Build a Simple Bird Box....

Hello All,

Unfortunately the weather still hasn't improved and any thoughts of gardening have been dismissed due to the completely water logged conditions here. The fields to the rear of my garden have been under water many times this year but have been submerged completely for the last two weeks now!! Health wise I have been suffering with my hip and back again so in some ways the boggy conditions have probably been at the right time to allow me the rest and relaxation that I'm not usually very good at!!!

Despite being house bound my mind tends to be on the garden and of course the wildlife that I have now become so accustomed to seeing in the garden. The birds have been absent for some time as they have been going through the Autumn moult and of course the wet ground makes worming so much easier for them! For a second year the hedges are laden with berries so unless we get a real cold snap I expect numbers to be 'reserved' again! Having said this I have noticed a slight increase on the feeders so it pays to keep them topped up with fresh grub so  they know that a ready supply is always available in 'Higgy's' garden!!

Thinking of the birds made me realise that now is the perfect time to be making and cleaning bird boxes. Getting clean boxes in place now gives prospective 'tenants' the opportunity to picking the right box ready for the Spring breeding season. If we do happen to get a harsh winter the boxes also serve as a warm place for birds to roost, it isn't unusual for several birds such as bluetits to sleep in the same box huddled together to reserve heat and get through an icy night or two!

So with the above in mind I've dug out my old bird box plan and thought that I'd share it on here for anyone who is interested in making their own simple bird box....

The first thing to think about is the type of wood that you need to use. I favour rough cut and untreated wood as the roughness will help chicks climb out when they fledge and being untreated there is no chance of any nasty chemicals leaching out and harming the birds who will peck at the box to mark their territory and make themselves at home!....

The picture above shows the the wood required for this simple box. Generally I find 15mm-20mm thick wood about the right thickness as it makes a box that is sturdy but not to heavy. Please see below for my size guide....

•  Back Panel - 120mm wide x 250mm high
• Side Panels -  120mm wide x 250mm high at rear cut at an angle to 200mm at the front
• Front Panel -  120mm wide x 200mm high
• Floor Panel -  120mm x 120mm
• Roof Panel -   140mm x 160mm

• To make the box you will need a hammer, water based wood glue, 50mm long nails, galvanised large head roofing tacks, shed felt or preferably 1mm thick rubber pond liner, galvanised wire or hanging fixings and water based wood preserver in your choice of colour.

Now that you have your wood cut and everything that you need, start by fixing together the sides, back and front but include the base at this stage to ensure you get the box nice a square....

I use 50mm long nails to fix the panels together however I also use a thin bead of water based wood glue on each edge to add extra strength. To minimise risk of contact with birds using the box I only use glue on the outer edge which prevents seepage into the inside of the box.

A good tip for this stage of construction is to put the box together using just two nails on each side but don't hammer them all the way in yet as you may need to remove them and adjust if the box isn't quite square!....

Once that you have all four sides and the base in place and you are happy that the box is square you can hammer home the nails and add a couple more in each side to add extra strength. At this stage wipe of any excess glue and make sure that there is no residue inside the box.

Next take your roof section and lay it on top of some 1mm thick rubber pond liner or similar waterproof material...

Cut the liner so that you have enough to cover the front and side edges of the lid but leave at least 70mm off the back edge....

Fix the liner in place by pulling it tight over the edges and securing using galvanised roofing tacks. At this stage don't fix the liner over the rear edge.... 

Pull the liner towrds the back of the lid so that it's tight and secure with tacks along the top face as shown below. You can now trim off the excess liner from the front and side edges so that it is neat....

Place the lid on top of the box so that there is an small even overhang on the front and sides and fix it to the box by tacking the loose piece of liner to the rear of the box. This will hold it in place and act as a hinge when opening the box. In the picture below you will notice that I have actually used two pieces of Rubber to add extra strength....

Finally tip the box upside down and drill a couple of drainage holes in the bottom to keep it dry!

Hole Sizes....

It is your choice if you choose to drill the hole at this stage or prior to the box construction. There are however a few things to consider before reaching for the drill. To prevent predators such as cats and squirrels reaching in and 'hooking' out chicks the hole must be a minimum of 125mm from the base of the box. Your next consideration is what type of bird you actually want to attract to the box as different species prefer certain hole sizes! To help you decide I have included a list of species to hole size....

