Get into your garden to help the wildlife.

Byline: By Derek Hilton-Brown

The summer has not been the sunniest ever, but Derek Hilton-Brown says it's even more important to get out in that garden to help the wildlife.

Many may have been battered by the rain, but the plants that have survived will now have reached the peak of their growth ( even the lawn!

And, if you've moved into a new home, you may have abandoned your plans to transform that new space. So this is the perfect time to think wild.

Some gardens have limited space or are already fully stocked and planned. However, why not use every space and use existing structures to provide extra homes for wildlife. Even the smallest yard can become a valuable mini nature reserve.

All vertical surfaces can provide homes and food for wildlife, so why not erect a pergola, archway or trellis? Then clothe these, your house, shed, garden walls and fences with wildlife-friendly climbing shrubs and plants.

It's best to secure your trellis with blocks of wood, these can be attached to the wall with masonry nails or screws, then hook or nail the trellis on to these blocks.

The aim is to create a gap of about 8cm between the wall and trellis.

This reduces the risk of fungal attack by allowing a free flow of air around the climbing plants.

Even more importantly hibernating butterflies, insects, nesting and roosting birds, will use this gap.

Wall shrubs ( The following shrubs need tying up to the trellis or wall.

* Firethorn pyracantha atalantiodes ( thorny shrub for nesting thrushes and blackbirds. Berries for birds and nectar for bees.

* Quince Chaenomeles speciosa ( Provides nectar and pollen for bees and nesting site for birds.

* Cotoneaster Cotoneaster horizontalis, C. salicifolius ( Berries are eaten by birds and small mammals. Small pink/white flowers produce nectar for bees.

* Dog rose Rosa canina ( Hips are consumed by birds and mammals.

Self-clinging climbing shrubs

* Ivy Hedera helix ( This evergreen climber is an excellent wildlife plant. It provides late nectar for bees and hoverflies, rich berries for birds, hibernating sites for butterflies and nesting sites for birds such as wrens, blackbirds and robins.

* Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia ( Provides a good site for nesting birds.

Climbing shrubs ( These are best trained up through other shrubs.

* Honeysuckle lonicera pericylmenum ( Attracts moths and late flying bees with its strong scent. Birds benefit from the berries and the bark is used in nest building.

* Old man's beard Clematis vitalba - Provides seeds and nesting sites for birds.

* Nasturtium Tropaeolum ( This climbing annual is a favourite of many bees. Birds and small mammals eat the seeds.

Wildlife On Walls

Don't underestimate the importance of your garden wall; a surprising variety of wildlife lives on walls. Many small animals shelter in moist crevices, solitary mason bees build their nests in crumbling mortar and butterflies use them as basking sites.

Plants for walls:

* Ferns

* Ivy leaved toad flax Cymbalaria muralis

* Rock cress Aubretia deltoida

* Stonecrop Sedum Sp.

* Red valerian Centranthus ruber

* Wallflower Cheiranthus cheiri

* Alyssum Alyssum saxatile

* Derek Hilton-Brown is Wildspace Network Officer for Blyth Valley's environmental project CONE. For more information or a copy of CONE's free Wildlife Gardening booklet, tel: [phone], or email dhiltonbrown@ blythvalley.gov.uk. Northumberland Wildlife Trust can be contacted on [phone].