A large suburban garden - Nicola Hunt

Nicola Hunt's garden

Nicola Hunt has a suburban garden which she has been tending for the last 11 years.

It is next to a golf course and a wood backs onto the garden, with mature trees including yew, goat willow, elder, hazel, whitebeam, sycamore and beech. The neighbourhood has quite large and well-established gardens and mature roadside trees, including firs, silver birch and cherry.

The front garden of Nicola’s house, 12 m x 9 m (37 ft x 28 ft), facing south-west, has herbaceous borders and a hedge. The back garden, 12 m x 27 m (37 ft x 84 ft) is fenced. Both have paved areas and lawns.

Insect appeal

Flowers, both cultivated and wild herbaceous and biennial plants, offer a mass of colour, over a long flowering season, perfect for a long list of fascinating insects. Stag beetles, mighty impressive dead wood specialists, are among the best. Because of its scarcity, the stag beetle even has its own Biodiversity Action Plan.

'Flowers, both cultivated and wild herbaceous and biennial plants, offer a mass of colour, over a long flowering season, perfect for a long list of fascinating insects.'

Trees and shrubs offer a good mixture of structures and a balance between deciduous and evergreen plants, as well as native and non-native species. For the birds, this ensures fruits, seeds and shelter through the year.

Tidying and pruning is left until spring, so birds have somewhere to forage for seeds in winter. House sparrows do not visit, but starlings do, as well as blackbirds and dunnocks.

The diversity and density of planting gives shelter for badgers and suitable feeding areas for bats. There is no pond, but Nicola's garden has birdbaths, and the humidity created from the planting is ideal for frogs and toads.

Smaller features, created to give extra habitat, include dead wood, piles of rocks and stone, grass cuttings and various tiles and plastic sheets. There is a large solitary bee nest and a toad refuge, and slow worms use a compost heap, a real bonus in a garden such as this.

Homes for Wildlife tips

Nicola's garden is a haven for wildlife, but here are some more ideas for a large suburban garden that could boost its wildlife value even further.

  • Allow some grass to grow longer through summer (preferably in front of a shrub bed) and leave some to stand over winter.
  • Retain dead herbaceous stems and annuals over winter and wait until early spring to tidy them.
  • Increase the amount of dead wood by including a deadwood bucket.

What can I do?

Take part in 'Homes for Wildlife' and we'll provide you with all the advice you'll need to attract birds and other wildlife to your garden.

Transform your garden into a wildlife haven

Last modified: 09 January 2008