Make nature a home without spending a penny with these four garden tips
GARDEN areas abuzz with bees and decorated by butterflies are a delight to see.
These pollinators are also an essential part of our environment and wider ecosystems — yet their numbers drop each year.
Here’s how to help bees and butterflies in your outdoor space without spending a penny . . .
NO MOW MAY: It’s not too late to take part in No Mow May for your green space.
The campaign from charity Plantlife encourages households to put away the lawnmower to let wildflowers in your garden areas grow.
Long grass and flowers provide food and a habitat for pollinators.
Sign up at plantlife.org.uk/campaigns/nomowmay and get a free guide on how to manage your lawn all year round to encourage insect visitors.
FREE SEEDS: You can get free wildflower seeds for your outdoor space and give pollinators a wider variety of food.
Just sign up to take part in The Wildlife Trusts’ 30 Days Wild at Wildlifetrusts.org/30dayswild.
The annual challenge is perfect for kids and asks everyone to do something in nature each day in June.
As well as free seeds, you’ll get a guide to bees, a wordsearch and a 30-day wallchart posted out after signing up.
PACK AWAY PESTICIDES: Using chemicals in your garden can be toxic to bees and butterflies.
Many plants thought of as weeds — such as dandelions — are good for pollinators.
Rather than spraying these plants, embrace their presence.
There are also more environmentally friendly ways to keep slugs from plants.
For example, filling a short glass with beer and sinking it into the soil can attract and catch slugs.
PICK YOUR PLANTS: If you are planning on planting flowers, try to get a good range of colours and varieties.
Annual bedding plants are, sadly, usually not much good for pollinators, according to Countryfile.
The magazine has an online guide to the different flowers that will attract bees and butterflies at countryfile.com/how-to/wildlife-gardening/best-plants-for-bees-and-butterflies.
- All prices on page correct at time of going to press. Deals and offers subject to availability.
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