Make room for wildlife . . .

Spring is the best time to put in a newpond. Firstly, choose a sunny site awayfrom overhanging trees. Dig out thespace for your pond – making sure it isat least 77cm deep with shallow edges.This will enable your plants to take rootand allow easy access for animals. Remove any stones, then line the holewith sand, and old carpet if you haveit, before laying a butyl rubber lining.To work out how much lining you’llneed, use this calculation:

Purpleloosestrife

Marsh marigoldor kingcup Brooklime

Mayfly

Yellowflag iris

White water-lily

Dragonfly

Frog-spawn

Tadpoles

Lesser waterboatman

Whirligigbeetle

Common newt

Great diving beetle

Pond skaterAquatic snail

Amphibiousbistort

Common frogYellowwater-lily

Protecting Wildlife for the Future

The Wildlife Trusts’ Guide to

Wildlife Gardening

Illustrations not to scale

Safety first: If small children use or visit your garden you should include a barrierover or around the water such as a fence or rigid mesh (allowing 75mm squaresfor small animals and plants).

Build a pond in your garden and enjoy

wetland wildlife on your doorstep!

Length of liner = length of pond + twicedepth of pond + 60cm (for overlapat edges)

Width of liner = width of pond + twicedepth of pond + 60cm (for overlapat edges)

After putting the lining in, turn itunder at the edges and cover with turf,then fill with water. Introduce nativeplants from the list above around oneweek later.

Don’t take frog spawn from the wildand bring it to your pond. Instead, waitfor word to get around that there’sa new pond in the neighbourhoodand watch as frogs, toads and newtspopulate it themselves.

and feel the benefits

The essentials of successful wildlifegardening are based on four things;trees, deadwood, water and varietyof planting. Any one of these featureswill encourage wildlife to your

Common water plants suitable for small garden ponds

Plants for the shallows and ledges include yellow flag iris, water forget-me-not, water plaintain, branched bur-reed and arrowhead.

Floating leaved plants include the fringed water-lily, water soldier andpotamogeton.

Plants that thrive in deeper water include plant hornwort, water crowfoot,common water starwort, spiked water-milfoil, curled pondweed andwillow moss.

For the edge of the pond, or if you have any marshy areas try meadowsweet,purple loosestrife, lady’s smock, gipsywort, ragged robin, marsh marigold,brooklime, rushes and sedge.

But please avoid the following invasive plants:

Australian swamp stonecrop, curly water weed, floating pennywort, parrot’sfeather, water fern, water primrose and Canadian pondweed; these willsoon take over.

• Resist the urge to tidy up in autumn! Seed heads left uncut will treat seed- eating birds to a free feast. Plant stems and leaves are a great place for creepy crawlies to shelter, and perennials left standing will help overwintering insects such as ladybirds.Wildlife-friendly gardening is about making a haven for you as well as for wildlife.

By gardening sympathetically for wildlife you’ll be rewarded by a truly natural outdoor spacewhere you can get in touch with the plants, animals and birds that make their home there.

garden and help it to thrive there.The more of these features yourgarden contains, the greater thenumber and variety of animal speciesusing the garden will be.

Top tips for greening your garden

• Choose local seeds and plants that are suitable for your soil. Your local Wildlife Trust can advise you.

• Wild flowers belong in the wild – before buying, check plants, seeds and bulbs are labelled as being from cultivated stock.

• Save water. Install water butts under down pipes outside your house.

• Mulch your borders in spring to keep your soil moist in hot weather. Mulch them again in autumn to help absorb heavy winter rain and prevent flooding.

• Slugs are part of the garden’s cycle of wildlife, eaten by frogs, toads and hedgehogs. If slugs or snails are a problem to your tender plants, avoid using slug pellets based on metaldehyde or methiocarb. Investigate alternative methods to control them – for example

pellets based on ferrous phosphate, or products that create barriers to slugs and snails such as copper bands or gritty sand.

• Diluted household detergent is effective against greenfly and blackfly, and is thought not to harm other insects.

Handy hints for the wildlife gardener

The Wildlife Trusts

FREEPOST MID20441

Newark

NG24 4BR

Tel 01636 677711

Reg charity no 207238© The Wildlife Trusts 2008

Protecting Wildlife for the Future

Help and advice

This leaflet is intended as a simple guide to get you started on wildlife gardening.Once you have begun you might get hooked, so below are some suggestedsources of additional information, suppliers and further reading.

Further reading

Wildlife Gardening for Everyone, jointlyproduced by The Wildlife Trusts andRHS, is a compendium of wildlifegardening advice. You can obtain it fromyour local Wildlife Trust, or throughbookshops. RRP £12.99.

