Please note:

The Go Wild Festival ran at Kew and Wakehurst place for the summer of 2003. As such many of the festival features can no longer be seen in the gardens, but this website has been kept to give visitors access to wealth of information developed to support the festival.

Don't forget to check out the latest events in the gardens. Find out more......

Secret havens

Can you believe that amongst London's ‘urban jungle’, gardens cover 20% of the land?

Garden borders can offer food and shelter for wildlife

Gardens can be an invaluable refuge for us but even more so for wildlife at a time when the management of our countryside has changed.

The University of Sheffield has recently shown that gardens cover over a million acres and are England’s most important nature reserve.

Your garden has a vital role to play!

An average sized garden with flowers, shrubs, trees and water can provide a variety of habitats for all sorts of creatures. Linked gardens become wildlife corridors offering shelter and food for birds, bugs, butterflies and bees.

Urban refuge

Marigold

What does your garden provide for wildlife?

Every garden has something

• Shrubs such as Cotoneaster provide good shelter and food for birds.
• If you have a Buddleja you will know how attractive it is to butterflies.
• Marigolds (Calendula officinalis) are good nectar plants for insects.
• Ivy (Hedera helix) and climbers on your garden walls provide shelter for over-wintering butterflies as well as bird nesting sites.
• Water in your garden can be used by everything from birds and bats to frogs and dragonflies.

By using certain plants you can encourage wildlife into your garden.

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What is biodiversity?
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