Garden Design - part 8

So now our entrance and main entertaining area has been planned out for a whole year, we are shifting our focus to another very important area of the garden. A secondary seating area and wildlife habitat – the Nature area.

I love spending time in nature, and there’s nothing better than being hunkered down in the middle of the action, watching wildlife doing it’s thing. Many of the plants from the more ornamental part of the garden are also good for wildlife, but in this part of the garden the focus is very much on “build it and they will come”.

Different types of plants work for different species. Butterflies love open plants with clusters of tiny flowers – such as Buddleija – which is why it’s often known as Butterfly Bush. Bees are happy to delve deep into the throats of flowers – such as foxgloves. Moths are attracted to pale flowers and whiter plants as these stand out at night. Mice, voles and hedgehogs look for cover in hedgerows and grasses, and birds love seeds and berries – think teasels and rose hips. Hedgehogs also like eating slugs, so a damp area with plenty of cover and a few hostas would be good, and a body of water of some sort is a major attraction – like a watering hole on the plains of Africa – wildlife flock to it.

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As you know by now, my garden slopes, so I’m going to make full use of this natural feature. As water tends to run downhill, the obvious place for a wildlife pond is at the bottom of the slope – less digging for me! Ponds can be made in a variety of ways. I’ve made natural ponds where you dig a hole in the ground and cover it in a layer of clay to aid water retention, I’ve used waterproof membrane, and I’ve re-purposed various containers that hold water. One of my favourites was an old hot tub – which had a frog living in it within 24 hours!

However, this site isn’t big enough for a hot tub – not without a lot of digging, so I’m going for something slightly smaller – an old bath. The plug area has been sealed with wildlife-friendly waterproof sealant, and I’ve covered the bottom of the bath in small rocks and pebbles – giving water-creatures somewhere to hide, and plants something to root into as the bath is very smooth.

We also want to make sure that anything which finds it’s way into the bath can get out again, so I’ve stacked the rocks in tiers at one end of the bath, to create a series of steps. At the other end, I’ve submerged an aquatic planter with a selection of plants which will do two things – hide the side of the bath, and also provide another escape route for creatures.

The bath is in quite a shaded area, but the water is not moving, so I’m putting in a small oxygenating stone (the type of thing you find in fish tanks) which is solar powered. The long cable means the solar panel can sit in a sunny spot some distance from the pond, and the gentle stream of bubbles it creates adds enough movement to the water to reduce algae.

Oxygenating plants are also being added, and rocks around the edge of the bath soften the landscaping and give creatures places to hide. AI suggests it will look something like this when the planting has matured.

If you want to create a wildlife pond in your garden, here are some plants to consider:

Oxygenating Plants (essential for clean water)

These keep the pond healthy and support aquatic life:

• Hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum) - excellent oxygenator, no roots needed

• Spiked water milfoil - great for insects and tadpoles

• Water crowfoot (Ranunculus aquatilis) - white flowers + oxygenation

Add a few bunches - don’t overcrowd

Marginal Plants (edges of pond - most important zone)

These provide shelter, nectar, and egg-laying sites:

• Marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) - early nectar for pollinators

• Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) - highly attractive to bees

• Water mint (Mentha aquatica) - great for insects (and smells lovely)

• Yellow flag iris - structure + habitat (use sparingly, can spread)

• Brooklime (Veronica beccabunga) - good ground cover

  
  

Floating Plants (shade & habitat)

• Frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae) - small, native, wildlife-friendly

• Water lilies (native varieties) - shade + resting places

Aim for ~50% surface cover

Plants for Frogs, Newts & Insects

These create ideal amphibian habitat:

• Soft rush (Juncus effusus) - shelter and egg-laying areas

• Sedges (Carex species) - structure around edges

• Bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata) - excellent for insects

  
  

Pollinator-Friendly Pondside Plants

Blend your pond into your wildlife area like I did:

• Teasel - seeds for birds, nectar for insects

• Knapweed - outstanding for pollinators

• Meadowsweet - loved by bees

• Valerian (red or native) - butterflies love it

• Self-heal & clover - great low-growing ground cover

A walkway goes around the longest side of the pond, to allow access to the pond for maintenance, and steps lead up the slope through an area full of wildlife friendly plants, past an insect hotel to the seating area and firepit – somewhere to have a coffee on a summer evening and listen to the buzzing of the insects and the calls of the frogs.

As the sun can occasionally be very hot in the summer, but the wind has a nasty bite, I am creating a shelter built into the slope within the wildlife area, so that I can be shielded from the sun, wind and rain yet still be close to nature.

Here are some ideas of plants to consider incorporating if you would also like a wildlife friendly area in your garden:

Nectar & Pollinator Plants (bees, butterflies, hoverflies)

• Buddleja (Buddleia) - excellent for butterflies

• Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) - loved by insects; seeds for birds

• Field scabious / Devils-bit scabious - long flowering season

• Knapweed (Centaurea) - one of the best all-round nectar plants

• Lavender - attracts bees all summer

• Foxglove (Digitalis) - great for bumblebees

• Red clover / White clover - brilliant lawn replacement for pollinators

  
  

Native Wildflowers (high ecological value)

• Oxeye daisy

• Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

• Birds-foot trefoil - supports butterflies like Common Blue

• Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris)

• Meadow buttercup

Native plants generally support far more wildlife than ornamental species.

Caterpillar Food Plants (support butterfly life cycles)

• Nettles (Urtica dioica) - essential for species like Peacock & Small Tortoiseshell

• Holly & Ivy - food for moth caterpillars

• Grasses (let some grow long) - essential for many insects

  
  

Shrubs & Structure (shelter, nesting, berries)

• Hawthorn - blossom + berries

• Blackthorn - early flowers for pollinators

• Dogwood

• Hazel - nuts for wildlife

• Guelder rose - berries for birds

  
  

Berry & Seed Plants (autumn/winter food)

• Rowan (Mountain ash)

• Elder (Elderberry)

• Brambles (blackberry) - fantastic for wildlife

• Sunflower - seeds for birds

• Teasel - winter seed heads feed goldfinches

  
  

Insect Habitat Plants (great near your insect hotel)

• Thistles - excellent nectar + structure

• Umbellifers (e.g. cow parsley, fennel) - attract beneficial insects

• Comfrey - early nectar source

• Log piles + long grass nearby (not plants, but very important)

  
  

Grasses (often overlooked but essential)

• Cocks-foot grass

• Fescues

• Meadow grasses

Provide shelter, nesting material, and caterpillar food.

Simple Planting Tips

• Mix tall plants (teasel, buddleja) with low wildflowers

• Allow some areas to grow a bit wild

• Avoid pesticides

• Include year-round flowering (early spring - late autumn)

• Leave seed heads standing through winter

  
  

I love my wildlife area, but I want to grow food to feed myself as well as the local birds, insects, amphibians and small mammals, so next month we will concentrate on the vegetable garden.