Wildlife Gardening by Fran Hill,£5.95, from:Derbyshire Wildlife TrustEast MillBelperDE56 1XH

Can be purchasedusing a debit orcredit card byringing 01773 881188.

Join The Wildlife Trusts

The Wildlife Trusts are able to protect wildlife for the future because of thecollective support of people like you. Without our members, none of thiswould be possible.

Membership of The Wildlife Trusts gives you:

• A newsletter or magazine from your local Wildlife Trust, keeping you

informed about the wildlife on your doorstep

• The majority of local Wildlife Trusts also distribute Natural World

magazine to their members

• Details of the Wildlife Trust nature reserves in your area

• Invitations to local events, many of them free

• Opportunities to lend a hand and play a direct role in helping local wildlife

• The knowledge that you have helped keep the UK’s precious wildlife safe

for the future

• Wildlife Watch membership (included in family membership)

To find out more about membershipplease visit www.wildlifetrusts.orgor write to us at:

Designed by FDA, Huddersfield 01484 861611

Illustrations by Anna Sutton

Photographs by Richard Burkmar, Laurie Campbell,The Garden Picture Library, Philip Precey andWoodfall Wild Images

Wild About Gardens, The WildlifeTrusts’ partnership with the RoyalHorticultural Society, provides wildlifegardening information and advice onits website. www.wildaboutgardens.org

Organic gardening advice and productcatalogues are available from:

Garden OrganicGardens Organic RytonCoventry, CV8 3LQTel 02476 303517www.gardenorganic.org.uk

The Wildlife Trusts recommend birdfood from:

Vine House Farm Bird FoodsDeeping St NicholasLincolnshirePE11 3DGTel 01775 630208www.vinehousefarm.co.uk

Where to buy peat-free products leaflet– free – contact The Wildlife Trustson the address below.

Gardens are increasingly importanthavens for wildlife as habitats in thewider countryside shrink and fragment,and climate change takes its toll. Up to a quarter of a city’s area can bemade up of gardens, so although eachgarden on its own may be small, togetherthey form a patchwork linking urbangreen spaces with nature reserves andthe wider countryside. So together, our gardens represent avast living landscape; and with anestimated 16 million gardens in the UK,the way they are managed can make abig difference to wildlife. Hedgehogs,sparrows, song thrushes and stag beetlesare all declining species in the UK, but

if we manage our gardens sympatheticallyfor wildlife, these creatures and manymore will feel the benefits. But it’s not just wildlife that’s underthreat. Green gardens are in decline tooas the trend to pave over front gardensand deck back gardens – or even buildover them completely – becomes evermore popular. As well as deprivingcreatures of their habitat, this worryingtrend can result in flooding and couldbe making our cities and towns evenhotter. By contrast, gardening can be goodfor your health and wellbeing. So give ita go and watch as wildlife brings colour,movement and beauty to your garden.

Every garden provides a vital link for wildlife

Gardening for wildlife

Climbing plants

Climbing plants on fences and wallsmake nesting and roosting sites forbirds, and a haven for insects and smallanimals. Choose plants like quince andhoneysuckle which have nectar-richflowers followed by fruit. Make sureyou have some evergreens too; ivy isespecially valuable.

Butterfly gardens

Butterflies bring beauty to any garden.Attract them with nectar-rich flowerslike verbena, scabious and ice-plant.Go for plants with simple flowers thatmake it easy for butterflies to get atthe nectar. Avoid double-floweredvarieties of plants which may have nonectar. Many cottage garden flowersare suitable. Plant in a sheltered sunnyspot and don’t forget to provide foodplants for caterpillars too.

(See the box below forplant suggestions)

Hedges

Hedges provide living space and foodfor all sorts of wildlife, as well asprivacy and security for you. Goodnative choices include hawthorn,blackthorn, wild rose, holly, hazeland elder. In addition, berberis andpyracantha produce lots of berries forthe birds.

Feeding birds

Different species of birds eat differentthings in different ways and places.Provide nuts, seeds, fat and kitchenscraps in feeders, trays and on theground. Insect eaters will appreciatemealworms sprinkled on the groundor in fat. Move feeding places fromtime to time to guard against predators,disease and unwelcome visitors suchas rats.

Remember that water is vitallyimportant, so if you have a birdbath or pond keep it topped upand ensure it’s ice-free on coldwinter days.

Cracks and crevices

Many plants grow on walls, includingivy-leaved toadflax, various ferns, redvalerian and, of course, wallflower.Spiders and solitary bees like nooksand crannies, and rockeries will sheltermany small creatures. Hollow stemsleft over the winter provide homes forinsect larvae and pupae.

