Create a Biodiverse Garden

Biodiversity in the garden means encouraging all manner of natural life into your space, using natural predators to battle pests and encouraging the natural circle of life to take place. This has many benefits to the natural world around you, and also for you, too! But how do you get started on your biodiverse gardening journey? Luckily, it is easier than you might think.

Let’s get down to basics
Perfectly manicured gardens may look nice and tidy, but are a lot of upkeep, and can often lack in some of the benefits of a wilder garden. As the name suggests, this is because of the diversity in a slightly wilder space. A mixture of grasses, flowers and other plants encourages a plethora of beneficial insects and creatures which all work together in a natural way, leading to a thriving environment. These may not look like ‘conventional’ gardens but can be an absolutely stunning and productive space, offering enormous benefits to those who come into contact with them.

A space with a wide range of grasses and flowers will play host to many different species of bees and other pollinators, thanks to the rich variety of shapes of blooms, nectar and pollen. And your young veg plants will be all the more productive for it! Different kinds of bees, for example, will favour different environments and types of flowers, so this is another reason to keep things varied. If you do enjoy having a well-manicured lawn, though, you still can – just work in some small wild spaces in other spots. There is plenty you can do to encourage an array of wildlife.

Small log piles are the perfect home for a range of creatures and if you struggle with slugs munching your precious crops, adding a small pond (this can simply be a washing up bowl sunk into the ground) or a hedgehog house will bring helpful plot patrollers who will help keep on top of infestations. This is particularly helpful in urban environments. Although garden security is important, it can be worth discussing with neighbours leaving small gaps in certain areas of fencing to create a ‘hedgehog highway’, allowing these helpful creatures to move happily and safely through gardens rather than venturing out onto busy roads.

You can also create or buy ‘bug hotels’ in many different shapes, sizes and materials. It can be a great project for all the family to gather pine cones, dried leaves, bamboo canes and the like, which can all be assembled together to make the perfect hidey hole for a huge variety of bugs and insects.

It may seem counterintuitive to encourage birds to your garden, especially if have to put protections in place to stop them snaffling berries and stripping young leaves, but they are an extremely valuable part of the biodiverse garden. They offer a helping hand keeping pests such as aphids and caterpillars in check, so it is well worth adding feeders and bird boxes to your garden. Different types of birds will have different requirements, such as where and how they like to eat, and the types of seed and feed that are best for them, so do have a little look to make sure you are offering the right sort of nutrition and environment for the species visiting your plot.

Hedging and edging
Adding some natural edging to your garden or allotment is a really simple way to bring extra life to your space. As well as being useful for creating boundaries, you can also use productive types for additional harvests, plant supports and the like. What’s more,  hedges offer shelter to a great number of animals, birds and insects. They are a prime spot for birds to nest, hedgehogs to hide, and for plenty of different beneficial bugs to make a home. For the most part, the best time of year to establish new hedges and natural boundaries is over the winter, when they will be in a dormant state – up to about March when they will start bursting into life again.

Make your own compost
Creating your own nutrient-rich compost from your garden waste is a great way to re-use and recycle the nutrients and give your plants a natural boost. As well as this, a compost heap can offer a great habitat for creatures, thanks to the heat emitted from it. As well as critters you can see, your home-made compost will also be home to millions of microscopic bacteria which will be hard at work breaking down the waste and turning it into beautiful, crumbly compost for use on your plot.

Compost heaps should be made up of a mix of woody, brown garden waste and green waste, which is more nitrogen-rich. As a general rule of thumb, the ratios of these should be roughly 1:3 greens to browns. However, do keep an eye on the consistency as the compost starts to break down and adjust accordingly. If the garden waste is looking slimy, add more dry, brown items to level things out. It is also a good idea to turn your compost regularly, as this helps to speed up the decomposition process.

You can make your own compost heap quite easily, or buy one of the many different types available on the market. Work out what will suit your own needs in terms of space, time, and DIY skill!

Small space solutions
It may seem that biodiversity is only achievable in large spaces where you can afford to leave patches of tall grass and plant wildflower areas, but this isn’t the case. Even if you only have a small courtyard garden, or a balcony, it is possible to make that space a little more biodiverse. This can be as simple as mixing flowers in with your veg, or fixing a small bug house to a wall.

Use any spare space you may have, such as planting climbing plants up trellises on a wall, adding hanging baskets outside your door, or using windowsill planters for cut- and-come-again herbs.

Stay chemical-free
It goes without saying that harsh chemicals have no place in a biodiverse garden. They often actively harm the wildlife living there, and with a little careful planning and experimentation, you can control pest and disease issues naturally. Also, it is worth nothing that the more eclectic your planting, the more pests to certain crops can be naturally dissuaded. For example, planting marigolds near your tomatoes deters whitefly, sowing mint between your carrots confuses carrot root fly, and nasturtiums near brassicas act as a sacrificial crop – but are also edible and very productive in their own right. There are many different combinations of companion planting, so it is well worth doing some research and seeing what works for you.

Wellbeing benefits
We all know that being outside in nature has enormous benefits to both mental and physical health – and a thriving, biodiverse garden certainly will, too! Taking some time out in a natural space helps you feel connected to the world around you, and gives you a great opportunity to switch off and take some time to be present. Watching bees buzzing lazily about, seeing seedlings germinating and watching flowers bloom are all perfect activities to help you give yourself a small break in busy and hectic days.

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