A lot of people think that going out into the woods is the only way to spot wildlife species every once in a while. But, a wildlife-friendly garden and a handy garden building will help you create your very own spotting den in your back garden.
Follow these easy steps to turn your garden structure, such as a garden shed, into a wildlife-watching room:
1. Create a welcoming space
Before starting to prepare your shed, you have to create a welcoming space for various species.
To do so, plant up a part of your bare ground and create open areas to connect all parts of your garden. This technique will encourage newts, frogs, and invertebrates to move around.
Growing different plant species in your outdoor space will also attract wild animals. You can consider creating glades, flowerbeds, and marshy areas that contain a steady supply of wildflowers to create a cover for your watching room.
2. Grow the right plants
As mentioned above, plants play an important role in attracting wildlife. However, you have to make sure to choose the right species for better chances at inviting wild animals into your garden.
The rule of thumb is to establish a diverse space. It’s because the larger the variety of habitats you create, the more diverse wildlife you can attract. Think about some foliage as well as flowers, including plants of different leaf colours, textures, and shapes.
For example, combining taller bushes and trees in one part of your garden will allow birds and mammals to shelter and nest. Lower flowering plants mixed with uncut grass and wildflowers, on the other hand, will provide food and ground cover for bees, butterflies, and other insects.
You can also opt for fast-growing plants such as sweet-smelling Jasmine or Clematis. They will create a stunning space while growing towards tall grasses and the roof of your garden building.
3. Paint your garden building
To make sure that your garden building blends well with the surroundings, you may want to avoid painting it a bright colour. Instead, make use of earthy tones that will act as camouflage.
If you also want your outdoor structure to complement your planting scheme, painting it with grey and brown hues would be a great idea.
4. Grow vines and climbers
Training vines and climbers around the walls of your garden building is a great way to hide it from wild animals. To do so, you can add some brackets or a wooden lattice that will serve as a support for climbing plants. This technique will also keep your vines looking tidy around the structure.
5. Create a green roof
Another great way to disguise your outdoor structure while attracting wildlife is to create a green roof. You can build a frame over your garden shed or log cabin, for example, that’s around 30cm deep.
You can then line it with a waterproof sheet before adding a moisture blanket and a filter sheet. For your green roof soil, you can combine some clay granules with sand and topsoil.
When it comes to the type of plants, spring-flowering species such as primrose and bluebells would be a great choice. You can then enjoy the sight of caterpillars chewing on your plant leaves and bees and other insects sipping nectar from your green roof flowers!
6. Install a water feature
Top up your wildlife watching room with a steady source of freshwater through a water feature! Placing one near your garden building will help hydrate birds, hedgehogs, and other wild animals, encouraging them to stay. You can consider a birdbath, a waterfall or a small pond for this idea.
Enjoying the beauty of nature does not need to end after leaving a wildlife area since you can create your own watching space. Make sure to purchase the right garden building for this purpose by scrolling through our wide selection of quality sheds, log cabins, and summerhouses!
7. Form an opening and watch wildlife from the inside
Finally, after creating a wildlife garden and camouflaged watching room, you can now enjoy the sight of various species from your garden building! Create an opening such as a window where you can stare or take images of animals visiting your space.
You can place it in a height where you can watch from it standing up or sitting down. If you are really into bird-watching and monitoring different wildlife species, you can also set up a table where you can take down notes and record your observations.
According to Discover Wildlife, the British species you can watch out for during the day include bees, spiders, swifts, chiffchaffs, painted lady butterflies, woodmouse, frogspawn, orange-tip caterpillar. Also, you can look for moths, foxes, newts, and badges during the night.
You are now ready to make wildlife-watching a habit at the comfort of your own garden! Choose from our wide selection of reliable and easy-to-assemble garden sheds, log cabins, and summerhouses for your brand-new wildlife spotting den!