For the last My Wild Garden Year challenge of 2018, we’d like you to plant a wildlife-friendly hedge or if you have no room, fruiting trees. 

Planting a native hedge is a brilliant way to divide a garden, define boundaries and hide unsightly features, and they are of great value for wildlife, acting as corridors for movement from place to place and for providing food and shelter. Follow these steps to plant your own hedge:

1. Choose some native hedgerow trees to suit what you want, such as Holly, Yew, Hawthorn and Hazel. The best hedges have many different species in them so choose at least four. Choose some evergreen species to provide shelter in the winter.
2. Dig over the site, removing all weeds and roots, then mix in lots of well rotted manure to give your new trees the best start.
3. To get a nice thick hedge, plant 5 plants per metre in two staggered rows.
4. Water well.
5. When the trees are a few years old, consider planting climbers such as
Honeysuckle and bulbs such as Bluebells.

You can get full instructions for planting a hedge by following this link or by clicking the pictures below, as well as more hints and tips for wildlife gardening in December.

Don’t forget to send us your pictures on social media using the hashtag #MyWildGardenYear or on email using the subject title ‘My Wild Garden Year.

For this month’s My Wild Garden Year challenge, it’s time to create the ultimate wildlife garden feature- a wildlife pond! 

Creating a wildlife pond is the best thing you can do for wildlife in your garden or outdoor area. They provide breeding places for amphibians and homes for numerous invertebrates, which in turn encourage other wildlife such as bats and birds. It is also beneficial to your garden, as Frogs, Toads and Newts all eat slugs! To create your own, follow the steps below:

1. Find a sunny area of flat ground, away from too much shading. This will provide the ideal conditions for wildlife in the pond and allow essential oxygenating plants to grow.
2. Decide on the size and shape of your pond. Irregular edges are best as they create many different micro-habitats with areas of different depth, shade and temperature. The most important thing with a wildlife pond is that a variety of depths are provided, with lots of shallow areas and the sides gently slope to the deepest point. If space is limited, you can just create one sloping side. A deeper zone of over 60cm is perfect for over-wintering species.
3. From this plan, decide how much liner you need. We recommend butyl rubber as it is cheap, easy to use and does the job well. To work out how much you need use the following formula:
Width + (2 x max depth) x Length + (2 x max depth)
4. Start digging! Dig a trench out around the edge of your pond that you can bury the edges of the liner in for a neat finish.
5. Once you have dug out your pond shape, remove any sharp stones and line the hole with old newspaper, carpet or similar material to protect your liner. Unroll the liner – let overhanging edges fall into the trenches.
6. Add a layer of sand as substrate for plants and animals .
7. Place stones and logs around the edge of your pond to create shelter for future visitors.
8. Now you can just sit back and wait for the rain to fill your new pond!
9. To support as much wildlife as possible, plant your pond with native pond plants. A suggested (but not exhaustive) list is provided here.

If you haven’t got room for a pond dug into the ground, why not create a barrel pond by lining a barrel or similar container with waterproof lining, adding sandy substrate, logs and stones and pond plants.

You can get full instructions for building a wildlife pond by following this link or by clicking the pictures below, as well as more hints and tips for wildlife gardening in November.

Don’t forget to send us your pictures on social media using the hashtag #MyWildGardenYear or on email using the subject title ‘My Wild Garden Year.

For this month’s My Wild Garden Year challenge, look after your hibernating Hedgehogs by building a home for them in your garden. 

Hedgehogs are declining across the whole of the United Kingdom, due to loss of habitat, busy roads and obstructions to movement. Neat and tidy gardens may not provide many opportunities for Hedgehogs to nest or hibernate, so you can help by building a Hedgehog box for them. This can be as basic or fancy as you like, just as long as it’s waterproof and well ventilated.

1. Build or find a wooden box of approximate dimensions 30 x 40 x 30cm high.
2. Create an entrance tunnel or hole in the side of the box approximately the same size as a CD case (13cm x 13cm).
3. Cover the floor of the box with sawdust or earth.
4. Cover the box with plastic sheeting to keep it dry and position it in a pile of leaves or logs near a compost heap or in a shady overgrown corner.
5. Leave some bedding material outside for hedgehogs to take into the box such as leaves or straw.

You can get full instructions for building a Hedgehog box by following this link or by clicking the pictures below, as well as more hints and tips for wildlife gardening in October.

Don’t forget to send us your pictures on social media using the hashtag #MyWildGardenYear or on email using the subject title ‘My Wild Garden Year.

For this month’s My Wild Garden Year challenge, it’s a tough one! Create a home for reptiles and amphibians to hibernate in your garden.  

There is a novel kind of raised bed you can build which will also provide hibernation sites for wildlife, known as ‘Huglekultur’. It provides a home for wildlife whilst also providing a rich soil for your plants. To make your own, take the
following steps:

1. Start by choosing a dry area, preferably where the raised bed will have long grass or other vegetation around it.
2. Mark out an area of 1m x 2m (or bigger if you like!), with the long side facing south.
3. Take the turf off this area and set it aside, then dig a trench 20cm deep.
4. Fill this trench with large logs in a non-regimented way, roughly forming the shape of a bank up to 1m high. This will create chambers below the frost level where reptiles, amphibians and other species can hibernate.
5. Cover this log pile with smaller branches and twigs.
6. Place the turf over the top, grass-side facing down and cover with the earth from the trench, plus extra if required.
7. You can then plant vegetables and wildflowers on top of the mound. The wildflowers will attract pollinators to your vegetables and the reptiles and amphibians living in the bed will take care of the pests for you!

