Planning a Wildlife Garden

Wildlife Gardens Although the finished result should look completely natural, a wildlife garden requires a great deal of thought in the planning stages in order to get the balance of planting just right. You will need

Planning Your Wildlife Garden

Planning Your Wildlife Garden If you want to have both an attractive garden and a wildlife refuge, you will need to do some careful planning before you start. Decisions have to be made as to which species are really w

Container Gardening – Growing Plants in Containers

Growing Plants in Containers Even in the smallest gardens, with only a patio, it is possible to grow many different plants by confining them in containers. This cramps the root system and prevents them getting too big

Pots for Patio Deck Designs

Pots for Patio Deck Designs You can grow almost anything in a pot provided it's big enough. Choosing the right plants is very important but the pots you select will also have an effect on the overall picture. On

Wood Decking Ideas – Plants and Water Features

Plants for Your Decking Whilst more or less anything goes in gardens today, certain styles of planting seem to work particularly well with decking. The crisp, clean lines of these solid wooden structures often confer

Decking Ideas – Furniture and Plants

Decking Ideas – Furniture and Plants OTHER FEATURES Before you settle on a final layout for your deck, it pays to spend some time thinking about the finishing touches. These might be practical or decorative. Ask

Wildlife – Importance of Garden Habitats

The Importance of Habitats Before you can welcome wildlife into your garden, you will need to understand the different types of natural habitat. There are dozens of different habitats and each is home to a specific ra

A Really Wild Garden

A Really Wild Garden This is a garden for wildlife fanatics: the whole garden is visited by a wide variety of animals, with nothing in it that would not be found in the countryside. The plan is a refuge for wild plant

Creating your Wildlife Garden

Creating your Wildlife Garden Once you have finished planning your wildlife garden, it is time to start on practical tasks, such as choosing plants to attract specific creatures, buying and planting native plants and

Buying Native Plants

Buying Native Plants When the first wildlife gardens were suggested in the 1970s, it was extremely difficult to buy plants or even seeds of wild flowers. As the whole subject of wildlife and conservation has grown, ho

Planting and Growing Native Plants

Planting and Growing Native Plants Planting native plants in a wildlife garden can be a simple affair or it can be a little more ambitious, such as sowing a cornfield, planting a woodland, planting a hedgerow or creat

Wildlife Gardening – The Woodland Edge

The Woodland Edge Woodlands are a rich repository of wildlife because native trees harbour large numbers of insects, which in turn attract insect-eating birds. Bees visit the flowers for pollen and nectar, and birds a

Hedgerows for Wildlife

Hedgerows for Wildlife The traditional mixed hedgerows that border many fields and lanes are a vital link in the chain that supports wildlife. The best wildlife hedges are those that are joined to other hedges or area

Creating Wildflower Meadows

Wildflower Meadows A grassy meadow can be full of life — lie down among the mixture of grasses and wild flowers and you can watch spiders building webs between blades of grass, caterpillars of the dingy skipper and co

Wildlife Gardens – Water and Wetland

Wildlife Gardens – Water and Wetland Creating a water and wetland area is one of the quickest ways to attract wildlife into your garden. Dig a pond and almost immediately the water will become home to beetles, w

The Flower Border

The Flower Border A flower border is not a natural habitat but a garden feature, and it can be planted to provide plenty of food for wildlife and to act as a refuge for several of the more attractive wildflowers. Many

The Herb Garden

The Herb Garden A herb garden is not strictly a habitat and is not usually planted with wildlife in mind, but many common herbs are excellent plants in this respect, being rich in nectar and so attracting bees, butter

Wildlife Gardening – Secret Places

Wildlife Gardening – Secret Places Every wildlife garden needs some secret places where animals can hide away from humans and other predators, where they can sleep at night, produce young and hibernate in winter

The Wild Garden at Night

The Wild Garden at Night Enter your garden at night and you will find yourself in a world full of secretive noises and darting flights. If you are lucky, you will see bats flitting silently past in the last of the eve

Wildlife Gardens – Streamside Gardening

Streamside Gardening It would be easy to confuse the streamside with the bog garden, for it appears that similar conditions exist, with plants growing beside water. In reality, the conditions beside a stream are almos