Untreated Patches of wood like fences and sheds make good perches, sites for pupating butterflies, and mosses and lichens (bird nesting material)
Fix batboxes as high as you dare (3m+), where they will receive shade + a little sun; bats in roofs are a conservation success story; white boarding lining the roof overhang attracts bat snacks
Water is a great creature feature! Ponds are fantastic for wildlife (see leaflet No.3)
dig a 3-4cm deep corridor and chamber under a garden flag for hibernating frogs, toads, and newts
That space under the shed is perfect for hedgehogs and maybe even foxes. Leave a 10cm diameter gap in the fence so mammals can enter/exit. Small mammals will congregate under a corrugated sheet for a furry party. Put out food for hedgehogs (dog/cat food), foxes (jam sandwiches), wood mice and voles (peanut butter and seeds). Hedgehogs need old leaves for nesting material
Reserve an odd corner for Mother Nature, full of old leaves, stinging nettles, dry seedheads, dead standing wood and weeds.
Make a double veil wall with soil between the layers and stones piled in middle. Provide lots of little holes for entry into the interstices. This will be an excellent home for small mammals, lizards, bees, newts, and a host of others. Plant beautiful thin-soil specialists on top. harebells. stonecrops, ivy~leaved toad~flax;. herb robert and primrose on the sunny side, and ferns on the other
Rock piles, the compost heap, and rotting wood piles are essential homes for frogs, pest-munching beetle larvae, newts. butterflies, lizards, hedgehogs, and are very rare in the urban environment. Locate your prize heaps in dampish shade.
For woodpiles, a mix of different size and species of wood is even better. If you leave the bark on you may even get rare stag beetles in your garden
If you grow just a few you'll be helping the wildlife that depends on them
Hang bundles of various sized bamboo sticks with stoppered ends under a hedge or make a 'stick case' This will be home for pest munching harmless solitary wasps, bees and spiders. Or drill holes in logs and fenceposts.
At dusk pour out a shallow dish of`sugar and water, or try painting 'moth sugar' (mix up beer, molasses, overripe fruit pulp, rosewater or orangeblossom) on to leaves, bark or a strip of material hung in a sheltered spot. (also a day time attraction for butterflies) Moth plants include wild honeysuckle, evening primrose and tobacco plant.
Bury clay pots in banks and shrub beds so the hole is visible. Add some nesting material (old
straw, or sawdust bedding from a pets hutch is perfect) This will be a palace fit for a queen
bee
Or make up your own ideas and let us know how they work - be creative for your creatures!