Biodiversity and Gardening: Fergus Garrett on Great Dixter - Online lecture
I’ve just finished watching this lecture. It was a fascinating look at the development of Great Dixter and its ecology. Fergus Garrett stressed several times that there is a perception of gardens as ‘sterile’ environments, where biodiversity is tidied away. The work at Great Dixter proves that this is not so. The number of recorded spider species alone is enough to give heart to anyone trying trying to improve biodiversity. Below are a few interesting observations that either chimed with what we do here or added new information. Although those of us who were at the lecture will receive the slides and a recording, what I’ve pointed out below is a starter.
Gardens have the potential to be/are good hosts for a range of diverse species of wildlife;
Gardens can be thought of in terms of ‘woodland edge’ where wild meets cultivated;
Native and non-native species can work together in terms of biodiversity and aesthetics;
No need to compromise on beauty;
Umbellifers and alliums are important hosts for a number of insects and other wildlife;
Don’t cut everything back at the end of the season;
Go for a diversity of vegetation.
I’d also add: observe, be curious, look under flowers,take photographs, let a few of your veg flower. I was staggered by the beauty of a celery plant that survived the winter when it flowered the following year. The wildlife loved it too. As we watched, different insects came to the flowers. We’ve always allowed one or two of our leeks to flower as they survive the winter well but seeing salsify (stunning flowers), kale, broccoli and other veg flower, we know how attractive they are to wildlife. That doesn’t mean doing without veg but, if you grow from seed, add a few extra seedlings and allow them to flower. This year we’ve been planning a flowering veg, edible flowers patch. There’ll also be veg for eating but we want to monitor it and see how it looks and what it attracts. We won’t have nettles there as they are all over our garden for various reasons, from keeping the hens off the fruit, to making nettle tea, attracting butterflies and cutting them down for the compost heap. Our rich soil and nettles have a very good relationship! No need to add them to our experimental flowering veg, edible flower patch.
Further information on the Great Dixter online lectures can be found here
