• Services
  • HOME
  • About
  • Contact
  • Gardentips
  • pay with bitcoin

Garden Tips and Tricks

DEAD WOOD BREEDS LIFE

2/6/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture








We often strive for an orderly and well maintained garden, one which looks tidy with regular pruning, mowing of lawns and the weeding of garden beds. Aesthetically pleasing and satisfying this may be, the garden, however, becomes devoid of any mess and untidiness, and this in due course can have an adverse affect on the wildlife and beneficial insects.

The beneficial insects being those which create a natural ecological balance within the garden, attracting a range of prey and predators. These insects and mammals work in harmony and will reduce the unwanted pests which can attack the vegetable garden and shrubs alike. They will also lessen the need for any chemical applications. To entice these insects into the garden, a suitable, natural habitat is required, and the most appropriate is a dead wood habitat, essentially, a pile of logs or a wood stack.

Winter is an ideal time to procure the dead wood, either from gathering any fallen branches within the garden or by pruning the dead limbs and branches, particularly from deciduous trees and shrubs. Avoid collecting the wood from natural woodlands and hedgerows as this will be disrupting an existing habitat and the natural environment.
Alternatively, ask neighbours if they have any excess dead wood they are wanting rid of, I am sure it would be greatly appreciated.

The location of the wood pile within the garden is critical for a successful dead wood habitat, it should be away from direct sunlight and sited in a full shade area, or with dapple light. This environment will augment the wood decay and encourage fungi, mosses, lichens and insects.

To construct a log pile it is advisable to find logs with the bark still attached, the bottom layer of say four to five logs to be partially buried into the ground, the decaying wood beneath the soil’s surface attracts certain types of beetle. Ensure there are nooks and crannies for insects and mammals to enter and then add leaf litter into the gaps to encourage hedgehogs seeking hibernation. Another couple of log rows can be placed on top, the dark and damp conditions will lure centipedes, millipedes and woodlice which in turn attract the predators such as birds, toads and hedgehogs.

A wood stack is constructed with smaller branches and twigs and is just as beneficial as a log pile for wildlife. Firstly, it is recommended that branches/stakes are driven vertically into the ground, forming a rectangular shape and with approximately half metre remaining above ground.

Then start with laying the larger branches at the bottom and begin to fill the formed rectangular shape with the remaining branches and twigs until the desired height is reached.

A mixture of wood is good for both log pile and wood stack, however, poplar and willow cuttings can have a tendency to re-sprout if in prolonged contact with the ground. The wood will slowly decay over a duration of time and more can always be added, thus, a permanent home has now been created to encourage the beneficial insects and assist
towards a balanced ecological garden. If unsure how to dispose of the logs and wood cuttings, then why not transmute them into a dead wood habitat, as dead wood breeds life.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Hello everyone,  Green Landscapes Cornwall are sharing with you some ideas about how to implement different features for your garden! 

