Woodland Trust: The top trees to plant in your garden this year to help birds and wildlife

Nature on the British Isles is under pressure, with a recent report suggesting as many as one in six species is facing extinction. Luckily, there is plenty you can do to help wildlife in your own backyard, from giving birds a helping hand during winter, to making your garden hedgehog-friendly. When decorating your garden, you also have the option of choosing natives trees, plants, and shrubs - many of which can also support your local wildlife in various ways.

The best time to plant new trees is during the cold season when they're still dormant, to minimise damage during the planting process. This period, sometimes called 'tree planting season', will draw to a close in March, so you still have a few weeks if you'd like to introduce a new tree to help give wildlife a boost throughout the course of the year - and beyond.

NationalWorld asked the Woodland Trust what some of the best natives are to introduce to your garden. Here are some of their top picks:

Bolstering bugs, from bees to butterflies

Insects are an important cornerstone, helping prop up entire ecosystems. From pollinating plants to being a food source themselves for the likes of birds and hedgehogs, they play many important roles in the garden - and can be a real joy to have about.

An excellent tree for attracting beautiful and beneficial insects is the goat willow, sometime also known as the pussy willow - for its fuzzy grey catkins, which somewhat resemble a cat's paw. These trees grow rapidly (up to 50cm a year!) and can tolerate most soil types, which make them ideal for rapidly greening a new space. They can grow fairly tall but are easy to size and shape, making them good for even smaller gardens.

Goat willow's soft catkins appear right at the beginning of spring, according to the Trust, making them an important food source for bees as they first emerge from hibernation. Throughout the year, their leaves will feed purple emperor butterfly caterpillars - the tree is actually the species' main food source - as well as sallow kitten, sallow clearwing, dusky clearwing and lunar hornet clearwing moth caterpillars.

Birds and beyond

If you're a city dweller, but still enjoy seeing a bustle of birds in your backyard, planting an alder tree might be a good move for you. The Trust says they can thrive in any soil and tolerate air pollution - perhaps even helping other trees clear the air a little. It typically grows shorter in drier areas, so may well work as a shrub or bush in even a smaller garden.

Alder is laden with cone-like fruits over the winter months, and their seeds are enjoyed by many hungry, smaller garden birds like the siskin, redpoll, and goldfinch. In the spring, they are joined by fluffy yellow catkins - a source of nectar and pollen for urban bees.

Hazel (yes, the same trees that grow delicious hazelnuts) also grow beautiful, flowy catkins. It's a little fussier about its home, preferring well-drained, non-acidic soil, but can also be trimmed and kept small enough for a suburban garden. The eponymous hazel dormouse is one of many species that rely on hazel trees - they actually eat tiny caterpillars from its leaves, and fatten up on nuts in the winter. The Woodland Trust says hazelnuts can also attract woodpeckers, nuthatches, and jays - and depending on where in the UK you live, even native red squirrels.

If you also enjoy being able to enjoy some of the fruits of your labours, you could also consider planting a crab apple tree. Crab apple jelly, anyone? The modern apple's wild ancestor, the crab apple fruit is enjoyed by blackbirds and song thrushes, as well as small (or not-so-small) mammals, like voles and badgers.

Helpful hedges

Speaking of plants which can support a vast array of wildlife, you can't go wrong with hawthorn. The Woodland Trust says native hawthorn is most commonly used as an attractive hedgerow plant - and if you are looking to plant a hedge that will help wildlife, it's an excellent choice.

Hawthorn's May blossoms are enjoyed by dormice and a whopping 300 different insect species. These are followed in autumn by nutrient-packed red fruit called 'haws', which are an important food source for migratory bird species visiting the British Isles over the winter months - especially hungry thrushes like redwings and fieldfares.

Speaking of visiting winter birds, there are few more sought after by birdwatchers and nature lovers alike than the elusive waxwing. It can be unpredictable where or even if waxwing flocks will appear any given year, but The Woodland Trust notes they have a particular love for native dog rose 'hips'. Dog rose shrubs don't usually grow particularly large, and also integrate well into native hedges. Their large, summertime flowers are usually a cheery and attractive pink - and smell great too.

The importance of planting hedges extends beyond just providing food. Shrubby border plants will provide shelter from the cold, and safe resting and even hibernating places for years to come. Privet, common ivy, field maple, wild honeysuckle, and blackthorn - with its protective spines - can grow quite dense, which helps protect tiny creatures sheltering inside from predators and the elements.

Another protective hedge plant brings with it both winter food for birds like the mistle thrush, and Christmas cheer. The Woodland Trust says the spiky-leafed holly tree can be a huge hedgerow boon for nature. As well as keeping them safe from winter storms, it forms deep, dry leaf litter beneath the tree - which if you're lucky, might be used by toads, hedgehogs or other small mammals for hibernation.