Gardening with
Wildlife in Mind

General advice on wildlife gardening

The 'tips' that appear on starting Natural England Gardening with Wildlife in Mind CD-ROM offer general advice for gardeners wanting to 'work with nature'. These appear in a classified list below.

Birds
Composting
Habitat creation
Invertebrates
Managing Lawns
Pest control
Plants
Ponds

General

• There are thought to be 15 million gardens in Britain.
• Gardens cover a larger area in England than all nature reserves combined.
• The use of peat by gardeners is destroying valuable wildlife habitat.
• There are now many alternatives to peat for all garden purposes.
• A log pile in a corner of the garden can be an invaluable wildlife habitat.
• Save water by using butts.
• Avoid using flexible mesh netting (eg pea netting) if grass snakes live nearby as they may get tangled in it and die.
• Mulch your beds and borders with bark or gravel and reduce the need for watering.
• Make a bog garden in an old sink or container.
• A garden sprinkler can use as much water in two hours as a family of four uses in two days - using a watering can around the roots of your plants is more efficient.
• Buy split reed rather than bamboo screens: the reed is sustainably harvested in Norfolk.
• Use water butts to collect rainwater from all roof spaces including your shed and greenhouse.
• Take care when buying stone for your rockery – some may have been removed from natural limestone pavements