EMBRACE NATURE THE GREAT DIXTER WAY!
Follow this great garden’s lead to make your plot a biodiverse beauty
Iwas filming recently at Great Dixter garden in Sussex and Fergus, the exceptional head gardener there, mentioned something surprising. Following an extensive independent scientific survey of the garden over many years, the conclusion was that Dixter is as important as a nature reserve as it is a garden. In fact, the survey highlighted the garden is one of the most biodiverse spots in the county. Now, we all know gardens can be great havens for wildlife, but this survey suggests our gardens can actually out-compete wild places in terms of the range of species they support. Of course, this isn’t the case for all gardens. A Japanese gravel and moss garden, for example, will support very few species. So, how do we ensure our own gardens support the widest range of wildlife possible? There are many simple things we can do to follow Great Dixter’s example, which will maximise the range of species that call our gardens home.
Rough around the edges
Try being a bit looser with your approach to the garden. Allowing the occasional weed at the back of borders or through paving hugely increases the range of plant species in your garden. This in turn supports native wildlife that rely on our native flora.
Debris in the beds
Rather than diligently removing every scrap of leaf litter and natural debris from your borders, try leaving it there to naturally break down. It will feed the plants along with a plethora of animal and insect species, who’ll be kept busy breaking down the debris.
Nature stacks
If and when you do prune in your garden, rather than compost the prunings (and if you have space) why not build a ‘nature stack’? Looking like a mini haystack and composed of twigs, branches, moss and general garden waste, they serve as home and a food source for hundreds of useful critters.
Just add water
Great Dixter has a huge pond, but even the tiniest scrap of water in a garden will rapidly increase species diversity. How about a sunken half barrel or pot pond?
Flowers in every season
Year-round colour is something most of us aspire to, but if you can broaden the range of plants you grow to ensure there are always a few things in bloom, even in the depths of winter, nature will reward you with a host of new visitors.
Floral diversity
Growing the widest range of plants you possibly can will win you plenty of fans in the insect and animal world. Aim for diverse floral forms such as daisies, umbels and bells to service the creatures that specialise in feeding or breeding on them.