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A natural garden encourages birds, bees and butterflies - frogs, toads and lizards to a friendly environment.
Letting a garden go back to nature doesn't always achieve this result. Sometimes nature needs a little help.....
Some years ago, my partner and I bought an acre of neglected woodland in France. The land had been left to it's own devices for many years and the undergrowth and overgrowth had become so entangled, the whole area was slowly dying.
For a natural garden to develop, it needs to breathe. When the brambles get going around young trees, it won't be long before they are strangling the tree and eventually kill it. Brutal huh?! Deciding what must stay and what must go isn't always easy.
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The same with nettles - Nettles are great in a natural garden. Not only do they encourage butterflies, they are also a good source of human nourishment - Nettles are high in iron and vitamin C and make great soup! BUT they will take over the whole plot if not contained. Again limit their growth.
When we started making sense of our woodland/giant bramble patch, the task was enormous and we approached the project on a day to day basis, discovering forgotten paths, fruit trees the birds had obviously planted, wild flowers we had no names for, luminous green lizards, and even the odd snake skin, shed by a rather large snake I guess!
We wanted to create a natural garden from a natural mess. Nature hadn't been kind to our acre of land, and it was up to us to put it right. What a responsibility!!
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We have hazelnut trees but also many red squirrels = NO hazelnuts for us! There are frogs all over the garden although we still haven't got a 'proper' pond. The frogs live in the vegetable patch and do a great job of keeping the slugs under control. There are a few pictures of our 'slightly' tamed natural garden on this page. Our 'Tamed' Garden!
wildflowers friendly creatures ( frogs, toads etc;) the natural lay of the land 'controlled' brambles and nettles using trees for shade ( adjust seating areas perhaps )
Whatever you do don't forget the water supplies.Rather than battling with hoses, sprinklers and complicated watering systems, try collecting rain water! We have used this system for years in our garden and it truly works. We keep a water butt next to the greenhouse, and direct the water from the roof through odd scraps of guttering and old pipe. The reflection from the glass/plastic also warms the water slightly - much better for the small greenhouse plants than direct cold tap water...brrrr!
Find an old plastic container, with a lid to avoid drowning stray mice, cats or hedgehogs. Rig up your water collecting system as best you can. It may take a little trial and error, but persistance will conquer all! In the UK, I found some wonderful designs you can incorporate into a natural garden at Crocus UK. Click on this link Water Butts for the natural garden Type 'water storage & butts' into search box on their homepage - you get a selection of water butts in all sorts of sizes and colours. Perfect for every style of garden!
Creating a natural garden isn't just a question of letting nature 'take its course'. Help it along a little...and you will gain many hours of pleasure from your wild outdoor space - So will the butterflies and bees :-)
Happy Gardening! ![]() More "Garden" Reading
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