The urban habitat for wildlife.

We were lucky enough to get our hands on a beautiful book this week, Urban flowers - creating abundance in a small city garden by Carolyn Dunster. The book is a stunning hardback guide to making the most of your urban space and fits perfectly with an increasing awareness of the importance of being connected to the earth and creating green spaces, even in the busiest of cities. Carolyn has very kindly allowed us to reproduce a page from the book for you. And you can purchase your own copy here. The urban habitat for wildlife. By growing a diverse mix of plants in urban spaces we can protect the environment and maintain delicate ecosystems. The more we grow, the more insects and other wildlife will follow, attracted by the leafy cover and bright flowers. Pollinating insects, especially bees, are essential to our survival, as their job is to transfer pollen from one flower to the stigma of another, enabling seed production and safeguarding the next generation of plants. Without bees many plants, including essential food crops, would die off. Insects of all types also play their part in the food chain and provide a source of nutrition for many birds, which contribute in turn by eating fruit and expelling the undigested seeds that then germinate far away from the parent plants. Look out for plants labelled wildlife friendly and use as many as you can to ensure you are doing your bit. Urban beekeeping is becoming increasingly popular, and helping to revive a declining bee population. Nesting boxes replicate natural sites in the city, providing shelter and protection for the birds that live there. Insect hotels offer homes to solitary bees and nectar-rich blooms feed all types of bees. You can find Carolyn at many of the RHS events this summer, including RHS Hampton Court on the 7th July and you can find out more about Carolyn over on her website here. She will also be retailing a small selection of Green&Blue bee blocks.