THE best thing about wildlife gardening is that you don’t even need to be particularly interested in gardening to create a wildlife haven. One way you can encourage interesting wildlife into your garden is by sowing wildflowers.

Insects have seen a worrying decline in numbers during the last century. Since 1990 we have seen a 75 per cent decline in biomass in flying insects, so imagine how many have been lost through intensive farming, widespread hedgerow removal and pesticide use since the Second World War. Our gardens are a valuable resource for insects, as they cover more land than all the nature reserves in Britain.

Many imported or cultivated garden plants will have nectar that adult-pollinating insects can drink, but native insect species quite often need native plants for their young to eat, especially the rarer ones. Without this they cannot breed and their numbers will continue to decline, which without these vital pollinators will affect the yield of our crops and so our food security. It’s not just humans which need insect pollinators for our food production – they are the bottom of the food chain for other animals. So by starting at the bottom of this chain by the plants you grow, your garden can become a beacon for lots of wildlife, from predators that control pests like aphids, and birds, bats and hedgehogs, too.

Native plants are mostly easy to grow – in fact, it’s usually controlling them that can be more of a problem. Which is why, if you aren’t particularly interested in gardening, I’d say, give wildflowers a go. If they self-seed, they might swamp a keen gardener’s treasured, delicate plant, but if everything you sow has equal vigour, and you like the flowers, then letting it go wild can be a beautiful thing! Plus it’s in fashion! You only have to glimpse at a gardening programme to see that top garden designers are embracing the natural look. If you don’t get chance to do much clearing and weeding in your back garden, that’s fine too – insects need vegetation and cover to hibernate over winter.

This autumn, the Transition Town Wellington Facebook page will have detailed posts showing how-to guides and plant varieties you can use for different circumstances. You can turn a boring, weedy lawn into a low cut wildflower meadow, that is still usable for the family and dogs. Or you can fill gaps in your boarders with either perennial or annual wildflowers. Check it out at www.facebook.com/wellingtontransition

HELEN GILLINGHAM