Welcome to the July edition of our wildlife-friendly gardening blog. 

Wow, June was a scorcher! I’m really hoping July temperatures will be less attritional and that there will be some rain to help wildlife. So, please keep providing water for wildlife - it could be a lifesaver. 

In the wildlife garden this month, look out for the hornet mimic hoverfly (hoverflies are great mimics and some look like bees), garden tiger moth and our species of the month the stag beetle. 

There are lots of wonderful plants to help insects in July. From shrubs (hebe and escallonia) to perennials (penstemons and astrantia) and annuals (cosmos, zinnia and snapdragons). Remember to keep dead heading to encourage new flowers and to keep the nectar café open for pollinators. 

The ‘Big Butterfly Count’ is this month, and you can tempt some of these beauties into your garden by following tips on our webpage and in our pollinators leaflet. Don’t forget moths are amazing pollinators too! Provide night flowering plants such as nicotiana, night scented stock and evening primrose. If you are interested, there is a monthly moth trap at our Beacon Hill office and an August moth trap at Kingcombe Meadows - everyone is welcome. 

With summer in full swing, some pots might need a bit of a nutritional ‘pick me up’. Rather than buy chemicals in plastic packaging, why not think about making your own plant food? It helps reduce environmental impacts from manufacturing and will save a few pennies too. If you have a wormery, these helpful souls will produce a liquid plant tonic as they are munching your kitchen waste – this is usually siphoned off via a tap. Another way to create liquid feed is to steep the leaves of nettles, comfrey or borage in a bucket for a couple of weeks. Younger leaves are best as they contain the most nutrients.  

July is a good time to take soft wood cuttings. Pollinator friendly plants like penstemons and fuschia can be easily propagated to replace old plants or to share with family and friends. 

Although it's important to provide food for wildlife – remember that creatures need somewhere to live too. Keep an area of grass long until the end of the summer, lots of animals will use this for shelter: reptiles to hunt, birds to feed on seed heads and insects, froglets to escape from predators, grasshoppers to ‘sing’ and breed and carder bees to nest. Several species of butterflies (meadow brown) and moths (dark arches) will breed here too. 

Thank you to everyone who has already joined our community of wildlife-friendly gardeners. Everyone is welcome - if you take at least six actions for wildlife, you can apply for our lovely garden plaque. Help us ‘spread the word’ by displaying your plaque and help get even more people gardening for wildlife.

Finally, thank you for helping wildlife. Working together we can help create a Wilder Dorset! 

See you next month.