Plant list for a wildlife garden.
The following list was compiled by the RSPB and the RHS as suitable plants for wildlife gardening, and is especially designed to attract birds and insects.
Click to see 10 top tips on how to create a wildlife garden.
Common Name | Latin Name | Conditions | Season | Quality to wildlife |
| Field Maple | Acer campestre | Small size makes it ideal for gardens | Summer | Commonly found in wild hedgerows and woodlands, it provides good cover for birds and attracts many insects |
| Yarrow | Achillea milleflora | Good in full sun, requires little care | Provide colour in summer | Attract insects and butterflies |
| Chives | Allium schoenoprasum | Open sunny situation and well-drained soil. | Summer | Attracts insects to its purple globe flowers |
| Pheasant Tail Grass | Anemanthele Lessoniana | Excellent all year accent plant for a sheltered sunny border | Summer | Bushy grass provides cover for insects and ground feeding birds |
| Windflower | Anemone x hybrida ‘Pamina’ | Perfect for the middle of a shady border | Summer | |
| Astilbe | Astilbe x arendsii ‘Irrlicht’ | Shade loving | Thick foliage and large clusters of flowers to attract insects | |
| Gold Dust Plant | Aucuba japonica ‘vaiegata’ | Evergreen shrub | Thick foliage to provide good cover for birds all year round. | |
| Weeping Birch | Betula pendula | Suitable for small gardens | Good cover for birds and insects, the seeds are eaten by many finches | |
| Bellflower (Telham Beauty) | Campanula persicifolia | Self seeds readily tolerating even poor soils | Low rosette of leaves all year round, flowers in summer | Attracts insects with its large stalks of bell flowers all summer |
Sedge | Carex pendula | Fully hardy. Evergreen tuft forming. | Cover for birds and insects | |
Hornbeam | Carpinus betulus | Low lying rich soils – is shade tolerant | Their nuts are attractive to birds | |
| Cornflower | Centaurea cyanus | Requires sun, in any well-drained soil. | Summer/Autumn | Their flowers attract insects in the summer |
| Rock rose | Cistus x hybridus ‘Corbariensis’ | Ideal for large patio containers or a sunny shrub border. Requires protection from wind. | Summer | |
| Dogwood | Cornus Alba | Will tolerate variety of soils and locations. Prefers neutral to acid, moist soils with full sun to promote winter colour. | June-August | Berries taken by wide variety of birds. Winter interest. |
| Cotoneaster | Cotoneaster x Cornuibia | Grow in moderately well-drained soil; sun or part-shade. | Evergreen | Berries are eaten by thrushes, ring-necked parakeets, starlings, blackcaps, tree sparrows, finches and waxwings. Small compact leaves provide good nestcover. Clusters of flowers to attract insects in the summer, turning to large clusters of bright red berries in the winter |
| Foxglove | Digitalis Purpurea | Fully to frost hardy. Does best in semi-shade and moist but well-drained soil. | Summer | Bees |
| Ferns | Dryopteris affinis | Partial sun or shady conditions | Good cover for ground feeding creatures in summer | |
| Buckler Fern | Dryopteris felix-mass | Will grow in dry shade | The large leaves provide good cover for wildlife | |
| Fescue | Festuca spp | Fully hardy. Deciduous and evergreen, most suited to sunny positions | Summer | Provides cover for small insects all year round |
| Common Ivy | Hedera Helix | Ivy grows in any kind of aspect in any kind of soil. It will spread over the ground and climb up a tree or wall rapidly | Ivy berries are a valuable source of winter food, eaten by woodpigeons, thrushes, blackbirds, robins and blackcaps in particular. Hoverflies love the pollen. Provides excellent nesting sites for birds and shelter for insects | |
| Coral Flower | Heuchera ‘Strawberry swirl’ | Sun to partial shade | Late spring/early summer | Thick attractive foliage that provides cover for insects and spikes of tiny flowers to attract small insects in the summer |
| Plantain Lily | Hosta spp | Thrive in filtered shade. Grow in well drained, rich organic soils | Many insects are attracted to the large soft leaves to feed on | |
| Soft Stemmed Rush | Juncus effuses ‘Unicorn’ | Need a moist garden site, with full sun to partial shade | Summer | A good pond plant that will grow in the shallow edges and use up excess nitrates in the water |
| Himalayan Honeysuckle | Leycesteria formosa | Need full sun and well drained soil | Summer | Clusters of dark purple berries that birds will feed on in the autumn and the winter |
| Honeysuckle | Lonicera | Evergreen shrub varieties make good hedges | Flowers are evening and night scented attracting many nocturnal insects, these turn into berries that birds will eat in the summer and autumn. They provide good nesting sites | |
| Leather leaved holly grape | Mahonia bealii | Tall evergreen plants provide good height to the back of a border or shady area | Bright yellow flowers in winter | Long clusters of blue/black berries that birds will eat in spring |
| Mint | Mentha spp | Fully to frost hardy. Sun/shade in well-drained soil. Invasive. | Summer | Spreads rapidly providing a thick cover for insects |
| Zebra Grass | Miscanthus strictus | Full sun or light shade, tolerant of all soil types | The large seed heads will attract birds, to feed on and use for nesting materials | |
| Elephant Grass | Miscanthus spp | Heavy, moist soils, susceptible to frost | Provide good cover for birds and insects. Birds will eat the fluffy seed heads in autumn and winter | |
| Carnival Series | Nemesia strumosa | Popular half-hardy annuals with brilliantly coloured flowers. Make attractive pot plants | Summer | Attract many insects to the flowers |
| Catmint | Nepeta x faassenii | Requires a fertile soil and will grow in sun or partial shade |