21 ways to help wildlife in your garden

By choosing plants for pollinators you can expect to see wildlife come flocking to your plot. Picture a summer’s day, with clouds of colorful butterflies fluttering through the garden, while the borders hum with bees and hoverflies. But the magic that pollinators bring to our gardens goes beyond a bucolic romance.

Pollinators desperately need our help to survive – they need nectar and pollen, water and shelter – not just in summer, but all year round. We can all do our bit by growing familiar plants to help them, even if we’ve only got a window box.

It has even begun to dictate the way garden designers plan their designs. Garden designer Jilayne Rickards thinks that color schemes could be on their way out altogether and plants for pollinators will become the key consideration. ‘I think people would rather see wildlife than color schemes right now,' she says.

Pollinators are essential to plant and food production. Without them to spread pollen around, plants couldn't reproduce. Growing these plants for pollinators in our own gardens will not only help pollinators but they will also look beautiful in our plots.