Night pollinators and garden lighting

How we light our gardens at night can have a massive impact on the wildlife around us and deserves to be considered carefully. We have hundreds of night pollinating insects that set to work as we sleep. Ensuring their work is undisturbed as much as possible by our garden lighting solutions is something we all need to aim for.

There is growing research into how damaging light pollution can be to nocturnal insect habits and gives an insight into to why there has been a steady decline in their numbers [amongst other factors like the loss of habitats, pollution, use of toxic chemicals and climate change]. Research, led by the late PhD student Douglas Boyes from Newcastle University, observed that the newer, white light emitting, LED street lamps have a far greater negative effect on local biodiversity and ecology then the older amber emitting sodium lamps. Some councils have started trialling part-night street lights to help reduce energy and carbon emissions. Lights are turned off between 1am and 5am which consequentially helps to reduce the negative impact on our night-shift pollinators. Callum J MacGregor is one of the main scientists in this field at the moment and has carried out research to show that just by turning lights off for part of the night will help re-address this balance.

I’m sure we have all observed a moth fluttering around a light at night. I remember as a kid on camping trips, the bathroom facilities were always a magnet for nocturnal insects. It is this behaviour, the allure of the bright light that distracts them [it messes with their navigational system] from getting their night-shift work done. Moths in particular are responsible for pollinating a range of plants and research carried out by the University of Central London suggests that moths are far more complex pollinators than bees. Moths will visit the same plants as bees, butterflies and hoverflies but will also visit plants that the day-shifters miss.

These are just a few UK based pieces of research that tell us how important nocturnal insects are and how bad white LED lighting is for our local biodiversity. There are plenty more papers out there and not just UK based; global research is revealing the same observations.

Pollinators are undeniably one of the keys to our existence and survival. The idea that we can individually choose to safeguard their future just by assessing what lights we put in our gardens is empowering. Garden and landscape designers have a little bit more weight as they can direct the lighting specifications of their client’s garden spaces. I have devised a checklist to work to for a limited impact scheme that will help our night-shifters crack on with their jobs…

• Do not use bright white or blue LED lights. Choose warm white to reduce harshness …after all [and this has to be said] it is a relaxing ambience we are looking to create in our gardens and not the mood of an operating theatre.

• Select lights based on lumens rather than wattage. Most outdoor lighting needs 100 to 300 lumens. The lower the lumen = the dimmer the light it emits = a much more subtle scheme.

• Reduce the number of light fixtures you think you might need. You don’t have to light up every tree, fence panel, wall or other vertical structure in your garden. Use minimal spotlights as they usually point light upwards. Experiment on moving them into a position that keeps the light from pointing directly up.

• Use downward facing lights and ground lights to illuminate steps and pathways … and don’t feel the need to light up every step, every other will be sufficient. Ground lights can also be set within a border edge allowing plant foliage to soften the light and create more shadow and interest.

• Do not keep lights on all night. Put them on a timer or only switch them on when you are in or looking out onto your garden space.

• Security lights tend to be the worst offenders for pollution. If you feel safer with them please select ones that are motion detecting and make sure that the lamps are safely contained within a unit…and again avoid the bright white/blue LEDs.

• One of my personal favourite ways of lighting my garden is by simple candle lit lanterns. A tea light will last around 3-4 hours before they go out, unless you buy the longer burning ones which will take you to around 8 hours. I hang the lanterns up in a tree, line my pathway and place on tables.

• Solar warm white lights is another option although the longevity of these is a bit hit and miss. You can also switch these off so you can control when they come on… ie maybe don’t leave them to come on every night 365 days a year.

Moss is not our enemy

Sometimes we have to make a real conscious effort to change our preconceived ideas of how our gardens should look and how we manage our spaces. How we feel about moss is probably one of the biggest perceptions to conquer. For years we have been ‘fighting back against moss’ using ‘moss killers’ and ‘moss destroyers’ to rid this nuisance from our lawns. It’s a controversial subject, the products manufactured to kill moss [using chemicals like iron sulphate or even glyphosate] is a massive commercial business; not to mention the lawn care companies and gardeners out there trying to do the best for their clients…

Yet moss is an ancient plant that can filtrate pollution from the air, it is responsible for some of the oxygen we breathe today and it provides a diverse habitat for a range of microscopic animals and organisms. It can help prevent soil erosion as its water absorbing qualities can soak up to 20 to 30 times its weight [Sphagnums; hence the importance of going peat free] which slows down run off and at the same time filtrates the water.

