How do I with Reckless?

Striking a balance with nature is dear to every gardener and no matter how large or small your garden there is always room for wildlife-friendly gardening. This section of our site will be devoted to a series of articles on wildlife and plants for wildlife-friendly gardens. We will also give you information on other sites to link to for help and advice.

There is an abundance of wildlife visiting our gardens and often we don't really notice. Whether you live in an urban area or the countryside, inner-city or suburb, there is lots you can do to attract birds, butterflies and wildflowers as well as caring for visitors such as hedgehogs and frogs. You can provide nesting boxes for birds and hedgehogs, as well as feeding tubes. Simple things such as leaving old tree stumps to rot down can provide a habitat for insects and fungi, there is a whole host of things you can do often with little effort.

English Nature has an excellent website with lots of tips and information. They also have a series of booklets to help you plan and manage your wildlife garden. www.english-nature.org.uk

There are lots of plants and trees you can cultivate to encourage wildlife. English Nature produce an excellent booklet entitled 'Plants for wildlife-friendly gardens'. This gives you comphrensive lists of trees, shrubs, plants as well as wildflowers which can be found or encouraged in gardens.

Trees such as the Alder and Aspen, the Yew and Holly and shrubs such as the Hawthorn and Hazel. Dog roses and Bramble, climbers such as Ivy and Honeysuckle. The Butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii) and Ice plants (Sedum) attract all kinds of butterflies. Bees will love the Tree mallow (Lavatera). Think about Red valerian, Sweet William, Wallflowers, Cosmos, Globe thistle, Sunflowrs and the Calfornia poppy. Always be careful to identify wildflowers as opposed to weeds. There are plenty of good books available to help you identify them.

In my garden I have a healthy colony of Herb-robert (Geranium robertianum) which could be mistaken for a weed. The native Bluebell, Cornflower and Foxgloves are all gifts from nature. Encourage wildflowers to grow in your garden - buy packets of wildflower seed and scatter them on a bare patch which has poor soil and they will thrive. Wildlife can be fun and enjoyable, they are also essential to a healthy environment. Wildflowers give much pleasure and help balance nature in your garden.

Good luck. Keep us informed of your progress on our Forum we are always pleased to hear from you.