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Conservation Gardening

If we have access to some land, even if it is just a small backyard, then we can each make some very positive contributions towards improving the quality of life on this planet. By giving up artificial fertilisers and sprays, using composts and biological methods instead, we will help to create a cleaner mini-environment for ourselves and the other creatures who share our garden. If we can then create habitats for these other creatures we can gradually build up a natural balance of predators to keep the garden pests under control, thus reducing our need to use even organic sprays on our plants.

One of the best ways of doing this is to plant some trees, preferably native, and ideally containing a mixture of those trees found in our local woods (especially Oak). Of course, trees take up a lot of space but there are many quite small trees suitable for very small gardens. Trees provide habitats for insects, birds and mammals. Their roots go deep into the earth bringing up nutrients and water that would otherwise be lost from the garden. Their dead leaves can be turned into leaf mould which is an excellent soil conditioner, trees extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, converting it into wood and giving out oxygen, thus helping to counter global warming. Trees can provide us with fruits, nuts, edible leaves and many other products and trees look so beautiful. For larger plantings it is often possible to obtain free trees from Local Councils - if you have at least half a hectare of land then you can obtain a grant from the Forestry Commission. Our leaflet Edible Trees and Shrubs gives a list of several hundred species.

A pond can really enhance a garden - it can also provide a home for frogs and toads who will then more than pay their rent by eating many of the slugs in the garden. The pond can range in size from just a few square feet to as large as you like. An old bath can be buried in the ground and used or you can buy pond liners or pre-formed ponds. It is best not to have fish in a pond if you want amphibians since the fish will eat the spawn and tadpoles. There are, however, many useful plants that can be grown in a pond - see our leaflet The Edible Pond for more details.

Hedges can provide you with shelter, they can also shelter and feed a wide range of other creatures. Native species are, on the whole, better for conservation gardening but many other fruiting hedge plants can be used to provide food for birds (and humans) throughout the year. Some examples include:-

Native

Hawthorn, Holly, Sloe and Hazel.

Non-native

Barberries, Elaeagnus species, Cotoneaster, Pyracantha and Rosa Rugosa.

Most gardens have a lawn and if some of this can be seeded with native wild flowers and then only be cut from August once seeds have been set, it will provide a wonderful habitat for butterflies, as well as provide a focal part for the garden in spring and early summer. The mowings should be removed to keep soil fertility low in order to encourage the flowers and discourage too lush a growth of grass. These mowings, of course, provide an excellent source of organic matter for the compost heap. See The Edible Lawn

Try to grow plants in the garden that provide food for insects, butterflies, birds and mammals. Evening Primroses are excellent for moths, Buddleia and Oregano will attract clouds of butterflies to the garden, fruiting shrubs such as Cotoneaster, Barberry and Juneberry will act as magnets to birds, our native Ivy will provide a late source of nectar for the bees and shelter for birds and insects. Try not to keep the garden too tidy - dead flowering stems have their own beauty in winter, their seeds can be eaten by birds whilst ladybirds can hibernate on (or in) them. As you turn your garden more and more into a conservation area, then you will probably attract hedgehogs into it. Whatever slugs the frogs and toads don't find - the hedgehogs will!

Readers Comments

Conservation Gardening

Deb miller Fri Nov 23 14:12:27 2001

I found that this page was filled with false statements.

Conservation Gardening

shaun burkey Mon Apr 7 09:52:27 2003

I found that the page was filled with really useful advice and that by thinking globally we can all begin the process of change that is necessary to balance the detrimental activities of multi-national organisations whose only concern is their profit margins. Shaun Burkey, Conservation and Communtiy Officer

Conservation Gardening

Dr Sara Lanier Sat Aug 6 2005

This site was inspiring and helpful against an increasingly 'onwards to Mars $$$' hysteria on the gardening Net. Thanks for giving me the encouragement to go against the trend and surround my small home with trees and wild things.

Conservation Gardening

roger goetz Wed Nov 9 2005

Simply Volunteer - Budget Volunteering Volunteering abroad couldn't be easier. With Simply Volunteer you just choose your country and type of project, add to basket then go for the extras - which means as little or as much support as you like.

Conservation Gardening

Kim Sarao Wed Feb 22 2006

LookSmart Gardening Nurture your green thumb and dig into our resource covering landscaping, trees and flowers, and growing fruits and vegetables. Get tips for organic growing, learn about repelling garden pests, or research bonsai or vegetable gardens.

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