How to make a start in your own garden
It is possible to weave the needs of people, a family and kids into a landscape, while still creating sanctuary and food for our wild creatures.
It is about shifting your intentions away from creating a landscape which is a visual controlled ‘still life’ filled with as much colour and architectural forms as possible, to a thriving, natural, gentle Irish landscape, one that soothes your eyes, calms your heart and nourishes your soul.
Start with the seedbank. In every square foot of healthy soil, there are approximately 5,000 native plant seeds. We have learned to call them weeds and we remove them for the fear of being labelled as lazy. In truth, we should be celebrating these restoration heroes of the plant kingdom, as they are the foundation stone for the recovery of the health of a native plant community and the health of the soil beneath. Let the native plants emerge from the seed bank around those stand-alone trees. Fence them off generously in your parklands and farms to protect them from sheep, deer and other grazers. They can become mini-islands of hope, little arks. If you can, build the native plant communities, from the ground up: the groundcover layer, the herbaceous layer, the shrubby layer. If you really want to help, your choices must all be native plants. Anything else is a garden industry supporting narrative, not a nature supporting one. Preferably these native plants should be sourced from within 10 to 20 miles in order for them to be ecologically adapted to the local insect populations. This may involve collecting seeds and taking local cuttings if seeds are not possible. It is a slower way to grow a plant community, but ultimately much more rewarding.
If this is not possible, then at least try and buy organic native plants. The more diverse you can make this community, the more life it will support. The trees will be glad of the company and our wildlife will be relieved to find a pocket of refuge from the collapse of nature all across our shared home.