Five ways to turn your garden into a summer wildlife haven

Whether you have a city balcony or a rural half-acre, it's easy to help your furry, feathered and segmented friends survive and thrive

Rewilded and more informal cottage gardens offer rich biodiversity. File pictures

Most of us feel vitally connected to our gardens and outside spaces when the weather warms up. For wildlife, hot conditions present particular and often fatal challenges at a time when creeping urbanisation is splintering natural habitats. Whether you have a balcony hovering over a cityscape or a verdant third of an acre, there are dozens of ways to reach out to the life under our feet, nestled in the borders, and skimming the air.

Bee drinker