Cyn's Nature Notes: Wildlife Gardening (4) Borrowed Views and Covered Areas

Tuesday 7 October 2014

Wildlife Gardening (4) Borrowed Views and Covered Areas

Look beyond the boundaries of your garden - are there areas you'd rather not see, then cover them up. Plant accordingly - you could put up a trellis and grow climbing plants up it or think longer term and grow trees or shrubs. These may take time to grow, but the unwanted view will probably be there long after the trees and shrubs have covered the unsightly view.

A third option is to combine the two above methods. The trees or shrubs will need to be planted two or three feet inside the boundary, so why not put the trellis on the boundary with climbing plants, roses, clematis and honeysuckle. After the shrubs or trees have grown allow the climbers to scramble through their taller growth, this looks wonderful, smells amazing and the birds love to nest in it. Hedgehogs also love to snuffle along the bottoms of areas like this, why not give them their own hedgehog house in this area. Remember each year to also put a good layer of leaves at the bottom of the hedge, these will rot down and provide nourishment for the trees or shrubs above them. They will also attract many insects for the hedgehogs and birds to enjoy, and the earth worms living here will grow to enormous dimensions, if they are not eaten first.

Beautiful views of the countryside, nearby attractive woodland or of a neighbours eye catching garden are known as borrowed views, they have much to recommend them and can be left as view points and add to the attractiveness of your own garden. Neighbours either side of us have commented on their enjoyment of our garden, in time your garden might be the one supplying the borrowed views.

We have two beautiful borrowed views from our garden, the first is a countryside view from the end of the garden, which I have often written about in my blog, the second is a view seen looking in an easterly direction and I have never written about it before.

The view is of quite ordinary trees, however with the setting of the sun they are alight and suddenly full of highlights and new life, their leaves are much brighter and seem to glow. The best time to see them though is during the winter when their leaves are shed and the dull brown branches are bare.

Then as the rays of the setting sun fall upon them, they are suddenly bright shades of gold and orange and the whole vista becomes eye catchingly breathtaking.

To be continued.

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About this Blog

When we moved to our present home in December 1987, I was very ill and bedridden. My garden was a life-saver, although it was very different then. The first thing I did was to put up bird-feeders, and long hours were spent lying indoors in a recliner. This was when I discovered many things. Do you know the underside of every blue tit’s tail is differently marked? Gradually, over the years, the garden changed. We put in shrubs and plants that would not only enhance the garden, but would also be good for wildlife. The first rabbit we saw was so joyful for us. The deer eat the flowers, prune the apple trees, eat the marrow, and are wonderful to watch. Foxes have been a major part of our wildlife. We have fed them each night for more than 20 years. They are such a delight, especially in late summer and early autumn when there are youngsters. They behave like puppies and are great fun to watch.

I love all wildlife: the mason bees that nest in the brickwork of the bungalow, the hornets that last year made their home in the roof above our bedroom, the bees currently nesting in the roof above the bathroom. On a hot evening, if you stand quietly in the bathroom, you can hear this amazing sound: it is very rhythmic and reminds me of the waves at the seaside. It is made by the beating of the bees’ wings as they fan their nest to keep the temperature at the right level -- how many people have heard that sound? I feel so privileged.

Obviously, I feed the birds. When I open the window in the morning I call “Come on Bobby and Blackie”, and one followed swiftly by the other they fly immediately to the bird table. Each morning, on rising, I make my way to the kitchen and find the squirrels already sitting on the window ledge waiting to be fed. Winter brings the moorhens and spring time the mallards. Our pond is a poor effort from a human point of view, but wild creatures see it differently. On summer days, the grass snakes spend long hours in the pond: eating the fish, froglets, toadlings, newts, and any other living creature they can swallow. Although I hate to see the pond emptied this way, I do enjoy the snakes and feel they are an important part of the balance of nature in the garden. Watching a dragonfly nymph climbing out of the pond, up a plant stalk, and then over the next few hours gradually transforming into a beautiful dragonfly -- these are contented hours well spent.

It has been my pleasure to write and publish a nature column each month. I am always delighted to hear how much pleasure this brings to my readers. I have often been asked if I have written a book, so I am making more of my writings and photography available through this web site and blog.