Below, we’ll explain how to rewild your garden, creating a flourishing ecosystem that buzzes with life while still offering you a beautiful, natural space to enjoy.
Create A Flourishing Ecosystem
The first step is to abandon the idea of a perfectly manicured lawn. Instead, embrace a diverse planting scheme featuring a tapestry of native British wildflowers, grasses, shrubs, and even small trees. Native plants have coevolved with local wildlife, providing essential nectar sources for pollinators and fruits and seeds for birds.
Include berry-producing plants like honeysuckle and dogwood, offering a late-summer feast for birds. For winter interest, opt for plants with interesting seed heads, such as echinacea or rudbeckia, which provide a vital food source for hungry birds throughout the colder months. Hollow stems in plants like bamboo canes can offer winter shelter for insects, while a strategically placed log pile becomes a haven for beetles, ladybugs, and other beneficial creatures.
Minimise Intervention
Resist the urge to constantly tidy up! Fallen leaves and dead plant material decompose naturally, creating a nutrient-rich mulch that feeds the soil and provides a cosy haven for overwintering insects and small creatures. You should also move away from chemical fertilisers and pesticides. These products not only harm the very wildlife you're trying to attract but can also disrupt the delicate balance of the ecosystem you're creating.
Give nature full freedom in designated wilder areas. You might be surprised by the beauty of a self-seeded wildflower patch or the industriousness of a colony of earthworms! However, minimal intervention doesn't mean neglect. If a specific overgrown shrub blocks a pathway or poses a safety hazard, selective pruning with a heavy-duty hedge trimmer might be necessary. You need to ensure the right balance between wild aesthetics and functionality.
Work With The Sun
Observe your garden throughout the day to identify areas with different sun exposure patterns. By understanding how much sun different areas of your garden receive, you can choose plants that are suited to those specific conditions.
Some plants thrive in full sun, basking in its warmth for most of the day. These are perfect for creating a vibrant wildflower meadow or a flourishing vegetable patch. Other plants prefer dappled shade, perhaps beneath the canopy of a mature tree or along a north-facing wall. These shady areas are ideal for planting ferns, hostas, and woodland wildflowers.
Let Nature Take The Lead
Our gardens are more than just green spaces; they're stepping stones in a vast network of wildlife corridors. Every rewilded garden, no matter how small, plays a vital role in the fight against habitat loss and biodiversity decline. For taking up the cause, you’ll receive a garden that requires less maintenance, is more resilient to pests and diseases, and offers a year-round display of beauty and wonder.
Let nature take the lead and be surprised by the beauty and wonder that unfolds. Over time, you'll see an increase in wildlife visitors: a bumblebee buzzing amongst the flowers, a robin perched on a branch, or a family of hedgehogs snuffling through the undergrowth. These are all well-deserved signs that your rewilding efforts are bearing fruit.