    Archives

    April 2022
    November 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019

    Categories

    All
    Achillea
    Alfresco
    Alyssum
    Anthemis Tinctoria
    April Gardening
    Aster
    Aster ‘michaelmas Daisy’
    August Ideas
    Autumn
    Autumn Leaves
    Bay Boletes
    Bedding Plants
    Beech
    Beech Hedge Pruning
    Beech Hedges Pruning
    Begonias
    Bilberries
    Birch Boletes
    Bird Song
    Bluebeard
    Brunnera Macrophylla
    Buddleja Davidii
    Bulbs
    Busy Lizzies
    Calendular/Marigolds
    Campanulas
    Cannas Lily
    Carbon Footprint
    Cardoon
    Carpentry
    Carpinus Betulus
    Caryopteris
    Cerinthe Major
    Chanterelle
    Chelsea Chop
    Chelsea Flower Show
    Christmas
    Cleaning With Lavender
    Climbing Plants
    Clover Flower
    Coastal Gardening
    Cold Frame Gardening
    Compost
    Cornwall
    Cornwall Gardeners
    Cornwall Gardening
    Cornwall Gardens
    Cornwall Landscapers
    Cosmos
    Crataegus Monogyna
    Crocosmia
    Cynara Cardunculus
    Dahlias
    Dappled Shade
    David Trotter
    Dead Wood
    DECIDUOUS
    Decking
    Decking Boards
    Delphinium
    Dianthus
    Duke Of Cornwall
    Echinacea Purpurea
    Ecological Gardening
    Fagus Sylvatica
    Falmouth Gardeners
    Fennel
    Flowers
    Frogs
    Fuschia
    Garden
    Garden Designers
    Garden Designers Falmouth
    Garden Design Falmouth
    Garden Design Newquay
    Garden Design Uk
    Gardener Cornwall
    Gardener Falmouth
    Gardeners Cornwall
    Gardeners Falmouth
    Gardeners In Cornwall
    Gardeners In Falmouth
    Gardeners In Newquay
    Gardeners In Redruth
    Gardeners In Truro
    Garden Ideas Cornwall
    Gardening
    Gardening Cornwall
    Gardening Falmouth
    Gardening Redruth
    Gardening Tips
    Gardening Truro
    Garden Landscaping Falmouth
    Garden Maintenance
    Garden Service
    Garden Services
    Garden Services Falmouth
    Garden Services Mawnan Smith
    Garden Services Redruth
    Garden Services Truro
    Garden Tips
    Garderner
    Garlic Mustard
    Geophytes
    Geranium
    Geranium/Pelargoniums
    Gladioli
    Gourds
    Green
    Green Ladnscapes
    Green Landscaper
    Green Landscapers
    Green Landscapes
    Green Landscapes Cornwall
    Green Landscapes Cornwall Ltd
    Green Landscaping
    Green Landsdcapes
    Groundwork
    Habitat
    Halloween
    Hanging Baskets
    Hawthorn
    Hedge
    Helenium
    Heliotrope
    Herbaceous Perennials
    Honeysuckle
    Honeywort
    Hornbeam
    Hostas
    Hydrangea Petiolaris
    Ideas For April
    Ideas For March
    Ideas For May
    Indoor Living Wall
    Insects
    Jack Frost
    Jack-O-Lanterns
    Joists
    Kissing
    Lacd
    Landscaped
    Landscape Design Newquay
    Landscape Gardeners
    Landscape Gardening
    Landscaper In Newquay
    Landscapers
    Landscapers Cornwall
    Landscapers Falmouth
    Landscapers In Cornwall
    Landscapers In Falmouth
    Landscapers In Newquay
    Landscapers In Redruth
    Landscapers In Truro
    Landscapers Truro
    Landscapes In Redruth
    Landscaping
    Landscaping Cornwall
    Landscaping Falmouth
    Landscaping Newquay
    Landscaping Redruth
    Landscaping Truro
    Larch Decking
    Larch Woodwork
    Lavender
    Lavender Harvest
    Lawn Care
    Lawn Management
    Lawns
    Leaf Mulch
    Leaves
    Linseed Oil
    Living Wall
    Lobelia
    Lock Down
    Manage The Climate
    May Gardening
    Mildew
    Mistle Thrush
    Mistletoe
    Nemesia
    Nepeta
    Newquay Gardeners
    Newquay Landscaper
    Oak
    October Gardening
    Oliver David Cook
    Penstemons
    Perennials
    Petunia
    Phlox
    Phlox Paniculata
    Planting Hedges
    Porcini
    Prince Charles
    Pruning
    Pumpkins
    Rain Water
    Relax
    Rhizome
    RHS
    Rock Samphire
    Rose Campion
    Rosemary
    Rudbeckias
    Salvia
    Sea Holly/ Eryngiums.
    Sedum ‘Herbstfreude’
    Senecio Cineraria/Silver Dust
    Shou Sugi Ban
    Shou Sugi Ban Cornwall
    Shou Sugi Ban Decking
    Shou Sugi Ban Green Landscapes Cornwall Ltd
    Shrubs
    Slugs
    Soil Conditioner
    Spiraea Japonica
    Spring Garden
    Staking
    Summer Smells
    Summer Weather
    Sunshine
    Sweet Peas
    Talking To Plants
    Tap Water
    The National Trust
    Timber Decking
    Timber Pergola
    Toads
    Truro Gardening
    Truro Landscape Gardening
    Truro Landscapers
    Vigorous Climbers
    Voltaire
    Walnut Tree
    Water Management
    Wild Flowers
    Wild Garlic
    Wild Leek
    Wild Parsley
    Wild Strawberries
    Wisteria
    Wood Work Cornwall
    Woodwork Ideas
    Woodwork In The Garden

    RSS Feed

    Picture

Contact Us

From initial design through to completion, please feel free to get in touch
Call Alex on 07421 085 788

Email: hello@greenlandscapescornwall.co.uk
Church Way

​Falmouth
  • Services
  • HOME
  • About
  • Contact
  • Gardentips
  • pay with bitcoin