Gardener asks for advice as efforts to support local birds and insects fall short: 'Literally only wildlife is ants'

A gardener in the U.K. was hoping to attract a variety of wildlife to their garden, but instead, they've managed to attract some sparrows and ants. So, they asked the online gardening community for advice. 

The Reddit community came through with lots of advice and stories about their experience.

The gardener posted in the r/GardenWild subreddit explaining the type of plants they have and that they live in the U.K., not far from the South Coast. 

The original poster: "So it's a small patio garden with plenty of planters filled with perennials and salad and strawberries. I put out several bird feeders and a bird house." 

In the comments, the OP mentioned that they had bought ladybugs and put them in the garden. Redditors said this was a bad idea because they were likely the invasive Asian species. 

While having wildlife visitors can be a lot of fun, having the right plants in your garden can also be beneficial. Of the crops that yield our food and products, 80% of them require pollination. Some of these pollinators include bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.  

According to GardenDesign.com, plants that attract pollinators have specific traits, including scents, colors, and shapes. Plants that pollinators like are perennials, annuals, and shrubs. 

An easy way to attract pollinators is to rewild your yard by getting native plants that have adapted to the local environment. These plants attract pollinators and require less maintenance, so they will also save you time and money. 

The Redditors had lots of advice in the comments. 

One user noted: "Butterflies and moths all have very specific plants that their caterpillars can eat." 

Another user added to this advice: "It also generally helps to have more diversity in plants since there are so many species, and each can be attracted to different flowers."

One user even had a solution to deter the ants: "Ants are repelled by powdered cinnamon!" 

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