Replacement habitat for wildlife

clauduledus

Hi All,

I am just starting the mammoth job of starting my garden after building a new house. circa 2 acres. I have a hill on one side of the site which is covered in gorse. I started to remove some of it the other day with the intention of planting trees in groups of 5/6 in about 10 locations.

The question i have is, the gorse is presently providing a shrub/scrub habitat for wildlife which i would like to replace. Has anyone any suggestion of planting i could do to give me a replacement habitat for animals both in winter and summer which could provide food and shelter.

Also, i removed the gorse because i thought there is probably better plants for biodiversity(i hear they have little ecological value), they are non-native and will just encroach on other plants and start to take over.

I intent to give the entire 2 acres to wildlife so any advice/info would be lovely, or if you just wanna tell me everything iv written here is balderdash.

Thanks

magicbastarder

gorse is native.
would you consider using it as a nurse species for your new trees - keep the gorse pruned back to suit the trees, and once they overtop the gorse, they should shade it out?

also, it's leguminous IIRC so will be good for soil fertility.

recedite

I'd be inclined to cut the gorse down to ground level and then plant the area with mixed broadleaf trees. The gorse will grow back but if the trees shade it out, they will kill it off, so it will save you having to use chemicals or heavy machinery to kill the roots.
Silver birch grow fast, look good winter and summer, and you will always have small birds in and around them. Stick a few other species in as well, eg ash.
Add in a decent sized pond on the sunny side of the woods and you'll have a wonderful wildlife oasis in just a few years time + a ready supply of firewood.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Gorse is difficult to manage properly and requires annual attention to keep it in check and at it's prime. I can confirm as fact that young trees will not out compete gorse for light and the gorse will deprive young trees of vital water. It would not function as a nurse species for younger trees.
It's a wonderful plant for a limited number, but important group, of birds and important for invertebrates. However, it's habit of encroaching on surrounding land leaves it unsuitable for a garden environment. Even my 4+ acres doesn't have space for it - but the surrounding bog is ringed with massive thickets of it.

clauduledus

Yep i could plant a broadleaf mix of trees, could i plant shrub along with the trees to provide habitat??
I do agree though the gorse might have to grow. It has nearly taken over 1/3 of the entire plant able area. I will get rid of it in a phased manner and replant so its not too shocking to the wildlife.

I was removing some of the gorse the other day and there was a robin giving me the dirtiest look. Still can see his face in my head.

recedite

clauduledus wrote: »

I was removing some of the gorse the other day and there was a robin giving me the dirtiest look. Still can see his face in my head.

Don't worry, he was only looking to see if you had exposed any earthworms.
Keep at it, and he'll be your new best friend

clauduledus

Hahaha, shifty robin, will do,

Thanks all for advice.

Youngpies

Ivy is great for bees and many other insects so if you have any walls on your property then it would be ideal for what you're trying to do.

Check out an old news article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/beekeeping/10018009/Gardeners-urged-to-let-ivy-flourish-to-save-bees.html

[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Quote “It is unusual to see a single plant that plays such an important role over the two months that is flowers for."[/font]

Youngpies

Future Forests are great for mail order native bare root plants & trees:

https://futureforests.ie/