There are lots of things gardeners can do to help the natural world, to offset the pressure on our environment. Top of the list is to increase the biodiversity in our plots and find ways to minimise the harm caused by our horticultural activities.
Gardens can also be an incredible force for good. Even the sight of greenery is beneficial for our mental health. Front gardens are especially valuable, as they are the most shared spaces. Growing hedges in your front garden and planting trees can also improve air quality, which in turn helps our physical health. My front garden is a large beach garden with a mix of trees, hedges and shrubs and is a very calm, soothing place to sit and gaze out to the ocean and watch the world go by, by boat, by train, by bus and by car.

When I began gardening, I can honestly say that I did not know much about what I was doing and some might say I still don’t! Supporting wildlife was really not on my radar, when I made those first changes to my plot back in 2007. I just set out to create a space that I and my partner, not to mention our dog Albert could enjoy. I clearly knew it was nice to see butterflies and bees in the garden but did not really comprehend that there were certain things you could do to encourage them to visit your plot.
Attracting wildlife
I’m guessing most would be gardeners don’t intentionally plan any specific wildlife friendly interventions, but probably find that it just happens. Well, this was certainly the case as far as Driftwood was concerned! I’m sure this will resonate with a lot of people reading this, as it can sometimes seem like a daunting task to create a ‘wilder’ garden.
That all said, I think the most popular elements of summer wildlife seen in my garden are butterflies, bees along with frogs and toads around the small pond! There are dragonflies at times too and I have to mention the number of birds in the garden year-round, many nesting in the hedgerows and ivy on either side of the plot. So, without actually realising it, establishing good, tall hedging on all sides of the garden created a number of “bird hotels” loved by wrens, robins and sparrows in the main, with a few blue tits too.
One of the most eye-catching shrubs, located behind the pond is a stunning buddleja called ‘Buzz Magenta’, it transpires these beautiful flowers are also real magnets for butterflies. I’ve now got three different buddleja shrubs planted alongside too, which look magnificent with red admirals and cabbage white butterflies adorning the dazzling flowers. Then there are other plants in the garden that attract butterflies and other pollinators like catmint & lavender, lobelia, aubretia, geranium cranesbill and erysimum the perennial wallflower.

Save the bees!
Without realising it, you probably have many plants in your garden that will be magnets for bees too. Fortunately, many of them have beautiful flowers that look magnificent in any plot or container.
There have been a lot of bees around the garden in recent years, thanks in the main to the plants that have been planted in order to attract them. You can also help by placing bee watering stations, like the trio in my garden. You will find, verbena, scabiosa, rudbekia, geums, rosemary, geraniums, centaurea, greater knapweed, nepeta catmint, penstemon and lavender, to name but a few that these visitors can land upon in the garden.

Water world
Over the years we have seen quite a lot of wildlife around the pond. In the main there have been toads and dragonflies as well as many spiders spinning their webs around the plants and metal work. Before I changed the sunken pond to a free-standing feature, it was full of lilies which protect the frog spawn and there were marsh marigolds, which provided cover for beetles and amphibians and irises that dragonflies use to pupate on.

Garden birds
As for the birds, there seems to be an endless number of robins in particular in my garden, along with wrens and sparrows, not to mention a pair of lovebird pigeons who regularly sit on the fence together overlooking the garden.

In the winter months I put food out for the birds and we have many different pieces of garden sculpture that can double up as water baths for the birds too. All the rusty metal sculpture are great perching spots for them too. So, you’ve probably been doing a lot more for wildlife in your garden than you might realise, perhaps it’s simply a case of being more aware of what’s going on and enjoy what you see.
Flood control
We can all do our very small bit to help prevent flooding and reduce the amount of water our gardens use. These issues are only going to get more pressing in the future as climate change takes hold. There are many beautiful plants that cope really well with dry conditions, I’ve got a huge collection of drought tolerant plants in my garden now, like mangave, agave and aeoniums, which make life a lot easier from the watering perspective through the summer months.

To help prevent surface water flooding you can use permeable paving or keep hard paved areas to a minimum useable size, especially if you live in a town or city. This type of flooding is becoming ever more of an issue due to more severe rainfall events and people paving over their gardens. All my new paved areas in the back garden have shingle edges to aid rainwater to soak away.
Get wise and recycle
Getting wise with waste can help you grow better plants and is a great way to make low-budget wildlife habitats. Pile up branches, logs and other non-compostable natural materials in a tucked away spot. They’ll soon become a useful habitat for many creatures such as beetles, hedgehogs and amphibians. Composting at home to make soil conditioner, will improve your soil’s structure and fertility, which in turn will boost plant growth.
I have lots of items on display that have been recycled and look great as pieces of sculpture, like old stained-glass windows that I had frames made for so they could be set in the hedge as a feature.

Another great recycled element is an old farm plough with lots of succulents perched on and around it. The old railway sleepers that make up the wall with the orange oil can mirror is another great example. I also have two vintage typewriters on display surrounded by small containers of succulents too.
Happy hunting for your own recycled treasures.