Dd wants a wildlife garden - any suggestions?

[Jaybee]

We currently have a barked play section in our garden and as dd no longer uses either the climbing frame or slide I am planning on getting rid of them in the next few weeks and moving the slide - this will leave a barked patch with no plants or lawn - dd wants a wildlife garden!! Bearing in mind that this patch is only about 12 feet wide and about 40 feet long we are not talking major wildlife here - I have a few ideas including a bird table, some nesting boxes but I could do with some ideas for plants etc to encourage birds and insects - trying to avoid a pond.

Sorry - that should have read moving the swing not slide!!

Hopefully someone will come on here that is a bit more knowledgeable than me but the first thing that sprang to mind was that some sort of a small tree would be a could starting point. Also buddlia (spelling?) are meant to be the best thing for encouraging butterflies. I would have thought that you would be best thinking native wild plants, meadow flowers that sort of thing. You can buy packs of wild flower seeds I think.

not exactly wildlife but some other suggestions for kids
ideas

I know all the stages of butterflies (caterpillar etc) love nettles, perhaps at the back of the border where you won't brush agianst them. Also a ladybird house for the winter ...lots of hollow bamboo canes put horizontally so they can crawl in out of the wind and rain.

jaybee, here are some ideas from crocus.

Planting Ideas for a Wildlife Garden

you could also get a wormery, try Wiggly Wigglers - they also have other garden wildlife products.

good luck, i think it is an excellent idea!

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how about a crab apple tree (malus) - they are quite small, pretty flowers in spring, fruits in autumn and their leaves turn a fantastic organge red. foe easy flowers .english/pot marigolds (calendula) lovely bright orange and yellow, and sunflowers for the seeds for the birds in winter

If you don't want a pond you could try to do a boggy area.

Leave a bit of lawn to grow wild - dandelions are essential for bumblebees. Anything native (inc. 'weeds' - wildflowers to anyone who asks! ) will be beneficial. Herbs of all kinds are good for wildlife, especially thymes and marjorams. Leave any seedheads for winter. If you don't have room for a hedge, grow climbers like honeysuckle and ivy on the fence (I'm assuming your dd can be taught not to eat berries) which will make nesting spaces, and leave the leaves at the bottom for hibernating insects and hedgehogs. A dustbin lid of water will make a great birdbath. Also put down rotting logs and stones for bugs and other crawlies. Roll up some corrugated cardboard and cut off the bottom of a plastic bottle. Push the card into the bottle to make an insect des.res. A great book on the subject is by Chris Baines - I can't remember the title but it's been reissued. Also I find a guide to identifying garden wildlife essential as I hate not knowing what I'm looking at!

Thanks for all the suggestions, love the crocus website bossykate!! I like gardening but I do not always know the names of all the plants I have as many were cuttings or bits from friends or relatives. Also like the crabapple idea, I have some lavender and buddliea in the garden already, maybe I could move them. Re. nettles, does anyone know if you can buy seeds for non stinging nettles as I would rather have those than the stinging ones. Pyracantha is also a good idea for near the fence - may stop the neighbours cat jumping into the garden. The kids understand that they must never eat anything from any plants in the garden unless I have given it to them - seems to have worked so far.

Robinw - is 'white dead nettle' stingless? I assume it is the one with the small white flowers - am I allowed to dig this up from the pathside or should I buy seeds?