Wildlife gardening

Autumn Advice for Amphibians & Reptiles

October 30, 2019 by editor

As the days begin to shorten and night time temperatures fall, amphibians and reptiles will start to look for places to spend the winter. Amphibians, such as common toads, frogs and newts will seek out secluded places to spend the colder months. They will often enter gardens and find their way into piles of leaves, loose soil, areas of long grass and other dense scrub or vegetation. Amphibians will commonly enter gardens in the autumn even if there is not a pond nearby. Most species will move several hundred metres from their breeding ponds in search of suitable terrestrial habitats. Therefore, if you come across an amphibian whilst tidying up your garden in the autumn, do not be concerned.

Loose soil is ideal for common toads, frogs and newts which will bury themselves up to a depth of 30 cm beneath the surface.

By early October most of our reptile species will have entered their winter hibernation. The majority of the UKs reptile species will have favoured hibernating sites but some, particularly slow-worms, common lizards and grass snakes, will make use of piles of dead logs, leaves or compost for the winter. It is important that reptiles are not disturbed during their hibernation period since it takes them longer to recover if they have to become active.

Long grass and dense scrub is ideal for hibernating common lizards.

Here are some actions you can take this autumn to help amphibians and reptiles in your garden:

Leave piles of leaves in a secluded area of your garden for amphibians, grass snakes and slow-worms to seek refuge and hibernate.
Avoid burning and disturbing piles of dead leaves and other vegetation – these are ideal habitat for amphibians and reptiles to spend the winter months.
Provide areas of loose soil which amphibians will bury into and spend the winter. Being able to bury beneath the frost zone is important for their winter survival.
Leave some dense long grass or shrubs in your garden for amphibians and common lizards to seek refuge.
Loose paving slabs and wooden boards are ideal for amphibians – leave these on top of loose soil to provide the best habitat.
Avoid too much tidying up of your garden – some wilder areas will provide very suitable habitats for amphibians and reptiles.
Try building a hibernacula: pile up logs and stones, then add soil to fill in the gaps (see below). You can even bury these into the ground and plant flowers in the soil on top. Click here to find our activity sheet on how to do this.

Remember to visit our FAQ’s pages and our Info & Advice pages for even more information about our native species and their habitats.

This hibernacula will be very suitable for a range of amphibian and reptile species including common frogs, toads, newts and grass snakes.

Creating Grass Snake Egg-Laying Heaps

August 19, 2019 by editor

Over the past few years RAVON have been developing their conservation programme for the native grass snake (Natrix helvetica). This programme has included specific habitat management for grass snakes, to enhance their breeding success and thereby increase the sustainability of populations. One of the most successful interventions has been the creation of egg-laying heaps, which have proven to be a simple, yet effective way of boosting juvenile recruitment. The key to the success of these is the composition and structure of the egg-laying heap, such that it maintains an even temperature, perfect for incubating grass snake eggs, but is not too compact, so that the animals can move around within it.

Download and take a look at their advice leaflet below:

GrassSnakeFolder_final_20190814_web Download

For more tips on land management and wildlife gardening click here and here

Your Croaks: Toads in My Garden

October 24, 2016 by editor

In light of Froglife’s recently published paper, Mary from Kent, wrote in to us telling us about the toads in her wildlife-friendly garden

Toads in my garden

(“Build it and they will come”)

In 2007 I was in the happy position of starting a brand new garden. I love gardening, and am a plantaholic, but without wildlife the garden is just an empty stage set, so it has to be wildlife friendly. The first feature to be constructed was a pond. It’s in full sun right outside my sitting-room window, about 5m square, and almost 1m deep in the middle. There’s a shallow shelf all round the edge, and a cobble beach at one corner to provide easy access for birds and animals coming to drink or bathe. I planted up the pond: various irises and other marginals on the shelves, a couple of water lilies in the deep water, and a few different oxygenators. I haven’t installed a pump (idleness), and there are (deliberately) no fish!

summer-2015-021 — *Figure 1: Mary’s idyllic wildlife garden, with a large variety of plants in and around her pond*

As soon as there was water in the pond, wild creatures began to occupy it. The first were dragonflies and other flying insects, then I started to see newts, and the very first spring there were frogs and frogspawn. In subsequent years there would be a single strand of toadspawn. Many birds began to visit too, some just for a drink or a dip, but others to find food in or around the water.

spawn-spring-2015-003 — *Figure 2: A little nugget of vegetation smothered in frogspawn!*

The plants grow very vigorously and I thin them out occasionally, and in the autumn I scoop out dead leaves if they start to accumulate, but otherwise the pond is left to its own devices. The water has stayed very clear, the wildlife population has grown steadily, and pond dipping is a great favourite with my grandchildren.

spawn-spring-2015-010 — *Figure 3: A male smooth newt at the bottom of Mary’s pond, perfect for her grandchildren to pond dip in!*

