Establishing a wildlife haven will attract a wide range of different types of wildlife visitors to your garden. One of the benefits of attracting a wide variety of wildlife is that they will help you to keep unwanted pests at bay. Many of them feed on aphids, whiteflies and snails. The activities of butterflies, birds, insects and all the other beneficial creatures can also add another dimension to your garden scene.

Consider the following tips when planning your wildlife garden:

• You could include a pond for newts and frogs; this should be an organic shape, large enough to have a pebble beach at one end to allow creatures to get in and out and for birds to splash. If you have young children, install a safety metal mesh that lies just below the surface of the water. The pond should also have ledges for marginal planting around at least two sides, in which native pond plants such as the yellow flag iris can be planted.
• Use a soft treatment for the boundaries of your wildlife garden. These can include wattle fencing, reed panels, willow or hazel hurdles. If you have the space, plant a native hedgerow to attract a wide spectrum of wildlife.
• Make a meandering path trail through your wildlife garden, passing all the features you have included.
• Place a seat so that you can watch the activity around your wildlife pond.
• Include bat and bird nesting boxes. Attach these to mature trees as well as the walls of your house, but not warm south facing ones.
• Make piles of logs and leave them - hedgehogs love these and other piles of garden debris.
• Leave grass longer throughout, and mow shorter grass paths through it. Plant bulbs in the grass to naturalise.
• Choose a good proportion of native plants of all types. Use cultivated varieties sparingly for increased ornamental effect.
• Plant groups of taller shrubs close together which can be coppiced - that is, kept cut back to about 30 cm (12 in) above the ground every few years. Suitable plants include field maple and hazel. When planting trees and shrubs into grass, keep a 1 m (40 in) diameter circle around them clear of grass and weeds. This will allow them to establish without competition.
• Plant herbaceous plants with a good seedhead. Leave these on the plants throughout winter to provide for wildlife. Cut back to ground level in early spring, when the new green growth starts to show.
• Rake leaves in autumn and remove to make leaf mould. Use some as a natural mulch around trees and groups of larger plants, but keep mulch away from young plant stems, as it can rot them if too much comes into contact. Shred trimmings from woody plants and reuse as a mulch in your wildlife garden.