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. Early fall is a vital time for feeding birds as they need help to them get through the coming winter, and there are things to consider when feeding birds in winter. High energy foods such as fat balls are ideal but always remove the mesh bags, as these can trap tiny feet.

We wanted to create a 'sensory-balanced' workspace that was both socially sustainable and adaptable' By creating a delicate balance between bugs, pests and their predators, you can improve the health and vitality of your garden, too. The Wild Garden was originally published in 1870 and proceeded through a series of editions and reprints through the author's lifetime. (1838-1935)Shipton-under-Wychwood Wild Garden and Woods is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity No.1133334. The key aims of the company are to provide public access to the Wild Garden, to maintain and conserve its environment and to provide valuable educational resources. A few simple changes in the way you manage your garden can help provide habitats to support a rich variety of species.

Ladybugs eat two things: insect pests and pollen, and there are several pollen plants that ladybugs like, including:' Birds, butterflies and bees are pretty to look at and help improve your garden’s production. Encouraging hedgehogs, bats and frogs is an ideal solution for pest control, reducing the need for pesticides.Alliums – 'if you choose carefully you can extend the flowering season from the early alliums, such as 'Purple Sensation' to later flowering alliums, such as 'Christophii',' says Mandy. 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.

Use wildlife-friendly pest control: The tender new shoots of your establishing plants might delight the local community of slugs and snails, but don’t be tempted to use pellets containing potentially harmful chemicals – there are plenty of alternative ways of controlling them, such as creating barriers or companion planting. Try to accept that they are an inevitable presence, however, as they do provide a delicious meal for frogs, toads, hedgehogs and birds.

William Robinson's revolutionary book, The Wild Garden, envisioned an authentically naturalistic approach to gardening that is more vital today than ever before. First published in 1870, The Wild Garden evolved through many editions and remained in print through the remainder of the author's lifetime (1838–1935). In the book, Robinson issued a forceful challenge to the prevailing style of the day, which relied upon tender plants arranged in rigidly geometrical designs. In sharp contrast, Robinson advocated for the use of hardy, locally adapted native and exotic plants arranged according to local growing conditions. Robinson's vision was inspired by his first-hand observations of natural habitats in Europe and North America, and he put his ideas into practice in his own garden at Gravetye Manor in West Sussex. The Wild Garden was ground-breaking and hugely influential in its day, and is stunningly relevant to twenty-first century gardeners and landscape stewards seeking to adopt sustainable design and management practices. His concept of using permanent planting rather than bedding plants and his insistence on achieving an informal garden by mixing native and exotic plants, swathes of bulbs in grass and a subtle use of colour all played an important role in heralding the change of gardening into what we know today. 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.