For schools and pre-school settings wishing to increase biodiversity within their school grounds or outdoor space, then planting a wide range plants, shrubs and trees that benefit different wildlife helps. Biodiversity literally means diversity of life. Native flora provide better homes and food sources. This post provides suggestions for different plants – some native, some bee-friendly, others which withstand tough conditions and so on. Also are a variety of useful websites.

• Scotia Seeds – seeds only, but they have a sister company that sells plugs and plants, Celtica Wildflowers
• Naturescape – native British wildflowers, shrubs and trees
• Wildflowers UK – bulbs, plugs and seeds
• Alba Trees – wholesale suppliers of native trees and shrubs

A really useful general introduction to gardening is The Wee Green School pack from High School Yards in Edinburgh. Nearly 20 years on and it is still relevant and available to download from the Scottish Natural Heritage website.

Jupiter Urban Wildlife Gardens at Grangemouth do sell plants to visitors. It’s a great place to visit and have a look at this YouTube clip about this place.

Wild About Gardens is a great website that would be good for children to investigate the plants they want and why they are important for wildlife. Click on the ‘plants’ tab at the top of the homepage and then you are presented with a choice of: climbing plants, container plants, meadow plants, perennial and annual plants, pond plants, shrubs, trees.

Royal Horticultural Society website also has a plant finder section (click the ‘plants’ tab and then ‘plant selector’ before filling in the details of what you are looking for). This is less easy to navigate and the lists you get are not as user friendly (you only get the Latin names for a start off!). It also has a list of poisonous plants and pages for children and schools.

For wildlife gardens, the Ernest Charles website* has a good range of products including nesting boxes, bug pots, magnifiers, etc. The Living With Birds website has a lot of bird related products as does the RSPB.

For insects and other minibeasts, the definitive one-stop website has to be Insect Lore. This company can also supply wee creatures to be looked after by classes. For information about worms and how to look after them, see Confessions of a Worm Worrier.

One of my favourite sites has to by the Organic Catalogue which is run by Garden Organic (HDRA), Europe’s leading organic gardening organisation. It sells lots of organic and heritage seeds and many other gardening products.

The Field Studies Council produce a fantastic array of laminated identification keys and charts about UK wildlife. These laminated foldout charts are very helpful for quick identification of common plant and animal species, covering many topics from school playing fields to woodland plants and minibeasts.

The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) has a variety of handbooks available to members. This includes a booklet about using and caring for gardening tools.

Finally here are some lists of plants (excluding trees and shrubs) which may be of use to get you started on your gardening or biodiversity projects. It’s worth spending time, researching the flowering periods and other information to ensure that you order the right plants for your setting.

Low growing Scottish natives – suitable for a rock garden

• Sneezewort (great for wet places)
• Alpine lady’s mantle
• Alpine cinquefoil (Potentilla crantizii)
• Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris)
• Biting stonecrop (Sedum acre)*
• Sea campion (Silene uniflora)
• Red clover (Trifolium pratense)
• White clover (Trifolium repens)
• Lady’s bedstraw
• Wild pansy (viola tricolor)
• Thrift (good nectar plant)
• Maiden pink (Dianthus deltoids)
• Harebell (Campanula rotundiflora)
• Creeping Jenny (Lsyimachia nummularia)
• Thyme – all varieties
• Heather – all varieties
• Cowslip
• Heath speedwell (Veronica officinalis)
• Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta)

 

Sensory plants – many of these remain in foliage over winter. Not all are native to Scotland

• Curry plant
• Cotton Lavender (Santolina)
• Lavender
• Oregano
• Marjoram
• Mint (keep in a pot)
• Chives
• Onion tree
• Sage
• Honesty
• Coriander
• Rosemary
• Holly (if you only plant one bush, it won’t produce berries)
• Thistles – put the prickly plants (and nettles) behind the other ones, so a child won’t accidentally fall and get pricked
• Lawn camomile – can be planted in grass for an unusual scent
• Camomile
• Creeping savory (it’s a small plant – suitable for a rock garden)

Good tub or pot plants

• Mint
• Parsley
• Nasturtium
• Marigold (Calendula officinalis)
• Sunflower
• Lemon balm

 

Inhibitor plants

These shrubs and hedgerow plants act as effective barriers to discourage access. As native species they add to the biodiversity value of school and early years grounds, creating havens for wildlife. If the area links to wasteland or shrubs, hedgerows or woodland than it can create useful wildlife corridors for fauna. These plants should not be accessible to early years children as general rule.

• Bramble or blackberry (Rubus fructicosus)
• Dog rose (Rosa canina)
• Blackthorn or sloe (Prunus spinosa)
• Gorse (Ulex europea)
• Hawthorn (Cataegus monogyna)
• Holly (Ilex aquifolium)
• Guelder rose (Viburnum opulus)
• Nettle Urtica dioica

Nectar flowers for butterflies, moths and other useful insects

• Butterfly bushes (Buddleia)
• Verbena (Verbena officialis)
• Cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis)
• Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
• Hedge woundwort (Stachys sylvatica)
• Spring crocus (Crocus chrysanthus)
• Anemone (Anenome blanda)
• Grape hyacinth (Muscari botryoides)
• Soldiers and sailors (Pulmonaria saccharata)
• Forget-me-not (Myosotis spp)
• Honesty (Lunaria biennis)
• Sweet rocket (Hesperis matronalis)
• Aubretia (Aubretia deltoidea)
• Sweet William (Dianthus barbarous)
• Perennial cornflower (Centaurea Montana)
• Poached egg plant (Limnanthes douglasii)
• Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus)
• Candytuft (Iberis umbellate)
• Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
• Tobacco plant (Nicotiana affinis)
• Golden rod (Solidago Canadensis)
• Marjoram (Oreganum vulgare)
• Lavender (Lavandula spica)
• Thyme (Thymus spp)
• Lovage (Levisticum officinale)
• Mint (Mentha spicata)
• Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
• Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum)
• Mallow (Lavatera rosea)
• Leopard’s bane (Doronicum pardalianches)
• Fleabane (Erigeron speciosus)
• Cranesbill (Geranium species)
• Sweet bergamot (Mondarda didyma)
• Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis)
• Valerian (Centrathus ruber)
• Angelica (Angelica archangelica)
• Corncockle (Agrostemma githago)
• Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
• Chicory (Cichorium intybus)
• Yellow loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris)
• Hollycock (Althaea rosea)
• Michaelmas daisy (Aster spp)

 

Moisture loving native plants

• Bog bean
• Globe flower
• Oxlip
• Primrose
• Purple loosestrife
• Ragged robin
• Meadowsweet
• Marsh St John’s wort
• Marsh betony
• Marsh cinquefoil
• Lady’s smock
• Hemp agrimony

A word about herbs

At Achnasheen Primary, the garden was regularly vandalised by sheep and deer. Erecting a six-foot high fence was not a financial option so instead we planted herbs, most of which survived the occasional bite and the fierce weather (Achnasheen means ‘field of storms’ in Gaelic). Herbs are generally tough and withstand being chucked in the ground and left to get on with growing without much care. Very few pests seem to enjoy their presence.

Furthermore the uses of herbs throughout time makes for interesting reading. For example, many of our common culinary herbs were brought to Britain by the Romans. This is worth remembering for any history project about the Romans.

This blog post was originally published in March 2010.