4 tips to encourage biodiversity in your garden

If you fancy yourself a bit of a green thumb, then you have most likely already heard about biodiversity and how important it is for your garden. But what is it exactly? Biodiversity entails having a variety of plant and animal life, which encourages natural processes such as pollination. The good news about encouraging biodiversity is that it not only improves the genetic diversity of the plants you have but also results in a beautiful and varied garden.   Here're some easy ways you can get started on improving the biodiversity at your place:

Attract birds and bees

The key to creating and maintaining biodiversity in your garden is attracting native pollinators such as birds and bees. These little guys will take some of the workload off you by pollinating your flowers. Attract them with native plants that provide them with natural food and shelter. Its one thing to attract animals that will help improve the biodiversity of your garden, but quite another to get them to stay and continue the cycle. Installing bird or bat houses, or bee hives, is a great way to help this process along.    

Simply add water

Water features such as small ponds, fountains or even just a little waterfall feature can greatly increase the appeal of your garden to beneficial birds, insects and animals. Birds seem to be particularly attracted to running or bubbling water – and these kinds of water environments can result in a whole new range of water plants being added to the species already growing in your garden. Frogs, fish and dragonflies are also potential new additions once water is added to the garden.  

Add more natural elements

It seems simple, but adding things like a rock pile or old logs can up your biodiversity factor quite considerably. These items can provide a home for one of the many native species living in your area, which can only improve the mini ecosystem in your garden. And while you are adding natural elements, don’t forget to subtract unnatural things such as pesticides and preventative spraying. Gardens that are more biodiverse tend to have fewer problems with this anyway, but its good to know how to deal with invasive plants and pests in a more eco-friendly way – use organic pesticides where possible, and if you have to use chemical ones, use them in a localised spot.    

Bring in the butterflies

Now lots of people put a lot of work into putting flower gardens in their backyard… but what about a butterfly garden? These critters are not only pretty to look at, but also improve the biodiversity of your garden. Attract them with larval and nectar plants.