|  |  | Marney Hall |
As one of the country's leading experts in the recreation and restoration of natural habitats, Marney Hall's wildlife gardens have attracted wildlife and an armful of prestigious awards. Marney, who lives in St Ives, has also been described by Country Life magazine as 'a living national treasure'. She says: "A lot of people think they're not artistic, but if they garden, they are. It's a creative outlet and important to everybody."  | | The Quarryman's butterfly garden, designed by Marney in 1998 won the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal |
She admits that she regards gardening as a means of connecting with nature. For Marney, creating spaces that attract and encourage new species of wildlife are particularly important and rewarding. She says: "One of my favourite sites was a concrete sugar beet loading bay in Norfolk. It was full of scrapped cars and chemical cans.  To be able to convert something that was worthless to wildlife is very rewarding  | | Marney Hall, wildlife gardening expert |
"Now, it is now the most amazing wildflower meadow, with something like 22 species of butterfly, with barn owls, bats and tawny owls and loads of lovely birds like spotted flycatchers. To be able to convert something that was worthless to wildlife is very rewarding." How to attract wildlife to your garden - Nesting instincts
Structure and shelter in your garden, and bushes or hedgerows will make excellent safe nesting sites for birds.
- Feeding time!
Put out bird feeders, especially from late autumn to early spring. Give them seeds, specialist bird food, peanuts or fat-balls.
- Fabulous fruit
Grow plants that produce lots of fruit, nuts, seeds and berries such as oak, apple and teasel.
- Rotten stuff
Leave piles of rotting matter to attract insects, such as wood, fallen fruit and nettles.
- Long and short
Keep grass short for birds to forage, and long grass to provide cover for insects and small mammals. | keep it wild! |
- Fresh water
Put some water in a lid or shallow pot for birds to have a bathe.
- Pond pleasure
Create a wildlife pond to attract frogs, toads and insects. Make sure you plant water plants around the edges so they can get in and out!
- Let it grow
Leave a patch of your garden untouched, perhaps a space behind a shed or garage, where plants can grow wild and small mammals can shelter.
- Sow the seeds
Plant wildflower seeds in your borders next summer. Many seed packets offer a variety of flower species that attract butterflies and bees and look beautiful at the same time.
 | | A place to relax: Marney's driftwood garden at Hampton Court, 2001. |
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