Get your garden WINTER-READY

It’s tidy-up time, but don’t forget the creatures that share our space

- ANDREW SHAW

Create a wildlife haven

While it’s tempting to make our gardens neat for the approaching winter months, being overly tidy will deprive wildlife of much-needed shelter and food.

In fact, it’s best to ‘spring clean’ your garden at the end of winter. Here are some tips on how to create a wildlife sanctuary when conditions are harsh…

1 Leave areas unkempt.

Piles of twigs and dead vegetation provide much-needed shelter for spiders and beetles, and small mammals such as hedgehogs and dormice.

2 Don’t cut back dead stems.

Insects will overwinter in them and the seed heads provide food for birds. When you cut the stems back in spring, leave them in a pile until May to allow the insects to re-emerge.

3 Put up bird boxes.