Naturalistic garden — biodiversity, native plants and less work

The return to nature is today the strongest trend in gardening — in Germany people speak of „naturnahe Gärten“, in the US of intentional, eco-friendly gardening. It is about moving away from the rigidly clipped lawn and perfectly straight beds toward looser plantings, native plants and a garden that feeds insects and birds. The good news: such a garden is not only livelier but also less work. This guide shows how to create it — step by step and without a revolution.

Native nectar plants are the foundation

A naturalistic garden begins with choosing plants that genuinely feed pollinators — providing pollen and nectar, not just a pretty flower. Full, „stuffed“ double cultivars are often useless to bees because their anthers are inaccessible. Rely on proven nectar plants:

• Purple coneflower, orange coneflower and New York aster — long-flowering, besieged by bees and butterflies.
• Common yarrow, Faassen’s catmint and woodland sage — reliable, drought-tolerant and full of insects all summer.
• Creeping thyme, common St. John’s wort and garden lupin — native or naturalised species valuable to wild pollinators.

Among shrubs and trees, the most for insects is done by midland hawthorn, Oregon grape, butterfly bush and — priceless for bees in summer — the small-leaved lime. A ready list of species is in the bee- and pollinator-friendly plants collection and in the guide to plants for bees.

Food across the whole season, not just in summer

Key rule: pollinators need food from early spring to late autumn, not only at the June peak. Plan the border so that something is in flower all season:

• Early spring: common lungwort and early-flowering bulbs — the first food for bumblebees waking from winter.
• Summer: the main flush of nectar perennials — coneflower, yarrow, catmint, lavender, salvia.
• Late summer and autumn: New York aster and common heather — the last refuelling before winter.

Continuity of bloom matters more than the number of species. Even a few plants chosen to flower „in turn“ give insects a steady food base.

Less mowing — a flower meadow instead of a carpet

A closely mown lawn is a green desert for insects. One of the simplest and most effective steps in a naturalistic garden is to stop mowing part of it. Leave a patch of lawn unmown, or mow it only twice a year — clover, buttercups and other wildflowers soon appear, and with them butterflies and bees. You also help the rest of the lawn by mowing higher (4–5 cm) and less often.

You need not give up tidiness in doing so: a mown, clear path along the wild zone makes the whole thing look deliberate rather than neglected.

Without peat and without synthetic fertilisers

Two pillars of the modern, ecological garden are giving up peat and cutting back on chemicals. Peat extraction destroys peatlands — precious habitats and huge carbon stores — so choose peat-free composts (based on compost, coir or bark). Instead of synthetic fertilisers, rely on compost and natural feeding: they build soil life, do not salt the soil and do not run off into water. How to do this sensibly is described in the guide to fertilising.

Shelter: deadwood, leaves and water

A living garden is not only flowers but also places where animals hide, overwinter and drink:

• Do not rake everything away in autumn. A leaf layer under the shrubs and the spent seed heads of perennials are winter shelter for insects and food (seeds) for birds. More on tidying the garden wisely for winter is in the guide to preparing the garden for winter.
• Leave a piece of deadwood — a stump or a pile of branches in a corner of the garden is a home for insects, hedgehogs and amphibians.
• Set out a drinker or a small water feature. Even a shallow dish with water and a stone (so insects don’t drown) saves bees in the heat.

A naturalistic garden is not chaos but cooperation with nature instead of fighting it. A dry, sunny garden fits this approach beautifully — many nectar plants are also drought-tolerant species, so it is worth reading the guide to the drought-tolerant garden as well. The result? Less work, less watering and a garden full of life from the first warm day.