Messy for us, but not for wildlife

In our garden, I like to keep a little part untidy for wildlife. We have a compost heap, and a patch of overgrown weeds. Earlier on, I went outside to photograph this area to give you an idea of how messy it actually looks. At any one time, we have seen 6 Common Lizards, mostly seen on a little opening on the right of the patch. At the moment, the patch is mostly made up of various grasses (which we didn't plant). This attracts all sorts of wildlife, and is a great haven. It is in full sunlight and is completely open to the elements, so it is not only good for the overgrowth, but its also good for basking lizards. We occaisionally see frogs there too, despite there not being much moisture. Various insects and slowworms quite frequently seen too. Thank you to Shirl for the montage instructions, which I have used for the montage below.


On BBC Springwatch, they are always advising you to leave some space in the garden to go wild. I completely agree, and in a way, it makes the garden look more interesting. However, I do intend to make this area a little bit neater, as you will understand as you see the photos above. Next year I am hoping to be able to put a small pond in this small space, along with some wild flowers and possibly a fruit bush. I am hoping I can do this without disturbing any of the existing wildlife. The plan is to do it bit by bit, so that I cause minimal damage to the willdife. I think I will try to improve the basking area for the lizards too. I have to say that it is a complete contrast to the neat vegetable patch with runner beans on the left.

Hmm... I don't really want to leave it too long before I do a bit of maintenance to the patch, because it will become an impossible task to weed it! Actually, looking after some weeds, and a few bits of rotting wood and rocks is far easier to manage than I thought, and I really do reccommend that you try it!