Let Nature Run Wild
by Floris Books • 21 March 2024 • Books, Gardening, Picture Books, Seasons • 0 Comments
Spring is right around the corner and the temptation to start weeding and pruning has just begun. As our friends the Prickletrims learn in
The Prickletrims Go Wild, trim lawns and manicured hedges may look neat and orderly but do they really add much else to your garden?
Letting your garden run wild can bring so many benefits to you and the world around you.
You just have to let it grow!
‘Broad comedy pokes fun at those trying to exercise control over untamable forces, while spreads remind readers of the magnificence of nature left to its own devices.’
Publisher’s Weekly
Benefits of a Wild Garden
Helping Insects and Bumblebees
Letting plants grow wild and free creates a great habitat for local bugs and bumblebees to find food, shelter, and help support our wonderful ecosystem.
Did you know that when bumblebees carry the pollen from a flower back to their hive they are also spreading that pollen far and wide, so that even more beautiful flowers can bloom?
Without bees we would likely lose all the plants that bees naturally pollinate. The wild animals that eat those plants would then struggle to find food and this food shortage would move through the food chain, impacting more and more creatures, including humans.
Bumblebees are not our only pollinators either: hummingbirds, butterflies, moths, and bats also rely on the pollen from flowers. That’s why its so important to support our wildlife by providing them with a flower-filled habitat so they can continue their vital roles in our ecosystem.
Allows Native Plants to Thrive
Native plants are those that grow naturally in the region in which they evolved. These plants are specifically adapted to the environment they were raised in, from the local climate to the conditions of the soil. Britain has an abundance of beautiful native plants, including, foxglove, primrose, and honeysuckle.
However, people have been collecting exotic plant species from across the world for centuries and bringing them back to their own countries to study and admire. This means that non-native species have been introduced into different ecosystems. These exotic plants often carry bugs that the native plants have no defence from, they also tend to invade habitats, without their usual competitors to deter them, and so overwhelm the habitat, becoming the dominant vegetation.
Offering space for native plants to thrive in your garden will bring countless benefits to our natural ecosystem. Once established, native plants also require little maintenance to keep happy and healthy.
Attracts Wildlife
By letting your garden grow wild, you are making room for an abundance of wildlife to thrive. Forgetting to cut your grass for a couple of weeks can allow plants like daisies, clovers and buttercups to grow. The plants offer food and shelter for insects that are then eaten by birds and small mammals, such as hedgehogs.
Trees are also great at attracting wildlife as well as offering other benefits too, like reducing noise and the potential for flooding. Silver birch trees are a great choice for attracting birds that eat their seeds and make nest in their trunks. Wild cherry tree’s fruit and leaves provide food for caterpillars, blackbirds, mice and badgers.
Basically, if you make space for wildlife they’ll show up with bells on! Turning your garden from a basic green space into your own little ecosystem.
Nature is beautiful!
The beauty of nature is a gift! Plants are meant to grow wild and free and it’s when they’re allowed to that they’re at their most beautiful.
Research shows that people with a good connection to nature tend to be happier and that spending time in natural environments is beneficial to maintaining good mental health.
We get so much from nature!
Be sure to give something back this spring by embracing local plants and wildlife and, like the Prickletrims, let your garden…
