There are now an abundance of seeds, nuts and berries. After last year's shortage, it even promises to be a bumper year for acorns. Although a few of the more brightly coloured berries are highly poisonous, many are safe, nutritious and in great demand as autumn food for many different kinds of wildlife. Most birds simply gorge themselves, but squirrels and mice hoard any surplus supplies to help them survive when times are hard in the coming winter.

In autumn, nectar and pollen tend to be in short supply, but they are still essential foods for many of those insects that will overwinter as adults. If you want to make sure your garden offers a valuable source of food for wildlife at this crucial time of year, you could visit your local garden centre to see what is still in flower. By growing a few late-blooming Michaelmas daisies, sedums and mints, you could make all the difference to the survival of your local overwintering butterflies.

Hedgehogs have a voracious appetite for slugs, so it's worth encouraging them into your garden by providing them with a supply of cat food and suitable hibernation sites. This is the time of year when hedgehogs select their winter quarters, so try to provide them with a choice. Their perfect hibernation heap is both warm and dry, and must remain undisturbed. Places such as the back of a border, the gap between the compost bin and the fence, or the no-man's-land behind the garden shed would probably be ideal.

If you decide to build a hedgehog house, you must ensure it is well ventilated. For a natural-looking heap, use a stack of logs and a thick layer of leaves, but make sure everyone knows this isn't a bonfire waiting to be burned.

Rotten wood is seen by many gardeners as a threat. True, it can be the source of the dreaded honey fungus, Armillaria, but if your garden is managed in a natural way there will be a rich variety of other fungi to keep this pathogen under control. Honey fungus is present in every British woodland, but it is kept in check naturally. Conserving dead wood brings many benefits, attracting some of our more spectacular insects. If you have old oak trees in the neighbourhood, you may be lucky enough to share your rotting logs with the larvae of the great stag beetle, one of our most handsome endangered species. There will also be beneficial wood wasps and species of wood-boring beetles that will enjoy any rotting wood you leave around the garden.