Garden planning for 2025 - Designing and growing for wild life - what to do

The phrase wild life gardening is used a lot, and quite rightly, we are all encouraged to do it.  But what does it mean and why should we do it?

Wildlife gardening is thinking about everyone that’s uses your garden – birds, bees, insects, amphibians etc... and planning it to be as good for them as you.

We all know that bees have had a rough time recently, but it is the Butterfly that is really in crisis in the UK. The big Butterfly count of 2024 reported that 81% of all butterfly species declined in numbers this year. A wet spring and late summer heat, reduced the opportunities for butterflies to breed. There are also long-term challenges due to climate change, habitat loss, pollution, and pesticides.

Ahhh, wild life gardening. Doesn’t that mean not mowing your lawn and general letting everything run wild? No. Or the very dated stereotype of wearing woolly jumpers, sandals al year-round and growing specific “herbs” in your greenhouse? No.

You can do this if you want, but with all our urban spaces having to work, they are after all often our largest room in the “house”, this may not just be practical or wanted.

Don’t worry though, there are also many other things you can do that will make a big impact. Here are my Top 5 tips for wild life gardening.

1. Climbers. Hide those often-unattractive boundaries with flowering climbers. Got a hedge? Grow a climber through it or over it – and bingo – double the diversity. You can do this with shrubs too. I would recommend Clematis, Climbing Hydrangeas and scrambling roses. Try and use single flowers - ones where insects can reach the pollen or nectar. Hence, Double flowered roses aren’t the best.

2. Create a habitat. Bug hotel anyone? You really don’t need to build an elaborate structure to help. Just don’t be too today – pile up some logs in a corner and just leave them. So much life in the garden lives off dead wood. These dead wood nooks and crannies are great for all sorts of insects, fungi, larvae etc... These insects feed birds. Birds eat your garden pests. Your ornamental plants are healthier. You enjoy your garden more. All this from a few logs. Isn’t life good when it’s simple?

3. Install a pond. I know its not for everyone, especially if you have small children. Don’t forget to think about how animals might get in or out. Gentle slopes are best. Or you achieve this with wooden ramps or stone steps. Everyone needs water. I have a Corten bowl with stones and water. I built it with some of the stones are exposed so that bees can land and drink. It’s has become a bit of a Stockport watering hole.  It’s my cats favourite water bowl (along with many of her neighbourhood cat enemies). I have seen birds drinking and having a bath in it, even foxes visit it. The bees and wasp visit too. Result.

4. Add even more habitats. Install a bird box or bat box. Bats don’t receive enough love. Dracula and the Hammer House of Horror have a lot to answer for. The UK is home to 18 species of bat, the largest being the Noctule which weighs the same as four £1 coins, and the smallest is the Pipistrelle, which weighs as little as a 2p coin. They live in trees and we are losing too many trees. Standing in my own garden and looking out to the 6 adjacent gardens, 15 trees have been felled since we moved in. Six of these trees I know had bats living in them. You can buy a bird or bat box, or make one. The Wild life trust has easy to follows steps on how to make your own.

5. Following on from number 4, Plant a tree. One that has fruit. It may not be fruit that you want to eat, but someone will love it. They look great all year round. Spring blossom. Perfect. Lovely fresh green leave sin summer. Lovely. Fruits in Autumn. Stunning. Many provide even interest with stunning red leaves too. Extra stunning. Crab apples are perfect. Crab apple Malus ‘Comtesse De Paris’ is a lovely one. It only grows to 5m tall and is perfect for a small urban garden. I also love Malus Evereste. Don’t be too keen to clear up all the rotten fruit as many insects, including wasps and the comma butterfly, eat the sugars from them.

Its amazing what a few simple changes can do to increase your gardens biodiversity. Have a lovely Autumn.