The Wild Garden: Expanded Edition

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While brand new gardens are typically bland and void of plants, the advantage is that you have a blank canvas to work with. Improving the stony, thin, compacted soil requires some time and effort, but many wildflowers actually prefer poorer soils, so conditions are ideal for this kind of wildlife-friendly planting. Although it may take some time for other plants, shrubs and trees to get established, you can start from scratch and plan exactly what you would like to put in. Planning your wildlife-friendly garden

The moving documentary offered an insight into the pressures on the decreasing tiger population in India by following the sad trail of one young tiger who left the Ranthambore preserve. What plants are good for wildlife in terms of encouraging them into the garden. To offer expert advice we asked J Parker’s Shannen Godwin,and she said the following: Bee friendly plants You don’t need anything fancy to get going – a heap of vegetable peelings, grass cuttings, old teabags and coffee grounds covered with an old rug will soon rot down to a lovely nutrient-rich mix you can use to power up your garden. You can also buy pre-made wooden composter boxes or fashion something from anything you have lying around in the garden shed. Bird feeders are great garden wildlife ideas as a way to encourage birds into your garden, and they also provide them with vital support over winter when food is scarce.Finally, recycle kitchen and garden waste on your compost heap. As well as creating useful food for your plants, compost heaps can shelter a variety of interesting animals – including slow worms that get rid of slugs. What are good wildlife flowers?

A pond, or even just a container of water, will attract wildlife such as frogs and newts to your garden. If you're overwhelmed with slimy slugs and snails, enlisting the services of Frogs and Toads is a great way to keep them at bay. These hungry amphibians are spectacular at keeping down the slug population, meaning no more chewed-up home-grown fruit and veg and no decimated plants. Dig a pond: However small your patch, there is always room for a pond. Even a small sink or tub pond, with a few aquatic plants, can make a great wildlife habitat. Ponds of all shapes and sizes benefit different communities of wildlife – water-loving insects dive beneath the surface, birds prey on amphibians, and small mammals come to drink. The bigger the diversity of flowering plants the greater the number of insects will benefit and the more birds will come in to eat them,' explains garden designer Cheryl Cummings. The great news is that often what is attractive to wildlife – bright berries, a lovely fragrance or abundant blooms – is also extremely attractive to gardeners. Read more: Love Your Garden host Alan Titchmarsh: How did he help William and Kate celebrate their wedding? Where is Wild Gardener Colin Stafford-Jones from?

The fewer chemicals you use the more attractive your garden will become to wildlife. Use organic seed and fertilisers. Allow long grass to grow in certain areas where flora and fauna will thrive. Once you get to grips with how to grow lavender, you'll be wanting to dot the fragrant plants all over the garden and is an addition to your wildlife garden ideas that has numerous benefits and uses. Use a rough, nontoxic wood (such as plywood or cedar) to construct a box-cum-bat cave. The rough texture of these woodsmakes it easier for bats to climb in and out of the house. By recycling kitchen scraps – always uncooked unless you want a bunch of unsavoury rats to show up – you’re doing your bit for the environment by helping to cut down on landfill use and pollution, as well as providing a yummy meal for hedgehogs, toads and slow worms. It was a visit to France in 1867 which inspired him to write his first gardening book, ‘Gleanings from French Gardens’ (1868). In this volume, Robinson criticised the formal nature of French gardens, (he actually thought the Garden of Versailles was terrible), but praised the natural style of the ‘sub-tropical’ bedding.

The lawn has been allowed to grow as a wildflower meadow with mown paths through the sward, a venerable pollarded weeping willow shading its centre. A laid hedge of elm and hawthorn boundaries the lane while to the rear of the farmhouse is the orchard which leads onto Lugg Meadow – an historic Lammas meadow. The garden is managed with wildlife in mind not only through the planting but with log piles, a large compost heap, bee houses and the sensitive hands of the wonderful volunteer gardeners. London Wildlife Trust Diversity is one of the key things to consider in a successful wildlife garden. Plant a range of flowers, trees, climbers and shrubs that bloom at different times, and ensure you include plenty of evergreen plants for cover. He aims to turn his old childhood garden into a haven for native wildlife over the course of two years.

The Hyde Estate, West Sussex

To give the best chance, when planning your flower bed ideas, grow different types of pollinator-friendly plants so that there’s something in bloom for them all year round. Make a meadow: Your garden may well have a lawn which, if mown too frequently, will not support much wildlife. Consider replacing it completely in favour of more planting, and/or a pond. If you want to keep a grassed area, plant a small wildflower meadow that will play host to a multitude of butterflies, bees and other insects. We can guarantee that The Wild Garden will be an extraordinary discovery for your guests and an unforgettable place for you, where you have the freedom and flexibility to create, celebrate and share lifelong memories. Having developed relationships with some of the industry’s finest suppliers, we know anything is possible and each event is bespoke. From bohemian-inspired tipi weddings and extravagant marquee parties to feasting suppers and fine dining luxury, the choice and potential is endless. William Robinson was born in Ireland in 1838 and studied horticulture at the National Botanic Gardens at Glasnevin near Dublin. He went on to become a most influential and respected gardener and horticultural writer. He was a formidable character, hot tempered and outspoken but also energetic and diligent with a classic Victorian zeal for reform.