Nature – Going Wild for ‘25 (Part II)
Posted on 23rd September 2024 at 11:57
Author: Nadine Carr, FSNC
Well, hello again and welcome to part two of going wild in’25. At least the weather has been a bit better, and my wild garden has been a real delight. Not only have we had some wildflowers nodding in the breeze, amongst the dainty grasses, but most importantly the areas have literally been buzzing with all sorts of bugs, and butterflies.
Definitely worth the doing and very inspiring to do more next year as it should be an even better display for us to enjoy and nature to benefit from. I hope you are feeling inspired to join me on my wild journey.
Also, I hope you are enjoying the option to read or listen to my blogs. I would ask you to let others know about them and also the other ways you can discover more about nature with my weekly Podcasts, monthly newsletter and coming soon a selection of CDs to help you improve your life.
They will be for sale on my website and make great gifts for family or friends and just in time for Christmas. If you can’t decide which one to get, I will also have gift vouchers for them so the recipient can choose; check out my website for more information.
For now, let us look at how you can go wild for ’25 even if you only have a small space. Whether you have a small backyard that has been surfaced off with concrete, a balcony, windowsill or steps, there is still plenty you can do for nature and many of the same rules apply. And of course you can use multiples of these places, then more the better!
Let us start with that uninspiring backyard.
I once visited a friend who had moved into her first house having lived in a flat. It was a typical mid terrace Victorian house with a small backyard which they had surfaced off for low maintenance. It was surrounded by wooden fencing, so a very bare canvas to start with. I hope their story will inspire you and as always, I would love to hear how you get on.
We started by working out which way was north etc, as this will govern the plants that need to go where to grow well. Then we discussed what use they wanted the garden to serve. They had no children, and none planned as they were both very career-focused at that point.
Therefore, the garden was a place to relax in at the end of the day, have friend around for a BBQ and they wanted to make it nature friendly and encourage wildlife in there as well. We sat around the kitchen table and created a layout that would incorporate all this.
We created a place where they could bet someone to build a BBQ unit which could be left there all year round. Then we applied the concept of the forest canopy in the design.
In the two corners furthest from the house they had big wooden planters built where they planted a small native tree in each, along with that some shrubs. They also had the carpenter make a selection of different planters to site in different spots in the garden. One on each side against the fence, some against the house, again with corner ones to accommodate other tall plants.
While all this was being built, they visited lots of garden centres and began gathering suitable sized outdoor pots to fill in the gaps and loose the square shape of the garden. They decided on wooden furniture that could live out all year round. To continue the wooden theme, they bought a number of feeders, houses ways to make as many critters welcome as possible.
Their carpenter also helped them have a pond which would as the plants grew nestle in and be wildlife friendly. This they planted with suitable plants. They even found someone chopping down a tree nearby and asked for some of the branches to make a log pile tucked into a suitable corner.
Around the BBQ they had some planters made where they grew herbs both edible ones and some that were good for the bugs. They then began to gather the plants and soon they had their own little oasis. I returned a few years later to see how it was doing.
I was amazed how fabulous it looked, everything had matured up and settled in. There had been a few losses along the way, however on the whole it had done really well. Since the initial planting they had increased the number of plants by using windowsills that looked out on the garden, had a trellis mounted on the wall and had a climber on it so there was little of the house ground floor to be see.
Sat there you could be in the middle of nature, they had so many birds there, that the dawn chorus was brilliant. There were insects buzzing about and they had seen lots of other critters too.
For me the real joy was on top of how good it looked was the amount of wildlife that called it home, but it was the fact that they now spent so much time in the garden enjoying it all. And that they had got so interested in the wildlife that they had begun reading about them, join a wildlife group and were such different people. So relaxed and at peace. The true power of nature!
Now if we look at balconies, these are just a smaller backyard, you do need to check it is strong enough to take the extra weight that your pots will be when full. However, assuming they are you can follow similar ideas that the couple did. Pots, trellises, window boxes, a small pond, a mixing bowl will do. I reuse an old wok that was not good enough for cooking with. You can also create homes for critters to enjoy.
The big thing with all spaces small or large is not to be too fussy about weeds, they are plants too and will be useful to some critter. Windowsills and doorsteps again offer lots of opportunities to help nature.
I saw a house where they had decided how much space was needed to comfortably walk up and down the steps and then filled the rest with pots full of plants that would help nature, even some weeds.
They put a small bowl of water nestled amongst the plants on both their sill and steps. They had enough space for a small native tree beside the steps. It looked amazing and was busy with wildlife. Don’t forget you have walls too, just remember to make sure the container is secure enough and strong enough to take the weight. There are several different ones you can buy, so get creative!
Whatever space you can provide will help and once you have it share the idea with your neighbours and soon a bare street can become a corridor for many critters to live in or pass through.
There is plenty of help out there on how to do it, what plants to use, how to look after it, all you need to do is make the choice to do it. Then you will reap the benefits just as nature will.
I do hope you will all join me next year, whether in a small way or big, that doesn’t matter every little bit helps. That is it for this episode, I hope you have enjoyed and that you will join me next month, where I will be looking at what the Japanese call Ikigai or purpose. Don’t forget to check out all the other ways I offer to connect with nature and be the best version of yourself.
Until next month, start looking at how you will, Go wild for ’25
And, remember to Tread Softly upon this Earth!
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