Gardening for wetlands

Making a wetland in your garden or community space can be easy, inexpensive, and brings many benefits to people and wildlife. It creates habitat that's needed now more than ever.

Why add a wetland to your garden?

You don’t need a huge garden or even diggable ground to make a wetland.

Making a mini pond out of an old sink, metal tub, or a container under your drainpipe all make a difference and help increase biodiversity.

With 83% of freshwater species in decline worldwide*, creating more wetlands on both a small and large scale is vitally important.

A pond provides endless fascination to garden visitors of all ages with its cast of comic, dazzling or intriguing creatures, such as water boatmen, dragonflies, frogs and newts.

Ideas and tips for wetland gardening

How to build a wildlife pond

Adding a pond is one of the most helpful things you can do for all wildlife, not just wetland species.

Guide to native pond plants

The types of pond plants you'll need for your new wetland, and which ones to avoid..

Invasive garden plant species

Which are the most damaging to look out for?

Go peat-free in your garden

Find out how your garden can help fight climate change

How to build a mini drainpipe wetland

Creating a wetland under your drainpipe creates habitat for wildlife while also helping to prevent flooding.

How to create a bog garden for wildlife

What you can do with that pesky part of your garden that always seems to collect water.

How to make a mini wildlife pond

Always wanted a wildlife pond but your garden is too small? We've got the answer!

How to make a rain garden

Find out how you can help wildlife and fight urban flooding at the same time!

It's not just good habitat for wildlife

Adding a wetland to a garden is a tried, tested and proven stress-buster too: a place to wind down, think, lose worries and find calm.

In areas at risk of flooding, garden wetlands have the added benefit of slowing down and reducing the run-off of heavy rains into drains. If everyone added a small wetland to their garden, this would help reduce the pressure on our rivers and floodplains.

For gardeners, a wetland means a greater variety of attractive native plants can be grown. These plants then attract mini-beasts which pollinate fruit, flowers and vegetables, and bring in other helpful pest-controllers, like birds and hedgehogs.

* 2018 WWF Living Planet Report