K wrote:
shazzbat writes
A pond. All life needs water. You get water, it attracts wildlife.
Remember 'wildlife' means the whole lot, vertebrate and invertebrate. If
you want birds, you need the bugs for them to feed on. Don't use
insecticides.
Don't be too tidy. And leave seedheads for seed eating birds to feed on.
At low cost - try to simulate a woodland edge - grass, shrubs, perhaps a
small tree or two. Grow a lot of native species - they'll be host to a
wider range of insects for the rest of your wildlife to live on. Buy one
of Michael Chinery's books on wildlife in the garden so you start to
recognise the things that you see around - birds, butterflies are
obvious and showy, but there's a lot of enjoyment in watching the less
obvious inhabitants.

Yes to all this!! Today my son screamed from the garden that an amazing
butterfly was on the blossoms of the apple tree. It was a Peacock
butterfly! Our nettles have been the perfect place for them to thrive.
We've had lots of Red Admirals and Brimstones and large Whites but
seeing the Peacock today has made our day )