How to make a coastal garden
Coastal gardening can be a challenge, but with the right plants in the right place, your garden and its wildlife visitors can thrive.
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Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Chwilio
My jump leads
Ann and her husband nurture and cultivate specialist sphagnum mosses and vascular plants like bog cranberry for a community area of the moss: they’re kickstarting the vegetation growth on Little…
Autumn
There is plenty of wildlife to see in autumn. This is a time of nature's plenty, with a wonderful hedgerow harvest of blackberries, rose hips, crab apples, hazelnuts and seeds. Have a look at our top autumn wildlife.
Mistletoe
Kissing under the mistletoe is a much-loved Christmas tradition, making this plant familiar to us all. It actually grows as a parasite on trees - look for it hanging off branches in large balls…
Common crossbill
As it names suggests, the common crossbill has a large bill that is crossed at the tip - perfect for picking the seeds out of pine cones. Look for it in conifer woodlands, mainly in the north and…
Sea-holly
The spiky, silvery leaves of Sea-holly give this plants its common name. Look for its beautiful, thistle-like, blue blooms on coastlines and sand dunes in summer.
Wigeon
The wigeon is a colourful duck that can often be spotted wheeling round our winter skies in large flocks. A dabbling duck, it surface-feeds on plants and seeds in shallow waters.
Common medium stonefly
As the name suggests, the Common medium stonefly is found in gravelly upland rivers and streams, often on bankside stones and plants. There are 34 species of Stonefly in the UK, which are hard to…
Dog's mercury
Often seen carpeting the floor of ancient woodlands, Dog's mercury can quickly colonise, its fresh green leaves shading out rarer plants. It is also very poisonous.
How to create a vertical garden
Gardening doesn’t need to be restricted to the ground - bring your walls to life for wildlife! Many types of plants will thrive in a green wall, from herbs and fruit to grasses and ferns.
Sea potato
Sea potatoes may have a funny name, but they are perfectly adapted for life in the sand. They are a type of sea urchin that live in a burrow in the sand, feeding on dead animals and plants using…
My reward
Carole has been volunteering at Idle Valley for seven years now; whilst she used to get involved with the heavy work out on the reserve, the garden is now her domain, working with the Recovery…