• Blue Tit            -  25mm
• Marsh Tit         -  25mm
• Great Tit           - 28mm
• House Sparrow - 32mm
• Tree Sparrow   - 28mm 
• Coal Tit            - 25mm
• Starling             - 45mm
• Pied Flycatcher - 28mm
• Nuthatch          - 32mm
• Redstart           - 32mm

Once your hole is drilled it's worth just slightly 'roughening' inside the box just below the hole as this will give young birds something to help them grip and get up to the hole.

And that's the construction finished!...

Now just choose your colour! Note that I have left the inside of the hole unpainted as although using water based paint I know that occupying birds will generally peck around the hole so I like to make sure that there is as little opportunity as possible for them to come into contact with it.....

You will also need to consider how you fix your box up but this will depend on what you are actually hanging it on. I don't have space to show different fixings but generally I use the galvanised wire and a couple of screws and then adapt it to whatever surface I'm securing it to. You might also want to consider a hook on each side to hold the lid down and prevent squirrels from opening it up to get at the eggs or chicks. Once again there are several options from home made with wire and a screw, to shop bought hooks & eyes, the choice is yours!!...

Locating Your Bird Box....

For the best results generally facing your box in a North-east direction seems to be the most favourable position, however more importantly you want it sited where it is out of direct sunlight and sheltered from prevailing winds and rain. Also consider how easy the location is for a predator to access the box? Putting the box between 2mtrs & 5mtrs high and away from climbable structures will keep it's occupants safe from harm. Generally boxes potentially used by the same species should be situated a reasonable distance away from each other to avoid territory deputes. Distance between boxes used by different species such as Blue Tit and House Sparrows for example isn't so crucial, so if you are limited for space and want more than one box erect boxes for different species where possible. It is a good idea to avoid situating a box near a feeding station as the constant disruption of other birds feeding is likely to prevent the box from being used.

Well that's about it for now folks! I hope that this has inspired you to consider your feathered visitors this winter and of course provide a place for you to enjoy them coming and going also! Sited in the right location and viewable from inside the house can be a thrill when you realise the box is occupied and all your hard work has paid off!....

Please do send me your comments and questions as I will always answer any correspondence that I receive!

Cheers

Higgy  

     

Jungle Seating Area, New Species Success & Late Season Pollinators...oh and more Rain!!

Wow, what a dreadful summer we've had weather wise! I have never seen so much rain as we have had this year and to think that we were in drought back in spring!! I suppose the wet weather does focus your mind on the handful of jobs that can still be done in the garden doesn't it!?

As regular readers will already be aware we are situated on the edge of 'Wetland Grazing Marsh' which is 'boggy' at the best of times!! This summer has been a challenge as even on dry days the ground is still saturated, simply walking across the lawn is met with a 'squelch' and sight of water as the ground releases it like a sponge!

I honestly wondered and doubted how my wild flower lawn and perennial pollinator borders would survive being stood in constant wet soil but much to my surprise they seem to have done really well. I have tried to be a little more considerate in my planting by ensuring new plants have a good layer grit in the bottom of the planting hole to offer a little help with drainage round the roots. This year I have also done a little more plant maintenance and dead-heading, which appears to have really helped and combined with the wet seems to have made strong healthy plants. One example of this are my Corn Marigolds which are corn field annuals but I have managed to keep them in flower since May. This has had a knock on effect of lots of visiting pollinators including several new species which I will cover in more detail later on!

So before we talk about the wild life I'm going to take you back to a job I finished a while ago and have been promising to show for some time! With the wet weather and lack of hard landscaping recently this seems the ideal time to show you the conclusion to the 'jungly' path at the side of the Koi pond....

In case you've forgotten this is the area before the 'jungle path' project began!!...

Once the raised beds & path were built (as covered elsewhere) I was left with this area next to the raised decking and water butts....

Having decided on a small decked seating area I laid down weed membrane and built a frame for the deck to sit on. Due to the persistent wet weather I actually constructed the framework in my workshop..... and then wondered if I could get it out through the door-way!!!?...

Luckily my measurements were spot on and it came out through the door with a couple of millimetres to spare! The frame was laid in position and I levelled it using blocks under each section of frame...

 As you will see from the above picture there is a raised drain cover at a difficult angle which needed to be factored into my workings. Once the frame was in place boards were laid on top and screwed into place (below). I chose 'basic' rough cut wood rather than decking boards as I felt it fitted in better with the 'jungly' look I hope to achieve here....

