“We’ve built the Hilton of bug hotels!”
Grainne and Richard Jakobson have created habitats for visitors large and small
“THE MOST EXCITING CREATURE in our garden has got to be our red squirrels,” says Grainne Jakobson. “We’re very lucky because they’re an endangered species, currently battling it out with the non-native greys, which can outcompete them for food and spread the deadly squirrel pox virus.
“Reds are managing to hang on in small pockets of Cumbria. We have feeders for them that we restock two or three times a day, and have taken out a small mortgage to keep them in hazelnuts!
“‘We have opened our garden for the NGS for the last eight years. It’s a wonderful charity and whatever the size of the gardens, they’re always full of ideas and inspiration. In our own garden we have small woodland and meadow areas, a wildlife pond and some rough grassland where we let nettles grow as a caterpillar food plant.
“One idea that always draws in the pollinators is to leave a large circle of grass unmown in the centre of the lawn. It’s easy and cheap to do – ours is full of buttercups, clover and bugle and we mow around the edge so it looks more intentional. I’ve added oxeye daisies, ragged robin and vetches as plug plants, and fritillary bulbs for spring. We scythe the area in August, run the mower over, then use a metal rake to really scratch the surface to set back the coarse grasses. We’re adding yellow rattle next spring, too.
“Our bug hotel is huge – it’s 4ft high. The Hilton of insect hotels! Lots of little creatures live in it – ladybirds, craneflies and aphids. We also leave twigs and decaying logs around the garden and keep piles of compost and leafmould. It’s important not to be too tidy!
“You don’t need a large wildlife pond to attract birds and frogs – the main thing is not to put fish in it. Ours is only modest in size; we also have a bucket pond as well as a dustbin lid sunk into the ground with a stone in the middle so creatures don’t get stranded. “We’re completely organic here and I use eggshells as a barrier around my lettuce seedlings. I have lots of them from baking for our NGS open days! “Lockdown reminded us how lucky we are to have such a lovely garden. I’m on the Cumbria NGS team, and many of our garden owners spent so much time in their gardens that they’ve never looked better...” ✿