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  Gareth July 3, 2009 at 9:34pm

  Natural England (the goverment body that advises on nature conservation) has some good free downloads on subjects such as this, such as planting native hedgerows and how best to manage them for wildlife. they'll send you a gardening for wildlife cd free aswell if you email them! Have a look at their web-site.
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  Lisa Valentine July 3, 2009 at 10:04pm

  Buddleja's are great for butterflies. A customer of mine has about 3 of them within a very small area. One white, a darker purple and a lighter purple. I went into their garden and it took my breath away as there were monarch butterflies - I think I must have counted about 8-10 of them. Berberis from my list that I have in front of me is good for attracting bees and birds. Meadowsweet although not a shrub or tree is great for butterflies and smells fantastic. Pyracanthas are good for berries for birds and bees. Lilac's for birds, butterflies and bees. It depends on how tall the school is going to allow these to get without the neighbour getting upset. I also remember my old tutor saying about snowberries and how because they're white the birds don't go for them until the end of winter due to the colour and they just don't attract the birds until they get really desperate.
  
  I go to a lovely customer, she has a small but fantastic wildlife garden to the point it confuses me whether she will class a weed as a plant or not. However she has clematis tangutica (yellow flowered). It's prolific but the birds love it.
  
  If it is a wildlife garden, it might be worth you googling landlife, they're a charity and they create wildflower meadows in the middle of inner city areas. Their website might give you a few more ideas on how to develop the grounds a bit more for the kids at the school. They also sell wildflower seeds and plug plants. Maybe you could involve the kids with seed sowing.
  
  I hope this helps and it sounds a lovely school and they're lucky to have you help them out.
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  Shadow Hall July 4, 2009 at 8:00am

  Hi Donny
  I have written a blog on how to create a wildflower meadow which may help and I have to agree with Lisa about the meadowsweet and budleja.
  Why not ask all the local garden centres for donations of plants and seed in exchange for their business name written on a thank you plaque attached to the school fence and in the school newsletter. I have done a thank you plaque for my show garden, I got it from vistaprint for £12 its actually a lawn sign but you can edit it with any information you want.
  You can also write a letter to be published in your local paper asking for donations and volunteers this will keep expenditure low and make it more difficult for the neighbour to complain.
  Try approaching the neighbour with your plans first and asking for their input and how they would like to see it happen this may get them onside, they also have the right to be in their property in privacy.
  
  Good luck
  
  Shadow
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  Donny Bryan July 6, 2009 at 12:25pm

  Thanks Rubus - I've accessed their site & downloaded/requested useful information
  
  Rubus said:

  Natural England (the goverment body that advises on nature conservation) has some good free downloads on subjects such as this, such as planting native hedgerows and how best to manage them for wildlife. they'll send you a gardening for wildlife cd free aswell if you email them! Have a look at their web-site.
• 

  Donny Bryan July 6, 2009 at 12:25pm

  Some great ideas Lisa, thanks!
  
  Lisa Valentine said:

  Buddleja's are great for butterflies. A customer of mine has about 3 of them within a very small area. One white, a darker purple and a lighter purple. I went into their garden and it took my breath away as there were monarch butterflies - I think I must have counted about 8-10 of them. Berberis from my list that I have in front of me is good for attracting bees and birds. Meadowsweet although not a shrub or tree is great for butterflies and smells fantastic. Pyracanthas are good for berries for birds and bees. Lilac's for birds, butterflies and bees. It depends on how tall the school is going to allow these to get without the neighbour getting upset. I also remember my old tutor saying about snowberries and how because they're white the birds don't go for them until the end of winter due to the colour and they just don't attract the birds until they get really desperate.
  
  I go to a lovely customer, she has a small but fantastic wildlife garden to the point it confuses me whether she will class a weed as a plant or not. However she has clematis tangutica (yellow flowered). It's prolific but the birds love it.
  
  If it is a wildlife garden, it might be worth you googling landlife, they're a charity and they create wildflower meadows in the middle of inner city areas. Their website might give you a few more ideas on how to develop the grounds a bit more for the kids at the school. They also sell wildflower seeds and plug plants. Maybe you could involve the kids with seed sowing.
  
  I hope this helps and it sounds a lovely school and they're lucky to have you help them out.
• 

  Donny Bryan July 6, 2009 at 12:36pm

  Thanks Shadow - I'll definitely check out your blog. I love the idea of getting the local garden centres to donate for a thank-you plaque. Where would any of us be without the wonderful Vistaprint??? The issue with the neighbour is slightly different. She actually has good privacy. Unfortunately she bought a property on a main road and next door to a school and has now decided that it's the council & school's responsibility to make sure that she cannot see or hear either! The school has bent over backwards to attempt to accommodate her ever increasingly unrealistic demands but have now reached a point of having to push back. To be fair the only place she can see the school from is if she stands in her front garden and peers over the brick wall at the side of her drive - then she can only see the area designated for the wildlife garden or if she stands at her landing window when she can see the side wall of the school (no windows in this side of the school). However, we continue to attempt to maintain good relations :)
  
  Shadow Jewers-Hall said:

  Hi Donny
  I have written a blog on how to create a wildflower meadow which may help and I have to agree with Lisa about the meadowsweet and budleja.
  Why not ask all the local garden centres for donations of plants and seed in exchange for their business name written on a thank you plaque attached to the school fence and in the school newsletter. I have done a thank you plaque for my show garden, I got it from vistaprint for £12 its actually a lawn sign but you can edit it with any information you want.
  You can also write a letter to be published in your local paper asking for donations and volunteers this will keep expenditure low and make it more difficult for the neighbour to complain.
  Try approaching the neighbour with your plans first and asking for their input and how they would like to see it happen this may get them onside, they also have the right to be in their property in privacy.
  
  Good luck
  
  Shadow