Planning A Wildlife Garden That is Fun For Kids, Too

A wildlife garden can be extremely rewarding for adults and children alike, but the impacts of a wildlife garden can be much broader than family enjoyment. Many of us are more aware of Climate Change and biodiversity loss and research evidences that what we do in our gardens can make an enormous difference in mitigating both those issues. But how do we ensure we develop a wildlife garden thats fun for kids, too?

Without further ado, let us look at how you can plan a wildlife garden that is fun for kids and adults.  Here are some valuable tips to help jump-start the process.

Start planning your wildlife garden

 Whatever size your garden is, you can include wildlife-friendly planting even if that extends to just a few pots planted with pollinator-friendly flowers. But first, especially if you are starting from scratch, it is worth doing a to-scale plan of your garden to ensure you have included all the elements respective members of the family would like.

When deciding the best way to move forward, getting your children excited in the process is necessary. You should sit with your children, explain the reasons for starting a wildlife garden and how it will benefit everyone. and they will invariably be curious and start taking an interest early.

It is best to involve them in the planning stage, and ask them which wildflowers they like, which should go where, how to plant and water them, etc. Creating curiosity and interest will help children contribute positively in the long term.

You will no doubt want to spend as much time in your garden socially as you can, so consider different seating areas in sun and shade. And perhaps you all love a BBQ? Where will that go with appropriate dining areas? And do you want to have an area for growing your own food? A wildlife garden and growing your own are extremely complementary aspects of gardening.

Does anyone need specific areas for meditating, fitness equipment, or any other special hobbies and interests?

And of course, there needs to be ample space for the kids and that will vary according to ages and other facilities you have close by. Most people do not want their garden used as a football pitch, but a basketball net can be fun and quite unobtrusive. Do the kids need slides, or is there a nice park nearby? If you have ever watched Alan Titchmarsh and his team in Love Your Garden, they frequently include fun areas for kids that do not take up a great deal of room.

And do you want a lawn, or do you want to maximise on the size of borders and other important family areas? Is a lawn necessary? Or perhaps that is a key area for the children (and adults!) to put up tents, play gentle ball games, and use for bigger occasions? For example, If you are planning a children’s birthday party to be hosted in your back garden you might be thinking of hiring a bouncy castle in Essex in which case you’ll definitely need to ensure you have a big enough lawn.

Wildlife-friendly trees

Once you know what areas are available for wildlife planting, it’s time to start getting the structure in place and there is no better way than to start with a few trees. People often think small gardens are not suitable for trees, but that really is not the case. There are many wildlife-friendly trees suitable for small gardens such as Rowan, Holly, Crab Apple, Alder Buckthorn, Amelanchier and Silver Birch. But do beware: as with plants, there are many different varieties of trees. So, for example, you could get a dwarf  Silver Birch ‘Magical Globe’ that will only grow to 3 metres high and 1.5 metres wide in 20 years, which can even be grown in a large pot, or the Silver Birch Jacquermontii ‘Jermyns’ which will grow to 10 metres and  5 metres across. Because of these differences, although we are huge supporters of local garden centres, you are probably better off purchasing trees from an online specialist that can offer a good ranch and provide plenty of information to help ensure you make the right choice.

By choosing the right sort of trees, you will attract different bees and birds into the garden and, of course, trees are great for capturing CO2. Get your children involved right from the beginning by teaching them about the benefits of trees and the different wildlife distinct species attract. They will love the entire process of choosing and planting a tree , understanding how big it will grow, watching the buds turn to blossom, then flowers, berries in the autumn and the beautiful autumnal colours as the leaves turn to shades of red and orange and then drop. They will be able to hear bees humming as they busily go about their work and see birds hopping from branch to branch, and they may see a nest or two.

The next layer to consider is climbers, shrubs, and herbaceous plants to provide food and shelter. Growing a good variety helps provide various habitats for different creatures throughout the year. There are so many to choose from, but below are just a few of the best options. But there is a straightforward way to check when if plants are good for wildlife: if the label shows the RHS pollinator logo, you know you are making an excellent choice.

Wildlife-friendly climbers

 Dog rose (Rosa canina) can be a climber or a shrub. The pale pink flowers attract an abundance of insects including bees and red hips in autumn attract birds including the greenfinch.

Honeysuckle which is suitable for semi-shady areas, is sweetly perfumed and attracts butterflies and moths including the night-flying elephant hawkmoth. Red berries in the autumn attract birds and small mammals.

Ivy, also suitable for shady areas, is evergreen and provides a year-round habitat with food for birds, bees, butterflies, and caterpillars.

Blackberry is a fast-growing climber which is normally very thorny, although there are thornless varieties available. Your children will love carefully picking the juicy black fruits – if the birds do not eat them first!

