7 STEPS for 'Going Wild' in the Garden
Living in the country you get a close up view of nature in action. Seeing it so close is truly a privilege. As the bare tree glow effervescent green, blossoms bloom and the cow parsley begins to appear along the hedgerows and lanes. You know it's spring. But as I watch the beauty unfold there is always a looming worry of enviromental collapse coming our way down the road. The weather is unpredictable and unseasonal. The Jet Stream is moving slower than it has in thousands of years, a new study suggests. Human-induced climate change is largely to blame. ... And it only looks poised to worsen over the coming decades if climate change continues unabated. The beauty I’m enjoying has a sour taste. But collectively we can do something about it.
If we all did our best in our own back gardens to promote nature, what a massive global difference it could make. Because it’s often as simple as that. We have all managed to change our habits with our lockdowns. We now need to make drastic changes to how we garden.
Basically it’s time to let it go wild!!! Which is quite hard to do.. if you have a slightly OCD mind like mine that likes things tidy! But weeds are beautiful and you can eat most of them! A rambling natural garden with teeming wildlife, water ponds and native species just doing their thing, without chemical pest control, is the future. We’ve got to let our formal geometric gardens go and embrace the natural order of chaos. Nature knows, actually better than us.
7 STEPS for Going Wild in the garden
1 Stop mowing the lawn.
Leave wild spaces and paths. It looks so pretty and watch it regenerate with unexpected surprises.
2. Dump the 'Roundup' weed killer
It's killing us the bees and altering the natural flow of nature. The killer Roundup made by Monsanto has even been found in the blood stream of unborn babies.
Try these methods instead;
Hand weed the patio and beds if you really can’t cope with them!
Blanket layers of cardboard paper and newspapers. Plants will grow when they have sunshine and water...
Spray concentrated vinegar directly on weeds...
Use your trusty assistant, liquid detergent soap...
Spread some corn gluten meal around your plants...
Scald the weeds with boiling water...
Eat them. Dandelion tea or coffee... amazing! Dandelion leaves in your salad or smoothie. Nettle tops in your soup, bread. Wild garlic added to mushrooms. Cleavers, Daisies, Ground Elder, Garlic Mustard. No more weed killer!
3. Plant a tree
You've heard it from everyone.. Plant a tree! It's so impactful and simple to do. Trees breathe life into our world, and it's vital we plan for the future of woodlands to tackle climate change. Plant a tree with the National Trust Plant a tree today and you'll be helping to support the National Trust's aim of planting 20 million trees by 2030.
