Rewilding a garden

We thought we would share with you our experience of rewilding an ordinary garden. It's not the first time we've had a go at this but when we tried it before it was on a much smaller scale.

Buttercups flourishing in the uncut lawn

We currently have several large areas of lawn which takes literally hours to mow during the summer months. In addition there are six borders comprising large shrubs, two small trees and smaller low growing perennial plants. Keeping it all tidy was proving exhausting and it became necessary to cut down on the work. Of course, this wasn't all about not working. We were also very keen on rewilding and attracting native wild plants and wildlife.

The first thing we did was to stop all the more traditional jobs around the place such as sowing, planting, weeding, removing dead material, pruning, strimming and mowing. We did, however, continue to grow vegetables in the polytunnel.

Mowing was probably the most time consuming task of all. We, more or less, stopped this completely, leaving the lawn to its own devices. Areas close to a section of regenerating woodland quickly reverted back to their original state. The more formal lawns closer to the house are taking longer to rewild. It is possible they don't contain any original root or seed stock.

Part of the lawn that we cut for a seating area

We decided to mow a small section of lawn for our own use to put up a tent, lay in the sun, sit, read, eat and do small jobs like mend a bike. We also put in a couple of long narrow paths to reach the compost bin and the back door of the house. We used a small electric mower for this.

The old strimmer had long since given up the ghost and had been replaced with a petrol brush cutter - what were we thinking?! However, although it had been taken out of the box, it had never been used - we knew it was wrong! We just couldn't bring ourselves to use it mainly because it needed petrol, was extremely noisy and indiscriminately destructive. Finally, we purchased a long handled scythe. It is probably one of the best tools we have and is in constant use.

Rewilded (damp!) lawn area

The plants that came up in the lawn areas included buttercups, white clover, daisies, self heal, sheep's sorrel, stinging nettles, docks, horsetail, spagnum moss, common rush, lady's smock, bluebells, common orchid, germander speedwell, spignel, dandelions and hawkbit. The buttercups were probably the most successful and flourished particularly well. No surprise there!

A variety of flowers coming up in the lawn

Amongst the shrubs and other perennials, that the previous owners had planted in the borders, we had an interesting variety of new comers including wild raspberries, rosebay willowherb, bluebells, broad leafed willowherb, ground elder, brambles, common rush and germander speedwell. The wild raspberries and rosebay willowherb spread far and wide since their underground root systems are particularly robust. The ground elder appeared to be already well established and this spread. An attractive plant, it is often vilified by gardeners for its persistence.

Some of the established border perennials didn't get a chance to flower properly as they became overgrown. There was a tendency to want to revert to our old practice of weeding when this happened but we generally didn't bother. We'd like to say we made a great effort not to weed but there wasn't actually any effort involved. It was really easy!

Rosebay willowherb and wild raspberries in a border area

The benefits to the household of not doing all the usual traditional gardening jobs were immediately fairly obvious. There was much less work and this freed up our time to do other things! Occasionally we watered something we liked which we thought needed a little help during the hot weather. However, that wasn't really necessary in the often wet maritime climate of the British Isles.

We were surprised at the numbers of different plants that came up. Wild plant seeds, roots and bulbs were there waiting for a chance to grow, the variety of wild plants easily increased each year and the number of each species also grew each year. Once something grew, it spread. A lot!

One of our acrobatic red squirrels in a rather fetching pose

Overall we feel the number of butterflies, bees and other insects attracted into the garden has also been much higher. There have been a lot more this year (2018) than in previous years. However, there are probably more insects around generally this year so it is difficult to be objective about this.

There has definitely been an increase of food available for wildlife. The plants brought the insects in and produced a lot of seed. The seed from the long lawn grasses were welcome by birds that turned up during the winter, particularly the chaffinches. There was more cover for wildlife. We have a variety of creatures visit and reside here including a great many species of birds, mice, newts, toads, red squirrels, brown hare and stoats. We've seen a marked increase in bird numbers and species of birds except the house martins whose numbers have dramatically decreased. This overall benefit seems to persist throughout the year since we don't clear away dead plants at the end of the growing season.

Pathway to the compost bin

There were some perceived downsides to all this. We noted at least five species of plants and shrubs, which had obviously been introduced to the area, spreading. Whether this is a good or bad thing remains to be seen.

