When I first moved to Tayport I wanted to make sure my garden was a haven for birds and bees. Having no gardening experience, I thought I would leave it to go ‘wild’ and that this would be a quick solution. A few blethers with Peter from the Community Garden helped me to realise that this method wasn’t going to have the desired result.
So I cleared quite a lot and started again. That might sound a bit drastic but within 6 months the garden was literally buzzing.
For the pollinators, I planted lavenders, perennial wallflower Bowles Mauve, a range of hebes, sunflowers, teasels, foxgloves, lavatera and Buddleia. For good measure I threw in a few wild seed mixes and now I have exactly what I was looking for. The old Californian Lilac bush is also proven to be a hit with the bumblebees.
My partner, Linda, is tracking the bird visitors at our bird feeders. We have siskins, bullfinches, yellow hammers, goldfinches, greenfinches, great tits, blue tits, blackbirds, a range of different sparrows, collared doves and a whole crowd of baby starlings. A few big fat wood pigeons come in early evening to tidy up and jackdaws follow them in.
It doesn’t take much to help the birds, butterflies and bees – just a few hardy plants can make a lot of difference. You can find some handy tips in a simple guide to flowers that attract birds and bees at the RSPB website. And the Community Garden has a lot of pollinator-friendly flowering perennials for sale at the moment too!
