Kim Wilde's 'grow your own' tips

3. Create a raised bed

Raised beds are really just large containers sitting on the ground. There are several advantages for growing vegetables in this way. Firstly, if you have poor garden soil (as we have in our garden), fill raised beds with good garden soil and organic matter. Also, there is no digging or treading on the soil, therefore no soil compaction, meaning that drainage conditions are vastly improved and plants can flourish.

Taller raised beds are a good choice for back pain sufferers as no bending is required. They should be small enough so that you can easily reach into the middle of the bed (no more than about 1.5m wide), and sited in a sunny, sheltered position preferably close to an outside tap for convenient watering.

Avoid railway sleepers as they are usually saturated in tar. Instead, choose eco-friendly treated timber or bricks. Fill with good top-soil with bulky organic matter, then off you go!

4. Get to know your soil

A healthy, wildlife-friendly garden starts with its soil, and what you then plant in it. In our garden we have flinty, clay soil that is heavy, cold and sticky in winter and prone to drying out in the summer. Because of this we have used raised beds and incorporated plenty of good garden compost to help open up the soil to assist drainage, while at the same time helping to keep moisture locked into the soil during the summer months.

The type of soil in your garden will dictate to a large extent the kinds of plants that will grow happily and healthily, and most are greatly improved with the addition of some kind of organic matter such as garden compost, leaf mould or well rotted manure. Remember that healthy plants are better equipped to tolerate pests and diseases than unhealthy ones.

Organic matter such as bark chippings, leaf mould or well rotted manure can also be used as mulch around plants, which will conserve moisture and suppress weeds. Apply onto cleared soil about 10cm (4 ins) deep in spring as the soil starts to warm, but just before weeds get going and avoid touching the stems of plants as this can encourage rotting.

5. Plant to encourage wildlife

Aim to make planting as diverse as possible, providing evergreens such as holly and ivy for shelter, as well as nectar-rich flowers for all four seasons, especially during the winter and early spring.

Nectar provides a sugar-rich food for all the beneficial insects such as ladybirds, lacewings and hoverflies, giving them energy to breed and fly, and they in turn will lay their eggs close to aphid colonies and the larvae will also gobble up the aphids.

Winter flowering plants often have extremely pungent perfumes. This is so that the scent can carry through the cold air to lure insects for pollination. I grow several in my garden including Daphne odora 'Aureomarginata', Lonicera fragrantissima (winter flowering honeysuckle) and Hamamelis (witch hazel).

Later, early bulbs such as snowdrops and crocus, hellebores, and Aquilegia are among some of the flowers that keep nectar supplies going until summer. Then the annuals such as pot marigolds (Calendula officinalis), love-in-a mist (Nigella damascena) and poppies begin to flower along with lavender, roses and clematis.

Butterflies are always enchanting to watch and I always feel most honoured when I see them enjoying our garden. As many butterflies are in decline, we can all make a difference by planting nectar-rich plants such as Buddleja, Lavender and Red Valerian as well as plants where they can lay their eggs and caterpillars can feed such as stinging nettles, honeysuckle, ivy and violets.

Kim Wilde supports the Dig Your Dinner campaign to help save 10 endangered 'Heirloom' vegetables which were grown in the past but are not produced in modern, large-scale farming. Seeds of Change's Dig Your Dinner campaign encourages the nation to grow their own dinner and to help preserve tasty, endangered British vegetables for the future. For further information please visit www.digyourdinner.co.uk