We live in a rural area so didn't feel any pressure from neighbours to mow the lawn, weed the borders and generally keep the garden 'tidy'. However, we have experienced such pressure before when we lived in a surburban area and realise this might be a problem for some. Neighbours are often worried about dandelions spreading and don't like to see them in lawns!

To offset concerns that the wild garden is somehow 'out of control' we suggest mowing narrow pathways. This is a visible indicator that you have a plan with regards your garden and that you are 'in control' even if you are not! Pathways also benefit members of the household because they make walking any distance, the use of prams and wheelchairs easy and pleasurable. You can even make little patterns with the pathways for kids to run about and play in.

Ground elder flowering in one of the borders

Overall we feel plantlife and wildlife gained a lot from this hands off approach. For those who find gardening relaxing, this definitely takes relaxation to another level. We were much less stressed and more in tune with our surroundings. In addition, we would highly recommend it to those who are less able bodied and perhaps struggle to keep their garden 'under control'.

In our opinion rewilding a garden is highly beneficial to human health. There may well be research on this available already but if not there should be. We would imagine those living in urban areas would benefit the most from this effect and we really hope more people living in towns and cities will try it.

Common spotted orchid in the lawn area

Rewilding

According to Caroline Fraser in her book 'Rewilding the World' biodiversity loss is now lining up to be the greatest man-made crisis the world has ever known. It is the Sixth Great Extinction or Holocene extinction event, named after the current geological time period. We now know that the loss of species can actually destroy ecosystems. Caroline says “ … we have learned that everything is interdependent. There are no spare parts … Lose the animals, lose the ecosystems. Lose the ecosystems, game over.”

Carrifran - a 1600 acre rewilding project in the Moffat hills

Ecosystems provide all our basic needs enabling us to survive on this planet. These include the provision of food, water, fuel, fibre and medicine; the regulation of everything within the climate such as air quality, water, disease, pollination and disease; the support of nutrient and water cycling, soil formation and photosynthesis; and cultural benefits such as spiritual and recreational needs.

Rewilding as a conservation strategy is one of the most exciting and promising method of restoring the balance to our ecosystems. An emerging movement, it is based around a new way of looking at conservation. It can be applied to small or large scale projects for the land or the sea.



Trees for Life say that “Nowadays, the definition has come to encompass the whole process of returning ecosystems to a state of ecological health and dynamic balance, making them self-sustaining, without the need for ongoing human management.”

Rewilding ensures natural processes and wild species play a more prominent role. So, after initial support, nature is allowed to take more care of itself.

According to Rewilding Europe “Loss of biodiversity and climate change are among the biggest challenges for mankind. Humans have developed a quasi-geological force and are modifying the planet on a huge scale and at an unprecedented rate. The future of the planet lies in our hands. The time to act is now.”

As part of the solution they envision a European continent where the last wilderness areas are protected and where wildlife, natural processes and biodiversity are allowed to thrive. “Conservation in Europe has been different to the rest of the world. Because most of the wilderness was lost a long time ago, nature conservation focused on cultivated land, ancient farming systems and semi-natural, managed habitats, often depending on public subsidies and private engagement. This compensatory habitat approach has its value and certainly rescued many species from extinction, but an important part for conservation and biodiversity protection was left out; the preservation of wilderness and natural processes.”

Rewilding Britain is a charity who believe that rewilding provides hope for the future for people and nature. “Britain's land is almost all managed. Even in most conservation areas natural processes are arrested. We have lost more of our large mammals than almost any other European country. While the average forest cover in the rest of Europe is 37%, the UK has only 12% … Our national parks are dominated by sheep farms and grouse or deer estates, leaving almost all our hills bare. Over 99% of our seabed is scoured or ploughed by commercial fishing ... Through rewilding we can start to reverse centuries of ecological damage. We can re-establish natural processes, reconnect with nature and regain wonder for the natural world.”

Rewilding Britain want to see at least one million hectares of Britain's land, and 30 per cent of it's territorial waters, supporting natural ecological processes and key species. They say: “The island of Britain is geographically diverse and consists of three nations with differing political systems. Rewilding projects on the ground need to be locally owned and locally run. One thing binds us all – our ecosystems need help.”