Is my garden suitable?

Flower borders in front of RSPB The Lodge reserve, Bedfordshire

Whether you have a balcony, a large garden, or even an allotment, you can take part in Homes for Wildlife. It doesn't matter how big your garden is because you can attract wildlife to any space you have available.

If you already take steps to encourage wildlife into your garden, we hope Homes for Wildlife will encourage you to do even more, and if you don't, we'll tell you everything you need to know!

Here is just a flavour of what you can achieve in your garden. Register today and we will show you how to do it - and much, much more.

Balconies, terraces and small gardens

Make good use of space on balconies and terraces and you can provide shelter and food for birds and all kinds of other wildlife, such as butterflies and dragonflies.

Planting flowering plants in tubs and hanging baskets will attract beneficial insects, such as bees and butterflies. Many shrubs and small trees are suited to containers. Climbing and trailing plants take up little space and can grow up a wall or over a balcony railing.

Tubs and planters can provide a water feature as an alternative to a pond and house decaying wood - a valuable home for insects.

In small gardens, opportunities for wildlife increase further with the chance to create borders and a lawn, plant small trees and leave areas of dead wood that are so valuable to wildlife.

A water feature, no matter how small, will add value. In limited spaces, you can use a large tub, container, small pre-cast plastic pond, or even an old bath.

If you have a flat without a balcony or terrace, you can still take part by putting up a window feeder for birds and maybe a window box with some flowers in.

Large and medium-sized gardens

If you own a medium-sized or large garden, you can create everything from shrub and flowerbeds to ponds that will soon be teeming with wildlife. You should have room for bigger trees and shrubs and more scope for managing your lawn to benefit wildlife.

Large gardens can provide just about every opportunity for wildlife described in our Homes for Wildlife advice. You can accommodate bigger trees and shrubs and leave standing dead wood on them. 

Create a lawn and allow different lengths of grass to grow. Birds like to feed in shorter grass, but long grass provides seeds and additional insect foods. Many insects favoured by birds and hedgehogs like to shelter and breed in long grass.

With a large or medium-sized garden, you can take on more challenging ideas, such as creating wildflower meadows, wild bird cover, larger ponds or a bog garden and building hibernaculums for reptiles - all made simple through the advice we will provide.

Whatever space you have available, you can make a difference, so please sign up and take part in Homes for Wildlife.