Alan Titchmarsh has shared 3 wildlife-friendly gardening tips (stock image) (Image: Getty)
Alan Titchmarsh has shared his top three tips to help people ensure their gardens are “more friendly to all forms of wildlife”.
The majority of people who are lucky enough to have a garden are keen to ensure it becomes something of a safe haven to important insects and wildlife who may be seeking shelter and safety.
UK gardens can offer a temporary home to necessary pollinators like bumblebees, honeybees, wasps, drone flies, ladybirds, beetles and more; in addition to hedgehogs in urban and rural settings, rest stops for birds, and a whole host of other creatures great and small.
Many novice gardeners and green-fingered fans are keen to make the most of their outdoor spaces, often turning to established professionals for advice and guidance.
Famed gardener, horticulturist, and beloved TV presenter Alan Titchmarsh regularly shares his insight and expertise with the masses via his work on television, and also in regular videos which are then shared on social media.
In a clip which was posted to Facebook by the UK’s leading gardening charity the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), the gardening guru shared three easy-to-follow tips for ensuring a wildlife-friendly outdoor space.
Speaking directly to the camera, Alan began: “I’m going to offer you three tips to make your garden much more friendly to all forms of wildlife, both plant and animal.
“The first thing to do is to stop using sprays – start being organic. Don’t use pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, anything with the ‘cide’ on the end of it. Allow nature to take a hold and you will find a natural balance occurs.”
Moving on, Alan discussed the importance of allowing variety in your gardens and expanding the reach of plants.
He explained: “The second tip is to grow a wide range of plants rather than a concentration of any one thing in any one area. Mix things up on your veg patch, grow flowers for cutting in between your lettuces and your onions.
The expert shared advice to help support wildlife in our gardens (stock image) (Image: Getty)
“Make sure you’ve got lots of different kinds of plants in your garden.”
Finally, he dispelled the assumption that only native wildflowers should be grown in British gardens.
Alan said: “The third one is not to assume that only British native wildflowers are the kind of things you should be growing in your garden. I have a wildflower meadow – British natives.
“I also have flower borders with all kinds of plants in, with pollen and nectar that wildlife, insects in particular, love.
“The biodiversity in the garden, the number of insect species in the garden, is greater than the number of insect species in the wildflower meadow. Worth remembering that.”
Similarly, allowing the grass to grow a little longer in your garden creates an instant habitat which supports ground nesting insects by providing them somewhere to hide, as well as shelter for other insects.
Longer grass is also better at retaining moisture, while some unwanted weeds like dandelions provide a food source for emerging spring insects, if they’re not cut down too early.
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