See the Devon Wildlife Trust Wilder Futures campaign: https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/actions/how-grow-wild-patch

Our Five top tips to creating a wild corner:

• Choose an area with minimal disturbance from people, a corner is ideal especially if it is partially shade.
• Let your grass grow long or choose some of the plants from our list. Be careful if you do mow, there may be animals hiding in the grass.
• Pile rotting logs or piles of stones to create a space for insects and reptiles.
• A tiny pond or sunken barrel could be a great idea, just ensure there is a way out of the water
• Don’t lock out hedgehogs and frogs. Make sure your garden fences have some gaps at the bottom. This will allow wildlife to move through from plot-to-plot. It will also help link different habitats together.
  

Plants that are great for your wild corner:

• Nettles – for red admiral, peacock, small tortoiseshell and comma butterflies, ladybirds, aphids and seed eating birds including bullfinches.
• Teasel – for bumblebees, butterflies, hoverflies and goldfinches
• Brambles – for bees and nesting birds
• Tough native grasses - for many invertebrates including ladybirds, some butterflies, hedgehogs (summer nests) and small mammals including shrews.
• Knapweed – for bumblebees, honeybees, butterflies and finches.
• Thistles – for many insect species including butterflies, and for seed eating birds.
  

Other useful information:

The National Trust guide on building a wildlife friendly garden

Devon Wildlife Trust guide on how to make a log shelter and bee hotel