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Expert Gardening
Advice:
Chris Beardshaw
- Beneficial Insects
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"Our gardens should be
full of life from the microbiological and small insects right up to
larger birds and mammals as they all play a part in the
micro-ecosystem and in turn the environment around us all. In
this system predator becomes prey and whilst there maybe seasons
when populations seem to explode or diminish, due to available
resources, overall there should be a balance."
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 However, we can be
impatient as gardeners and we don’t want anything to
jeopardise the well earned flowers and crops - the rewards for all
our hard work - which means we often panic when we see plants
sickening or failing for some reason and we reach out for instant
cures.
If we learnt how to assist the system when necessary then we
don’t radically alter the natural rhythm and therefore throw
things off kilter. The garden is subtly changing all the time and
the long term view is that everything balances out in the end if we
allow nature to play its full part.
Take steps this summer to ensure your garden offers something
for all creatures as they in turn can help you. For instance
centipedes; these fast moving carnivores eat slugs, and snails and
are most active at night so encourage them in your garden by
stacking piles of rotting logs in the moist shade of trees and
buildings.
Don’t be too worried about tidying up the undergrowth as leaf
litter is a favourite haunt. The ground beetle is also a predator
of slugs and snails (it goes for the eggs) and so again leave
ground undisturbed and preferably mulched to keep them happy.
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When it comes to the winged insects then the popular and welcome
ladybird deserves a place in every garden and with over 3,000
species worldwide you are sure to be able to entice several species
to your patch.
They are the most effective insect for controlling aphids so to
encourage them to stay hang straw parcels or nesting boxes under
eaves and later in the year move outside any trying to hibernate in
your house as it prevents them emerging from hibernation too
early.
Who can fail to be taken in by the ephemeral and delicate beauty of
the lacewing? 
They are a must for keeping on top of aphids, thrips, spider mites,
whiteflies and leaf hoppers and it’s the larvae that is most
voracious.
Plant anything daisy-like as the nectar and pollen provides them
with food and in the autumn bundle straws together into a cardboard
tube and hang in glasshouses, sheds, and garages as this will help
them to hibernate over the winter.
Also thankful of the blooms from the Aster family are the
darting and mesmerizing hoverflies - a joy to the garden as their
control of aphids is second only to the ladybird larvae and they
are nearly as effective as a bee for crop pollination.
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 And bees are to be
encouraged at every opportunity as they assist the gardener
enormously by pollinating flowers for fruits and crops.
They emerge from the winter hibernation when temperatures reach
8-10°C but as this is still pretty cool they tend not to travel
very far so make sure you plant up nectar rich rewards such as
acacia, primulas and foxgloves to encourage the bees to develop a
strong and robust population.
Keep flowering plants all through the summer and as far into autumn
as possible. Roses, Pear and Apple trees, Lupins, Salvias and
Penstemons are all popular but try to steer away from double or
multi-petalled cultivars and hybrids as they do not contain an
active nectary which renders it useless to a bee.
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 As well as planting
those species of plants most likely to encourage the little good
guys into your garden try also setting up habitats
for them as there are a multitude of ‘homes’ available
and it's such a great activity to do with the children (who are not
nearly as squeamish as the adults!)
These days you can get glass fronted boxes, hidden camera’s
or even
solar lighted insect theatres so you can observe close hand the
activities, life cycles and habitats of the insect world.
See what Chris is up to at www.chrisbeardshaw.com and
for further information see his book ‘How does your garden
grow?’ By Dorling Kindersley
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