1. Make a bug hotel

Attract more insects to the garden and every other creature will follow. A simple bug-box will make a good home for all sorts of different crawlies. Most simply, cut short lengths of hollow bamboo cane and tie them together in a bunch.

Then leave it on the ground, or hang it from a tree to attract flying insects, such as the non-aggressive, solitary mason bee. As Duncan Sivell, biodiversity officer at Buglife (buglife.org.uk), explains: “It’s very cheap to do, so you can test out a few in different parts of the garden, and see which works best.”

2. Build a hedgehog house

Hedgehogs need a dark, warm place to hibernate during the winter, and are just starting to look for places now. To save these little mammals from late-autumn bonfires, build a hedgehog house.

A hedgehog walking on autumn leaves Credit: Alamy

Take a medium-size wooden box (a wine crate is ideal) and a smaller box (or some short pieces of wood) to make an entrance tunnel. Then drill a small hole for air, fill the bigger box with dry leaves and put it in a quiet, well-disguised corner of the garden.

3. Slow-worm carpets

Often mistaken for baby snakes, slow-worms are an increasingly rare sight in Britain. But Sam Taylor, communications co-ordinator of amphibian and reptile charity Froglife (froglife.org.uk), says a small piece of thick fabric can be a haven for the lizards. “Place a short strip of carpet or roofing felt down at the edges of the garden,” she says. “It gets very warm under there, and they love it.”

Slow-worm (Anguis fragilis) Credit: Alamy

4. DIY bird food

Winter is when birds need food more than ever. But many of the mixtures on sale include cheaper ingredients, such as beans, dried rice and lentils, which are added to more expensive ingredients to bulk them out. With a few staples you can make your own, better than any bought in a shop.

Mix melted lard (only pure lard – birds cannot digest vegetable oils or margarine) with a mixture of seeds – sunflower seeds, nyjer seeds, peanuts and millet are all popular. Then pour the mixture in a robust container – half a coconut shell is perfect – and leave it to set. If you have trouble with marauding squirrels, hang the container from a branch with string.

Blue tits and a robin eating from a bird feeder Credit: Alamy

5. Stag beetle bucket

These great beetles are endangered in Britain, but this simple contraption makes an ideal home for them. Take a standard plastic bucket and cut 2in holes evenly in the base and the sides.

Then dig a hole for it in a quiet part of the garden, deep enough so that the rim of the bucket is just below ground level. Fill the bucket with bark chippings and soil, and wait for the beetles to move in. Their larvae can live for five years, so it is important the bucket is placed somewhere it won’t be disturbed.

European stag beetle (Lucanus cervus) Credit: Alamy

6. Woodpile wonders

The dullest, simplest and arguably the most effective unit of the wildlife garden. Simply pick a spot in at least partial shade (you don’t want it too cold, but it is essential the wood doesn’t dry out).

Then pile woody cuttings from trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. Logs at least 4in thick, with the bark still on, are best – particularly hard wood such as ash, beech and oak. Even if you only have a small space, a woodpile in a bucket (with holes in the side) can still be very effective. It’s also important to leave dead wood on trees, as this is a perfect home for lichens, mosses and fungi, as well as insects.

7. Bog garden

If you have a leaky pond, or are worried about the prospect of young children falling in, a bog garden is a good compromise. It provides a habitat for wetland animals, and also plants such as marsh marigolds, purple loosestrife and water mint which cannot grow in open water. Dig the designated area to 1ft and line it with pond liner. Pierce the plastic at regular intervals and cover the bottom with coarse grit or gravel to allow some drainage. Then replace the excavated soil, but don’t pack it down – this will happen of its own accord. When it has levelled out, it is ready to plant.

8. Let the lawn go wild

“A mown lawn is a desert for wildlife,” explains Duncan Sitwell. “Leave at least part of the garden to grow wild – perhaps one of the borders, or a corner of the lawn.”

This will encourage wildflowers to grow, attracting bees and butterflies and also providing a good habitat for ground-dwelling insects in the longer grasses. You can rotate which bit of the garden is left wild each year.

Credit: Alamy

Alternatively, how about a green roof? Many companies now offer sedum matting or wildflower turf, which you can simply unroll on to the roof. For a full selection visit blackdown.co.uk.

9. Look up

The eaves of your house can be a great refuge for wildlife. Provide different-size boxes for different birds – a 32mm entrance will attract house sparrows, a slightly larger box with a 45mm entrance will attract starlings. You can also place bat boxes.

The eaves of a house are much better than trees, which are often home to hawks and other birds of prey which eat bats. Try dotting a few facing different directions. If you have a pond, even better – bats prefer to nest near a supply of fresh water.

A Great Tit resting on a bird box Credit: Alamy

10. Ponds

A pond is a great way to add a new habitat to your garden. It provides drinking water for birds and small mammals, a home for insects and a breeding ground for toads, frogs and newts.

Whatever the size of your space, try to have at least a small area of standing water. Even on a patio, a large container filled with water and plants, with a few stones and bricks below the surface, can help attract insects, and, by extension, birds and small mammals.