Male-fern
A classic fern of woodlands across the UK, the male-fern is also a great addition to any garden. It grows impressive stands from underground rhizomes, dying back in autumn.
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Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Chwilio
Awards
Why not earn awards as you complete wildlife activities and challenges? You'll get to learn, create and experience new things! When you complete an award, youʼll receive a certificate!
Yarrow
Yarrow can be found in many grasslands, from lawns to meadows, its flat-topped clusters of flower heads appearing from June. Cultivated varieties are garden favourites.
How to build a mini stone wall
Learn a tradition with its roots in the Iron Age and build your own mini dry stone wall to attract wildlife.
Spring
There is fantastic wildlife to see during spring. Birdsong reaches a peak and many flowers appear, in turn attracting insect-life, including bees and butterflies. Animals that hibernated over winter begin to appear.
Violet coral
The branching, finger-like projections of this fungus give it the appearance of an underwater coral. Its striking colour and form make it easy to spot, but it is scarce in the UK.
Slow worm
Despite appearances, the slow worm is actually a legless lizard, not a worm or a snake! Look out for it basking in the sun on heathlands and grasslands, or even in the garden, where it favours…
Sphagnum moss
Sphagnum mosses carpet the ground with colour on our marshes, heaths and moors. They play a vital role in the creation of peat bogs: by storing water in their spongy forms, they prevent the decay…
Thrift
Cushions of clover-like, pink Thrift are a familiar sight of cliffs, shingle beaches and sand dunes around the UK. Also known as 'Cliff Clover', it makes a good garden plant.
Rocky reefs
The nooks and crannies of rocky reefs are swimming with wildlife, from tiny fish to colourful anemones. When shoreline rocks are exposed by the low tide, the rockpools that form are a refuge for…
My oasis
Growing up and living in the countryside for much of her life, Helen is used to big wide open spaces and loves being outside. She enjoys coming to the Centre for Wildlife Gardening, as it’s like…
Common polypody
The common polypody is a hardy fern of damp, shady places in woodlands. It also makes a good garden fern. It has ladder-like, leathery foliage with pimply undersides - these spots are the spores…