The Natural Gardener
There’s a lot of talk about how we should be growing ‘native wildflowers’ in our gardens to bring in plenty of minibeasts. What we have here, though, is a word mix up. Sometimes we hear or read the same phrase over and over and don’t question it! ‘Native’ and ‘wild’ are often used interchangeably when they can be very different indeed. Native, of course, means plants that got here with no human intervention – in truth, we have startlingly few of those.
Non-native is anything that has been brought in or cultivated by man. We have about 50,000 species of non-natives in our gardens from all around the globe, 1,800 of which have gone wild or been ‘naturalised’ over the years in the countryside. Only 100 of those are classed as nuisance invasives. Corncockles, for instance, were possibly brought in accidentally with wheat seed.
You’re probably either gasping at the revelation – or sighing with relief that you don’t have to worry about what’s native or not. Many people, including me, love a dainty wildflower, but there are those whose hearts sink at the thought of a wild, weedy wasteland. Surely we don’t just have to grow dandelions to see any wildlife? Fear not! The good news is you don’t even need ‘naturalised’ or ‘wild’ plants to coax in the critters.
Studies by the RHS and others have concluded that there’s no proof that where your plant comes from has any bearing on pollinator preference.
In short, fill your boots to cover all bases – plant up as many open, flowering plants in different shapes as you can, from where you like, in every possible corner and combination, and for all seasons; you’ll bring in an amazing array of wildlife to watch!