Gardening for Wildlife: Attract Birds, Bees & Butterflies

Each lesson starts with a video from your expert tutor, which you can watch whenever you like. When you’re ready, you can practice what you’ve learned with an assignment which unlocks the next lesson.

1. 1 Introduction to the wildlife friendly garden ~30 mins 2 hours

In this lesson you will learn how to make your garden wildlife friendly, but still have the garden you want. We will cover the importance of pollinators and think about the continuity of nectar and pollen supply. We will discuss whether you have to go native or whether garden varieties attract wildlife? You will also learn about the difference between making your garden a food source for wildlife versus a habitat. In this lesson we cover an Introduction to meadows, prairies, lawns and ponds. And also consider whether you can discourage undesirable wildlife.

2. 2 Trees and Shrubs to attract wildlife ~30 mins 2 hours

This lecture is deliciously dense in recommendations for trees and shrubs to plant. It's worth asking Andy lots of questions wherever you are gardening in the world, so he can discuss recommendations for your region. Trees and shrubs are the structure plants of the garden and in the wildlife friendly garden they have many roles: as habitats, places to land, roost and shelter and of course as food sources both in terms of their flowers and fruit. If you only have a small garden please don’t think that you cannot accommodate any of these. Many nectar rich and fruit bearing shrubs can be grown in pots and containers and you might even find space for a small tree.

3. 3 Nectar, Pollen and Seeds to Attract Birds, Bees, Insects & Pollinators ~30 mins 2 hours

This week we are going to talk about perennials, annuals and flowerbulbs. These are the plants that will fit into any garden, however small and they are subjects that you can easily add to make your garden more attractive to wildlife. We are trying to achieve a continuity of nectar supply to make our gardens attractive for as long as possible as a destination for bees, other pollinating insects and butterflies to come and feed. This is where this group of plants excels. From the earliest flowerbulbs to the last of the grasses and perennials you should have plants performing for pollinators for at least nine months of the year.

4. 4 Garden Habitats ~30 mins 2 hours

In this lesson you will learn about the benefit of creating habitats - ponds, insect houses and lodges, nesting boxes, climbers and grasses. This lecture is very rich with suggestions for what to plant in a water garden, and the secrets of success with a garden pond. The lecture also goes on to cover the benefits of insect houses, trellises and other forms of habitat creation for wildlife.