There seems to be a misconception that plants collected from different continents or developed through breeding for garden display are not as useful to wildlife as native plants. This argument will no doubt ramble on for years but the fact of the matter is that all plants benefit life on earth.

There is a school of thought that suggests wildlife is less discerning about whether the plant is from the local area and more about a plant being of the same family or genus.

The first rule of choosing plants for any garden is to select species or cultivars that will provide interest throughout the year. This is particularly challenging in a small space but will a little care and time spent on researching it is possible to come up with a list of plants that will be attractive, colourful and still be beneficial to wildlife.

Why attract wildlife? Well, once you have conquered your fear of creepy crawlies and learned how to avoid bees there are many advantages to encouraging wildlife, Birds will pick out soil pests and Blue Tits love to feed on aphid. Hedgehogs, frogs and toads eat slugs and Hoverflies, Ladybirds and Lacewings have offspring that eat aphids and other sap sucking pests.

Watching wildlife at work in your garden is quite entertaining and especially engaging for children, but the biggest value is in knowing that you have created a garden that will help support insects birds, animals and small mammals especially though the colder months. A carefully planned garden can provide a veritable larder packed with food for caterpillars, butterflies and bees, fruits, seeds and insects for birds and small mammals.

Colourful plants with nectar rich flowers such as:-

Hysopus officinalis, Heliotropium arborescens, Buddleja davidii, Thymus vulgaris, Lonicera periclymenum, Aster x frikartii ‘Monch’, Echinacea purpurea, Monarda ‘Croftway Pink’, Melissa officinalis ‘Aurea’, Nepeta sibirica, Scabiosa caucasica, Sedum spectabilis, Digitalis purpurea, Penstemon – cultivars.

Food plants with berries and seeds such as:-

Helianthus annuus (Sunflower), Stipa tenuissima, Carex flagellifera, Viburnum opulus, Rosa moyesii ‘Geranium’ Leycesteria Formosa, Berberis dictyophylla, Berberis darwinii, Sorbus aucuparia, Ilex x altaclerensis ‘Golden king’, Ribes odoratum, Cotoneaster conspicus ‘Decorus’.

Most plants have some value to wildlife but selections from the above lists can be introduced into existing borders to increase the wildlife in your garden.