Growing for wildlife

The main aim of Hedge and Habitat is to help provide for wildlife through planting. We strongly believe in a 'natural' approach to helping wildlife, using a wide selection of native plants to provide shelter, sites for nesting, and food. 

Providing a range of plants replicates as far as possible the more natural conditions that exists in the wild, and is a more permanent and less artificial approach than simply hanging out a peanut feeder and forgetting about it. This is especially important as habitat loss is the main suspect in driving down numbers of many forms of British wildlife, including the recently documented loss in numbers of butterflies and moths. Domestic gardens have huge potential to help - there are 15 million gardens in the United Kingdom covering an estimated 270,000 hectares - more than all National Nature Reserves put together! 

We want to provide a no-nonsense and pragmatic approach to wildlife. We believe that there is quite a limited and misleading range of wildlife products on the market. There is no scientific evidence that 'bug homes' or 'toad hotels' are actually frequented by animals any more than say, a pile of logs, and in our view, reflect the increasing drive by the commercial sector to 'cash in' on public interest in wildlife without providing any additional benefit. What about those 'unfashionable' animals that the commercial sector doesn't provide for? You can't buy grasshopper houses or lizard hotels!

Native wildflowers, trees and shrubs provide natural environments for all types of wildlife, from the tiniest invertebrate to small mammals, amphibians and birds. Whilst we accept that we cannot re-create centuries-old meadow or woodland in your back garden, the importance of native plants cannot be understated. Not only do they look great, but they naturally provide a valuable source of nectar, foliage and fruit throughout spring, summer, and autumn for a diverse range of animals. 

In fact we would go as far to say that it is the smaller invertebrate, indicator species such as butterflies that are the really crucial species to provide for, because these reflect the 'health' of the habitat, and in turn, are food for other wildlife. The decline in moths currently being experienced will have a knock on effect on the birds, bats and amphibians that depend upon them for food. By conserving these indicator species, we can improve our whole environment for wildlife.

Our approach to wildlife is endorsed by the abundance and range of wildlife that is present on areas of meadow, woodland, and hedgerow that we have planted - habitats that you too can plant - all photos here are taken from around our site.  

Please let us know what wildlife you attract using Hedge and Habitat...