In brief: Create a wildlife-friendly garden for insects and birds by avoiding pesticides, planting native flowers and preserving features such as deadwood hedges and sandy nesting patches. Leave faded perennials standing through winter, and provide nesting aids and year-round food sources such as PRODUCT_23311 or PRODUCT_23369. A messy garden is a living garden.
Wildlife-Friendly Garden in Spring: How Can I Create a Habitat for Insects and Birds?
Spring is the perfect time to turn your garden into a thriving haven for wildlife. A wildlife-friendly garden avoids chemicals, makes room for native plants and gives animals places to shelter. You can get started with a few simple, effective steps.
Avoid pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. They disrupt the delicate balance of the soil and can poison the food chain. Instead, use compost and mulch made from your own garden clippings.
Start by taking stock of your garden. Which areas are sunny, and which are shady? Where do leaves collect? These natural conditions will help you choose the right plants and garden features.
Expert tip
Keep a simple garden journal. Record flowering times, bird species and the insects you spot. Over time, it will show you how your wildlife-friendly garden is developing and where you might want to make changes.
The Soil: The Foundation of All Life
Healthy, living soil is the foundation of a thriving garden. Earthworms, springtails and fungi loosen the soil and make nutrients available to plants. Disturb this microscopic ecosystem as little as possible.
Avoid digging deeply. It damages soil layers and tunnels. Work compost into just the surface layer, or leave it on top as mulch. This helps keep the soil from drying out and suppresses weeds.
Simply leave one corner of your garden undisturbed. A pile of old leaves, branches and faded stems can become a valuable winter shelter and nursery for countless small creatures.
How Can I Create an Insect-Friendly Garden?
Insects need two things: food and shelter. Flowers rich in pollen and nectar provide food, while undisturbed corners and well-placed nesting aids provide shelter.
Choose plants with single, open blooms. Double flowers may look spectacular, but they often provide little or no nectar or pollen. Classic choices include bellflowers, viper's bugloss, oregano and sedum.
Make sure something is blooming from early spring through late fall. Start with bulbs such as winter aconites and wild tulips, then plant perennials such as columbines and scabious. Finish the season with fall asters and ivy, which blooms in September.
“A garden without insects is like a lake without fish. They are essential pollinators and the primary food source for birds, hedgehogs and bats. Every bloom counts.”
Don’t overlook so-called “weeds.” Ground ivy, daisies and dandelions are valuable early-season food sources. A small patch of wild herbs or an unmown area can make a big difference.
Create Structure: More Than Just an Insect Hotel
Nesting aids are useful, but natural features are even better. Leave the pithy stems of blackberry, mullein or elderberry in place. Many solitary bees nest in them.
A sunny patch of bare ground without vegetation gives ground-nesting solitary bees a place to nest. A sandy, nutrient-poor patch is all they need. Keep it clear of foot traffic.
A pile of branches and logs makes a first-class wildlife hotel. Beetles, solitary bees, lacewings and earwigs can find shelter there. Fungi break down the wood and help create new life.
Important note
Choose insect hotels with cleanly drilled holes in hardwood or inserts made from reed and pithy stems. Roughly drilled holes with ragged edges can injure insects’ wings. Find a good model in our insect hotels category.
Why Is My Garden So Important for Birds in Spring?
In spring, birds begin nesting. They need protein-rich food for themselves and their young, safe nesting sites and materials to build their nests. Your garden can provide all of these.
Native shrubs and trees are the best choice. They attract the caterpillars and insects that tits, robins and sparrows feed to their young. Rowan, hawthorn and bird cherry trees are excellent sources of food.
Dense hedges made from hornbeam, hazel or wild rose offer great protection from cats and sparrowhawks. Avoid trimming hedges in spring and summer so you don’t disturb nesting birds.
Provide nesting materials. Hang scraps of wool, animal hair or short lengths of sisal in a wire basket. Avoid synthetic fibers. You can also leave some leaves and small twigs on the ground.
Additional tip
Place a shallow water bowl in a spot where birds can see their surroundings. They can drink and bathe in it. Clean the bowl every day to help prevent the spread of disease. In winter, switch to a frost-proof bird waterer.
Feed Birds the Right Food at the Right Time
Experts now recommend feeding birds year-round, especially in areas with intensive farming and little natural habitat. Food quality is particularly important in spring and summer.
