IF YOU want to attract more wildlife into your garden but don’t want an unkempt wilderness, English Nature could have the answer with its new CD Rom - Gardening with Wildlife in Mind.

With stunning photographs of more than 500 plants and 300 creatures from bats and hedgehogs to bumble bees and hoverflies, the CD shows which creatures favour which plants and gives advice on the right plants and conditions to encourage the birds, mammals and mini-beasts that you want to help.

Conservation officer for English Nature, Jo Dear, said: “With interest in gardening for wildlife at an all-time high, this CD should prove to be a fascinating and useful tool for gardeners across the county. It shows how, without too much effort, we can all make a positive contribution to the conservation of wildlife in our neighbourhoods and with spring almost upon us, it’s an excellent time to get started. We’d like to encourage everyone to help turn Kent into the wildlife-friendly garden of England.”

Advanced search options allow users to explore the relationship between plants, the creatures that depend on them and the predators that rely on them. For example, by looking up goldfinch, links take users to sunflowers (which seeds the goldfinch eats), then to the linnet (another bird fond of sunflowers) and sparrowhawk (a predator of linnets). There are also 100 tips about wildlife gardening and advice about creating wildlife habitats such as ponds and nesting sites for birds - all enabling gardeners to plan positively for nature without sacrificing the appearance of their gardens.

Broadcaster and author of How to make a Wildlife Garden, Chris Baines, says in the CD’s foreword: “Wildlife in the garden benefits people and there is scientific evidence that contact with nature close to home can reduce stress and really make us feel better.”

Published by Plant Press, the CD Rom is priced at £9.99 (add £1.50 for postage and packing) from the Plant Press, 10 Market Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2NB. Tel 01273 476151.