The Universe 5th August 2016

u • GARDEN 02 FRIDAY 05.08.16
Create a hedgehog haven
In the last decade, hedgehog numbers
have gone down by 30 per cent
due to a variety of factors including
habitat loss and changes in farming
techniques, according to The Wildlife
Trusts, which estimates there may be
less than a million left in the UK.
Many worms, beetles, slugs, caterpillars
and millipedes – which form
the hedgehog’s natural diet – have
been killed off by chemical treatments
and intensive farming methods. Badgers
also compete for the same food.
A recent wildlife survey by the
RSPB found that the number of people
who have never seen a hedgehog
in their garden rose to 24 per cent
Best of the bunch –
Crocosmia
u
garden
By Hannah Stephenson
last year. And as hedgerows and the
countryside, which forms their natural
habitat, dwindles, so the garden
becomes even more important as a
hedgehog haven.
So what can we do to save this
prickly garden favourite?
The Wildlife Trusts advises:
These stunning South African perennials with
their sword-like leaves and spikes of sizzling
flowers in brilliant yellows, oranges and hot reds
look fantastic in the late summer garden alongside
other showstoppers including heleniums and asters.
They’re pretty easy to grow – just plant the corms in spring,
keep them well watered for the first two years and they should do well.
They naturalise quickly, however, and some can be invasive, so you may have
to lift and divide them regularly to avoid them taking over a border.
They prefer full sun and damp soil. Good varieties include C. ‘Severn Sunrise’,
which produces a compact, upright blaze of orange flowers, C. x crocosmiiflora
‘Solfatare’ produces vibrant yellow blooms, while C. ‘Lucifer’ is an impressive
1.2m type which bears vibrant red flowers, although you may need to support
them to stop them flopping.
Good enough to eat – Spring onions
These little fiery rockets of flavour can add heat to
salads, dips, salsas and stir-fries and are really easy
to grow. Sow a short row every three to four weeks
from spring to mid-summer, thin them to 2.5cm (1in)
apart, allowing 15cm (6in) between rows. Keep them
watered in dry spells, weed regularly and make
sure the soil is kept evenly moist when growing.
You can use the thinnings of spring onions as you
would chives, then pull alternate plants as baby spring
onions. Those left to grow can be used as mild onions.
Varieties worth trying include ‘North Holland Blood Red’ and ‘White Lisbon’.
Create hedgehog highways
They need plenty of access to search
for food, nesting sites and mates. Cut
a 13cm-squared hole in your fence or
dig a channel under garden boundaries
to allow them to wander and get
your neighbours to do the same.
Provide nesting sites
Log and leaf piles, wilderness areas
and purpose-built hedgehog homes
are ideal places for hedgehogs to nest
and hibernate. Fallen leaves make the
perfect nesting material, so don’t clear
all of these away in autumn. Pile them
in quiet, undisturbed corners of your
garden to allow hedgehogs a safe, secure
area to breed and hibernate.
Avoid slug pellets
Hedgehogs hoover up more than 100
invertebrates such as snails, slugs and
worms every night, so no need to use
slug pellets.
Cover drains and gullies
Hedgehogs have poor eyesight, but
are quite curious, meaning they fall
into holes and get stuck, so cover up
any open drains and gullies. If you
What to do this week
1. Replace strawberry beds which
are more than three years old
once the crop has been harvested,
as output will go into decline
2. Take cuttings of rock plants such
as aubrieta, alyssum, phlox,
thyme and dianthus
3. Feed trees and shrubs that are
performing badly with a high
nitrogen liquid fertiliser
Cut culinary herbs and dry or
freeze to use later in the year
4. Pinch out any weak shoots of
large-flowered dahlias
5. Top up garden pools to replace
water through lost evaporation
have a pond, make sure you provide
an access point so hedgehogs can
climb back out – create a slope with
stones or other material.
Grow a wide variety of plants
Attract plenty of natural hedgehog food
by keeping your garden diverse with a
wide variety of habitats. Mulching beds
with garden compost will encourage
earthworms, woodlice and beetles as it
begins to rot down, while wood piles
encourage a rich feast of earwigs, centipedes
and woodlice. Let your grass
grow a little wild and leave some leaf litter
– both are important homes for the
hedgehog’s prey including ground beetles
and leatherjackets.
Check bonfires
Every year, hedgehogs die under bonfire
piles that have not been checked
before being lit. The British Hedgehog
Preservation Society advises avoiding
building your bonfire until the day it is
going to be lit to reduce the chances of
hedgehogs hibernating in the bonfire
pile. Always build your bonfire on clear
ground (not on top of leaf litter) and
check for hedgehogs before lighting.
6. Start to think about your bulb
requirements for spring bedding,
with a view to ordering early
7. Save a few new potatoes to
plant for a fresh crop at
Christmas. Expose them to light
for a few days until they become
green all over, then plant in a
container so protection can be
given when the weather turns cold
8. Feed tomato plants regularly
9. Make sure leafy veg such as
lettuces and spinach, as well
as fruiting crops such as
tomatoes and marrows, have
sufficient water