Fallen leaves and flowers become decomposed matter which enriches the soil for future plants. These plants provide food for herbivores like caterpillars which, in turn, provide food for larger animals like birds and foxes. The animals themselves are an essential part of this chain as their manure acts as a natural fertiliser and when they die they, too, return to the earth. Because this recycling chain functions so perfectly without outside interference, the employment of artificial fertilisers and pesticides can often be detrimental to your garden environment and therefore totally ineffectual. Wildlife Gardening requires the minimum amount of maintenance so instead of being a slave to your garden, you are letting your garden work for you.
Wildlife is an invaluable addition to all gardens.
By encouraging insects and small animals to establish their homes in your garden, you are creating a habitat wherein you are living harmoniously with nature. Once this natural habitat has been established problems such as pest control, which often necessitated man-made solutions, will now be solved by nature. The following should act as a guide. Hoverflies active from late Spring onwards hoverfly larvae feed on aphids, fruit-tree spider mites and small caterpillars to encourage them, grow flowers which provide nectar and pollen for adults. Lacewings active from late Spring to mid-Summer feed on aphids, larvae, mites, leaf hoppers, scale insects and caterpillars.