Dead wood is an essential habitat for insects and an artificial log-pile can also provide a home for hedgehogs, who need a dark, warm place to hibernate during the winter. Place a medium-sized wooden box filled with straw or dried leaves under a carefully arranged ‘natural’ woodpile – leaving an entrance tunnel large enough to admit the hedgehog. Be generous with the amount of logs and where possible, use rough cut timber with the bark still on and plenty of knot-holes for insects.

Damp areas, leaky or silted-in ponds can easily be turned into a bog garden to provide a habitat for wetland animals and an assortment of plants such as yellow iris, marsh marigolds, purple loosestrife and water mint.

It’s also important to leave dead wood on trees, as this is the perfect place for lichens, mosses and fungi, as well as insects.

Farmers now have to leave a wild margin around the fields to encourage wildlife and gardens can also benefit from a wild corner where the lawn is allowed to run riot. This will encourage wild flowers that attract bees and butterflies, and provides a safe haven for ground-living insects.

Although most of us feed wild birds during the winter months, they can also do with a helping hand in the spring when feeding their young.