Jonathan Ashman
Across our region, supporters like you are transforming gardens into thriving habitats for wildlife. Through our My Wild Garden survey, we’ve seen how small actions — from planting wildflowers to adding ponds — are making a big difference for nature.
Whether you’ve got a few pots on a patio or a full-sized plot, your wild garden matters. Here’s a snapshot of how supporters are helping wildlife thrive, one theme at a time.
Cassie Mayers
Providing food is one of the most direct ways to support wildlife in your garden. Natural food sources like nectar, seeds, berries, and insects help pollinators thrive and ensure birds, mammals, and other species have enough to eat year-round.
A wildlife-friendly garden starts with food — and many of you are planting for pollinators and leaving natural food sources.
Claire's garden in Hyde is alive with activity. She’s added bird feeders, nectar-rich wildflowers, and even a bee drinking station.
Jonathan from Blackpool planted fruit trees and early blooms to help pollinators and birds fuel up year-round. Meanwhile, others left dandelions and nettles to support caterpillars and butterflies.
Claire McCormick
Shelter is essential for wildlife to rest, nest, and survive harsh weather. Whether you’re leaving a patch of ivy untouched or installing a bug hotel, these small changes offer big benefits for everything from beetles to hedgehogs.
Claire added a wall-mounted bug hotel filled with pine cones, bark, and drilled logs — perfect for solitary bees and other insects seeking refuge. Surrounded by wildflowers, it adds beauty and biodiversity to a sunny garden corner.
Pixie from the Isle of Man also left a wooded glade undisturbed, full of bluebells and mature trees — a sanctuary for birds, insects, and small mammals.
Sarah from Burnley uses recycled containers and leaf piles to create simple but effective shelters for invertebrates.
Many respondents shared that their 'messier' corners — with brambles, rock piles, or climbing plants — turned out to be the busiest with wildlife.
Water is vital for all life, yet it’s often the missing ingredient in gardens. Whether it’s a pond for frogs or a shallow dish for bees, adding a clean, consistent water source dramatically increases the variety of wildlife your garden can support.
From simple birdbaths to full ponds, water features are bringing wildlife in.
Jonathan built two barrel ponds — one raised for insects, one low for amphibians.
Cassie from Blackburn installed a small fountain to offer a safe place for birds to drink and bathe, even in winter months.
Others added dishes, troughs, or gravel-filled bowls to support bees and butterflies during dry spells.
Gareth Caley
Claire McCormick
Cassie Mayers
Pixie Wilde
Claire McCormick
How we manage our gardens matters. Avoiding chemicals, mowing less, and leaving things a little wilder helps create a more balanced ecosystem — one where soil life, insects, and plants all thrive together.
You’re letting nature take the lead — and it’s working.
Sarah avoids pesticides, swaps cuttings with neighbours, and leaves seed heads over winter to feed birds. Pixie uses peat-free compost and leaves leaf piles to break down naturally, creating a space where nothing is wasted.
Other supporters shared their switch to no-dig gardening, reduced mowing, and making room for self-seeding wildflowers.
Sarah Cockburn-Price
Wildlife needs to move between spaces to feed, breed, and find shelter. Creating garden corridors, fence gaps, and planting networks connects isolated spaces and allows species to travel more safely and freely.
Many gardens are now part of a wider network for wildlife, thanks to thoughtful features like fence gaps, bee hotels, and climbing plants.
Cassie added native hedging and a bee hotel to provide food and shelter, while helping wildlife move between gardens.
Others mentioned cutting small holes in fences for hedgehogs, talking to neighbours, and joining local wildlife gardening groups.
It's about creating stepping stones for nature - we're not alone in this.
Lucy Coxhead
From urban balconies to woodland glades, these spaces show that there’s no one way to help nature — but every action matters.
Whether you’re letting the weeds grow, planting for pollinators, or building a pond, your wild garden is part of something bigger.
Let’s keep growing together — for nature, for our communities, and for the future.
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