With the boards fixed in pace I trimmed the edges and built a 'trap door' to fit neatly into the recess. This gives instant access to the drain if required and I chose to run the boards in a different direction to make it a feature rather than trying to hide it....

To finish off I built two raised beds from the same material and planted with ferns which should grow quite big and do well in the shady situation here....

Finally the end result and how this area looked this summer. Unfortunately the damp weather has prevented some of the more 'tropical' type plants such as the banana and Cannas from reaching their full potential. You will see that I also add flowering plants in my 'jungle/tropical' areas to help attract the pollinators throughout the whole garden, which is something I always strive to do....

So I hope that you will agree this part of the garden has taken on a massive transformation and is now a usable space rather than a dumping ground as it was before?

Without further ado here is this months wildlife successes in Higgy's garden...

BIRDS

A pair of Goldcrests put in an appearance last week and seemed to be 'sussing' out the feeding area. As is always the way I spotted them from an upstairs bedroom window and my camera was downstairs so no picture for the record which is annoying!!

BUTTERFLIES

Despite the wet weather we've recorded a great year for butterflies with both Gatekeepers and Small tortoiseshells showing a massive increase in numbers seen! Peacock butterflies have also shown an upward rise in the garden. Here are pictures of two new visitors since my last post....

Green Veined White

Small Copper

MOTHS

I've not really recorded moths before so this is a new venture for me and is proving extremely interesting. I have already started to include some 'moth friendly' pollinating plants in the garden but this is something I look forward to studying and reporting in more detail as time goes by....

A couple of recent moths...

Siver Y moth seems extremely common in the garden. In this picture you can clearly see the 'Y' shape on it's upper wing which gives it its name...

This was a very interesting find as it was initially identified as a 'Blue Underwing' which is extremely rare! Unfortunately it is now thought to be the more common 'Red Underwing'...

This pretty little moth is a 'Gold Spot' seen here on purple Toadflax which has proven itself to be the most visited plant by pollinators in the garden!!...

OTHER WILDLIFE

My hedgehog has put in an appearance again which is great as I desperately need help with the ever increasing number of slugs! The next door neighbour had a slow worm in his garden, it was only a few feet away from where my log pile so I hope that it is living amongst the logs! This year seems to have been extremely good for Dragonflies and we've had several species in the garden recently.

There have been a few other identifiable new visitors and I will leave you with a look at a few which have taken advantage of my late season pollinating plants. I'll name the plants to give a guide as to what I plant for late season pollinators etc...

GOLDEN ROD - currently covered in bees & hoverflies...

ASTER - make a colourful addition to the late border and again attract all pollinators...

COSMOS - an annual that I grow in my wildflower area, despite not being a true wild flower it's loved by bees, flies and butterflies and will flower all summer until the first frosts so long as you keep deadheading it....

CORN MARIGOLDS - These are my number one wild flowers and this year dead heading has kept them in flower since May! I now also plant clumps in my 'tropical' borders as they are such good attractors!...

PERISCARIA - Basically a cultivated wild flower which is well visited by honey bees in my garden and moths at night! Below is Periscaria being 'munched' by a 'Knot Grass Caterpillar' These hungry caterpillars will strip a plant so you will need to decide if to remove or leave!??....

JAPANESE ANEMONE - Late and long flowering, a useful plant for colour and it will get visited by pollinators although not as prolific as others mentioned...

LARGE LEAFED PLANTS - worthy of a mention as at this time of year all pollinators will sit for several minutes in the sun to warm up. The large leaves are a natural radiator of the suns rays and an ideal place for all sorts of pollinators to warm up! Here a Comma butterfly is warming itself sat on a large leaf...

VERBENA BONARIS - Probably one of the best known bee & butterfly plants and rightly so! It flowers for a long period and late into the season. It is also loved by all pollinators. Below shows a Small White feeding on it.....

RUDBEKIA - is bright, colourful and long flowering for all pollinators, seen here with a Small Copper...

HELENIUMS - One of the best late flowering perennials, they came in all sizes and varied colours creating a nice clump of nectar rich flowers. Gate Keeper butterflies seem to find them irresistible as shown here...

