18/06/2026
Want to help wildlife this month? Here's your garden checklist for June:
☑️ Keeping the bird bath topped up means birds can drink and bathe in dry weather. With clean feathers, birds are better able to regulate their body temperatures and fly from predators.
☑️ Create a cool, damp spot for amphibians to take shelter by making a log pile in a shady corner. Half bury the bottom layer of logs and fill nooks and crannies with fallen leaves and moss.
☑️ Avoid deadheading all spent roses to let some develop hips, which will feed birds and small mammals in winter.
☑️ Grow bee-friendly plants such as foxglove and viper's bugloss, to provide essential nectar and pollen.
☑️ Leave a patch of lawn to allow 'weeds' like daisies and dandelions to flower. If you leave grass to grow long, some species of butterfly and moth may start breeding here, while species such as green shield bug may take shelter. You may even attract grasshoppers!
☑️ In dry summers, house martins - which make their nests using mud - struggle to build and repair their nests. By leaving out a dish of mud (simply soil with added water), you can give them a helping hand. Keep the dish topped up with a fresh supply of mud for several weeks over summer, or until it rains.