Elsewhere in the garden I made a low retaining wall out of gabions (steel mesh cages) filled with flints collected from the garden, in the hope that these loose stone walls would be of use to hibernating amphibians. On each side of the pond there are densely planted borders, so that there is plenty of cover for any creature climbing out of the water. Behind the formal garden is an area of long grass, cut once or twice a year, and wild hedges and heaps of logs and stones. I occasionally use organic slug pellets, when there is no other way to get vegetable seedlings to survive, and then very sparingly, but I don’t use any other chemicals.

more-toad-spawn-005 — *Figure 4: A pair of toads next to a large quantity of toadspawn*

Which, if any, of these measures are critical I don’t know, but frog and newt numbers increased steadily, with an occasional sighting of a toad. Then in spring 2015 there were suddenly hundreds of toads. A torch was essential for any trip to the garden after dark so you could check each step before you put a foot to the ground. The water was heaving with toads, and in due course every plant stem and every pot had great braids of toadspawn wrapped round it. Then after a couple of weeks the toads vanished, literally overnight. Sometimes I’d see one in a damp spot around some pots, or in a compost heap, or in the long grass, or even occasionally up in the wood behind the garden, but just the odd one or two, never in quantity. Until this spring! The toads returned en masse again to spawn.

spawn-spring-2015-001 — *Figure 5: Many toads crowded round one plant! How many can you spot in there?*

I cannot tell you how much pleasure my wildlife garden brings. My approach is to see a patch of land as one ecosystem, with many different life forms which have evolved together over millennia. I try to support this ecosystem from the ground up, providing food, water and shelter. I try to follow available advice on wildlife gardening, and nature’s example, and there’s certainly a lot of trial and error. Moments of success – as with the toads – are wonderful!

Tips to avoid waste when gardening

May 16, 2014 by admin

Slow Worms can often be found in compost heaps. Photo Nick Meade — Photo Nick Meade

Sometimes saving money and being environmentally conscious go hand in hand. More people are getting into the habit of looking around for cheap electricity deals and are prepared to switch providers than in previous years. We are also becoming more aware of the impact of our lifestyles on energy consumption in the home and beyond. In the home, this translates into energy-saving practices such as turning off lights and appliances when not in use, washing clothes and dishes at lower temperatures and choosing energy efficient models when purchasing new appliances.

We are also becoming more conscious of the waste we throw away. Usually we think about food waste and packaging. There are many ways to reduce food waste, including meal planning and freezing meals, and with excess packaging we can vote with our feet to reward retailers that follow environmentally friendly policies. But what about our garden waste? Many people often think of garden waste as not really waste – after all, it’s all green, isn’t it? Surely it will just compost down somewhere. Green waste is not usually sent to landfill because it decomposes under anaerobic conditions – without oxygen – producing methane, a key contributor to global warming.

baby grass snake, LCB May11 So councils usually encourage people to compost at home where they can, or take it to community recycling and composting schemes. Having a compost heap at home is not only a great way of getting rid of your garden waste but also provides a great habitat for slow worms and grass snakes who enjoy the warmer temperatures generated by the decomposing material.

In some areas green bins are provided, but with more councils starting to charge for green waste collection it can all add to household bills. Nearly a third of councils charge households for green bins, and the costs can be up to around £70. Charges are made to subsidise the cost of collection and composting. In some areas, garden waste can account for around a quarter of household waste, so it’s not an insignificant amount of material to be dealing with.

Wildflower garden Fortunately, there are several areas where we can cut back to reduce the amount of material that ends up in the green bin. It’s understandable to want to tidy up grass cuttings after we’ve mown the lawn, but leaving them can not only save on our green waste but also provide nutrients for your lawn. The clippings will naturally begin to be absorbed after two days or so and the added nutrients will encourage thicker and healthier growth. Alternatively, you could consider a slower growing turf, allowing some areas of grass to grow longer to provide safer areas for wildlife to move through or even getting rid of your lawn completely and converting it to a wild flower meadow which will attract bees and encourage biodiversity.

Weed growth can be controlled by a number of different methods. You could try mulching, where a layer of material such as bark is spread over the top of soil. Pulling up weeds when they’re young is easier and they can just be left on top of the soil to dry out. You can also cut out the light weeds need by growing plants that give good ground cover.

Paying attention to your plants and their life cycles will help to reduce garden waste. Shrubs can typically be pruned just when the branches are young. Prunings can be left in the garden as log piles to act as basking spots, shelter and attract food for reptiles. Putting plants in a place that is appropriate for them will cut back on the maintenance required to keep them in good condition. Choose slow growing species and dwarf and alpine plants that won’t create a lot of new growth. To provide the best amphibian and reptile habitats its’ vital to create a variety of plant heights.

What you can do:
• Find out more about wildlife friendly gardening
• Record sightings of amphibians and reptiles using our Dragon Finder App
• Report dead or diseased wildlife to the Garden Wildlife Health project

To find out how you can sponsor a croak please contact:

Wildlife gardening

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