Combined March 26 jw v2 - Flipbook - Page 12
Hayling Herald Community update
Hayling Island Horticultural Society
By Angharad Pike
AT our most recent society talk, we welcomed Martin Hampton, who spoke passionately and thoughtfully on gardening for wildlife.
With 48 members attending, the afternoon was
lively, interactive and full of ideas that challenged
many of our assumptions about what makes a
good garden. Martin introduced four fundamental principles that should inform wildlife friendly
garden design.
The first is understanding species lifestyles and
life cycles. Wildlife cannot be reduced to single
needs. Frogs need more than ponds; they require
damp, shady shelter for much of the year.
Great tits will not raise chicks on bird feeders
alone; they need trees such as oak and birch that
support caterpillars. Many butterflies, including
the comma, rely on specific plants like stinging
nettles and hops for egg laying, and dry, dark
spaces to overwinter.
The second principle is food chains and food
webs. Everything depends on what happens at
the bottom. Detritivores, leaf litter and self sown
native plants are the foundation of the system.
A pile of mouldy leaves is not untidy, it is life
supporting.
The third is local context. What you need to
provide depends on where your garden sits in the
wider landscape. A garden near woodland has
different requirements from one surrounded by
housing or coastal environments.
Wildlife gardening advice must always be
adapted to place.
The fourth principle, climate change and
resilience, is increasingly important. Traditional
guidance, such as placing ponds in full sun, is
becoming less reliable as summers grow hotter
and drier, leading to overheating, drying out and
algae problems.
Underlying everything, Martin emphasised the
importance of letting go a little. British gardening culture often equates good gardening with
constant control and intervention. Wildlife, however, needs space, patience and time. Watching,
waiting and allowing nature to do some of the
work is not neglect, it is a deliberate and valuable
choice.
Martin then moved from principles into practical design features that gardeners can use to
actively support wildlife.
One of the most important and often overlooked features is holes, crevices and cavities.
These provide essential places for insects and
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other wildlife to hide, breed and overwinter. Rot
holes in old trees that collect leaf litter are now
one of the rarest habitats in Britain.
Where possible, fallen branches should be left,
wood piles allowed to accumulate, and even
small dry stone walls made from broken paving
slabs or leftover building materials can be hugely
valuable. These are what he described as the most
frequently forgotten element of wildlife gardening: foliage as food.
Almost all insects depend on leaves, not flowers. While pollinators are important, they represent only a small fraction of garden insect life. A
garden designed solely around flowers does little
to support true biodiversity.
Martin said he is genuinely pleased to see
leaves being eaten, as it shows insects are being supported. Trees such as oak, birch, willow
and hawthorn are particularly valuable, with
oak supporting the greatest number of species.
Hawthorn, he noted, grows very successfully on
Hayling Island, even in coastal gardens, making
it an excellent choice locally.
The fourth feature was decaying organic matter.
Martin was forthright about the damage caused
by widespread use of weed suppressant fabric,
describing its long term use as devastating to soil
life, second only to artificial turf. While it may
have a short-term use for clearing a specific area,
covering soil indefinitely prevents natural decay
and kills the living systems beneath.
Leaves should generally be left in borders to rot
down naturally, returning nutrients to the soil,
though there are exceptions such as paths, lawns,
or certain plants like magnolia where leaves are
slow to break down and contribute little.
Disease, death and decay, Martin reminded us,
are essential parts of healthy ecosystems.
Next came security and non disturbance. Wildlife needs places that are not regularly entered,
tidied or controlled. Areas free from human
activity, pets and constant interference allow
animals to feed and shelter safely.
Bramble thickets, dense shrubs, or tangled
climbers can all provide this.
Water, in its broadest sense, was the sixth
feature. This includes ponds, but also damp
areas, shaded ground and bird baths at different
heights.
Providing moisture in varied forms supports a
wider range of species than a single water source
alone.
Finally, Martin returned to flowers as food,
placing them deliberately last.
Nectar, pollen, seeds and fruit all matter, but
they should come after structure, foliage and decay if gardens are to support wildlife effectively.
Martin also touched on succession, explaining
that left alone, most British land will eventually
become scrub and woodland. Gardeners are constantly holding this process back. However, not
all species want the same conditions. Blackbirds,
for example, prefer short grass, reflecting their
historic use of grazed land.
A wildlife friendly garden benefits from a
mix: some short grass, areas cut once a year in
summer or early autumn, and some left uncut
entirely. Leaving tussocks of grass is particularly
valuable, as many insects and butterflies overwinter deep at the base of dense clumps.
