Every garden, even the smallest one, is a place to live for many wild creatures, such as pollinating insects, birds and small mammals. We create our own small, green oases where we rest, work or spend time with our family. We try to get as close to nature as possible. However, there will be much less biodiversity on a neatly trimmed lawn than in the wild, flowering meadow that we have behind the fence. Wouldn't it be great to invite a little bit of this wild, beautiful, diverse nature into your garden and have it literally at your fingertips?
Climate change is a fact; our gardens face a tremendous challenge in adapting to these changes. Droughts, heatwaves and large temperature fluctuations are just a few problems that are starting to trouble us more and more. Today, many gardeners and naturalists encourage donating at least a scrap of their garden to nature.
Our native species of flowers or shrubs are doing much better than plants grown artificially or imported from countries with much warmer climates. Moreover, research shows that pollinating insects most willingly use flowers that they know, i.e. those that grow wild in our meadows.
By planting our native species or setting up flower beds so that wild plants, we can create very favourable conditions for small wild creatures. For example, field scabies, cornflowers, red knots, oxeye daisy and more can be made to blend perfectly with the well-known black-eyed Susan, purple coneflower or greater masterwort. The combination of wild plants with ornamental perennials will be a great compromise.
And if we have even a scrap of undeveloped space or sloping land, it is worth allocating it to a flower meadow. Meadow mixtures are available on the market even for the most shaded and humid places. Establishing this type of habitat is very simple and does not require much work. Most importantly, flower meadows need very little work. The only care that is required is limited to mowing once or twice throughout the year. This solution is very time-saving and highly beneficial to the surrounding nature.
So if you value your free time above all else and do not want to waste it on regular, weekly walks with a mower, the flower meadow is for you. That’s not all; there are so many other ways to create a wildlife-friendly space in your gardens and many treatments aimed at developing the most attractive habitat for wild creatures that will not ruin our wallets.
Nature-friendly gardens are one of the most economical solutions; apart from a well-thought-out design, we do not need specialised construction projects or expensive and complicated earthworks. In a wildlife-friendly garden, we limit construction work to the absolute minimum. Communication routes and patios are made of wood, bricks or gravel. Similarly to the elements of small architecture, they are made of wood. In this case, economy = ecology.
Finally, quoting Kate Bradbury, who in her book The Forest in Your Garden says:
‘You don't have to devote an entire garden to wild creatures, turn it into a swirl of thorny blackberries, or stop cultivating it at all. Do as much - as much or as little - as you want. Wildlife gardening can be reduced to leaving a strip of grass for you to let it grow and bloom. Or maybe you just want to grow crops that are best for pollinators. This is your garden; the decision is yours.’
Wild gardens are the future of modern gardening. It is worth finding even the smallest piece of your garden that will encourage wild creatures to inhabit it. Thus, we will contribute to increasing biodiversity in our immediate vicinity. Therefore, in the long term, we will have a tangible impact on the fate of our native fauna and flora.
