Winter gardening for hedgehogs

It’s cold outside, but don’t let that keep you from tinkering around in the garden.

Here are five jobs you can do that will directly help hedgehogs:

1) Create an underground nesting area

2) Replace grouting with sprouting!

The more plants you have, and the greater the variety, the better your garden will be for hedgehogs – it’s as simple as that.

Good plants to grow between paving are compact, creeping herbs like thyme and marjoram, because when you tread on them they’ll smell delicious AND you can use them for cooking. Or wild flowers like self heal and bird’s-foot trefoil. Some wild plant seeds need a cold spell to stimulate germination so now is the ideal time to sow them.

Take a look at the RHS Greening Grey Britain campaign for more ideas…

3) Use prunings to make a mini woodpile

Dead wood is one of the best things for encouraging wildlife. Learn more about it here…

4) Chemical clear out

Organic gardening is cheap, easy and good for all wildlife.

Herbicides, insecticides and molluscicides are all bad for hedgehogs.

Here is some advice about how to dispose of chemicals safely.

5) Fight articial grass

Does anyone on your street have this awful stuff? Beetles and worms cannot live on plastic grass and these are the things hedgehogs eat. Try and convince your friends that artifical grass is a terrible idea.