Plant choices

Plant have a crucial role in tackling the climate and biodiversity crises. Choose plants that provide food and habitat for wildlife throughout the year, cooling shade for your garden in summer, which lock up carbon from the atmosphere, and of course, look attractive.

Garden trees for wildlife

 

Native trees provide food and shelter for wildlife, draw carbon out of the atmosphere, and provide cooling shade. The Woodland Trust provides a useful guide to native trees suitable for gardens.

Woodland Trust - native garden trees

 

The Conservation Volunteers provide a very useful guide to native wildlife-friendly trees, that are suitable for gardens, or parks, or school grounds, etc

Conservation Volunteers - wildlife friendly trees

 

The Natural History Museum offers guidance on the choice of trees and shrubs to plant for wildlife, together with some very interesting information about the role of the plants in supporting wildlife. 

Natural History Museum - wildlife-friendly trees

 

Garden flowers for wildlife

 

Friends of the Earth offer a helpful list of garden plants that are particularly attractive to bees: 

Bee-friendly garden plants

 

This interactive site enables you to enter details about your garden, and then creates a plant list of pollinator-friendly flowers, and a planting pattern, to fit your garden:

Pollinator garden design site

 

Gardens typically contain both native and non-native plants. For those keen to focus on native plants, the RHS have compiled a list of native wildflowers that do well in gardens:

Native wildflowers