How to Bring more Nature to your Garden – regardless of size!

When spring arrives, I turn to making improvements in the garden Whether you have a sprawling estate of a small balcony, there is always something you can do for nature.

Here are some ideas for you to welcome nature, if you’re improving your home this year:

Plant Trees

Trees are so amazing for the environment. Trees not only help regulate the carbon dioxide/oxygen cycle, but trees provide shade, help prevent soil erosion and attract beneficial insects. Your home’s landscape can be greatly improved by planting trees. Cherry blossoms will be pink and flowery in the spring and a lush green in the summer. Weeping willows provide a lot of shade, grow tall, and look gorgeous – if you have room for one they are wonderful for taking excess water from water-logged soil. And my favourite are fruit trees such as apples and plums, because you get free food too! If you’ve got a tiny space, you can still grow a tree in a large container – we have a birch and rowan tree that are thriving in pots.

Grow flowers around your Front Door

Building oak porch kits from sustainably managed wood over front doors not only looks great, but gives you an opportunity to plant more flowers. A porch kit is a roof that is built over your front door to give you protection from sun, rain, and snow. It can protect your door from falling debris in a storm too.

Once built, you can plant climbing flowers like wisteria, jasmine, and roses that will soon cover the kit and make your entryway look colourful and provide a haven for bees. We have roses and clematis growing all over our front door which is full of bees in the summer and the birds come and forrage for insects.

If you have a balcony, you can allow plants to wind their way through the balcony construction.

Get Bird Feeders

Placing bird feeders in trees or against your home walls will help draw these beautiful animals to your garden. The RSPB now suggest that we feed birds all year round. This is due to loss of habitat and the fact that parents are hungry when feeding their young. If you put out a variety of foods, such as suet for fat loving birds, seeds for others and mealworms for other, you’ll attract a wider variety of our feathered friends. You could also put up a nesting box to encourage the next generation!

Create a water feature

You don’t need extensive grounds for a pond. Even a container sunk into the ground will soon attract its own eco system. Only got a balcony? Provide a large drip tray instead. Providing water in your garden will keep insects and birds happy and you might even end up with frogs who will provide natural slug control on your land! You might even get to see mesmerising dragonflies who will munch their way through any mosquitoes, meaning you can enjoy the outdoors more without fear of getting bitten.