How To Create A Biodiverse Garden
Image courtesy of Northern Gardener
Where’s your ‘happy place’? For most of us we’ll say that it’s somewhere in the natural world — perhaps a beach echoing with the sound of crashing waves, or a forest filled with the sweet euphony of birdsong. There’s a strange myth that has grabbled down through countless generations that we are separate from nature; this is hugely misinformative, and dangerous. This quote by Andy Goldsworthy reiterates what I’m saying:
“We often forget that WE ARE NATURE. Nature is not something separate from us. So when we say that we have lost our connection to nature, we’ve lost our connection to ourselves.”
Earthing is only one beneficial way we humans can spend time in nature. With the benefits of grounding now being fortified by science, it’s clear that we are profoundly and intrinsically connected to the natural world, and all of the animals within it. Would you feel a greater sense of fulfillment and happiness by spending more time in, and witnessing, nature yourself? For most of us, the answer is yes! The good news is that you could find yourself abundantly happier by simply investing a little time and energy in rewilding your garden. Here are a myriad of easy ways in which you can get back to your wild roots, and invite more biodiversity into your garden:
Get a little wild
By planting wild flowers under any trees in your garden you’ll invite in frogs, slow worms and smaller invertebrates; they feel safe in undergrowth like this. Just before Autumn make sure to mow and compost the wildflowers.
Stick up for the little guys
Compiling piles of sticks and logs is an easy way to encourage invertebrates. Place these havens around the edges of your garden and under bushes. Our tiny friends thrive around a little humidity too, so by stacking earth, or growing climbers on and around them, you’ll help to boost the success of any critter populations that form.
Treat your soil right
Can you dig it? Yes you can (as long as it’s to plant something). For the optimum earth bed for beautiful bugs do either this, or cover the soil you’ve already got with compost to bolster its appealing nutrients.
Feed those feathered friends
If you’re consistent with this you’ll see a gradual increase in the number of birds visiting your garden. You’ll probably need to take measures to keep grey squirrels from pillaging the entire food supply you leave out though — you can still feed them, but protect the visiting birds’ food supply in tandem with this.
Make connections
Dig turrets and ‘corridors’ that link all parts of your garden together. This makes moving around and populating easier for the smaller critters you’re welcoming into the garden.
Go for a long back and sides
By keeping the foliage around your garden’s edge long, and the centre trimmed, you’re helping bigger visitors like foxes, birds and badgers out by giving them a place to forage for grubs. The lengthier, bordering vegetation then serves to maintain a haven for invertebrates and smaller animals.
Live on the hedge
Birds nest in hedges during the warmer seasons, and so it’s recommended you wait until winter to trim yours. The most biodiverse hedges tend to be those comprising of a mix of native shrub species. These help to keep your invertebrate friends well fed, as well as making a charming, verdant addition to your garden.
Embrace the perfectly-imperfect
Avoiding too much symmetry around the edges of your garden helps to harness a wider range of temperatures and shelter types for winged invertebrates to flit and nestle between.
And finally…
Love ‘tout le ponds!’
One pond is great, but two, or three is even better! If you create varying bodies of fresh water you’ll attract a more diverse range of semiaquatic species. Shallow ponds are fantastic for nursing tadpoles to maturity, whilst deeper ones are wonderful habitats for adult newts and frogs.
For the effort it takes, the benefits of inviting wildlife into your garden are exponentially greater (both for yourself and the environment). I hope you feel inspired to experiment with some of these tips for yourself! Feel free to share any more ideas for promoting garden biodiversity in the comments section below.
“We are profoundly and intrinsically connected to the natural world, and all of the other animals within it”
Water vole image, courtesy of Discover Wildlife
Here are some other fantastic and interesting resources to help you on your way to maintaining a wildlife-rich garden:
Wondering what wildlife there is to attract? The RSPB’s ‘A to Z of a Wildlife Garden’ explains.
Buglife: ‘Wildlife gardening, with bugs in mind’
This blog post by Miles King titled ‘How Nature Regulates Emotions and the Heart for Wellbeing’ is an incentivising read.
Special thanks to…
Steve Harris for his article; you inspired many of the great ideas featured above.