A natural garden offers a habitat for many animals and plants and thus ensures biodiversity. Humans also benefit from rich harvests.
In a natural garden, humans and animals live in harmony. It offers people a fresh harvest and many animals food and shelter. Although it is planned and planted, it still looks like it has grown naturally. Native plants grow there. These are durable and require little maintenance.
What is a natural garden?
In order to create a real natural garden, three criteria are particularly important: On the one hand, the application of chemical-synthetic pesticides is completely avoided in the natural garden. These are not only deadly for pests, but often also have fatal consequences for beneficial insects such as bees. The renunciation of these agents protects species diversity and also reduces the risk of pest infestation by protecting useful garden animals. Birds eat caterpillars, hedgehogs and toads eat slugs and ladybugs keep aphids away. In addition to chemical-synthetic pesticides, mineral fertilizers are also avoided as far as possible in the natural garden. In contrast to organic fertilizers, these have the major disadvantage that they bypass the natural nutrient cycle and can thus throw the soil into a chemical imbalance. In addition, the sole use of mineral fertilizers influences the formation of humus, so that the soil properties often deteriorate. In order to maintain or even improve the natural capacities of the soil, the natural garden relies on organic fertilizers. Finally, the use of peat is avoided in the natural garden: the high CO2 balance of soil containing peat cannot be reconciled with a sustainable and natural garden. In addition, peat can dry out the natural soil in the garden, as it absorbs a lot of water but only releases little to its surroundings. On the other hand, those who rely on natural and sustainable products for plant protection, fertilization and potting soil and avoid chemical substances improve onMaintains the soil and biodiversity in the garden, allowing you to grow he althier and therefore more robust plants.
These three criteria are particularly important for the natural garden:
- Complete renunciation of chemical-synthetic pesticides
- Doing without such fertilizers
- No peat spreading
Planning a natural garden: How to proceed
Anyone planning a natural garden will find their inspiration best in natural vegetation. Similar to a nature-enchanted environment, the natural garden can also contain many different elements and serve very different purposes: while some natural gardeners place particular value on natural biotopes and retreats for beneficial insects, others would also like to create vegetable beds in their natural garden. A garden pond or purely ornamental beds can also be integrated into the natural garden. But not everyone has the space to realize everything. So it is important to choose the right elements for your own garden and your own needs from the possible elements - let your creativity run free: Unlike other types of garden, there are no strict specifications for natural gardens and almost every wish can be incorporated into the garden design incorporate. As a small decision-making aid for the design of the natural garden, we have listed the most common components of a natural garden here.
Typical elements of a natural garden:
- Biotopes
- Flower Meadows
- Garden ponds
- Vegetable beds with crop rotation
- Compost heap
- Natural seating
- Fruit bushes
- Dry Stone Walls
- Housing for beneficial insects
- Wild Hedges
Tip: The Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V. (NABU) has many basic tips for planning and designing a natural garden. A colorful and diverse animal and especially plant world dominates. Gardening intervention is essential, so here are a few practical tips for creating a natural garden yourself.
Designing a natural garden: ideas and tips for beginners
Designing a natural garden sounds easy at first, but poses great challenges, especially for beginners: Due to the almost endless variety of design options and the numerous different elements, it is often difficult to keep track of things and first To make decisions. So thatGetting started is a little easier, we have put together some ideas and tips for the natural garden for beginners, ranging from choosing the right plants and designing retreats for beneficial insects to creating a garden pond.
Native plants for the natural garden
In a natural garden, by definition, neither environmental toxins nor artificial fertilizers or peat have access. The natural gardener plants regional species and combines them into a natural plant community. It takes a lot of patience - and a plan. Instead of a high-maintenance lawn, a near-natural meadow with native flowers is ideal, which serves as a pasture for bees and butterflies. Native flowering and berry bushes can be used as enclosures, which also provide food for the birds. Of course, a house tree should not be missing in the natural garden. Robust, native shrubs and wild fruit such as linden (Tilia), oak (Quercus), chestnut (Castanea) are suitable for this ), Service Tree (Sorbus domestica) or Bird Cherry (Prunus padus). The pear (Amelanchier) or the red honeysuckle (Lonicera xylosteum) are also beautiful ornamental shrubs. An advantage of the native plants: Since many plants are particularly robust and have adapted well to the prevailing conditions in our country, an easy-care natural garden is often created that requires significantly less attention than a traditionally designed garden.
