Plant/tend native flowers and bulbs
Native planting is a brilliant way to support wildlife, and there are a range of ways to do this depending on your budget and situation. As opposed to planting any beautiful plants you come across in a garden centre, choosing native plants helps a wider variety of species. This is because local native species have evolved to utilise native plants, from their roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits. Where a flowering non-native plant might help pollinators (such a buddleia) its leaves are not used by many species for feeding a the larval stage and therefore it is more limited in the range of species and life cycles of those species that is supports. An oak tree to take the classic example in the UK, by contrast can support hundreds of different animals that live, feed and breed with this plant.
The best places for bees and pollinators
Grow wildlife-friendly herbsSummer flowers for a wildlife-friendly garden
Native bulbs include:
- Wild daffodil
- British bluebell
- Wild garlic
- Lesser celandine
- Wood anemone
- Snowdrop
- Snakeshead fritillary
Native flowers we commonly grow in our gardens include:
- Ox-eye daisy
- Corncockle
- Ragged robin
- Corn marigold
- Bellflower
- Betony
- Hemp agrimony
- Purple loosetrife
- Vipers bugloss
- Common knapweed
- Bugle
- Primrose
- Honeysuckle
- Forget me not
- Dog rose
- Wood anemone
- Stinking hellebore
- Foxglove
- Teasel
- Guelder rose
Plug plants – plug plants are small inch high plants ready to plant out. Plug plants are perfect for wildflowers you may want to introduce to a lawn, where seeds may struggle to establish.
Bulbs - bulbs are a brilliant way of bringing flowers to the garden year on year, there are several native species that are especially great for wildlife. Planting bulbs can be dried versions planted in Autumn, or ‘in the green’ bulbs in late spring.
Seeds – growing from seed can be the most cost effective way of bringing native plants into the garden. Annual and bi-annuals are a great place to start. These can be carefully sown or scattered at random over bare soil patches or rocky gravelly areas and see what happens.
Create or install a minibeast home
Shelter is one of the key ingredients for a good wildlife garden, providing space for insects to hibernate rest or breed is essential to create a thriving garden ecosystem. The more and wider variety of insects around your garden, the better in balance the system will be and pests and disease can be kept naturally at bay.
Log piles, dead hedges and rockeries can all be great minibeast homes, however you can get even more creative and design all sorts of different minibeast homes. The key things to consider is, who are you creating this home for and what do they need. Woodlice and stag beetles like plenty of rotting wood in a damp part of the garden. Earwigs (an important predator of pests) will want cracks and crevices with dry twigs and straw to hide in. Solitary bees need neat holes from bamboo stems, other hollow stems or drilled into wood, placed in a sunny position.
How to build a bug mansionHomes for bees and bugsShop Wildlife Garden
Make a bee drinker
Bees, wasps and hornets all need water to drink, they each play a vital role in the garden ecosystem. Bees and wasps both pollinate plants and wasps and hornets keep pests in check by catching a range of insects to take home to their nests.
Bees, wasps and hornets will use a pond edge or river bank to get water. However, if you don’t have a pond, creating a bee drinker can be a great way of providing this vital resource. Bees need a shallow entry point to water and some stones to rest on. A shallow saucer, with pebbles in and fresh water can provide the perfect place for bees and other insects to come and get a refreshing drink!
Find more information here:
How to attract butterflies to your gardenHow to attract bumblebees to your garden