Wildlife-friendly shrubs and herbaceous plants

 J.Parkers helpfully lists 10 specific wildlife shrubs:

• Pyracantha
• Viburnum
• Honeysuckle
• Buddleia (commonly known as the butterfly bush – need we say more?)
• Weigela
• Sarcococca
• Erysimum
• Clethra
• Syringa
• Gaura

The following herbaceous plants will bring a host of wildlife into your garden. They all love a warm sunny patch:

• Salvia of almost any variety
• Verbena bonariensis which will elegantly wave above the rest of your planting
• Bronze fennel
• Geranium, particularly light blue flowered varieties
• Nepeta
• Allium
• Thyme
• Lavender

Once you have planted the key structural planting, there are looks of other things to consider that will all be great fun for the kids.

Water

Water is an essential element of any wildlife-friendly garden and will be appreciated by so many creatures. Some of them will live part of their lives in the water, some will just stop by for a drink, and dragonflies like to lay their eggs on pond plants.

Ideally, if you have the space and can make it child-friendly, a proper pond is the best option. However,  you can turn a host of items into a miniature container pond. An old sink, a half barrel, plastic sandpit or a recycling box could all work well. The RHS shows how you can make a ‘pond in a pot in six steps.’

This is a great weekend project to get the kids involved with, and they will be fascinated how quickly creatures find the water.

Watering Holes For The Busy Bees

Most children learn about bees at school including the impact that bees have on nature. If your child does not see the importance yet, it is best to explain how bees affect and support the natural environment and why it is necessary to create a watering hole for them.

While explaining, you should also explain to your children that bees are incredibly hardworking, and just like all people, they need a drink of water too. Since bees need shallow water areas for drinking water, you should teach your child how to refill the water and place the watering hole for the bees (near flowering plants).

If you prefer not to plant a pond, as an absolute minimum, and/or as an addition to a pond, do place large plant saucers filled with pebbles and water for or sorts or creatures including bees to have a drink.

Long grass

Even if you prefer to keep a beautifully moved lawn, do try to keep at least one area of grass long as it acts like a mini jungle for beetles, caterpillars, moths, butterflies, grasshoppers, birds, bats and more…!

If you can, a patch of nettles is also an excellent source of food for pollinators, but it needs to be tucked away and the kids need to understand it’s great for wildlife – but not so great for them!

Build some homes!

 Kids will love building homes for creatures from a bug hotel, a hedgehog house, a bumblebee nest, bird nest boxes and so many more. Even a log pile is fantastic for a universe of creatures that come out of a night-time. Frogs, newts, millipedes, beetles, and other creatures all love to hide in a log pile.

Most children are naturally creative, and they will love coming up with innovative ideas for building homes for the creatures the wildlife they want to attract.

Building these homes is one of the best ways of making a wildlife garden thats fun for kids and great for wildlife.

Butterfly And Moth Nectar Feeders

Since butterflies and moths need the nectar and sugar rush in summer and spring to help them find a partner and lay eggs, so do teach your children the importance of leaving the correct sweet treats for butterfly and moth friends.

To make a nectar feeder, ask your child to source a small tray or shallow plate. You should cut a thin sponge covering the shallow end and stick it to the dish with a bit of glue. Once done, you should ask your children to make a sugar and water solution and pour it on the sponge.

And did you know butterflies and moths love ripe bananas? Either mash them and leave pieces on a bird table or make a few slits in the skin of a whole overripe banana and hang it on a tree. The butterflies will flock to them!

Bird Bath And Feeders

 Birdbaths and bird feeders attract various species of birds. If you want to start teaching your children about the distinct types of native birds, their calls, sounds, food habits, and more, adding birdbaths and bird feeders throughout the wildlife garden. Since birds eat nuts, birdseed, and other similar foods, you should teach your children how to ensure the feeders are always filled and the water in the birdbath is fresh and feeders are cleaned regularly.

As your children start seeing the birds up close each day, they will begin identifying different birds based on their mating calls, feeding habits, and food habits.

Flowers

Not of course forgetting the abundance of beautiful bulbs and flowers you can choose to add impact to your garden, fill your house with colour and scent, and attract creatures throughout the year. Look for the pollinator logo and you will have a fantastic selection to choose from. You can also find wildflower pollinator mixes to plant your own mini meadow.

Conclusion

Well, we have spent some time talking about preparing your garden and getting the children involved in that process, but just imagine how much they can learn as they watch the wildlife coming into the garden and what fun they will have watching the creatures enjoy the garden you have built with them in mind!

A wildlife garden CAN be fun for kids. In fact, they’ll probably have so much for fun in this type of garden than any other!

As the seasons change, kids can learn about the life cycles of different animals and plants, which will add value to their overall education, humanity, and growth.

It is a great idea to teach your kids about the food chain and its imbalance effects. A wildlife garden and the care and maintenance will teach the kids about waste management, recycling, and reuse of resources. Research shows that children who learn how to care for the environment and its natural habitat grow up to become eco-conscious global citizens who affect change and take care of their natural surroundings. Children of all ages, adults and senior citizens can come together to create a beautiful wildlife garden while spending quality time together and learning about preservation.

We hope you and your kids all have lots of fun in your new wildlife garden!