Wildlife friendly gardening this winter and beyond

One Planet News: Our guide to turning your garden into a nature haven

This is the first in a series of how to care for nature and your garden. Take those first important steps. We have so much to share with you.

By Annette J Beveridge

Caring for the wildlife in your garden over the winter season is important, especially as the temperatures start to drop. While some birds migrate to warmer countries, many birds remain in the UK and need to find ways to survive.

To keep warm and to sustain life, birds need energy-rich food and putting out food and water is a kind and important way to preserve life.

But you can do more…

Work with nature

It has seemingly been an unwritten rule that gardeners need to keep a tidy garden, but it is not best for nature. Rather than having a garden where nature has to battle to find food, why not create a haven for wildlife?

Consider leaving dead flower stems, unless more beneficial to the plant. Leave seed heads on teasel, echinacea, sedum etc. Collect some seeds if you wish to grow more in a specific place, but leave some for the birds.

If you don’t have any of these plants, prepare now for next year. Seeds are high in essential fats and birds will also find insects hiding in the stems.

The plants you grow will depend on the space you have, but if you have room, grow hawthorn, yew, and cotoneaster. Crab apples and rowan berries provide a rich source of food and blackbirds, and fieldfares will happily feast upon them.

Winter-flowering plants

You may not see an array of pollinating insects during the winter months, however, there are solitary bees that will be hibernating in the garden and these bees will forage for food on warmer days.

Choose mahonia which is perfect for the shady areas of the garden. It is a structural plant, great for covering a bare space. Blue tits will feed on the nectar from the flowers.

Winter honeysuckle attracts bees during the winter and some species of honeysuckle have red berries.

Winter-flowering cherry, hellebores, and crocuses are fantastic for pollinators and even if your garden is small, plant pots of crocuses. There is always a way to attract pollinators and to help them during the winter months. If planting in a sunny spot, the crocuses may open fully at a time when pollinators are out and about.

Who doesn't love snowdrops? Bees certainly do, but opt for single-flowered snowdrops as this gives bees maximum benefits. Winter-flowering clematis is perfect for covering up walls and for growing up fences and provides bee-friendly flowers throughout the winter months.

The Christmas rose (helleboris niger) will often flower first and provides white flowers that bees love. Ideal for a shady border too.

Another beautiful plant for pollinators is the winter aconite (eranthis hyemalis) as this provides stunning buttercup-like flowers which will take quickly to areas beneath shrubs and trees.

Rosemary is a fantastic hardy herb with a long flowering season. The plants attract a variety of bees so grow in clumps and make a feature in a border.

Winter-flowering heather is also an option and lesser celandine is an early wildflower that opens en-mass. These are perfect for Queen bumblebees and spring mining bees. Plant them in clumps for a beautiful display.

These plants provide a lifeline for pollinators.

Ivy is important for nature too although gardeners may have a love/hate relationship with it.

Leave old growth ivy where possible as this is an important late nectar source for honeybees and for Queen bumblebees. It is also the chosen pollen source of the solitary Ivy bee and it is a wonderful hiding place for insects.

Plant a wildlife-friendly hedge, but opt for a variety of native plants rather than a single plant type as this will provide nesting sites, food, and shelter for birds, as well as hiding places for hedgehogs. It will also attract pollinating insects.

Planning

While a garden designed for nature all-year-round is ideal, it is never too late to start planning seasonally. If you don't know where to start, you can plant seasonal tubs and baskets while considering what to do with the actual garden.

Make your own baskets or tubs - it is easy and fun plus you can choose the plants you want.

Benefits

We know that climate change is a real risk to the wildlife around us. Creating a haven for nature helps wildlife to cope with the changes. Evolutionary change takes time and climate change is already seen to be affecting birds nesting times and the availability of caterpillars or grubs for the nesting season.

When you garden with nature in mind, it helps to fight global warming as a natural air filter. Carbon dioxide is absorbed and oxygen is produced.

A well-thought-out garden creates vital habitats for nature and this includes bees, birds and butterflies. 2024 has been a terrible year for nature and, in particular, for butterflies. If you know the butterflies that normally visit your garden, it is a good idea to plant the right flowers for its caterpillars.

When you work alongside nature, you improve garden health and prevent soil erosion, and the roots of plants bind the soil.

We know that soil is much more important than was previously considered. A no-dig approach is far better for the structure and health of the soil and we will discuss ways to protect soil in our forthcoming series.

If you want to wild up your garden and do your bit for nature, sign up for Wild Insights. We give you the information you need to protect nature and to have your own wildlife haven - the easy way.