Compost bins

Make your own natural fertiliser.Compost garden waste and vegetablekitchen scraps in a home-made box orbought compost bin. If you have limitedspace, you can still make compost ina small ‘worm bin’ in your house orback yard.

Meadow magic

A meadow makes a wonderfulalternative to plain grass on your lawnand brings vibrant colour to anygarden. It can be difficult to make ameadow from scratch, especially asyou need to reduce nutrient levels inyour soil.

A good alternative is to plant meadowflowers as plugs into your lawn, butbe prepared to alter your mowingpattern to allow the flowersto grow. Generallycowslip,ox-eye daisy,meadowcranesbill, yellowrattle, self-heal andmeadow buttercupdo well.

Go organic

You can have an attractive andproductive garden without using chemicalfertilisers and pesticides.

You can make and use your owncompost, encourage insect and slug-eatingcreatures and adapt natural processes tomaintain your soil.

Gardeners’ friends include frogs andtoads, birds, and small mammals likebats and hedgehogs – all of which eatinsects or slugs. Ladybirds,lacewings and hoverfliesfeast on aphids.

Peat-free gardening

Peat bogs are very special places forwildlife but, partly due to gardeners’demand for peat, nearly all have beendestroyed in the UK. Help save ourremaining bogs by using peat-freecomposts and mulches, such as chippedbark, leaf mould or coir. Contact TheWildlife Trusts for details of where tobuy peat-free products.

Wildlife needs four things if it’s to thrive in your garden – food, water, shelter and a place to breed.By providing some, if not all of these things you will bring your garden to life. Here are some ideas toget you started and help you make a difference for wildlife, whatever the size of your garden.

getting you started

Native trees

Favour native trees, but remember otherspecies can be good for wildlife too.

Trees: alder, ash, aspen, beech, birch,bird cherry and wild cherry, crab apple,field maple, hazel, holly, juniper, oak,Scot’s pine, rowan, yew, whitebeam,willow, wych elm.

Shrubs: alder buckthorn, blackthorn,buckthorn, broom, dog-rose, dogwood,elder, guelder-rose, hawthorn, spindle.

Bird boxes

Tits and nuthatches need boxes with a28mm entrance hole, house sparrowsaround 32mm. Open-fronted boxesattract robins and flycatchers. Largeopen-fronted boxes high in trees mayattract owls or kestrels.

Do not put boxes in full sun, and dosite them away from places thatpredators might attack from, suchas overhanging branches.

Pile of logs

A pile of logs in a shadycorner will feed beetle larvaeand shelter many other animals, includingfrogs, toads and slow worms. The rarestag beetle needs dead wood to breed in.Hedgehogs often hibernate in wood piles,so if you’re having a bonfire, check forsleeping hedgehogs first.

Nettle feeders

Nettles are the food plant of thecaterpillars of some beautiful butterflies:red admiral, peacock, small tortoiseshelland comma. Butterflies prefer not tolay their eggs in the shade, so choosea sunny spot to grow your nettles.

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Butterfly

Meadow brown, hedge brown,marbled white, large skipper

Large and small white

Green veined white, orange tip

Brimstone

Common blue

Painted lady

Food plant for caterpillar

Grasses including meadow grass,false brome, cocksfoot, Yorkshire fog

Wild/cultivated cabbages

Lady’s smock, hedge garlic, hedge mustard

Alder buckthorn, purging buckthorn

Bird’s foot trefoil

Thistles

Primrose, aubretia, sweet rocket

Lavender, cat mint, thyme,heliotrope, red valerian, hebe,buddleia, knapweed

Michaelmas daisy, sweet scabious,hyssop, ice-plant

Moths like night-scented stocks,honeysuckle, evening primroseand tobacco plants

Nectar giving plants for butterfliesSmall gardens

A small space is not a barrier to gardening for wildlife; small, thoughtful changescan have a real impact when attracting wild creatures.

Remember that your space is three-dimensional, so make imaginative use ofwalls, roofs and other structures.

Be aware of your garden’s space through summer and winter, so you can makebest use of sun and shade for your chosen features.

Even the smallest of ‘ponds’ are valuable – old sinks and buckets can teem withwildlife, just by being thoughtfully placed and adapted.

Plant a window box or container with butterfly nectar plants such as lavenderor marjoram – or night-scented stocks and tobacco plants for moths.

Make a small gravel garden planted with nectar-providing perennials such asscabious, or plant in spaces in a paved area.