Other plants for the natural garden:
- Blood Cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum)
- Monkshood (Aconite)
- Large-flowered mullein (Verbascum densiflorum)
- Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris)
- Bellflower (Campanula)
- Crawling Buggers (Ajuga reptans)
- Viper Bugloss (Echium vulgare)
- Sal willow (Salix caprea)
- Black Elder (Sambucus nigra)
- Rowberry (Sorbus aucuparia)
- Wild Strawberry (Alchemilla glaucescens)
- Meadow Sage (Salvia pratensis)
- Wild Roses (Pink)
Creating wet and dry biotopes in the natural garden
Wet and dry biotopes are typical of the natural garden. Cairns, dry stone walls or dead wood form the habitat for the animals in the garden. An old tree trunk can be used as a pile of dead wood to become a home for insects,fungi and lichen. Loosely stacked piles of leaves and brushwood, on the other hand, are attractive as a retreat for hedgehogs, but also for numerous species of insects. A dry stone wall is particularly decorative. And since these walls are built without mortar, small niches are created in which slow-worms, lizards, bumblebees, toads, wild bees or weasels find a hiding place. A particularly simple way of creating a dry biotope in a natural garden is to provide open sandy areas: many wild bee species use sunny sandy hills or unplanted areas in the bed to build their roost. If there is enough space in the garden, a wet biotope should not be missing. Garden ponds are not only popular with people, but also provide a suitable habitat for numerous species of wild animals. Even a small stream attracts many wild animals and beneficial insects and is perfect for making your natural garden attractive.
Nest boxes and shelters for beneficial insects in the natural garden
Refuges and winter quarters for birds, insects and bats are important. Nest boxes are breeding grounds and nests for young birds at the same time. Often they are also used as sleeping quarters. Anyone who creates a home for wasps and other insects in their garden has help in controlling pests such as flies, caterpillars and aphids. An "insect hotel" creates a home for centipedes, various beetles or earthworms. This consists of a frame filled with various natural materials such as straw, pine cones, wooden discs or hollow branches.
You can find instructions on how to build a nesting aid for wild bees here in our article.
Compost heap in the natural garden
In nature, rotting organic materials become plants again, as in a never-ending cycle. It makes sense to use this principle in the garden and not waste anything. But there is one thing to keep in mind: compost does not form by itself. Microorganisms and soil animals, which absolutely need air, are involved in the development. The compost must not ferment under any circumstances. Good air circulation is therefore a basic requirement for he althy compost.
In addition to kitchen waste, grass clippings or leaves, chopped branches from bushes or tree cuttings also belong on the compost. The compost heap must not dry out, otherwise the microorganisms will retreat to the lower layers and not work on the decomposition of the waste. If too muchHowever, if there is moisture, the waste will rot.
Tip: It is best to leave the compost heap alone over the winter and not rearrange it in spring. The reason: there are a lot of insects, caterpillars, worms and larvae living there. When the compost heap has turned to humus, it serves as a nutrient-rich fertilizer in the garden and ensures a great harvest in the vegetable patch.
Create a pond in the natural garden
Anyone who wants to design a natural garden will soon be thinking about a pond. In fact, the pond is an enrichment for every natural garden, as it increases the diversity of species even more. In addition to numerous pond plants that feel comfortable both in the water and at the edge, insects in particular, but also toads, frogs and newts benefit from the cool water. In order for them to feel comfortable, however, several rules should be observed: Above all, the pond in the natural garden should not contain any fish. The popular goldfish and koi in particular make life difficult for insects in the garden pond by eating eggs and larvae. In the worst case, they can severely disturb the natural ecosystem, which is why it is better to avoid them. However, the natural garden pond will not be boring: if you design it with different depths, an unbelievable variety of plants and animals can use the garden pond as their home. Deeper zones, which should be at least 1.20 meters deep, also serve as a frost-proof wintering zone for numerous animal species.
You can find out here what else you need to consider when creating a garden pond and which pond plants are particularly suitable.
More natural garden design ideas
A wild shrub hedge is a visual highlight all year round. It blooms in spring, bears fruit in summer and turns brightly colored in autumn. The fruits, such as the rose hip or the elder, serve as a sweet treat for people and birds. In addition, a wild shrub hedge is easy to care for and offers beneficial insects, birds and small mammals an important habitat.
A flower meadow brings color to the garden and is totally easy to care for. It thrives on very poor soil, needs no fertilizer, little water and only a pruning once a year. 50 to 60 different types of plants grow there and new colors or plants can be added every year. It creates a habitat for more than 1,000 species of insects - including bees and insectsButterflies.
In a wild corner there are nettles that provide food for butterflies. This area is important for the ecological balance and develops all by itself. It does not need regular care there. This can be a hidden corner behind the raised bed or next to the compost heap.
You can find more butterfly-friendly plants and bee-friendly plants here. And you can learn more about butterfly houses in this post.