Welcome to the September edition of our wildlife-friendly gardening blog. It’s hard to believe that autumn is approaching - the year is flying by! 

The weather has been a bit of a ‘mixed bag’ this summer, but it has resulted in a bumper crop of fruit. Plenty of produce for us, passing jackdaws, blue tits, squirrels, and wasps to enjoy. Now don’t groan, I know wasps have a bad reputation, and it’s true that at this time of year they get ‘tipsy’ on rotting fruit, and we do need to be careful as they can be a bit irritable! They are, however, useful allies in the garden - pollinating flowers and plucking aphids and caterpillars off plants to feed their larvae. Wasp nests last just a few months and only the queen will survive at the end of the season so, if possible, it can be beneficial for both your garden and the wasps to leave nests be.  

In the wildlife garden this month, look out for slow worms - our species of the month. At this time of year, you can come across smaller ones which are youngsters that have recently been ‘born’. 

Native to Britain, slow worms are protected under the UK’s Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. They are threatened by habitat loss, so gardens are becoming invaluable for their survival. 

If possible, set aside areas of your garden and let the grass grow long. Provide undisturbed shelters such as pieces of old rubber-backed carpets or metal trays. These heat traps will be loved by slow worms, but inaccessible to predators. 

Build your own compost heap, which may prove attractive to slow worms. Providing log piles will also offer a great source of invertebrate food. If you create areas where slow worms can thrive, they will return the favour by helping to control the slugs that may nibble your tender plants! 

Other creatures to spot include gorgeous, small tortoiseshell butterfly; ‘haphazard’ crane fly emerging from grassy areas, and night flying privet hawkmoth which are attracted to light. Click here for some top tips on how to attract butterflies and moths. 

Although the summer peak of flowers has passed, there are still plenty of plants which will continue to provide nectar for insects such as penstemon, rudbeckia and echinacea. You can find out more about late flowering plants here. Elderflowers, including the ‘black’ leaved cultivar Sambucus nigra, are already producing berries which will be a tasty snack for birds. 

You might begin to spot lots of self-sown foxglove, verbena and hollyhock seedlings - and these can be left in situ to give a ‘naturalistic’ feel to your garden. Alternatively, if they aren’t in the best place, pick them out and either replant them elsewhere or pot them up to place on your patio. These pots will also make lovely gifts for neighbours, friends and loved ones! It’s also still warm enough to take semi-ripe cuttings of hebes and fuschias. Phacelia is a green manure which can be sown now – although I confess, I rarely dig it in as the flowers are gorgeous, have blue pollen and are loved by bees. 

The end of this month is a good time to give your wildflower meadow its final cut of the year – remember to remove the cuttings so that the nutrients don’t return to the soil, otherwise you will encourage more grass rather than wildflowers to grow. Find out how you can make your lawn better for wildlife here. 

If you have a pond and the plants are starting to ‘take over’, late summer is the best time to thin them out. Remember to leave any aquatic plants by your pond to give time for dragonfly larvae and other creatures to crawl back into the safety of the pond. If you haven’t got a pond or bog garden, why not plan one? It’s one of the best things you can do for wildlife as all creatures need water, whether it’s to drink, bathe or live in! Dig one now and you’ll have all autumn and winter for it to fill with rainwater. For tips and ideas see our wild and wet leaflet.  

If you haven’t already applied for one of our free ‘Wildlife-Friendly Spaces’ awards, please have a look at our website and join our growing community of wildlife friendly gardeners to help create a  Wilder Dorset! 

Enjoy September and see you next month! 

Assistant Wilder Communities Officer, Mitch Perkins will be giving a talk and answering questions on how to make your garden more welcoming to local wildlife at The Secret Garden in Boscombe on Saturday 7 October 2023. 

Book your place now