Let’s just skip back to the microscopic animals and organisms as they are the creatures that pack a hard punch when it comes to the health of our environment. Nematodes, mites, tardigrades, rotifers and gastrotrichs are some of the names of these creatures that are found to inhabit moss [they are also prevalent in our soil too]. It is these tiny invertebrates that are crucial in fertilising the soil, taking out pollutants from the air and absorbing carbon. Innovative sustainable solutions harnessing the power of moss are even popping up in and around our cities to help reduce the pollutants in the air we breathe; see Green City Solutions . So why are we still pre-occupied with killing it? Because our lawns and borders look better without it?

The moss that grows in our lawns tell us that there is moisture, shade and the lawn grass is lacking vigour. In the UK we inhabit the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere which correlates to wetter weather, combine this with lower light levels during the winters it is not surprising that most lawns will break out in moss. We will always be ‘fighting back against moss’ as it happens to adore our natural climate.

As a grower at heart, choosing the right plant for the right place is the most logical solution in dealing with all sorts of ground condition scenarios. Damp, wet, even waterlogged areas in people’s gardens is rife here in the North West and there are many design and planting solutions that will be far more appropriate and sustainable than turf. Bog gardens, bio-swales, wet woodland areas and yes, moss lawns, could provide so much more interest, habitat and actually play a role in cleaning up our environmental mess.

I know we are all consumed by so many responsibilities and it’s difficult to look after everything. But this one is really easy to action. Resist buying those moss killers, try to reset your perception of moss and maybe enjoy watching the blackbird collecting this life-supporting plant to make its nest.

Fruit trees, fungi & wildflowers

Once a week I happen to inhabit a beautiful two acre garden that I have had the privilege to design and maintain for the last eight years. You can have a glimpse at some images from past seasons here. I have always had a hands-on approach to my garden design business, from shadowing a landscaper in the early days and being involved in the up-keep of a range of garden types. Seventeen years in I still find this element of my job really useful and a great way to keep connected to the spaces that I am designing. There is a natural cycle to gardening work which I love, dictated by the seasons, the needs of the plants and the client’s dreams.

These past few weeks have focused on giving the orchard and wildflower meadow some tlc, to set it up for the new season. Fruit tree pruning is the first job to get underway, older trees still need to be opened up to allow air to circulate more freely around the branches and let more light through. I always tend to err on the side of caution and aim to take out just two or three substantial branches so as not to upset the balance and generate water shoots [they don’t bear fruit or very minimal whilst stealing all the plant’s energy]. Always starting with the classic three D’s, dead, damaged and diseased shoots come out first. Finally the tips are reduced to keep a check on its height. If you are looking for guidance on how to go about pruning your fruit trees check out the RHS advice.

A few year’s ago we discovered Honey Fungus marching its way from adjacent parkland to an old poplar stump. This explained the slow demise of some of the older, weaker apple trees in the orchard. Now there’s not a lot that can be done battling the deadly bootlaces of honey fungus but we are attempting to increase the resilience of the remaining trees in the hope they will remain strong enough to withstand an onslaught. Every year we add mycorrhizal fungi around the roots of the trees and add a fresh layer of home composted mulch. Mychorrhizal fungi are the goodies, they live in symbiosis with plant roots and help to improve the nutrient and water uptake of plants. Giving plants an extra boost nutrient wise should help them become more disease resistant. So far we have not lost any more than what we initially predicted …so watch this space.

We are also at a timely point to be able to add additional wildflowers into the orchard to increase the flower potential for this season. Leucanthemum vulgare freely self seeds in other areas of the garden so we have left them to grow on in situ to be able to re-position them now. In fact any wildflower that self seeds in the borders can be hoicked out and planted in a wilder patch in your garden space eg teasel, achilleas, corn flowers, poppies, burdock, ribwort plantain…