Shrubs form the backbone of a wildlife garden, providing a framework against which to set the more showy perennials and spring bullbs. They can, when chosen carefully, create a valuable wildlife habitat that requires very little maintenance.

Although native plants are normally best for wildlife garden the value of ornamental shrubs should not be overlooked. In the wildlife garden thrushes will devour cotoneaster berries as eagerly as hawthorn berries and the dunnocks can nest just as safely in a dense, evergreen berberis. Looking at the huge range of shrubs available in the UK it is relatively easy to find something of value to wildlife all though the year.