Autumn gardening - Wildlife

You may not know it, but your garden in autumn is a bit like Heathrow airport! The search for a reliable food supply and/or a safe place to spend the winter months means wild animals are currently on the move and if your garden offers nectar, fruit and berries, or protection from the worst of the weather, expect a wide variety of visitors. And you may find you have unexpected plant visitors too!

Some fungi grow exclusively in ancient woodlands, but there are many species that can be found in garden habitats, especially organic gardens where people rely on natural composts and mulches, tolerate decay (ie don't remove all wood and trimmings) and avoid the use of fungicides which - quite obviously - wipe out fungus! Identifying the toadstools that pop up in your lawn and borders can be fun, some will be very beautiful, and others may be quite rare. Fungi are a sign of a good natural balance in the garden, so while you get ready for winter see if you can allow twigs and logs, flower stems and fallen leaves to provide hibernation habitats as they slowly decompose. It's not just for hedgehogs - toads, frogs and many insects need a quiet winter location.

Birds strip the berries from many shrubs and trees and chopped apples and pears thrown onto your lawn may bring you rare visitors from the finch and tit families. Global warming means our weather patterns are changing, so over-wintering pollinating insects must deal with wake-up calls late into the autumn, and very early in the spring. If you offer supplies of nectar at these periods it helps keep their energy levels high, Colourful annuals such as marigold will keep producing blooms until you let them run to seed, or a hard frost kills them and many European native plants will flower quite naturally long into the autumn. A visit to the garden centre is an easy way to choose varieties of Michaelmas daisies, heathers and other species that will benefit late season butterflies and bees. Forget-me-nots and honesty will often colonise from naturally dispersed seed, and wallflowers guarantee a spring garden filled with perfume and pollinators when the winter ends. Don't forget shrubs that flower too - mahonia, viburnam, and other early spring flowering plants are often visited by bees as late as December and as early as February.

Autumn wildlife gardening photograph by ndrwfgg, used under a creative commons attribution licence