but if you do want to tidy up, tucking leaves under hedges or bushes can still make a big difference for wildlife.
Leaves are also not the only way to encourage more insects into your garden as they will also gather around any decaying wood in a garden.
Simply leave sticks, old branches or any wood piles alone in your garden, and it will become a feeding ground for birds.
It should be noted that you should avoid using pesticides, weed killers or any chemicals in your garden if you are feeding birds in your garden otherwise you can greatly harm them.
The general rule is to leave your garden alone for as long as possible, and in the next few weeks you should start to hear lots of happy chirping outside.
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