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February is a month full of the promise of
spring – the shoots of bulbs pushing through the soil, song thrushes
singing from treetops and even great tits checking out nest boxes. If you
are fortunate, snowdrops, winter aconites and crocuses will be blooming in
your garden. But weather-wise February certainly does not feel much
like spring. It may bring the coldest conditions of the winter, and
there have been times over the last few years when this most fickle month
has fooled us with mild temperatures. The odd brimstone or peacock
butterfly or queen bumblebee can be tempted out of hibernation by these
untimely milder temperatures, which then plummet to below zero again.
All this makes February a difficult month in the wildlife garden,
somewhere between winter and spring, when we really are at the mercy of
the weather. Most of us have that gardener’s urge to get out there
and start preparing for spring but we may have to hold back and strike a
balance between winter maintenance and the ‘real’ gardening we crave.
However there are plenty of small tasks we can be carrying out to put our
gardens in order as spring approaches, to ensure that any creatures that
may be hibernating are not unduly disturbed and late frost does not damage
tender new shoots. |
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Taking care of the birds Perhaps
the most important job in the wildlife garden this month is to ensure that
our wild birds are well catered for. The very end of the winter is
the time when many species are at their most vulnerable, yet this is when
they must find the energy to sing and stake out their territories to
prepare for breeding. Its a tough time of year for any animal and
even more so if food is in short supply. Wild berries will be
depleted by now and insects are few and far between. Those small
invertebrates that spend the winter months in crevices in bark or hidden
in a log pile will mostly have been found and devoured by now, and the
frozen soil may keep potential food locked away from small beaks.
Supplementary feeding with mixed seeds, peanuts and mealworms is vital to
bird survival now. You may even attract redwings, fieldfares,
siskins and redpolls as well as resident tits, blackbirds and robins, so
spend a little time every morning checking your seed feeders, topping them
up and making sure fresh, unfrozen water is available along with .
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Snowdrops |
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Blue tit Box |
You
can look ahead to spring and help your local birds further this month by
putting up new nest boxes if you have any suitable spaces. Many
birds will have been checking out potential nest sites since the winter
solstice, but there will still be plenty searching for that perfect home.
If any of your bird boxes require repair, try to complete that task this
month, or replace old broken boxes with the new woodcrete types, which
will have the birds queuing up. |
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Keep an eye on your pond Ponds at
this time need a vigilant eye kept on them but try to keep activity around
the pond to a minimum at this time of year. In some milder areas
frogs may already be spawning, although for the majority of us keeping an
area of the pond surface free of ice is the most we will need to do around
this habitat. Some male frogs spend the colder months in the bottom
of the pond so too much disturbance now could cause them problems. A
frog can live for 10 years or more but late winter is a natural time for
older frogs to die. Don’t be too surprised to see the odd dead one
in the pond this month. |
Common Frog |
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Hibernating
Ladybirds |
A bit of proper gardening
If winter really seems to be receding, work in the nectar borders can
begin towards the end of this month unless you live in an exposed
position. If you have left all herbaceous vegetation uncut over the
winter, you may wish to start the ‘tidying–up’ process now. This
should be done with great care – it is very easy to disturb a hibernating
hedgehog in a dense patch of foliage and leaves, a group of ladybirds
inside a seedpod, or the larvae of moths just below the soil surface.
If the new season’s leaves of herbaceous plants really are struggling to
find their way through last year’s vegetation, cut back the dead stalks
now, and place them on the compost heap where the insects are safe from
frost and ice until the weather warms up. Don’t be tempted to expose
too much new foliage, as plummeting temperatures could put paid to them
overnight. Mulch with organic compost between plants to keep the
soil surface well covered. This will protect soil invertebrates as
well as nourish the soil. |
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Prune Buddleias Most
wildlife gardens have at least one Buddleia and its annual maintenance is
due now. At the end of the month, cut back last year’s shoots really
hard – down to within 15 cms of the soil surface. These useful
shrubs flower on the current year’s wood, so the vigorous new shoots that
will appear in the spring will bear large panicles of nectar rich flowers
for butterflies and bees. If you have more than one Buddleia,
stagger this pruning technique over March and into April. This will
mean a succession of flowers well into September. |
Summer
Buddleia |
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Summer
Annuals |
Plan for summer
colour with annuals Early spring is of course a good time
to plan ahead, and whether you are relatively new to wildlife gardening or
an old hand, you will want to make a real impact this summer. Make a
list of annuals with a good supply of nectar – the seeds of these
easy-going plants may be scattered around in existing borders or sown in
rows between vegetables to attract beneficial insects. If the
weather is miserable this month, a little time spent inside in the warm
planning a colourful annual nectar border can make up for the frustration
of not being able to get outside. Choose a selection of simple open
flowers such as California poppies, nasturtiums and calendula and
combine them with Phacelia and borage for bees, and coloured cornflowers
for butterflies to give a bright, long lasting display. A few seeds
of night scented stock will please the moths as well as your senses.
Annual wildflowers can also be added to mixed borders – corn poppies will
bring hoverflies and bees to their pollen and corn marigold attracts a
range of insects. Planning and dreaming can be almost as exciting as
actual gardening!
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Wildlife gardens look fantastic whatever the
time of year. If flowers are few and far between there is always the
wildlife to appreciate and this month should see a wide range of birds in
our gardens as well as foxes and the earliest insects. So even if
the weather is cold and frosty (or even if there is a covering of snow)
and your early spring gardening is delayed, you should still have plenty
to enjoy. |
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©
Text and Photographs Jenny Steel 2012 |
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