{"id":24458,"date":"2023-07-07T13:21:18","date_gmt":"2023-07-07T11:21:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gardensillustrated.com\/?p=111342"},"modified":"2023-07-07T13:35:03","modified_gmt":"2023-07-07T11:35:03","slug":"7-easy-ways-to-rewild-your-garden","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/rss_feed\/7-easy-ways-to-rewild-your-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"7 easy ways to rewild your garden"},"content":{"rendered":"

Find out how to rewild your garden and the best ways to encourage more wildlife with our top tips and simple ideas <\/p>

By Stephanie Mahon\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 07 July 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

\u2018Rewilding<\/a>\u2019 is everywhere right now, from beavers<\/a> and weeds at Chelsea<\/a> Flower Show to talk of releasing lynx and wolves in Britain\u2019s countryside. The word \u2018rewilding<\/a>\u2018 was originally used by ecologists to describe the concept of returning large tracts of farmland to nature, but the essence of the idea is now also being applied in smaller ways in domestic home gardens, to attract in wildlife.<\/p>\n

Gardens can\u2019t replace big, wild habitats for endangered wildlife<\/a>, but they can be a really valuable resource for bugs<\/a>, birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals, as a place to live or simply visit to feed or use as a rest stop. Making your garden more wildlife friendly<\/a> is easier than you think \u2013 you can get started with our top tips below.<\/p>\n

How do I rewild my garden?<\/h2>\n
\""Knepp\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The Rewilded Garden at Knepp Castle Walled Garden in East Sussex.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Richard Bloom<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Firstly, just don\u2019t be so neat. Gardening for wildlife means resisting the urge to tidy up everything in the garden all the time. It also means dropping pesticides and herbicides, and manufactured chemical fertilisers. Of course, then you\u2019ll have to find other ways to deal with weeds, pests and diseases and feed plants, or learn to accept things like bite holes in leaves, and try to find new ways to achieve a natural balance.<\/p>\n

Put the mower away<\/h3>\n
\""An\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
An unmowed lawn area under an apple tree, filled with wildflowers.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Veronica Peerless<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Let your lawn grow a little, or a lot, longer, in the late spring and early summer, and take part in No Mow May<\/a>. Try the \u2018Mohican\u2019 cut advised by Plantlife, with two different heights of grass: a short sward, cut once a month to a height of about 1-2in, which will have the most flowers, and therefore nectar; and a longer section left uncut all season, which will have a broader range of species of flowering plant. Your lawn could be home to up to 200 species of flowers such as daisies, dandelions, self-heal and clover. If left to flower, they might produce enough nectar to support the equivalent of 400 bees<\/a> a day.<\/p>\n

Go for hairy hedges<\/h3>\n
\""Beech\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Clip your hedges less frequently and with hand shears to encourage wildlife.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Gavin Kingcome<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Let your hedges<\/a> grow a bit shaggy. When not pruned, lots of them will produce pretty flowers and fruit. You could try clipping one side only every year, or clip them every other year. You can do the same with shrubs<\/a>. Just remember that you should only clip hedges and large shrubs once fledgling baby birds have left the nest in summer.<\/p>\n

Wait until spring<\/h3>\n
\""Eryngium\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The winter seedheads of Eryngium giganteum \u2018Silver Ghost\u2019. \u00a9 <\/i>Maayke de Ridder<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Wait to cut down your flowerbeds in spring, instead of doing this in autumn, leaving seedheads<\/a> of perennials to stand overwinter, to feed birds<\/a> and small mammals. This also has the benefit of keeping down weeds and protecting all the little microbes, insects and earthworms that live in the soil. Remove the dead stalks just as new growth starts to show at the base in early spring.<\/p>\n

Less patio, more plants<\/h3>\n
\""A\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
A garden designed by Colm Joseph with thyme planted in cracks between the pavers.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Richard Bloom<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The layout and design of your garden makes little difference to wildlife, but what does matter is the ratio of paving to planting. The more plants there are in a garden, the more wildlife has been recorded, and the more hard surfaces there are, like paths, walls and fences, the less wildlife there is; so think about reducing the amount of paving you have, or, if starting fresh with a garden design, have the minimum area you can. Use a permeable surface like gravel<\/a> instead of pavers, or leave the joints between paving stones free of grout, and plant the gaps up with things like thyme<\/a>. Plant hedges, or if your garden is too small and walls or fences are already in place, grow climbers<\/a> up them.<\/p>\n

Grow a diversity of plants<\/h3>\n
\""Geranium\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Geranium Rozanne. \u00a9 Dianna Jazwinski<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Gardens with trees and shrubs tend to have the most biodiversity, so if you can, plant a tree like a crab apple<\/a> and shrubs like Ribes, spindleberry, hazel and rambling roses for their flowers and berries. Pollinators like bees and butterflies need to have flowers over a long a season so winter bloomers like Japanese quince, heather<\/a>, witch hazel<\/a>, ivy<\/a> and sweet box are good, as well as those with catkins, like pussy willow and hazel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Plant spring flowering bulbs<\/a> like snowdrops<\/a>, crocuses<\/a> and daffodils<\/a> in autumn and add primroses, sweet violets, forget me not<\/a>s, foxglove<\/a>s and viper\u2019s bugloss, to create a nectar banquet for a broad range of British insects. Good summer perennials include catmint<\/a> \u2018Six Hills Giant\u2019, Geranium<\/a> Rozanne and lavender<\/a> \u2018Gros Bleu\u2019, Dahlia<\/a> \u2018Bishop of Llandaff\u2019 and Helenium \u2018Moerheim Beauty\u2019. Butterflies<\/a> like butterfly bush<\/a>, scabious, verbena<\/a>, sedums<\/a> and asters, while moths love mint, rosebay willowherb, valerian and night-active plants such as night-scented stock. Although these blooms are packed with nectar, they don\u2019t provide the forage needed to support breeding, so to provide food for caterpillars<\/a> and moth larvae, use plants such as mullein, Cirsium thistles, fuchsia and hops.<\/p>\n

Make a pond<\/h3>\n
\""Helen\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
A modern small pond in a Helen Elks-Smith\u2019s garden design in Hampshire.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Jason Ingram<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Even a small body of water can be an amazing habitat for insects and aquatic creatures like toads, but they are also a drinking and food source for other garden wildlife. Make sure your pond<\/a> has shallow edges, sloping down to a depth of about 45cm in the centre. If you don\u2019t have room for a pond, a small container with some aquatic plants<\/a> will work too \u2013 just make sure it has at least one sloping side for access. Even a small, shallow bird bath<\/a> can create big benefits.<\/p>\n

Make a pile<\/h3>\n
\""Nigel\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Designer Nigel Dunnett\u2019s own garden features many artistic log piles for wildlife.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Rachel Warne<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Hedgehogs<\/a>, beetles and designers like Stefano Marinaz<\/a> and Nigel Dunnett<\/a> adore a stack of logs<\/a>. As well as shelter for small mammals and amphibians, lying deadwood like this is essential habitats for boring insects and invertebrates, and fungi, which play a vital role in breaking down this material into soil and nutrients. To make a top wildlife pile, stack up big and small softwood and hardwood logs with bark on, in the shade, with some in contact with or part buried in the ground, and top off with leaf piles or branches.<\/p>\n

Want more? Discover how the walled garden at Knepp Castle was rewilded<\/a> by Tom Stuart-Smith and head gardener Charlie Harpur. Don\u2019t miss our reader day at Knepp Castle.<\/a><\/h4> <\/body><\/html>\n
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