Gardening for wildlife
blackbird
General

Wildlife Gardening Forum - free to join and get access to their newsletter and the latest wildlife gardening research

The untapped potential of our gardens, parks and balconies could be part of the solution to the climate and biodiversity crisis, a Guardian long read.

Go wild in your garden! Together, our gardens are a vast living landscape. With an estimated 24 million gardens in the UK, the way they are cared for can make a big difference to the natural world

Insects thrive in tiny city gardens, a study in the Netherlands has found. The two factors that offer the biggest boost are having lots of plants and having lots of different types, but it makes no difference whether the plants are native or not. See also Buglife on the import role of  insects in our ecosystem.

How to rewild your garden

RHS: 12 ways to grow a low-carbon garden  and Gardening for the environment 

BBC: How to turn your garden into a carbon sink

7 plants to keep mice and rats from invading your home and garden

RHS Plant for Pollinators  - gardeners can help wild bees and other declining pollinators by planting to provide forage for a wide variety of pollinating insects. Using scientific evidence, extensive experience and the records of gardeners and beekeepers, the RHS has selected a range of year-round flowering Plants for Pollinators to tackle the decline in pollinator numbers. See also Wildlife Trusts advice on suitable plants.

Plants to avoid in wildlife-friendly gardens - there are two main reasons to avoid certain types of plants in a wildlife-friendly garden. Some showy flowers should be avoided if your prime concern is to attract and help pollinating insects, although some of these may be of benefit to herbivorous animals, and all when dead will help detritivores.  For pollinating insects to be able to use flowers they must contain pollen and it must be accessible. The second, and more serious group is plants which are of national concern because they are invasive and difficult to control.

Nature on Your Doorstep - expert tips and tricks from the RSPB, including advice on putting in a pond, what flowers to plant to help bees, installing nest-boxes...

The RHS on gardening to encourage wildlife includes a list of the top beneficial wildlife for garden, including lichens, slime moulds and wasps, and how to encourage them - see the news item. See also the Wildlife Gardening Forum.

RBK on How to help at home: “There are lots of things people can do  to help improve biodiversity in the borough... If managed well, gardens can provide a rich habitat to a wealth of species in Kingston.”

Alys Fowler’s guide to laid-back wild-life-friendly gardening - ditch your spade, forget fertiliser, listen to the weeds 

Backyard Nature

Adapting your garden to a changing climate | Grow Wild | Kew - how to create a biodiverse and resilient garden for people and wildlife.

How to rewild your garden: wild gardens "need the right (native) plants, the right mix of habitats and the right conditions to give an ecosystem a fighting chance."

BLUE Campaign - Rewilding, Gardens: "If you want a healthy garden full of colour and life, rewilding is for you. It takes less effort than conventional gardening, and all of the plants are already in place, waiting for a chance to grow - no wildflower mixes needed. Rewilding part of your garden is also one very easy step to help restore UK biodiversity with habitats including long grass, hedges and ponds."

 

Hedgehogs

Build a hedgehog highway! 33 ways to welcome more wildlife into your garden

Dr Hedgehog 

British Hedgehog Preservation Society 

Hedgehog Street 

 
Birds

Feeding Garden Birds Guidance 

BirdNET can identify 984 of the most common bird species of North America and Europe. from song recorded on your phone.

UK Bird Sounds

RSPB including how to keep your garden birds healthy 

Good Hygiene Practice for Feeding Garden Birds

 

Bugs, Butterflies and Moths

Help Buglife save the planet by gardening with  bees and bugs in mind: “The best environments for British insects are those that are closest to our native natural habitats. In many cases, that means that the best thing you can do is not very much...”

Butterfly Conservation study says "Wilder lawns feed caterpillars and create breeding habitat" 

BBC on why you should let insects eat your plants: "... Insects face all kinds of threats, and on a gigantic scale. For example, the use of pesticides across vast tracts of agricultural land. It might seem unlikely that diminutive private gardens can make much of a difference to their decline. But Shepherd insists that they can: "We're talking about small animals, so small areas do help." 

BBC on why you should let insects eat your plants: "... Insects face all kinds of threats, and on a gigantic sc ale. For example, the use of pesticides across vast tracts of agricultural land. It might seem unlikely that diminutive private gardens can make much of a difference to their decline. But Shepherd insists that they can: "We're talking about small animals, so small areas do help." 

What do bees like to eat? 10 common herbs are among some of the best plants in providing bees with valuable nectar and pollen throughout the year. They also happen to be some of the best herbs for cooking with and easy to grow. Let FoE guide you on how to grow these bee-friendly plants that will make your food taste delicious. 

Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s FREE resources 

Butterfly Conservation can help you identify butterflies and moths and offers advice on helping butterflies in your garden

Garden Butterfly Survey: https://gardenbutterflysurvey.org/

 

Bats

Bat-friendly gardening 

 

Growing food, at home or in the community

Local community gardens - see also Kingston Environment News for current opportunities and updates

Make your community greener - Eden Project Communities

Morag Gamble's Permaculture video channel: "Our Permaculture Life, on “Simple Living • Permaculture • Growing food • Edible and Medicinal Plants • Compost and Worms • Practical gardening tips • Off the Grid Living • Nature Kids • Education for Sustainability • Fabulous Interviews” 

Lend and Tend, a voluntary-run project which aims to connect like-minded, kind people who want to share gardens: people without gardens and people who have gardens.

House and Garden feature on the rise and benefits of community gardens 

Sustain events 

   This not-for-profit community education project specialises in forest gardening and helping Londoners learn to grow more of their own food. projects. Find a variety of community workshops and events

 
More weblinks for wildlife enthusiasts and wild-life friendly gardeners

London Wildlife Trust protects wildlife across London. 

Surrey Wildlife Trust is a wildlife charity caring for over 6,500ha of land for wildlife in Surrey. 

Froglife has useful information about wildlife gardening, building a pond and much more

Citizen Zoo - a social enterprise dedicated to rewilding in the UK – sign up for their newsletter highlighting lots of lovely rewilding news and events.

The London Natural History Society Virtual Natural History Talk series brings together naturalists, experts and specialists via Zoom. Talks are recorded and you can catch up with them here. 

The Seek app uses your smart phone to identify the plants and animals all around us, and can make the daily walk much more interesting.  

 

Etcetera

A collection of interesting articles and websites taken mostly from our monthly newsletter Kingston Environment News, and gradually being checked and put into the right categories: