Overview

Maintaining a garden, while aiming to be wildlife friendly, comes with a different set of challenges, and this course provides the guidance to help you make informed decisions. I explain the techniques available to manage a garden with the minimum impact on other wildlife. It's a contentious issue, of where to draw the line on keeping a garden as we would like to see it, and leaving it to become an untamed wilderness. I'll explain the impacts of chemical controls, and why wildlife friendly gardeners should aim to use the other options that I identify.There are plenty of beneficial animals found in gardens, that aid the gardener, keeping other more problematic ones in check. So I will identify those, along with plenty of plants that are also very useful that don't have the recognition they deserve. One technique that can be effective in minimising the impact of some animals (usually invertebrates), is using companion planting. This involves using plants to mask, distract or attract those invertebrates away from plants that you don't want damaging (often vegetables and fruit). I'll discuss the benefits, and identify planting options to consider for your garden. I'll also highlight some specific problem plants and animals, that can cause headaches for many gardeners. I'll explain the options to tackle them.I'll end this course, with a look at ways to reduce your garden maintenance time, with plenty of tips on how to remove or reduce certain chores. Throughout this course, I will pepper it with deep dives on various garden animals, looking at their lifecycles, diet and threats. In line with this course being about maintenance, I will focus on animals that don't have the greatest reputations amongst traditional gardeners. I'll look at:- Common Garden Snail- Cranefly- Vine Weevil- Money Spider- Black Ant- Common Earthworm- WoodpigeonIf you enjoy watching wildlife in your garden, this course provides the guidance to support wildlife, whilst maintaining the garden you want to look at.

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