Bird feeders are the quickest way for anyone to attract birds to their gardens this winter. They are a great supplement, but if you want to be sustainable, plant trees or let the grass grow slightly taller than usual.
Most of our lawns are void of wildlife as they are cut too short and have no time to flower. Also, many lawns have been reseeded, so naturally, they lack many of our native flowers. This is easily fixable as insects will be attracted to taller grass for cover; birds will then come in to eat the insects and leave their droppings, which may contain seeds from wildflowers. This will eventually have a cascading effect as more insects will be attracted to the different types of Wildflowers, attracting more birdlife. During winter, many insects hibernate in tall grasses, where birds root and find.
All our trees have a story told by our Irish ancestors. Holly is resistant to lightning, so it was historically planted close to homes to ward off lightning.
In Brehon law, Holly is a noble of the wood, which means that it was highly valued, and if you were caught cutting one down that didn’t belong to you, there would be a hefty fine.
Holly was brought into people’s homes to ward off evil spirits around the winter solstice.
