Whether your garden is large or small, you can encourage a surprisingly wide and diverse variety of wildlife to visit and make use of the space.
By carefully selecting a range of plants you can provide essential sources of food, shelter and nesting sites throughout the year, helping to support minibeasts, birds, amphibians, reptiles and even small mammals. Creating a wildlife-friendly garden no only benefits these creatures, but also adds life, movement and seasonal interest to your outdoor space.
Our Top Tips To Attract Wildlife To Your Garden
One of the best things you can do is to provide a source of water for wildlife, such as a bird bath or pond. Even if it is small, it can attract a wide range of creatures at both day and night.
Including bird feeders or bird tables are a wonderful way to entice a variety of birds to your garden. This is particularly useful during winter, when food for birds is more scarce, and also during spring when birds are feeding their chicks. Ensure feeders are placed away from where predators can reach, such as cats. Bird nesting boxes also provide a snug place for birds to spend the winter, and a site for them to nest in spring.
Leave compost and log piles in a quiet area of your garden to entice masses of insects and creepy crawlies, as well as providing hibernating places for frogs, toads and slow worms. In addition, the creepy crawlies help attract birds and hedgehogs.
Consider leaving spent perennials until late winter to early spring, as the foliage provides places for hibernating pollinators such as ladybirds.
Avoid using chemicals of all kinds in your garden, and never spray open flowers with insecticide, as this can harm pollinating insects.
Our 12 Top Native Plants for Wildlife
Foeniculum vulgare (Common Fennel)
Common fennel adds beautiful vertical interest to borders. Its flowers are especially attractive to hoverflies, which are vital pollinators. Hoverflies carry pollen over greater distances than bees, helping to pollinate more isolated plants and those growing in harsher climates. Their larvae also feed on aphids.
Ilex aquifolium (Common Holly)
Each holly variety is either male or female. Female plants will produce berries if there is a male variety nearby. The small, nectar-rich flowers attract bees and other insects, while the dense evergreen foliage provides food, shelter and habitat for birds. Holly also makes an excellent security hedge.
Sambucus nigra (Elder)
Elder produces tiny flowers that are loved by pollinators, followed by black berries enjoyed by birds and mammals. Its leaves are eaten by caterpillars and it makes an excellent wildlife hedge, providing shelter and habitat for insects, birds and small mammals.
Sorbus aucuparia (Mountain Ash or Rowan)
Rowan trees produce spring blossom that is loved by pollinators and are an important food plant for caterpillars. Their stunning autumn foliage is accompanied by masses of bright orange-red berries that attract birds of all kinds.
Viburnum opulus (Guelder Rose)
Guelder Rose provides a long season of interest with large clusters of white flowers that are loved by pollinators. These are followed by bright red berries for birds and beautiful autumn colour. Avoid the cultivar ‘Roseum’ as its sterile flowers produce no nectar and will not develop fruit.
Armeria maritima (Thrift or Sea Pinks)
Thrift is a low-growing, drought-tolerant perennial that copes well with salty coastal conditions. Its attractive flowers provide nectar for pollinators and other insects where many other plants struggle to grow. It is an excellent choice for gravel gardens or the front of borders.
Corylus avellana (Hazel)
Hazel is a valuable early source of pollen for bees. Hazelnuts are eaten by squirrels and dormice, while more than 70 species of butterfly and moth caterpillars feed on its leaves. Mosses, liverworts, lichens and many fungi are also associated with hazel.
Primula vulgaris (Common Primrose) and Primula veris (Cowslip)
These easy-to-grow native perennials provide an important early source of nectar for bees, butterflies and other insects. Cowslips are also the food plant for the endangered Duke of Burgundy butterfly.
Digitalis purpurea (Foxglove)
Foxgloves are classic cottage garden plants that are especially popular with bumblebees. They thrive in both sun and shade, provide valuable height in borders and are biennial, readily growing from seed.
Crataegus monogyna (Common Hawthorn)
Hundreds of insect species live on hawthorn, making it one of the best native plants for supporting wildlife. It provides excellent habitat for nesting birds, which also feed on its fruits. Its thorny stems create an ideal boundary hedge, while small mammals use hedgerows to travel safely away from predators such as owls.
Hedera helix (Common Ivy)
Ivy is a keystone species in our native ecosystems. It is often a plant that divides opinion, but whether you love it or not, it is probably one of the very best native plants for wildlife all year round. Ivy can also help keep buildings cooler in summer and better insulated in winter.
Butterflies such as Brimstones, Painted Ladies and Commas hibernate beneath its leaves. Walk past flowering ivy on a sunny day in late summer or early autumn and you will hear bees making full use of its rich nectar and pollen. Research has shown that almost 90% of all pollen collected by honey bees during autumn comes from ivy. Only mature ivy produces flowers, so regularly cutting it back limits its value for wildlife.
Holly Blue, Peacock, Red Admiral and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies all feed from ivy, along with hoverflies and many other insects. Ivy-covered walls are also favourite nesting and sheltering sites for wrens and blackbirds. During winter, the small black berries provide valuable nourishment for birds.
Bring More Wildlife into Your Garden
Adding even a few of these native plants to your garden can make a real difference to local wildlife. Combined with features such as ponds, bird feeders and natural habitats, they will help create a thriving garden that supports nature throughout the seasons.
Continue your Gardening Journey
Need a little extra advice? Visit your local Tates of Sussex Garden Centre today, where our friendly knowledgeable, team will be happy to help you choose the right plants and offer expert guidance.
