Katie Rushworth’s Guide to Creating a Wildlife Gabion
Usually filled with stone or pebbles, gabions can be used for all kinds of projects in the garden, whether you’re building a retaining wall, making a seat or even creating your own water feature as we have in our show garden here at Tong.
“I love to use them as a way to squeeze in some extra habitats for all those beneficial creepy crawlies we want to take up residence in our garden. Encouraging the right kind of wildlife into your garden will help control the pests we don’t want. A gabion is perfect for this!“
1. First decide where you are going to position your wildlife gabion. Wildlife likes shade and shelter so a quiet corner of the garden is perfect.
2. Fill the central section of your gabion with bricks stacked neatly from the bottom to the top (the gabion must have something to help hold its form).
3. Leave a gap of approximately 4 inches between the gabion frame and the bricks all the way round.
4. Fill the gap tightly with pinecones, short sections of garden canes with their holes facing outwards, any chunks of old logs, bits of old roofing slate and small terracotta pots – these will all add to its rustic charm.
5. Close the gabion lid and seal with a cable tie.
6. You don’t have to have green fingers to do this and it’s a great weekend activity to do with the kids or grandchildren.
Before you know it, you will have solitary bees, ladybirds and lacewings settling in and waiting to pounce on any aphids that dare to enter your borders!
