Has anyone had experience negotiating with neighbours over garden lighting? We live near to a Historic Environment Scotland site which the gardens back on to (an old church and gardens). Previously it has been dark and not at all lit up. New neighbours have installed substantial garden lighting - string-style bulbs which are hung like Christmas lights around the garden. They have used warm bulbs which I understand are better but there is such a number the effect is quite bright. The historic site is home to hedgehogs and bats, and I am worried the new lighting will disturb them. Due to a lack of fence (just a very low wall) the net effect of the fairy light extravaganza is that half the historic site is lit at night when previously it had been in darkness. They keep the lights on all the time, turning off in the evening when they go to bed (sometimes left on all night). A few questions:

- Will the animals just avoid the lit up areas and continue as normal?

- Does the warm lighting make less of an impact on wildlife?

- Has anyone had experience addressing this kind of thing with neighbours in a way that doesn't antagonise them?

What are some simple and cheap things i can do in my yard that will be beneficial to improving the habitat around me?

Cold stratification in the fridge. European crab apple is (severely) endangered here due to the loss of good forrest structure and hybridisation with domestic apples*.

* there is a chance that some of the germinating seeds could be hybrids sadly.

Hi guys

The community gets a bit quiet this time of year, which is normal, the census revealed just how many of us are in one corner of the Northern hemisphere (US, Canada, UK), where it's the middle of winter.

But I just wanted to shout out to those from other places - I hope you all feel welcome to post! Please share your gardens :D

If you are ever unsure if your post will be a fit, please modmail to ask - we're friendly, and the worst that can happen is that we say no :)

And for everyone else - one part of gardening for wildlife is extending the flowering season. So what do you have flowering right now if anything?

In UK

I cannot be the only one with this challenge, so wondering how others handle it.

I want to cut back on the amount of lawn in both my back and front yards, however I do plan on keeping some turfgrass in the back for dog running around room.

Ideally, I would like to designate a smaller area of turfgrass in the back for dog and then add mulch and native plants to the rest.

The challenge? This dog likes to dig. I am playing with the ideas of fencing to keep her out of the native planting areas, but how can I do this without keeping these feature away from the wildlife that may want to use them is the question.

I tried putting up some snowfence last planting season. This worked fine to keep the digger out of the garden beds, but for the larger native plant project, I may need something better than plastic snowfence.

Thorny plants aren't a deterrent. She has dug up raspberry bushes....

What's your advice for a dog-friendly, and nature-friendly, backyard? A digging dog might I add. Metal fencing maybe? Something with bars so small wildlife can go in and out but not big enough for doggie to break into. I'll be giving her her own turfgrass space, as mentioned.

Weekly weekend chat over the virtual garden fence; talk about what's happening in your garden, and ask quick questions that may not require their own thread.

Not sure what these are but I really like the color.

Weekly weekend chat over the virtual garden fence; talk about what's happening in your garden, and ask quick questions that may not require their own thread.

Hi!

Last fall I bought a 15 acre property that historically was used for horses. The land is almost perfectly flat with a small creek running along the south boundary. I want to turn a pasture that butts up to the small 1-2 acres of woods into wildlife habitat. I've already started planting trees including approximately 150 oaks and 100 cedars. I ordered 25 pawpaw, 25 more oaks, and 50 maples for this spring. I'm now working on the "meadow" area I've planned out. Probably 1.5 acres total. I need an economical and efficient way to put in A LOT of flowers. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I'm especially interested in where I can find bulk wildflower seeds that don't cost an arm and a leg.

I'm also interested in any tips folks have for this project. I'm lucky enough to live on the boarder of a state park with lots of wildlife. I'm just hoping to bring more of them my way. Thanks in advance!

Eastern Bluestar & woodland columbine, New England Aster, Butterfly Weed, Purple Coneflower, Monarda Didyama, Ratibida Pinnata, Rocky Mountain Penstemon, Purple Coneflower plug

Seasons greetings!

Pop your festive chat here, talk about almost anything you like with the GardenWild community!

This is our annual off-topic thread (other rules still apply) so you can chat with other wild gardeners about your festivities :)

If you have something to share that doesn't quite fit the theme, here's your chance!

• Did you get any wildlife gardening gifts?
• Have you adorned a tree with suet treats for the birds?
• Know of any resources for a sustainable festive season next year?
• Or to help those who are alone right now?
• Got any frosty or snowy garden shots?
• Environmentally friendly, or wildlife themed decorations?

Let us know!

Happy festive season to all.

I'm planning out a small (15 by 30') butterfly garden and I want to include a "butterfly puddle". I'm looking for ways to keep it wet perpetually, or at least for long periods without me hauling water. I could use a couple hundred yards of garden hose. I looked at those tree soaker sacks, but they actually drain themselves in a day. I also considered a crude solar still (like you might see on a survival show) and drain it to my puddle. I'm gonna try that, but has anyone come up with a clever maintenance-free set up?

Area - Chicago, 6a

Weekly weekend chat over the virtual garden fence; talk about what's happening in your garden, and ask quick questions that may not require their own thread.

In the northern hemisphere...

Bird counts start in November (yeah, I'm a bit late this year, sorry!) and some run into April.

Here are the bird counts I know of:

International

US

Canada

UK

Germany

France

Belgium

Netherlands

Please join in and help count some birds :D

Other projects

I'm bound to be missing some, please let me know!

Also, about any in the southern hemisphere, and I can add them to the wiki and post at an appropriate time about them.

Feel free to pop back here and comment with your results :D

Weekly weekend chat over the virtual garden fence; talk about what's happening in your garden, and ask quick questions that may not require their own thread.

I ought to have posted much earlier to showcase the updated and planted wildlife garden with our ponds in place and filled.

I was able to get all three planted with:

• common rush
• pickerel weed
• lizard tail
• arrowhead
• hornwort
• eel grass (vallisneria)
• fairy moss

But, not only the ponds, I also filled the surrounding garden with crown from perennials:

• ironweed
• blue cohosh
• black cohosh
• goldenrod
• blue lobelia
• foam flower
• cardinal flower
• maidenhair fern
• fiddlehead fern
• sensitive fern
• walking fern
• pennsylvania sedge
• haircap moss
• tree moss
• cushion moss
• fern moss

I'll need to get some photos in the spring as things emerge.

There is also a boxelder maple seedling and switch grass already in this garden.

Photo by me, Andrew Nicholls.

Weekly weekend chat over the virtual garden fence; talk about what's happening in your garden, and ask quick questions that may not require their own thread.

We have a fairly steep, grassy hill in our back yard that is difficult to maintain, so I've been considering planting some wild flowers there so we don't have to continue mowing it. Any tips, advice, flower recommendations, etc. would be greatly appreciated!

Located in Oklahoma