Get Out in the Garden and Go Green

Weather permitting, most people will be getting get out in the garden over Easter. But before they head off to the garden centre, Wiltshire Wildllife Trust is asking gardeners to think of the planet as well as their own plot.

Green Gardening Officer Maggie McDonald is spearheading the Trust's new Green Gardening Project, which has received the endorsement of the well-known broadcaster and "green gardener", Bob Flowerdew. He advises gardeners to "Think globally and act locally - make a difference and go green in the garden".

At the heart of the project is Green Gardening Month, in June, which will see events taking place all over Wiltshire. These will range from small-scale "garden parties" to displays at major events such as the West Wilts Show.

Gardeners interested in holding an event, or in making their garden a more environmentally-friendly place, can contact Maggie for an action-pack or more advice.

Maggie has identified 12 steps that will make your garden a haven for birds, butterflies and flowers, as well as having a positive effect on the global environment:

Build a pond. Garden ponds are one of the most valuable habitats for wildlife, attracting frogs, toads, newts and dragonflies to live and breed in them. Just one caution: don't put fish in - they will eat most of the above.

Don't be too tidy. Green Gardening is not a lazy gardener's charter, and it doesn't mean leaving your garden to be over-run with weeds. It does, however, give you the perfect excuse to avoid some back-breaking bad-weather chores, such as cutting back perennial plants in winter. Leave plant stems and seed-heads to provide food and cover for birds and insects. Pile up old logs and autumn leaves, as a home for hibernating hedgehogs. Save your strength for springtime!

Choose plants for wildlife. Plant butterfly-magnets such as buddleia, sedum and lavender, and berry-bearing plants such as cotoneaster to provide food and shelter for birds. Then stand back, watch, listen and smell, as your garden becomes an aromatic wildlife paradise, full of colour and perfume, and the summer sounds of birdsong and buzzing bees.

Use peat-free compost. The use of peat-based composts in the garden is stripping the UK's peatlands, which are a unique and precious habitat for wildlife. Use one of the wide range of peat-free alternatives now available. Or better still, make your own compost!

Check the origin. Buy wooden products with the FSC logo (to ensure that they come from well-managed forests) and ask at garden centres to check that bulbs and plants you buy have come from sustainable sources - and have not been dug up from the wild.

Make compost. Not just a smelly old heap of grass-clippings, your garden compost heap can be a fantastic engine of environmental change. Compost kitchen and garden waste, including newspaper, cardboard and your guinea-pig's bedding, as well as lawn clippings. This gives you a fantastic free source of fertiliser and soil conditioner - just count the pounds you save as you dig it up. It also saves tons of organic waste being added to a landfill site, where it will rot down anaerobically and produce greenhouse gases that contribute to Global Warming.

Grow heritage seeds. Preserve our local identity by growing seed varieties that are local to Wiltshire and the South West. Save seed from old varieties and give some to friends to plant.

Support local producers. Buy products such as wattle hurdles and garden furniture made from locally managed woods. This not only cuts down transport pollution, it encourages traditional woodland management, which turns our woodlands into vibrant, colourful havens for bluebells, butterflies and birds.

Steer clear of chemicals. Keep chemicals to a minimum; grow flowers such as marigolds, which attract pest-eating insects. Right plant, right place. Plan planting to suit your garden conditions and reduce work. Avoid putting slug-prone plants in the damp corners that slugs love.

Buy a water-butt. Collecting rainwater is free - and provides for the garden in times of drought. Contact Wiltshire Wildlife Trust for details of discounted water-butts. Mulch your beds. Cover the soil with bark, straw, cardboard or newspaper - but not peat - to keep moisture in, and keep weeds out.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Maggie at: Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, Elm Tree Court, Long Street, Devizes SN10 1NJ, tel: 01380 725670, e-mail gardens@wiltshirewildlife.org.

Press enquiries to: Sharon Charity, Press Officer, Wiltshire Wildlife Trust; 01380 725670, mobile 07762 347737; e-mail scharity@wiltshirewildlife.org

The Wiltshire Wildlife Trust is the largest voluntary organisation in the county concerned with all aspects of nature conservation. It was established in 1962 and now has over 10,000 members. The Trust owns or manages 41 nature reserves. It also advises landowners on how to manage their land with wildlife in mind, and comments on structure plans and planning applications which affect sites of wildlife interest. The Trust is also actively involved in environmental education. For more information, contact Sharon Charity, Press Officer, on 01380 725670.

FOR GENERAL PRESS ENQUIRIES, CONTACT SHARON CHARITY, PRESS OFFICER.