Backyard biodiversity: How to attract wildlife in your garden

Busy bees, beautiful butterflies and song-filled birds seek out natural landscapes full of food and nesting areas. If you want to be surrounded by bustling wildlife at home, you can turn your garden into the ideal spot for these precious creatures. One that is full of all the resources they need. Are you ready to increase the biodiversity in your garden? If so, let’s get to work! (Explore Hadeco bulbs and more online.)

6 ways to encourage garden biodiversity:

1. Choose indigenous plants

Planting native varieties of flower bulbs and shrubs will attract local insect and animal life to your garden. Gorgeous South African varieties like Crinum moorei - Natal Lily, Crinum macowanii - Veld Lily, and Tulbaghia simmleri are loved by birds, bees and other pollinators. The colourful blooms will also elevate your overall garden design, adding pops of colour among the greenery. Click here to explore Hadeco’s full range of indigenous summer bulbs.

2. Create a bee habitat

Honey bees play an important role in flower pollination, ensuring that plant species germinate and grow for seasons to come. A great way to encourage bees to take residence in your garden is to create a bee sanctuary. Hollowed out logs and tree stumps, for example, make great nesting areas for bees. So, don’t toss that garden refuge! Repurpose it in an aesthetically pleasing and useful way so bees feel right at home. (If you need tools for the job, you know where to click.)

3. Add a pond

Want to attract beneficial garden insects overnight? Add a pond to your backyard. The watery habitat will invite dragonflies, water beetles and pond skaters – provided you resist introducing fish! We recommend adding some water-loving flower bulbs to the banks of your new pond to tie it together with the rest of your garden. Zantedeschia from the Araceae family, for example, could work very nicely. Browse our selection online.

4. Plant flowers that butterflies love

It is a well-known fact that butterflies are drawn to wildflowers, and as we discussed earlier, indigenous flower bulbs are a great way to attract wildlife and encourage garden biodiversity. If you want a garden bursting with beautiful butterflies, select flower bulbs that are both indigenous and butterfly-friendly, like Clivia miniata - Bush Lily and Gladioli.

5. Grow a hedge

When it’s mating season, birds make nests for their young – we’re sure you’re familiar with the little fortifications! If you want local birds to set up camp in your garden, grow a hedge. Not only do hedges provide shelter and support for nests, but they can give your outdoor space extra greenery (and added appeal). If you’re growing hedges in your garden, care for them with Pokon Box Tree & Hedges Fertiliser.

6. Set up bird feeders and baths

Keeping your little feathered friends fed and bathed will also encourage backyard biodiversity. So, pop a bird feeder or two in accessible areas of your garden along with a birdbath to attract abundant birdlife (and establish permanent residents!). As an idea, something like this could work well as a birdbath or seed holder.

Is your garden brimming with biodiversity?

Creating an outdoor space that is rich in biodiversity can be a rewarding experience for you and your garden. Stock up on flower bulbs, plant care products and garden accessories from Hadeco, and begin your affair with the marvellous creatures of the earth.