What are the best plants for wildlife and biodiversity?

When creating a planting scheme for biodiversity, there are a number of key things to keep in mind. Firstly, ensure you have a long overall flowering period in your garden; you won’t achieve this with purely native planting, so you will need to use various non-native species to ensure flowers especially later in the year. Secondly, plant densely; in short, the more flowers the better, and from a design point of view, go for large groups of species and use ‘fillers’ such as Foxgloves to pop up in between the groups. Thirdly, look for a true mixture of species across the whole plant pallette, don’t restrict yourself to flowers that originate from just one part of the world. Fourth - check out what is working already; if there are already species that you can see are popular with pollinators in your garden or area, plant more of them. Fifth, if you grow veggies, allow a small portion to go over, letting them flower and set seed, a gift for the wildlife.

There are myriad other ways to help biodiversity in your garden, remember it is not all about flowers and pollinators. Standing or lying dead wood, insect hotels, bird and bat boxes, hedgehog houses, long grass, and areas of your garden simply left to get a bit messy, all go a long way to helping bugs, insects and small mammals enjoy your garden.

Public green spaces and residential gardens are all crucial in helping to create and maintain green networks, allowing wildlife to travel around. By doing your bit, you could be making a disproportionately large impact.

Some excellent plants for biodiversity are as follows:

Berberis; Marsh marigold; Cotoneaster; Crocus; Cranesbill; Hebe; Mahonia; Primrose; Skimmia; Ajuga; Lavendar; Buddleja; Foxgloves; Honeysuckle; Sedum; Teasel; Hydrangea; Salvia; Stachys; Verbena; Japanese anemone; Aster; Clematis; Snowdrops; Hellebores.

Tom is experienced at working with both commercial and residential clients to create planting schemes that maximise biodiversity. Get in touch today for an informal chat to see how he can help.

To discuss any aspect of landscape management consultancy such as biodiversity-focused planting and landscape plans, give Tom a call on 0141 432 1141 or email on tom@tomangel.co.uk