If you don’t have room for a big version of this, create a small one by scaling down the above instructions. Make sure you dig to below the frost level!

You can get full instructions for creating reptile hibernation sites by clicking the pictures below, as well as more hints and tips for wildlife gardening in September.

Don’t forget to send us your pictures on social media using the hashtag #MyWildGardenYear or on email using the subject title ‘My Wild Garden Year.

For this month’s My Wild Garden Year challenge, open your own Nectar Cafe in your garden for pollinators like butterflies and bumblebees. 

The garden will now be coming alive with bees, butterflies and other nectar-loving invertebrates, which you can help by creating a nectar café.
1. Choose a sunny, sheltered spot in the garden and mark out a flower bed.
2. Remove the turf and turn over the soil in preparation for planting.
3. Plant out a variety of plants to try and ensure that nectar is provided from spring right through to autumn. Suggestions can be found on each page of this guide.
4. Choose native varieties over cultivated plants, which are unlikely to produce as much nectar.
5. Add climbers that also produce berries and hips for added bonus e.g. Honeysuckle, Dog Rose, Ivy and Black Bryony.
6. Attract moths with night-scented plants like Evening Primrose and Night-Scented Stock.

You can get full instructions for planting a nectar cafe by clicking this link and the pictures below, as well as more hints and tips for wildlife gardening in June.

Don’t forget to send us your pictures on social media using the hashtag #MyWildGardenYear or on email using the subject title ‘My Wild Garden Year.

For this month’s My Wild Garden Year challenge, we would like you to create ‘Bugingham Palace’ for the bugs in your garden.

This is a great activity for adults and children alike! ‘Insect hotels’ can come in any shape and size. You can go large and use stacked pallets as your frame, or you can use a smaller container like a small wooden box or a plastic bottle with the end cut off. It’s entirely up to you. They will benefit all kinds of critters, from solitary bees to lacewings. There is
no right or wrong way to build an insect hotel so just have fun and get creative.

Try to fit some of the following features into it:
l Hollow plant stems e.g. bamboo canes
l Twigs and sticks
l Straw
l Logs (bark on) with different size holes drilled into the end
Make sure they are all over 90mm deep
l Corrugated cardboard rolled up in a waterproof container
l Sand
l Bricks and stones (whole and broken)

You can create a deluxe hotel by leaving some empty space for Hedgehogs and Frogs at the bottom of your insect hotel and adding a green roof on the top – simply cover the roof with sacking or similar, with some holes at the side for drainage that won’t leak into the hotel, cover with compost and seed with wildflower meadow mix.

You can get full instructions for creating a bug hotel by clicking this link and the pictures below, as well as more hints and tips for wildlife gardening in May.

Don’t forget to send us your pictures on social media using the hashtag #MyWildGardenYear or on email using the subject title ‘My Wild Garden Year.

For this month’s My Wild Garden Year challenge, make a deadwood garden to create shelter for invertebrates, Hedgehogs and Wrens. 

Log piles are a great good creature feature to add to your garden. They will provide areas for shelter and food for many different species, including amphibians, Hedgehogs, lizards and invertebrates such as beetles. Fungi and lichens will also quickly colonise the dead wood.

1. Collect together logs and sticks of various different shapes, sizes and species of tree.
2. Find a shady area of the garden.
3. Pile them together. You can be as neat or as messy as you like as long as you create lots of cracks and crevices for wildlife to crawl into!

You can get more instructions for creating creature features by clicking this link and the pictures below, as well as more hints and tips for wildlife gardening in April.

Don’t forget to send us your pictures on social media using the hashtag #MyWildGardenYear or on email using the subject title ‘My Wild Garden Year.

For this month’s My Wild Garden Year challenge, create a wildlife-friendly compost heap for the Hedgehogs, Slow Worms and Invertebrates in your garden. 

A compost heap is a great way of getting rid of your kitchen and garden waste, whilst creating food for your garden and a home for wildlife at the same time. Invertebrates such as beetles and worms will feed on the decaying matter, which in turn will attract Slow Worms, Hedgehogs and Toads.

1. Choose a sunny spot as this will help the compost rot down more rapidly.
2. Buy a ready-made container or make one from recycled pieces of timber. Try to have a few gaps in the side of your bin which will allow wildlife such as Slow Worms in and out. Make sure it has a waterproof lid.
3. Anything green can be put in your compost heap – weeds, fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, paper. Avoid putting in cooked food which will attract rodents, or ash and faeces which will change the condition of the compost.
4. The compost will be ready when it looks dark brown and earthy.

You can get more instructions for creating compost bins by clicking this link and the pictures below, as well as more hints and tips for wildlife gardening in March.

Don’t forget to send us your pictures on social media using the hashtag #MyWildGardenYear or on email using the subject title ‘My Wild Garden Year.