All is quiet on the feather front

July is a relatively quiet time in the bird world. Most of the young have fledged and males no longer need to win a mate or defend territory so birdsong is less noticeable. House martins, swifts and swallows drift in the warm summer evening air, feasting on flying insects. Disease spreads quickly in the warm weather so try to keep feeding and drinking areas clean, washing them in warm water with a mild, environmentally friendly detergent such as Ecover. Regularly top up drinking water.

Golden rod is an excellent wildlife-friendly plant, attracting hundreds of insects. Lemon balm and hemp agrimony attract bees and fennel is a popular pit stop for hoverflies seeking nectar. Some softwood shrub cuttings (i.e. new growth) can be taken at this time of year, such as Bodnant viburnum (Viburnum x bodnantense) which will provide a rare source of very early nectar in winter.

Prune, prune for a blooming broom

Broom (Cytisus) is adored by snails and birds will visit to pick off aphids. Bees and butterflies will drink nectar from the brightly-coloured flowers. It needs to be pruned back following flowering to prevent it becoming woody lower down. Prune back to a strong shoot or bud near the old wood. Don’t prune old wood, however, which sometimes does not recover. Although it looks more contrived, you can use hedging shears to trim shoots back quickly en masse once a year. After a few years broom needs to be replaced.

This is also a good time to trim many rockery plants such as aubrieta and alyssum to encourage new growth after flowering. The flowering stems of ragged robin can also be trimmed back this month to encourage a second flush of flowers. Much of the garden fruit is ripening and birds will feast on it unless it is protected. Spring-flowering meadows should be cut now.

Buddleia - the beautiful butterfly bush

For good reason Buddleia is often called 'butterfly bush'. Its beautiful fragrant flowers offer rich stores of nectar that prove irresistible to red admiral, brimstone, comma, tortoiseshell, white and peacock butterflies, especially if it is planted in the sun. Butterflies and bumblebees are also honing in on marjoram, lavender, golden rod and hemp agrimony. Hoverflies and honeybees, meanwhile, are feasting on the sweetly scented native plant, meadowsweet.

A number of night-scented flowers are out this month, including evening primrose and night-scented stock. These will attract night-flying moths to their nectar and if you venture out at dusk you might see bats flying in hot pursuit of the moths.

This is a good time to divide autumn crocus and to cover ripening fruit if it is intended only for human consumption. Spring-flowering wild flower meadows should be cut now and it is a good time to do any severe pruning or coppicing of beech.

Multiplying stock - taking semi-hardwood cuttings

July is a good time to take semi-hardwood cuttings of wildlife-friendly shrubs. These include Californian lilac for bees, barberry for bees and birds, rosemary for bees, hoverflies and other insects, firethorn and Japanese quince for nesting and feeding birds, guelder rose for moths, birds and small mammals, honeysuckle for insects and birds, and lavender which provides nectar for bees and butterflies and seeds for finches.

The growing tip will still be soft so cut where this year’s older growth is starting to turn woody. The cuttings are grown in peat-free seed or cutting compost. They are covered with a bag or a half of a plastic drink bottle. Keep warm at 16-18°C but out of direct sunlight. Rooting often takes place fast — within 3–4 weeks. The plastic is then lifted gradually to harden the cuttings off over the next month or so, before placing them somewhere cooler, e.g. a cold frame, and finally planting out next spring.

Finding food is driving the squirrels nuts!

Grey squirrels were introduced to the UK in the late 1800s, brought in from America as exotic additions to parks. They spread rapidly and are probably responsible for the decline of the native red squirrel as they compete more effectively for food. Still, they have now become an accepted part of the rich variety of garden wildlife - apart from their tendency to 'steal' bird food.

There is good reason to show a little compassion, however. Last autumn, squirrels buried numerous nuts and seeds as a food store for leaner times. These stores have now been recovered and yet there are few ripe nuts and seeds around. They are literally starving and many die.

Nut-only diets can lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies, so if you want to feed squirrels, offer a mix of foods including unsalted peanuts, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, carrots, apples and sweet corn.