Gardening for wildlife  doesn't mean that you have to let your garden turn into a jungle of weeds.   You can grow  the flowers, shrubs  and trees that you like, but it does  help if  you grow some native species  that provide  food and  shelter for birds, insects and other animals.   Access to fresh water in a pond or bird  bath is  essential and allowing a part of your garden to grow naturally with long grass and even nettles  will do much to encourage butterflies to lay their eggs.   A wild flower meadow needs low soil fertility, but if your soil is  rich and damp then a primrose and fritillary meadow might be right for you.

The aim is to achieve a balance so that some of the birds you feed  during the  winter will stay with you and eat greenfly and other pests  during the summer.  The one essential rule is that you must NEVER use any chemicals.  so chemical fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides  are out. They do more harm than good and  you will save a great deal of money if you don't buy any.  That includes  slug pellets which poison frogs  and induce paralysis in hedgehogs when they eat poisoned slugs.