Well that's about it now folks, I hope that you've enjoyed reading this post and it's helped to brighten up another dull and wet day!! Now is a really good time to get any of the above pollinating perennial plants in the ground whilst there is still a little warmth in it. By planting now you will actually be providing nice strong and healthy plants for the pollinators in your garden this time next year! For any further planting ideas, or suggestions of different plants please feel free to send me a message or leave a comment. I reply to all messages and comments and use them to gauge interest in the posts I write....

I have no idea what I will be posting about next time as the weather has stopped a lot of my planned projects in the garden this summer! Please do watch this space and I will update you anything that happens in the garden between now and then!!!....

Many thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings

Cheers

Higgy

  

My top plant supplier... Middlecombe Nursery!

Following a few enquiries asking where I get my plants from, I wanted to write a quick post about my main nursery who are really top notch and more than worth a mention on here!

Although I buy plants from a few different places and propagate what I can myself, 90% of my plants are bought from Middlecombe Nursery, which is located on the Wrington Road in the village of Congresbury, North Somerset.

 http://www.middlecombenursery.co.uk/nursery/perennials.html

The nursery is what I would class as a real old fashioned plantsman's nursery with the plants being second to none! The quality and variety of plants is fantastic and I often find a few unusual and more interesting plants here than I would in the nearby large garden centres. At at least half the price of these major chain garden centres the plants give you so much better value and the quality often gives me the opportunity to divide and make two! My thoughts are that if I'm going to buy plants then that's what I want, not greeting cards, clothes and all other manner of items, just top quality plants!

Click on the link above to see for yourself or visit if you are in the North Somerset area and take a stroll around the lovely landscaped display gardens.

Here are a few of my favourite purchases from Middlecombe...

Helenium is one of my best late summer flowers for pollinators....

Japanese Anemones again offer late season colour and I've purchased just about every shade of pink and white in singles and doubles from Middlecombe....

I've used a vast amount of Irises in the garden particularly around the dry river bed feature. Middlecombe stock a great range of Irises and recently I purchased about 10 large plants from them for £1 each as they were unknown colours! That's what I call a bargain!!!...

I bought my first Darmera Peltata from Middlecombe not really knowing what it was...WOW!! I now have several and in fact bought another from there today to go near the revised dry river bed...

Once again a Middlecombe purchase introduced me to the wonderful family of Astrantias and they are now among my favourite summer flowers for pollinators....

I hope that this has answered your questions and given you an idea of where I get my plants and what I look for in both the plants and the nurseries I use. I am fortunate to have Middlecombe close enough to travel to, if you can get there then I would say don't hesitate. If however you live in another part of the country or even another country altogether as I know some of my regular readers do, find yourself a good nursery who specialise in quality plants not wellie boots and Christmas decorations!....

Cheers

Higgy

Build Higgy's 'Secret Seating Garden Pod'...

Hello All,

Yet again time has flown by and I'm struggling to find the opportunity to get on here and update you on what I've been up to recently!

The weather has been so wet this summer that here on low lying grazing marsh land we have been pretty much squelching in boggy conditions all summer! This hasn't dampened my gardening spirit and despite the conditions I have managed to keep busy and introduce a few more features and plants into the garden this year. As the plant life and in particular wild flowers have increased so has the number of visiting wildlife and insects. This has been extremely pleasing as from the start one of the main features of the garden was to be wildlife friendly which seems to be the case as it evolves!

So what mad ideas have I been hatching recently? I know that you are all probably wondering whatever the next instalment on here will produce!....

Well without further ado I will introduce you to my latest invention and current project which I am building to utilise a dark corner of the garden that wasn't being used to it's full potential and had become a bit scruffy and forgotten about....

Higgy's Secret Seating Garden Pod.... 

So prior to showing you the building of this new madcap idea here is a picture of the corner which I felt could be used more effectively...

This corner of the garden is behind some big shrubs and bushes and is generally quite shady. I thought about planting ferns and other shade loving plants as most things I've tried planting here haven't done too well. Being close to the wild flower meadow/lawn I thought some form of  seating area would be good

In keeping with the rest of this part of the garden I decided to use wood stakes which should weather down and match in with the cut stakes and logs used in the wildlife area

After clearing the area and saving what plants that I could reuse I drove the stakes into the ground using a small sledge hammer and created the desired shape which in this case was a circle...

Once I was happy with the shape of the pod I needed to secure the stakes and make the whole thing a little more stable. I opted to use builders metal banding as I quite like the slightly 'industrial' look this gives and it is easy to use just screwing into place. Use a spirit level at this stage to keep it level as it becomes difficult to judge by eye as you move round the curves!!...

