We’ve inherited well cared for gardens front and back, but the small lawns aren’t the best (especially front which is north side). Last year I let it grow for the insects and just kept mowed strips around the edge to access the borders, which I’ll probably do again.

Thinking however it would be nice to remove a large central section of the crap lawn out the front, and put down a mix of native wildflower meadow seeds (shade mix).

Also, a strip the other side of the drive has 3 leylandii trees (in need of reducing or replacing in the future with better trees) and was wondering whether English bluebells would grow here or more of the shade mix wildflowers? This spot gets dappled sunlight at best.

Any thoughts from all of our STW resident wildlife focussed gardeners? 🙂 Further (better) ideas welcomed.

Yep – visit the Wildlife Gardening Forum website – http://www.wlgf.org/ – for some great information and ideas.

And we have a north garden – we are finding that many ground cover and things like heath and heather are doing much better than other things, and wildlife love them.

I pulled up the turf on one small lawn, alternatively you can just let it run to wild naturally (sow yellow rattle) and maybe add a few random plants too. I’ve put in some foxgloves, a cowslip, a nice purple clover from my mum’s lawn, etc. Tried lupins but they clearly don’t like the climate/soil. Most of the mix of plants arrived naturally over the past 5 years. I mow it once in autumn but may switch to two times.

Get rid of the leylandii before they get any bigger, plant something else, perhaps deciduous, so the winter/spring stuff like snowdrops and bluebells will have a chance.

Plant sausages – you’ll attract lots of wildlife.

We laid some wildflower mix turf last year, looks like it’s going to be good this spring/summer

Just spotted this, may be useful:

https://www.wildaboutgardens.org.uk/

Not sure bluebells or any wild flowers would be happy underneath leylandii, or any other conifers for that matter. They prefer better lit areas, plus any conifer that drops leaves or needles over time tend to smother the ground, and make it acidic. Certainly woods where bluebells grow widely in my experience always have mostly deciduous trees, and the bluebells are normally starting to flower around the time leaves are really starting to come out properly. Visit any majority coniferous woodland or forest, and the ground will have virtually nothing growing beneath the trees.
I’ve been largely letting most of my garden look after itself, I’ve got violets growing everywhere, snowdrops are spreading, cowslips are popping up everywhere, including between the patio slabs, more and more primroses, snake-head fritillaries are now flowering, as are celandines, bluebells are in leaf, and I’ve got some wood anemones flowering in a planter, which I’ll put below my silver birch. Some things are spreading into the lawn, and I’ve been collecting wild seeds that I’m going to scatter across the lawn, and I’m getting a load of yellow rattle to spread across the lawn as well, which will parasitise on the grass, keep it under control and let the wild flowers spread without getting swamped.
I’ve got a packet of nematode worms to spread around the garden, to deal with the slugs and snails, which leaves the cats that shit on my lawn, and have been scraping up the compost in the big pot my apple tree is in, and shitting in there, which is just disgusting.

The branches I trimmed off the gorse bush at the bottom of the garden and spread around the top of the pot I’m hoping will act as a deterrent, though… 😈

Sounds good. . You won’t get anything to grow under the leylandii unfortunately. If you can get rid of them fruit trees on dwarf stock are ideal as a replacement; even if you don’t eat the fruit the wildlife will.

Digging the lawn up and seeding a wildflower mix is the most straightforward way. However, it will look a bit bare. You could simply keep doing what you are doing (not mowing) and the crown will open up. At the same time dig out small areas (dinner plate size) and seed with wildflowers.

Thanks for the comments, apart from the sausages one – you don’t even say if they should be raw or cooked.

Shame about the patch under the leylandii not being good. It’s quite open up to about head height so does get some light, but sounds like it’s more of a soil type issue?

I might chuck some seed down anyway as temporary amusement. Be interesting to see what if anything comes up.

Like the sound of dwarf stock fruit trees. I also love silver birch, but fear they’d want to get too big for the narrow space.