Natural world
Insects and spiders perform a huge range of activities beneficial to our gardens. They are an important food source for many other animals such as birds and mammals, fish and amphibians. They also provide products for us in the form of honey and beeswax.
Insects are excellent pollinators and are vital to most of our food crops, flowers, fruit and many other plants. Many insects are predators of garden pests, they are also important for recycling materials from the garden, eliminating waste and keeping our soil in a healthy condition.
Some examples of the many different species of insects that are beneficial in the garden:
We need to recognise the value and importance of insects and spiders and the vital role they play in our gardens. Of the millions of species of insects and spiders, only a few are considered pests and yet they are all seen as unwanted visitors. In order to create a wildlife friendly garden it is important to value insects and spiders and work with them to create a balanced environment.
Huge areas of the UK have been changed, by bulldozers and ploughs, to provide homes, industrial sites and chemically improved farming areas. The space available for our native plants and animals, especially insects and spiders, has decreased and some have become rare or extinct. If native plants are encouraged and chemicals avoided, our gardens can collectively play a major part in conserving nature.
Native plants (the ones that have been in this country for centuries, some even before the Romans) are important because they are adapted and suited to our local soil and climate conditions and form part of the food chains vital for wildlife. In addition maintenance is relatively low. Native plants can be interwoven with existing exotics or, as this garden plan shows, can make up a very good garden on their own.
Illustrated plan of a wildlife friendly garden - [See Larger Version]
The illustrated design, by World Museum Liverpool's learning officer Gina Couch, is a suggestion for creating a wildlife friendly garden, which creates areas with different character or habitats. Materials chosen are recycled or from ecologically sound sources. Within a short space of time a wide range of creatures should visit a garden like this and some may take up residence.
The garden is for North West England on neutral to acid soil and includes:
If you would like to make your garden more insect-friendly you can use any or all of these features and incorporate them into your own design. To help you get started here are some important do’s and don’ts for insect gardening:
Beech Fagus sylvatica
Biting stonecrop Sedum acre
Bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta
Bogbean Menyanthes trifoliata
Box Buxus Sempervirens
Columbine Aquilegia vulgaris
Daffodil Narcissus pseudonarcissus
Devil's bit scabious Succisa pratensis
Dog rose Rosa canina
English stonecrop Sedum acre
Foxglove Digitalis pupurea
Greater knapweed Centaurea scabiosa
Greater mullein Verbascum thapsus
Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna
Hazel Corylus avellana
Honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum
Iris Iris pseudacorus
Ivy Hedera helix
Herb Robert Geranium robertianum
Holly Ilex aquifolium
Marsh marigold Caltha palustris
Meadow crane's bill Geranium pratense
Oxeye daisy Leucanthemum vulgare
Poppy Papaver rhoeas
Quaking grass Briza media
Ragged robin Lychnis flos-cuculi
Rowan Sorbus aucuparia
Sea holly Eryngium maritimum
Selfheal Prunella vulgaris
Silver birch Betula pendula
Snowdrops Galanthus nivalis
Sweet briar Rosa rubiginosa
Teasel Dipsacus fullonum
Water forget-me-not Myosotis scorpiodes
Water Lily Nymphaea alba
Wild strawberry Fragaria vesca
Willow Salix viminalis
Yarrow Achillea millefolium
