Even the smallest of gardens can be welcoming to wildlife

A new report shows that ordinary gardeners have a big role to play in supporting our birds, insects and animals. By Matthew Appleby

Every gardener can help. That’s the message from a new report which says everyone can make a difference to halting biodiversity loss, even if you only have the smallest window box to work with.

A new paper from the charity Garden Organic (formerly known as the Henry Doubleday Research Association) has collated the latest data on biodiversity loss and reviewed all the evidence. The conclusion is that ordinary gardeners could have a massive impact on improving biodiversity in the UK by simple actions in their gardens.

Since the 1970s, there has been a 13 per cent decline in overall wildlife numbers in the UK, and within individual species, up to 41 per cent have shown a decline in number. Currently, 15 per cent of species are considered threatened.

In the past 65 years, the UK population has grown from 51.6 million to 67 million, and during that time, urbanisation in the UK (the proportion of people living in urban areas) went from 78.44 per cent to 84.15 per cent.

Now, UK gardeners – of whom there are thought to be 27 million – are being urged to act to halt the dangerous drop in the levels of birds, insects and other wildlife across the country.

Increased urbanisation – and habitat loss in formerly rural areas – means that wildlife is moving from intensively farmed areas to our streets (think foxes in cities). Gardens and gardeners can help to provide habitats, and make a dent in the problem of decreasing space in the countryside for birds, mammals and pollinators.

WHAT YOU CAN DO… With a window box

As report author Dr Bruce Pearce, Garden Organic’s director of horticultural science, says, bringing biodiversity in the garden is easier the bigger the plot you have; but you can do your bit to tackle the “bleak” biodiversity situation even if all you have is a window box. Pearce recommends that you grow wildflower mixes, salad leaves and spring onions, all from seed and all suitable for cultivation in a very small outside space.

Gardeners can provide “ecosystem provisioning services” through growing food, which the report suggests is as productive in backyards and allotments as it is on farms.

With a balcony

Flowering plants such as sedum thrive on roofs and windy balconies. The perennial herb thyme is a small-leaved edible plant that you can grow in such a spot, while an evergreen trailing ivy can creep up the wall and is good for attracting insects and birds. Nasturtiums bring colour and bees, as well as blackfly pests, which aren’t as bad as they sound, because they attract pretty ladybirds, which eat them. Rosemary has a triple-whammy appeal: it’s good to eat; it produces flowers, and the herb is attractive to pollinators. You can also make insect or bee hotels from old tin cans filled with hollow stems as habitats for wildlife, which suit even the smallest space.

A bigger balcony could house a wigwam or a trellis against a sunny wall, and even an apple tree in a pot, as well as bird feeders and boxes. One idea is to fix two hanging baskets together into a ball shape and fill the ball with organic material and moss to make a hanging habitat. Compact veg such as rocket, spinach and even tomatoes (maybe grown up a tripod) can be grown on a balcony to form part of your five a day. Climbing plants such as honeysuckle can act like high-rise hedges, screening, shading and slowing down wind speed on a balcony.

With a courtyard garden

Even small urban gardens offer high levels of nectar, producing 85 per cent of the city’s total. A small courtyard garden may have crevices and gaps between paving stones that are suitable for growing sedum, ferns and herbs such as thyme. This has the added benefit of greening up the area, and giving it a natural look. Climbing plants can fill vertical spaces, bring in birds and bees, and provide shelter for them: try passion flower and jasmine. Evergreens, again including ivy, provide year-round colour and wildlife.

With an average-sized family garden

An average family garden could have enough space for a pond, which is a must-have for biodiversity. Ledges, gravel and boggy areas provide habitats for frogs and insects.

A one-metre-square raised bed made from railway sleepers or scaffolding planks provides a focus for growing as many different plants as you can in a small space: diversity of planting is the secret to maximising wildlife diversity.

Rosemary has a triplewhammy effect: it’s good to eat, it produces flowers and it’s attractive to pollinators

With a large garden

A large garden can house mature trees. Natives such as oaks can support 2,000 species of bird, insect, fungus and lichen. The trees you choose to grow don’t have to be native to encourage biodiversity, but British trees are better adapted for native wildlife, according to Garden Organic.

The widest range of shrubs, which peak at different times of the year in a range of different garden areas, will bring the most benefit. So, chuck in a pond and structures such as woodpiles and obelisks. Then replace fences with hedges, which can nourish 30 species of birds. Mixes of hawthorn, holly, beech, alder, dog rose and blackthorn plants are the best hedging options for maximising the birdlife in your garden.

Look after your soil by planting cover crop seeds (also known as green manures) such as clover or vetch so that there is no bare ground that can erode. Garden Organic naturally advises against using pesticides and artificial fertilisers.

WHAT TO BUY

Dr Pearce advocates making your own garden wildlife habitats, using recycled materials such as drainpipes, unwanted hanging baskets, and old wood for bird boxes. He says to use organic materials such as wool, twigs and hollow sticks to fill your insect hides.

However, you can buy everything from a hedgehog house to a bird box ready-made, and they may be equally as effective as a home-made effort. Try Wildlife World’s new sustainable wildlife habitat range, which includes owl boxes, a “multi species cavity nester”, frog logs, hedgehog dome homes, solitary bee and small invertebrate nesters, amphibian and small mammal refuges, and even dormouse and red squirrel boxes.

g An insect hotel is just one of the measures you can use to make your outdoor space more welcoming to small benevolent creatures; a balcony (above right) can host food plants as well as flowers

Blue tits living their best life on a cherry tree