Water butt stands
We all know the importance of having water butts in the garden. Collecting rainwater certainly saves on money and with ongoing price increases from the water company this can make a difference on your bills and rainwater is far better for your plants than tap water. But, have you ever thought about what you can do to make them a little more wildlife friendly?
Our first butt was the standard slimline 100L one and came with the stand.
Then we outgrew this one and needed another. So along we went and got a larger one twice as big at 210 litres. The problem was it didn't come with a stand. We were going to purchase the stand separately but as the hedgehog is becoming a frequent visitor we had an idea.
We've used some old bricks to make a stand with and topped them off with some pieces of wood. If you have no wood you could always use a spare paving slab. You need to make sure that the height is enough to get your watering can or any buckets underneath the tap. Ours is about 27cm high. Please bear in mind that it does need to be level and sturdy enough as water butts are extremely heavy when full.
This method of stand forms a chamber for hedgehogs, toads, frogs or any other wildlife to use as a cool place out of the sun and is ideal for hibernation in the winter. We intend to put dried leaves and grasses under ours for this purpose.
Its just an extra space for the wildlife and hasn't cost anything to do!
Sometimes getting a watering can under the tap can be somewhat cumbersome especially if you just want a jug of water.
We were fortunate that we had an old metal water tank which had been left in the garden from the previous owners. I originally wanted it to plant rhubarb in but it got taken over as a pond. The water plants have long since died so I am now using it as another water container and because its open at the top its much easier to scoop water into a jug or other container.
