Birds, amphibians and insects benefit from a little extra help to stay warm, fed and watered when it’s cold outside – and planting some of the best winter plants for wildlife in your garden can make a world of difference.
There are plenty of bird-feeding plants to choose from, but certain varieties will produce fruits over the winter months, providing wildlife with the nutrition and energy they need to survive the colder weather. Other shrubs offer shelter against the elements – and having a good mix of the two will give wildlife a solid haven until spring.
To help you stock your garden with the perfect menu and hospitality for visitors, I’ve rounded up the very best winter plants for wildlife. Below, you’ll find expert favourites for a nature-friendly sanctuary – some of which you can plant right now, and others that might already be doing the work for you.
1. Crab apples
Crab apples are among the easiest fruit trees to grow, which means they’re a no-brainer if you’re looking for a low-maintenance winter plant for wildlife. Birds can’t get enough of the fruits, if you’re willing to give them up – and they often last well into the winter months.
‘Crab apples such as Malus ‘Evereste’ hang on looking lovely through autumn,’ says Rebecca Bevan, the National Trust’s senior national specialist in environmental horticulture, and author of The National Trust Book of Nature Friendly Gardening.
‘Later in winter, they’ll be eaten by birds once they soften and other, smaller and easier-to-grab fruits have all gone.’
The best time to plant fruit trees is during their dormant season, so it's worth adding a crab apple tree to your garden now – especially while the ground is workable (we’re having a very mild December!). Bare-root trees won't fruit for a few years, but it's worth the wait for the wildlife benefits.
Where to buy crab apple trees:
- Crocus: Order Malus 'Evereste' on a range of rootstocks, from £34.79.
- Gardening Express: Malus 'Golden Hornet' produces stunning golden crab apples, and you can grab a bare-root tree for just £14.97 right now.
Rebecca Bevan has been a head gardener, an RHS horticultural adviser and has written for The Garden Magazine and The Telegraph. She has also been a contributor on BBC Gardeners' World and BBC Gardeners' Question Time. Rebecca currently works as the National Trust's senior national specialist in environmental horticulture.
2. Hellebores
I feel like I’m talking about hellebores a lot lately, but that’s because they’re stars at this time of the year. Whether you’re looking for outdoor Christmas plants that put on a floral show in winter or easy-grow Christmas plants for pots on a front porch, these showstoppers are a go-to choice for so many gardeners – and they’re a hit with wildlife in winter, too.
‘Hellebores will provide for insects like bumblebees, which might wake up on a mild day in late winter and need nectar (and possibly pollen),’ explains Rebecca.
Learning how to grow hellebores is usually a piece of cake, and because they’re frost-hardy, they do a brilliant job of brightening up a winter garden.
Where to buy hellebores:
- Crocus: Helleborus niger 'Christmas Carol' is a festive classic, and you can buy the plants from £19.99.
- Thompson & Morgan: The green-petalled Helleborus argutifolius, from £14.99, flowers from late winter.
3. Dogwood
We’ve covered some of the best winter plants for wildlife looking for food so far, but shrubs that provide a habitat for nature are just as important.
Dogwood, or Cornus, is a brilliant choice. It’s one of the best plants for clay soils, if your garden fits that description, and wide varieties thrive in wet soils, too, which makes them ideal candidates for a damp winter garden.
‘Cornus provides a valuable habitat and food for wildlife throughout the year, attracting pollinators in spring and providing berries for birds in autumn,’ says Emma Fell, head of horticulture at Hillier Garden Centres.
‘Varieties like Cornus alba 'Sibirica' and 'Kesselringii' have vibrant stems in shades of red, yellow, and orange, creating a stunning contrast against a grey winter landscape.’
Where to buy dogwood:
- Thompson & Morgan: Buy pot-grown or bare-root Cornus alba 'Sibirica', from £2.19.
- Crocus: Order Cornus alba 'Kesselringii' in a two-litre pot for £22.99.
4. Evergreen shrubs
Another easy way to guarantee wildlife a home during the winter is by planting evergreen shrubs like pyracantha and cotoneaster, which retain their foliage all year round. Those are berry-bearing shrubs, too, and they often keep their fruits well into the winter months.
‘Most evergreen shrubs are great for giving wildlife a safe spot during December, when the weather can be harsher, and many animals start hibernating,’ explains Chris Bonnett, gardening expert and founder of Gardening Express.
Autumn and spring are usually the best times to plant evergreen shrubs, but again, because the weather is so mild at the moment, the ground is absolutely workable enough to receive new plants right now.
Where to buy evergreen shrubs:
- Thompson & Morgan: Order Cotoneaster franchetii from £3.25.
- Crocus: Pyracantha 'Saphyr Orange', from £24.99, produces orange-red berries.
5. Ivy
Ivy is a stellar jack-of-all-trades for birds and pollinators, especially once the plant is mature enough to produce the full works.
‘Ivy is brilliant if you let it get bushy enough to flower and fruit,’ says the National Trust’s Rebecca. ‘The late flowers provide nectar and pollen (loved by ivy bees), the berries are great for birds, and the dense growth is a safe hiding place for many creatures.’
English ivy can be an invasive plant if left to grow wild in garden borders, so it’s best to grow it in a pot or another contained space. It’s actually a brilliant shade-loving plant for a pot, so it’s ideal if you’ve got a shadier corner to fill (but it’s toxic, so keep it away from pets and children).
Where to buy ivy:
- Crocus: This common ivy (from £5.99) is perfect for pots.
- Gardeners Dream: Buy a larger common ivy plant in a 5-litre pot for £44.99.
The best wildlife garden ideas involve plants that cater to nature all year round, and these plants will tide wildlife over until spring.
