Rewilding

With spring just around the corner we should be planning the layout of next years garden. One thing we are all being encouraged to do is keep rewilding in mind when we do so, but what is rewilding? 

Rewilding is a natural approach to conservation, it encourages nature to look after itself again and is hugely important for the preservation of our native flora and fauna, especially the insects and the birds.

People are often put off because they are afraid that it will look messy in their carefully tended gardens but there are a number of things you can do to help without it looking untidy. Here I will run through a few tips and methods that you can use in any garden to help;

Let the weeds grow!....

Okay so you don't want to let the weeds take over your garden but simply letting a mound of nettles go a bit wild in a secluded corner can do huge amounts for the insects. Moths and Butterflies especially love to lay their eggs on nettle stalks. 

Build a wood pile. 

If you have some old bits of board or some unused logs, put them somewhere out of the way to encourage insects into your garden. 

Let the grass go wild!....

Now this can be the one that puts most people off but you can do it in such a way that it looks purposeful and not lazy! Simply cordon off an area of your lawn with some stakes and gardening twine, Grow It Round Tree Stakes are perfect along with some Burgon & Ball Meadow twine and put up a small sign marking it as your 'wildflower area'. You can even get some wildflower seeds and pepper the area with them. When getting wildflower seeds be sure to get ones that are mostly flowers as if you introduce too many different grass types they will readily spread to the rest of your garden. 

Keep the lights off. 

A lot of gardens these days have motion sensor lighting which is great for security but not so great for local nocturnal animals. If there are areas that don't overly need the lighting don't use it. For the likes of Hedgehogs, badgers and even deer the lights will scare them from your garden. 

Avoid Chemicals. 

There are so many potions and poisons these days for use in the garden but if you can avoid using them please do. A lot of the chemicals we spray to get rid of pests ends up harming the local beneficial insects like the bees and the other pollinators. When there really is no other choice try and use 'insect friendly' options such as Grazers Cabbage White, Caterpillar and Aphid Killer which does not harm anything you don't directly spray it on and is completely natural. Just always look at the ingredients when you buy any insecticide to see if it has any wildlife hazard symbol on it. 

Fertiliser is another area that we use a lot of chemicals in and ,especially for domestic gardens, it is completely unnecessary. There are numerous fantastic options to add nutrients to your soil such as Maxicrop Organic Seaweed Fertiliser and Westland Organic Chicken Manure Pellets. 

So although the term 'Rewilding' may seem like something that might take a lot of work there are loads of mini actions you can take  that will make a huge difference to your local flora and fauna. Even doing one of the above mentioned methods can make a difference.