With the structure in place I needed to build two seats to fit into the pod. I opted for using 2"x2" treated wood to make a frame to fit into the curve of the pod walls...

I then added legs from 3"x2" treated wood....

To make the seat look like it is integral to the pod I opted to clad it with cut stakes. Using stakes in this way also helps as it is easier to trim and shape each stake to fit the curve of the pod walls....

So there yo have it one completed and custom built 'secret seating garden pod'!!...

This picture below shows how the pod sits in the wild flower area giving a great view of pollinating bees and butterflies...

To add to the secrecy of this feature I have removed the grass pathway by extending the dry river bed (as below). Now the only access to the pod is to walk to the bottom of the garden into the wildlife area, you then double back on yourself down through the wild flowers to actually enter it. This gives a journey to get to the feature and adding the fact that you can't see into the pod from elsewhere in the garden creates even greater secrecy and intimacy for anyone sitting inside it! I will cover the extended dry river bed in the next post but here's a quick look at a picture showing how I've lost this path by digging it down to the level of the riverbed....

Well that's about it for my new pod, I do hope that you see the benefit of using wooden stakes for landscaping in the garden and building structures such as this pod? They do really offer affordable versatility and enable structures and features to be tailor made for any specific project.

Other than this current project I haven't taken on too many other jobs as I haven't wanted to trample around the whole garden whilst it's been so wet and boggy! 

On the rare sunny days this month I have managed to have the odd few minutes walking around my oasis with my camera and recording what's growing and what wildlife is visiting the garden. So without further ado here's a quick trip around the garden for you all....

The jungly pathway behind the Koi pond is slowly improving, the addition of a few flowers to add colour such as Amaranthus, astilbe and Agastache has enhanced the look and shows off the lush green leaves of the architectural plants nicely...

There has been a great showing of Long Tailed Tits over the last month or so with a group of about a dozen visiting and sometimes staying most of the day....

Earlier in the year we seen increased numbers of damselflies, this summer has been no difference with dragonfly numbers and varieties up significantly. Unfortunately my dragonfly ID skills aren't very good and I'm hoping that I'm correct in saying that this is a Common Darter?...

The wild flower area has been a hit with butterflies and for the second year we have seen increased numbers whilst most records are in fact down! I put this down purely to the nectar rich habitat that we have created by growing or leaving plants and weeds which different species feed or lay eggs on. Two very notable increases here this summer has been Small Tortoiseshells and Gatekeepers which have both been prolific! Below are two Gatekeepers mating on Helenium which is a great attractor for us!  

A Speckled Bush-Cricket using a large ornamental Grass leaf as a resting platform...

White coloured Loosetrife (Lysimachia Clethroides) is less common than the well known Purple version but is a great plant for attracting bees and has a clump forming yet slowly spreading habitat. Loosetrife will also thrive in wet conditions and will cope with some shade also, therefore proving a useful addition to the wildlife garden...

One plant that has really thrived due to the wet weather is Crocosmia. These are native to north Africa and contrary to most peoples thinking they grow in an area which actually sees lots of rain and is very wet! Good drainage and lots of water has seen my numerous varieties flourish this summer with many just coming into their own right now! Another very interesting observation for me this year was the number of Bumble Bees actually going into Crocosmia flowers to collect pollen. In the many years that I've loved to grow them I've never really classed them as a 'bee plant' so this is really encouraging and if we get a hot summer next year I'll be sure to give mine plenty of water!!.. 

As always I still have lots to tell you but with the clock now saying 12:10am I think it's time to say goodnight for now!

Next time I will update you on the dry riverbed extension and hopefully show you some finished landscaping and planting between this and the pod on the old path. I still need to update you an a little project completed sometime ago at the end of the 'jungly' pathway. To find out more keep watching this space and I'll attempt to update it a bit sooner next time (so long as I can get myself out of the garden to do it!!!)

Finally I just wanted to mention a question sent in by 'Ripper' who asked how big my garden is as apparently it looks "massive" on here?... Well the garden measures only 130feet x 40feet (approx) so although long not classed as big in gardening terms! I have basically just tried to use every bit of space that is available to me! Although I did have loose plans the garden has just evolved with time and encompasses my love of gardening and nature, the rest just happens as it happens!.... :-)

Cheers

Higgy

P.S. as always feel free to post me your comments and questions....