Nature-Friendly Gardening
Ahead of National Gardening Week (1st - 7th May) and Plantlife’s No Mow May, we invited ATU volunteer and professional gardener Harvey Sullivan, to write a guest blog post on nature-friendly gardening.
Hi! I am Harvey, a local professional wildlife gardener. I have 4 years of formal gardening training, including 1 year at Hampshire’s own Sir Harold Hillier Gardens. I am now a freelance gardener working around the Andover area, trying to incorporate my passion for wildlife into people’s garden spaces.
In anticipation of National Gardening Week here are my 5 tips for nature friendly gardening:
Observe
May your weeds be wildflowers
Water is life
Death is life
Be the keystone species
Observe
For me, wildlife gardening is often about stepping back to see Mother Nature in her in her true forms: accent, diverse and harmonic.
If you follow permaculture, you may know that the first out of its twelve principles is to observe. Permaculture is a gardening and lifestyle practice which encompasses humans as permanent and holistic part of their ecosystem.
Before making any actions in your garden take time to observe your space. Try to read what is going on. How is nature interacting or not interacting in your space? Do you know the plants and wildflowers growing in your garden? Which plants do the birds and insects use most?
Most of all, this is an opportunity to enjoy and be present in your garden. I think that most gardeners, including me, are always thinking of the next task and not seeing the beauty of the garden in that moment.
May your weeds be wildflowers
What is a weed? Weeds are plants in the wrong place. Culture teaches us from an early age what is and is not a weed, for example, dandelions in the pavement, or thistles in the flower bed. As a culture, our vocabulary needs to change. These ‘weeds’ are first and foremost wildflowers and should be encouraged to exist and only weeded if they really need to be.
In my garden, I always leave the wildflowers in the beds to see what they turn into. I have had stacks of dandelions in my garden this year and they have caused me no bother, created a phenomenal display and have supported an abundance of wildlife, all with no work. When they become problematic, like when they were competing with some of my herbs, I just weed what I need.
I do actively weed some of the most dominating wild plants and garden plants such as nettles, docks, alliums and crocosmia. If left they can outcompete some of the more delicate plants and you can lose biodiversity, but again, this is only as and when I really need to weed. The disturbance of soil also makes way for new seedings to germinate (more in tip 5). I also do not to eradicate these species from the garden, because this would also lower biodiversity. The goal is to have as much diversity as possible.
Water is life
Water is fundamental to life on Earth. The addition of water to your garden is probably the best thing that you can do to increase biodiversity. Ponds are great! If you don’t have one, consider having one dug by yours truly. If you already have a pond, consider another. My Water Life: pond manual says “one pond is good, multiple ponds are excellent.” Also consider larger vs smaller ponds. They offer different habitats so will support different types of life. I would avoid having fish in the pond (unless it is really large) as they are really good at eating aquatic life.
If you do not have space for a pond, you can integrate water using smaller vessels like bird baths or a bucket with gravel. Any type of water in the garden will support life such as insects and birds.
Death is life
An oak spends 300 years growing to maturity, 300 years in adulthood, and 300 years to die gracefully. A dead tree goes on to support a plethora of wildlife even after its time living. Be sure to bring lots of dead wood into your garden. It makes a great feature as well as being a vital habitat for fungi and insects. I’m always bringing lumps of wood into my garden. The bigger the better! A tree trunk will take decades to break down and age like fine wine.
Smaller dead matter is also as important. Leaves, woodchips and twigs make great habitat for insects, amphibians, reptiles, fungi, etc. If you have space, you can have a rough compost bin or deadwood pile. This is a space for things that will take a long time to compost but will make a great habitat. It will not only allow you to manage your waste and keep it within your ecosystem, you can also get creative with it and try to make an deadwood sculpture.
Be a keystone species
A keystone species is a species which is vital in its ecosystem for completing a specific ecosystem role, like bees pollinating flowers or predators eating pest species. Many keystone species are absent from our current landscapes, especially in Suburbia.
A human is a keystone species in a garden. An untended garden can become stagnant; ecological succession takes place and dominant species will compete for resources such as light. It is vital to make disturbance in the garden in order to allow opportunity for different types of life. In ancient history, megafauna could create this disturbance. Nowadays, we only have wild deer, and they don’t often make it into our back gardens.
When you are gardening, you can embody our missing keystone species. Prune/ browse a tree like a deer, to lift its crown and let light and air to the ground. Graze like an aurochs (ancient wild cow), eating the lush grass and giving space for more delicate wildflowers. Be a wild boar and plough through the soil, chewing up lush roots and disturbing the soil for wildflowers to germinate. Be a bison and forge pathways through thickets, clearing space so light can reach the ground.
So, there are 5 of my tips for nature friendly gardening. I hope you found it interesting or inspiring and I hope that you have a go at integrating some of these ideas if you don’t already. If you want to find me, it’s harvey_wildlife_gardener on Instagram and Facebook, I am happy to chat about all things wildlife gardening related. I wish you happy gardening and maximum biodiversity.
- Harvey the Wildlife Gardener
