A recent buzzword in horticulture and land management is ‘rewilding’. Adam Hunt and Lulu Urquhart won a gold medal at the 2022 RHS Chelsea Flower Show by reimagining ancient countryside and interpreting how the reintroduction of beavers could benefit nature, climate and people. Nevertheless, some have questioned the practicalities of adopting rewilding principles within a domestic setting.
Monty Don has said that people need to work with nature to manipulate and tend their gardens and make choices rather than adopting a policy of not interfering, while Alan Titchmarsh has warned that allowing nature a free hand could lead to a reduction in plant diversity. The debate continues, yet the fact remains that climate change is having a huge impact, and insect populations are declining, two issues we should bear in mind when deciding what to grow. After all, it is possible to create a beautiful space and help wildlife, to use planting and design to further afford protection against the greater extremes of weather in our changing climate.
We can make gardens sustainable and wildlife-friendly by combining what we grow with some biodiverse flourishes. Be it creating small water features and leaving some areas of grass long and un-mown, growing native flower species, or leaving a few back-of-the-garden patches of nettles and other wild plants to provide food for the young of insects such as butterflies, it all helps and can look and feel
