As autumn approaches it can be tempting to tidy up in the garden but  .....  just think before you do that.  It's not just your garden - it's a space you share with many other creatures!

A good tidy will destroy lots of sheltering sites for all sorts of invertebrates and small mammals which contribute to a healthy garden. Seed pods of many cottage garden plants and wildflowers will house ladybirds and other small beetles, as well as providing plenty of interest in frosty winter weather.  Hollow stalks can be a home for hibernating invertebrates - think solitary bees and wasps, lace wings, ladybirds etc. Plenty of plants have these natural cavities within their stems.

Leaving all your herbaceous perennials standing will shelter many creatures which in turn feed many more.  If small spiders or over wintering aphids have made their winter home in the clumps of your ornamental grasses or alchemilla, blue tits, great tits, wrens and robins will seek them out at a time when natural food is scarce.  Leaving winter stems generally means that the soil is also left alone and not turned over.  Whilst this might expose ‘bad’ insects it will also expose sheltering (good) hoverfly larvae.  A well-established population of hoverfly larvae can control 70 to 80 percent of an aphid infestation.

Frost on an umbellifer

Fallen leaves are a fantastic garden resource that should never be burnt or taken to the tip.  Large amounts can be stored in chicken wire cages to make leaf mould for the future.  Piles around the base of shrubs and trees provide valuable shelter for all manner of insects and mammals.  Autumn leaves can also be used as very good mulch on your flower and vegetable beds.  They will protect your soil overwinter, provide shelter for many insects and invertebrates and enrich your soil as the plant material decomposes.

Log piles are another important habitat in the winter providing a cool, damp but sheltered environment where many invertebrates can hibernate.  Again the key to maintaining this as shelter is leaving everything alone except to perhaps add more logs as older ones decay and break down.   Dry wood that you have stored for the fire also provides shelter for larger insects and butterflies.

If you are pruning, or making any major garden alterations, it is always best to do this in stages to allow nature to re-home itself.  Deciduous trees should only be pruned from November to March.  Use clean sharp saws and secateurs to reduce any chance of infection or damage to your trees.

A dead hedge

Dead hedging is a great way to use small branches and will provide an excellent windbreak but more importantly it offers so much shelter for all manner of insects and birds.  To make a dead hedge knock two lines of stout poles into the ground, about half a metre apart each way.  Fill up the gap with any manner of small branches or cuttings.  The upright poles will stop the whole thing falling apart and provide some structure.  If you are really creative you could weave ivy, honeysuckle or clematis stems through to add more support.   A dead hedge is a good way of disposing of awkward material such as holly or blackthorn which you might not want to compost because of the thorns.  It is also a good use for material which you might have otherwise shredded.

This hedge will soon become a very living structure especially with birds that will eat the insects and take what they fancy for nesting material.  As the material gradually rots down over the years, it provides a habitat for beetles and all the creatures that need soft, rotting wood for a home.

How to help the birds

  • Help birds in winter by placing fat blocks in wire cages. Balls in plastic nets are not recommended as birds can get caught in them.  The empty nets also end up as litter as they are often forgotten or dislodged by the weather.
  • You can put out finely chopped bacon rind and grated cheese for small birds such as wrens. Thrushes and blackbirds favour fruit. Scatter over-ripe apples, raisins and song-bird mixes on the ground for them.
  • Do not leave out large quantities of food to avoid the birds becoming too dependent on handouts.
  • In late winter, clean out bird boxes so they are ready for new nests in spring
  • Consider planting berrying and fruiting trees and shrubs such as - Dogwood, Holly, Hawthorne, Firethorn /Pyracantha, Guelder rose, Spindle, Elder, Laurel, Rowan, Alder, Silver Birch, Honeysuckle, Roses, Ivy
  • Always put out clean water -  an upside down bin lid makes a good bird bath!

Helping other animals

  • Check bonfires before they are lit for sheltering and hibernating animals, such as hedgehogs, toads and frogs
  • Melt a hole in the ice on ponds to allow the wildlife to drink, and enter and exit the water. Fill a sauce pan with hot water and sit it on the ice until a hole has been melted. Do not hit or crack ice as this can send shockwaves through the water that harms wildlife.
  • Be careful when you turn compost heaps. As these are often warm, they can be the winter resort of frogs, toads and other animals
  • Leave undisturbed wild areas in your garden – piles of leaves or brushwood can make the perfect nest in which animals can hide, rest and hibernate.
  • Nearly half of all hedgehogs die during their first winter. Many starve, while those born in late-summer are often too small to hibernate, and so are unable to survive the cold weather.  Provide shelter by making a leaf pile or making a hedgehog house. Leave a dish of water and dog or cat food to help boost their fat reserves, until it's no longer taken (usually mid- to late-autumn when they enter hibernation).
  • Winter is a good time to clear your garden of any plastic rubbish that is lying around - bits of plants pots, netting, strimmer cord etc.  Not only will your garden look better it will also stop all those bits from ending up in the sea.