Kirsty Wilson on sustainable gardening

Author Kirsty Wilson explores the impact our gardens can have on nature, biodiversity, wilder places and wellbeing.

Over the years, gardeners have been actively encouraged to manicure their lawns and neatly clip their shrubs to produce something that is aesthetically pleasing. In addition, chemicals have frequently been used to fertilise and control ‘so-called’ garden pests. However, a garden is a microcosm of the wider natural world and our over controlling behaviour is having a damaging effect on biodiversity and the overall health of the planet.

In writing my book - Planting with Nature: A guide to Sustainable Gardening - I wanted to show that no matter the size of your garden, you can make a positive difference to support nature and biodiversity by making small changes to the way you manage and enjoy your gardening.

If every household adopted just one idea from my book, we could make a big impact on the natural world. Our gardens could safeguard many species like bees, butterflies, hedgehogs, birds, frogs, insects and plants as well as providing a beautiful space for us to sit and enjoy. After all, we are all an integral part of the planet’s nature and being in a biodiverse greenspace can also make us happier, healthier and reduce our stress-levels.

My book is about gardening with nature, a form of gardening where the emphasis is on us stepping back and letting nature play its role in our gardens in comparison to more active forms of garden management and control. There has been significant interest in sustainability with large scale rewilding projects such as in the Highlands of Scotland and in many other areas around the world. Some of these major rewilding projects have involved no intervention, letting nature take over, reversing man’s activities and allowing the natural landscape to recover. However, as many of us live in towns and cities, a totally wild garden is unlikely to be very attractive to our neighbours or as a relaxing place to sit and enjoy. Also, rabbits digging up our vegetables may not be the natural activities we really want to witness. The book is more about creating a well-balanced sustainable garden where we can live in harmony with nature. Attracting the birds, animals and insects that support an effective garden ecosystem and undertaking garden tasks in such a way that we do not damage the planet.

As such, it is important that we understand the interrelated nature of our garden ecosystem.

If you start with trees and shrubs, they produce leaf mould and organic matter. This provides energy for primary consumers such as fungi and bacteria. Secondary consumers such as protozoa, nematodes and mites feed on these before being eaten by higher level consumers such as earthworms, beetles, spiders, centipedes and ants. These are a source of nourishment for birds, moles, and shrews which are then predated by larger mammals and birds. Introducing chemicals into our gardens or removing organic matter can break that chain. This may mean we have a soil with no worms to improve soil structure and water infiltration. There may be no ladybirds or house sparrows around to eat the aphids that have set up home on our roses.

Our garden should not be a sterile area managed purely for aesthetics, but it should be teeming with all aspects of wildlife from fungi, animals, and insects. We need to allow nature to come into our gardens and trust that in time even with more pests, more predators will appear to control them, and the natural ecosystem will operate in a balanced and healthy equilibrium.

It is not just about animal and insect species, it is also about plant species. Often plants that are frequently labelled as weeds are actually native flora that attract beneficial insects and birds into our gardens. For example, a small nettle patch can overwinter insects which provide early food for ladybirds, hedgehogs, shrews, frogs and toads. All of these are important for eating the garden ‘pests’ such as aphids, slugs and snails. Nettles also attract Scotland’s most colourful and best known butterflies, such as the small tortoiseshell and peacock butterflies. Nothing brings a garden to life as much as watching these butterflies dart around the flowers. I am not suggesting we dig up our flower beds and give them over to a bed of nettles, but a small patch of nettles in a sunny corner can just provide that necessary boost for biodiversity. Some wildflowers or even clover in the lawn can also attract many important pollinators such as bees.

Gardening for nature is also about the landscaping of our gardens. Hard landscaping with concrete or tarmac in driveways and patios can lead to waterlogging of surrounding areas and potentially flooding. Areas of gravel lets water percolate into the soil reducing flooding and provides damp soils for root systems and enhances the soil ecosystem.

Native planting (plants originally from the UK) vs. non-native planting has often been a hotly debated topic over recent years. Originally it was believed that native species were better for attracting wildlife. Whilst this is considered to be the case for the ability of trees to provide a wildlife habitat, recent studies have found little difference when looking at other plant species. For flowering plants, it was identified that having more flowers with nectar and pollen over a long season provided a more varied diet for pollinators than only having local flowers with a shorter lifespan. A monoculture of one plant type can often result in increased diseases and a prevalence of certain types of pests. Therefore, a variety of native and non-native plant types would seem to be the most beneficial incorporating shrubs, herbaceous perennials, climbers, bulbs, grasses and trees.

In addition, a slight rethink on how we design and maintain our lawns could have a big impact for our wildlife and in particular, for our wildflower species.

They need more help than ever due to the destruction of their habitat in the countryside. Experts say 97 per cent of the U.K.’s meadows have been eradicated since the 1930s. The lawn in peoples’ gardens could play an important part in addressing this by creating a functioning ecosystem with insects, small mammals and birds feeding on it, building their homes in it, or using it as a source of nesting materials. Developing a wildlife habitat in your lawn can be as easy as raising the height at which you cut the grass; cutting less frequently or leaving a patch of grass where you do not cut.

Alternatively, you can sow a species rich wildflower meadow mix native to your local region. Wildflower meadows can provide a valuable resource for pollinators as well as a landscape that is both colourful and aesthetically pleasing. You do not need to change all your lawn into a wildflower meadow, it is just as worthwhile to change a small section or patch whilst keeping the remainder of the lawn for ball games and children playing.

People who only have balconies or limited outdoor space can also do their bit by planting pollinators in pots or by creating wildlife ponds in containers. As such, the book which is beautifully illustrated by Hazel France is aimed at helping everyone, no matter what size of space they have in their attempts to assist nature by providing food, water, shelter and potential nest sites for wildlife.

• Find out more about Kirsty Wilson's book Planting with Nature: A Guide to Sustainable Gardening
• Explore more about the connection between wild places and wellbeing in our Wild and Well Repository.