How a log pile in your garden can be a haven for wildlife

Make your garden more enticing for wildlife with a few log piles, says Clare Wilson, and you may glimpse some stunning beetles

By Clare Wilson

ONE of my garden jobs at the moment is pruning any trees and woody shrubs at a time of year when there are no leaves in the way. Instead of throwing away the branches, I will be creating a few small log piles to help make my plot a more tempting site for the local wildlife.

As dead wood rots, it becomes a food source or home to thousands of species, including mosses, lichens, fungi, beetles, flies, hoverflies, spiders, moths, wasps and bees. In turn, these will be food for larger animals like birds, lizards, frogs, toads and small mammals …