Offer protein-rich food for softbills. Shelled bird food with plenty of dried insects, such as mealworms, is ideal. Our
or the are perfect for this.
Peanuts are an excellent source of energy. The
are a practical way to offer them. Choose good-quality products to help prevent mold. Find more options in our bird food range.
Place bird feeders where birds can approach easily but cats can’t reach them. Clean feeding stations regularly with hot water.
“The key to creating a bird-friendly garden is letting nature take its course. Leave the thistles standing, leave the leaves on the ground and let one corner grow wild. This untidiness creates the life that attracts birds.”
What practical work needs to be done in spring?
A wildlife-friendly garden calls for a different approach to maintenance. Do less, but be more selective. Use sharp, gentle tools such as the
.
Cut back perennials only after they have completely dried out and are no longer home to insects. This often doesn’t happen until late spring. Cut the stems at different heights to continue providing nesting sites.
Don’t scarify or fertilize your entire lawn. Leave clover, daisies, and speedwell in place—they provide food for bees. Mow less often and never cut the grass shorter than five centimeters. Or turn parts of your lawn into wildflower meadows.
Plant new plants. Dig a generous planting hole, mix compost into the soil, and water thoroughly. A layer of mulch made from shredded garden clippings helps retain moisture.
Choosing plants: native species are essential
Exotic ornamental plants are often of little use to local insect populations. Choose native species instead. They’re adapted to the climate and soil and are easy to care for.
For sunny locations, choose meadow sage, scabious, betony, and maiden pink. For partial shade, try goat’s beard, wild teasel, and hedge woundwort. For damp soil, plant purple loosestrife and yellow flag iris.
Don’t forget trees and shrubs. Sea buckthorn provides berries for birds, while its flowers feed insects. Cornelian cherry blooms very early and is an important food source for bees.
Find everything you need for planting and care in our extensive garden and plant accessories category.
From theory to practice: your action plan
Start small. Create a one-square-meter bed for insects or plant a native shrub. Every step counts.
Observe. Take time to sit in the garden with a cup of coffee. See which visitors arrive, then adapt your approach accordingly.
Connect with others. Ask garden centers about native perennials. Swap seeds with your neighbors. Find inspiration in parks with natural areas.
Be patient. A wildlife-friendly garden develops over many years. It will never be “finished,” and that’s part of its appeal. It’s a dynamic, living system.
With the right tools from our garden tools range and high-quality food such as the
you can give your garden and its wildlife the perfect start to the season.
Frequently asked questions
- Which plants are especially good for insects in spring?
- Choose native perennials and shrubs that bloom early. Snowdrops, crocuses, pussy willow, and lungwort provide the first food from February/March. Later, ground ivy, cuckooflower, and single flowers on ornamental cherry trees bloom. A succession of flowers from spring through fall is important.
- How can I make my garden bird-friendly with little effort?
- Leave fallen leaves and old plant material in one corner to provide shelter and food for insects that birds eat. Plant dense native hedges, such as hornbeam or blackthorn, for nesting sites. Set out a shallow dish of water and offer high-quality food such as PRODUCT_23316 year-round.
- Can I do any spring cleanup in my garden?
- Yes, but do it selectively and later in the season. Start tidying only when temperatures stay consistently above 10 degrees and there’s no longer a risk of nighttime frost. Leave faded perennial stems, such as coneflowers and thistles, standing—they provide winter shelter for insects and food for birds.
- Do I really need an insect hotel?
- A well-designed insect hotel from our Insect Hotels category can be useful, but it can’t replace natural features. Sunny, open patches of soil, deadwood piles, and pithy stems are more valuable. The hotel should be clean, dry, and securely mounted.
- What bird food is suitable in spring and summer?
- In spring and summer, birds need protein-rich food to raise their young. Shell-free, soft food containing dried insects such as mealworms is ideal. PRODUCT_23311 or PRODUCT_24281 are perfect. Avoid large, hard grains, which could cause young birds to choke.
You may also be interested in
- Spring gardening: How to get the season off to a perfect start
- Insect-friendly garden: How to create a habitat for beneficial insects
- Supporting wild bees and insects: How to make your garden and balcony insect-friendly
- Spring flowers in the garden: A colorful start to the year
- Encouraging garden birds: Nesting sites and food
- Garden for biodiversity: Supporting insects and a wealth of flowers