The Wild Garden: Expanded Edition

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With some thoughtful planning you could soon find your garden teaming with insects, birds, small mammals and more. While a pond will provide a source of water it's best to add less overwhelming source of water, for the insects and small mammals that can't swim – so may be fearful of a pond. For an inviting place to stay hydrated add a birdbath to your garden. Birds, butterflies and bees are pretty to look at and help improve your garden’s production. Encouraging hedgehogs, bats and frogs is an ideal solution for pest control, reducing the need for pesticides.

This classic favorite among cottage garden plants has pretty blue-green foliage covered in masses of fragrant lilac blooms from June to August. It’s worth bearing in mind that among the best flowers that attract bees are purple blooms, as bees can see the color purple more clearly than any other color. At the end of the avenue is the Round Pond –actually elliptical, you have to stand on the bridge to see it Round! What plants are good for wildlife in terms of encouraging them into the garden. To offer expert advice we asked J Parker’s Shannen Godwin,and she said the following: Bee friendly plants Make a meadow: Your garden may well have a lawn which, if mown too frequently, will not support much wildlife. Consider replacing it completely in favour of more planting, and/or a pond. If you want to keep a grassed area, plant a small wildflower meadow that will play host to a multitude of butterflies, bees and other insects.You can plant different shrubs/trees/flowers that will either provide food for birds in the form of seeds, berries or nectar,' Shannen explains. 'Also giving shelter and warmth under dense foliage or they will attract insects which birds and other wildlife can feed off.' Nature’s prize pollinators will make an, um, beeline for your garden if you plant a pretty mix of flowers – think alliums, lavender and catmint – and cultivate a fragrant herb garden with rosemary, sage, mint and chives.

By recycling kitchen scraps – always uncooked unless you want a bunch of unsavoury rats to show up – you’re doing your bit for the environment by helping to cut down on landfill use and pollution, as well as providing a yummy meal for hedgehogs, toads and slow worms. Plants are the single most important factor when it comes to creating a wildlife garden. Naturalistic planting design involves using a wide variety of the best performing flowers which require minimal maintenance, leaving them for wildlife to enjoy. Turning down stream are the canals, leading over three waterfalls and eventually flowing on down to the Evenlode. If you’re keen to get more wildlife in your garden replace ordinary fences with cultivated hedgerows. Create a living hedge that will not only be a visual treat it will provide wildlife with food and shelter.There’s something calming about having a white scheme. It’s a blank canvas you can add to and change up whether it’s with cushions, plants and flowers' There is an endless choice of flowers that are good for a wildlife garden. Include some of the following to provide food for essential pollinators, as well as habitats for some beneficial insects:

The Wild Gardener presenter Colin Stafford-Johnson living his best life in idyllic surroundings (Credit: BBC Two) Wildlife garden in Pearson Park - In the heart of Hull’s busy city centre, is hidden something of a jewel. Small yet perfectly formed, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’sPearson Park is an enchanting wildlife garden with ponds, native hedgerows, woodland and a buzzing, beautiful meadow. There’s also a fruit and vegetable patch and a vibrant display garden all of which attracts plenty of wildlife from long-tailed tits to butterflies, shield bugs, ladybirds, solitary bees, and much more. Garden birds are great at slug and snail control, plus there’s nothing more relaxing and enjoyable than sitting outside on a sunny day, listening to a chorus of birdsong and watching winged visitors alighting on branches. All visitors to the Wild Garden are reminded that the Garden is private property and they are required to respect the rules of entry and to help preserve the peace and tranquillity the Garden offers. The lawn has been allowed to grow as a wildflower meadow with mown paths through the sward, a venerable pollarded weeping willow shading its centre. A laid hedge of elm and hawthorn boundaries the lane while to the rear of the farmhouse is the orchard which leads onto Lugg Meadow – an historic Lammas meadow. The garden is managed with wildlife in mind not only through the planting but with log piles, a large compost heap, bee houses and the sensitive hands of the wonderful volunteer gardeners. London Wildlife TrustInstead of using pesticides, there are a number of ways you can garden more organically and control pests in a natural way that are also wonderful ways to create an eco-friendly garden. Zooey Deschanel's pink walls give this 2024 color trend a new spin. It pairs perfectly with her trim. He specialised in filming big cats and worked as a cameraman on the landmark BBC series Planet Earth.

You might think of bees as living in hives in large colonies, serving a queen and producing honey – but actually only about 10% of the bee species do this. The other 90% are solitary bees and don’t produce honey, although they are still very important as pollinators. Simply amazing garden (s). This is truly a must see for anyone. I’m no gardener but was blown away by the beauty and expanse of this garden. A lawn that hasn’t been fed will benefit from an annual maintenance programme of scarifying and aerating.You need to consider whether it will be annual or perennial, and different wildflower mixes will suit different soil conditions and aspects,' he adds. Dig a pond: However small your patch, there is always room for a pond. Even a small sink or tub pond, with a few aquatic plants, can make a great wildlife habitat. Ponds of all shapes and sizes benefit different communities of wildlife – water-loving insects dive beneath the surface, birds prey on amphibians, and small mammals come to drink. All wildlife needs a place to shelter and one of the best wildlife garden ideas is to provide safe spaces where they can hide, nest and overwinter. This can range from simply leaving a pile of logs in a quiet corner or the garden to building your own bespoke bee house Working through the winter, the wildlife cameraman reflects on his journey so far and plans the busy spring and summer months ahead.