With the onset of winter and the shortening days we prefer to spend much less time winter gardening - there aren't so many chores to undertake, and staying warm and cosy indoors seems a much more attractive prospect. Similarly, the wildlife in a winter garden is searching out food and shelter to help survive the winter, and there's a lot we can do to help them in their quest for survival.

As we want to become less active in the winter garden, our neglect helps to offer wildlife in the garden many great places to spend the winter months. There was once a time when no respectable gardener could retire indoors for the winter unless the herbaceous borders had been cleared, all the fallen leaves removed and the vegetable patch reduced to bare soil.

Now we realise that both aesthetically and environmentally, the winter garden is far more interesting and diverse if some plants are left to die back naturally. Tussocks of ornamental grasses have a haunting beauty, especially when back lit by the low winter sun, but they are also a valuable habitat for hibernating ladybugs.

Areas of leaf litter provide homes for many beneficial kinds of insect and will shelter delicate plants that may otherwise be killed by the cold weather and frosty nights. The stark angular outlines of berried shrubs and the seed heads of annual and perennial plants provide a visual structure for the winter garden, and lots will endure long into the season, providing important food for birds and other wildlife in the garden who will eat all the seeds and berries during the cold months.

Additionally, stone walls, log heaps and untidy corners provide ideal homes in our winter garden s for all kinds of wild animals, from field mice to frogs, toads and hedgehogs.

There are also ways we can actively encourage wildlife in the garden, not only into the winter garden, but all year long. These days the domestic garden is a valuable habitat and if we manage it correctly we will be rewarded with a wide variety of wildlife in the garden that will act as natural predators on our less welcome garden pests.

Feeding the birds is a top priority for pest control, but once you start, it is important to be reliable and continue as birds will waste energy visiting your winter garden bird feeder or table to no avail if no food is put out for them. In icy weather they will also need water. This is a good time of year to fix new nesting boxes in place so the birds will have plenty of time to check them out before the spring arrives.

Insects also need places to hide in the winter garden and while many will take up residence in existing nooks and crannies, it's a good idea to provide some extra hiding places. These can be home made from simple materials such as a handful of straw or short lengths of cane in a flower pot, but you can also buy commercial versions.

So, why not spend some time making your winter garden welcoming and comfortable for your wildlife in winter? That way both you and they will be rested and ready once the days lengthen and spring arrives.for the lengthening days next spring.