Somewhere to breed and shelter

Wildlife requires two fundamental things: somewhere safe to breed and shelter and somewhere to forage throughout the year.

Grow climbers against walls to provide shelter and roosting and breeding sites for birds.

• A thick, well-developed, thorny shrub bed or hedge provides nest sites and shelter for wildlife.
• A bat box provides roosting sites for bats, a pile of leaves may be used by a hibernating hedgehog and a bird box provides somewhere for house sparrows to raise their broods.
• Leave tidying of borders and shrubs until late winter or early spring to provide shelter for insects through winter.
• Honesty and hedge garlic provides somewhere for orange tip butterflies to breed. Brimstone butterflies breed on buckthorn bushes.
• Short lengths of drinking straws, hollow canes or plant stems, tied in bundles are excellent nesting sites for beneficial lacewings and ladybirds.
• Dead wood is good for beetles and other specialist beneficial insects, fungi and mosses.