Just a few of the residents in a Wildsmith Garden

The Buff-tailed Bumblebee is one of the UK’s biggest and boldest bumblebees, buzzing from dawn to dusk even on cloudy days. A garden full of these furry queens means you’ve got the long flowering season and messy corners that wild pollinators need to thrive. They’ll happily nest in an old mouse hole or compost heap if you leave it alone.

The dazzling Jersey Tiger moth has swept north into Hertfordshire in recent years, turning buddleia and hemp-agrimony into living firework displays. When these tropical-looking beauties breed in your garden, you know it’s genuinely warm, nectar-rich, and free from sprays.

The Hummingbird Hawk-moth darts and hovers like a tiny bird, sipping from long-tubed flowers on warm summer evenings. Spotting one weaving through your verbena bonariensis or jasmine is the ultimate proof your garden smells and feels alive right into autumn.

The familiar Large White drifts over meadows and gardens on big pale wings, laying the next generation on wild mustard and honesty. Letting a few caterpillars munch away shows you’re happy to share your space while attracting birds – the true mark of a wildlife-friendly plot.

With its smart ginger waistcoat and velvet-black body, the Red-tailed Bumblebee is one of our most beautiful native species. Hearing their deep hum on early-spring lungwort or dead-nettle means your garden wakes up with the wild pollinators, not after them.

Tiny, metallic Red Mason Bees are pollination superheroes – a single female can pollinate an apple tree that would take hundreds of honeybees. Give them a sunny bee hotel and a mud patch and they’ll move in every March, turning your blossoms into fruit and berries.