Create a wildlife-friendly garden

Create a wildflower meadow
Wildflower areas are vital to support a wide range of insects that otherwise wouldn’t survive in urban areas. Allocate an area of lawn and ditch the lawnmower. One option then is to simply leave that area to its own devices, letting the grass grow longer and wildflowers to appear naturally over time.

Alternatively, give nature a kickstart by digging up the turf and breaking up the soil. Scatter some wildflower seed mix, gently press in the seeds, and water. Don’t be tempted to add manure or fertiliser, as this will encourage the grass to overpower the wildflowers. Until the seeds sprout, it’s a good idea to cover the area with netting to prevent birds from feasting on the seeds.

Plant a green roof
If you’ve got a garden shed, a bin store, or an outdoor studio, consider adding a green roof. As well as looking attractive, a green roof will increase biodiversity in your garden. The plants can attract pollinators and support food networks.

Building your own requires adding five basic layers: a waterproof membrane; a root barrier; drainage; a substrate mix; and plants. Ideal plants for a green roof include sedum and sempervivum as they thrive in shallow soil mixtures.

Help the bees
Bees pollinate 75% of our crops, so we need them. Protect our pollinators by growing pollen-rich plants such as allium, lavender, milkweed, coneflower or sunflower. Let the grass grow a little longer over summer, so bees can nest and feed in it, and avoid fertilisers and pesticides in the garden. Bees also need shelter and they seek out trees and hedges. You can give them another option, by making bee hotels out of plastic bottles and bamboo canes.

Bring in the butterflies
With nearly 60 species of butterfly in Britain, you can enjoy the beauty of many of these in your own garden. Choose a sunny spot to plant nectar-rich varieties such as buddleia, aster, lavender and verbena.

Pondlife
Attract frogs, dragonflies and newts to your garden with a pond. Choose a level area in your garden out of direct sunlight.

Welcome larger wildlife
Put up bird and bat boxes, and make a 15cm x 15cm hole in the base of a fence to welcome hedgehogs. Better still, swap your fence for a hedge, which will allow small mammals through as well as providing nesting sites for birds.