How to Create a Garden

Setting aside part of your garden for "Wilding" or as a wildlife garden gives another dimension to a garden. Over time, it will increase the number of wildlife visitors to your garden and the number and variety of wild flowers. Illustrated is part of my garden that has been left to go wild. The wildflowers have imported themselves, although you can give nature a hand.

You can create a wildlife area slowly, by just letting nature take over and seeing what comes naturally. Some gardeners prefer to introduce specific plants and wildflowers. In my garden, I have left an area to develop naturally, and it is amazing the range of wild flowers which appear (as if from nowhere) over the years. "Wilding" lets nature take its course, but you can be more creative and introduce perennial wildflowers, tips, and advice about both below.

Whichever route you take, the type of wild flowers which appear, or that you select, will be suited to your garden environment. The old rule "Right Plant, Right Place" applies just the same. If the wild area of your garden is damp, or boggy, Marsh Marigolds make take up residence naturally, or you may plant them, whereas a Corn Poppy will not and would not thrive if planted. Wildflowers, like any other plants, look for a garden that matches their natural growing environment. 

You can also attract bees and butterflies to your garden with conventional planting- check out Wildlife friendly Plants and 6 pages of ideas of bee and butterfly friendly planting.

Over time, many wild flowers have appeared. Below are images of some wildflowers that have established themselves. The wild part of my garden is a damp, boggy area next to a stream and also a shady area within some trees, so naturally, the wildflower plants that have settled in are those suited to this habitat. 

All the images are genuine and from my garden; the wildflowers weren't specially planted but arrived as I left the area to go wild.  I hope this shows what to expect if you decide to let a section of your garden go wild. There are more wildflowers than the images portray. 

To maintain a balance, I do some gardening, otherwise the more vigorous weeds would take over. This means checking areas of nettles and brambles to allow some to develop, but not to overtake the other flowers. It is essential to maintain balance and prevent weeds from taking over, as they are vigorous. It is sometimes said that a weed is a flower in the wrong place. Some are just weeds, images to help spot the most virulent of weeds. 

There are two basic ways to create a wildflower garden: naturally by letting nature take its course, or by planting suitable wildflowers as plugs or seeds.

The garden illustrated above by what nature provided. If you want to create a more specific look, you can add to the existing wild flowers by planting additional perennial wildflowers of your choice. This also speeds up the process, as it can take quite some time (as in a number of years) for wildflowers to establish themselves naturally. 

You can do this in several ways. 

The first is to introduce established plants, which I have done in a small way: planting Cirsium rivulare 'Atropurpureum' . Although not a native wildflower plant, it looks good in a wild setting, and the bees go mad for it, so I added it in alongside the stream. This is also a perennial, and so graces the garden each year.

Alternatively, you can buy small plug plants or seeds and introduce them into the wild area. If you are doing this for the first year or so you will need to clear grasses and "weeds" from the immediate planting area to give the new plants a chance to get established.  

Or you can just leave the area and keep an eye on what grows. Thin out unwanted visitors and keep the balance of weeds and flowers. If you feel that not enough of your wildflower favourites are seeding themselves naturally, give nature a hand and sow some perennial wildflowers. It is important to distinguish between annual and perennial wildflowers. The planting scheme, wilding, is based mainly on perennial flowers so that it is easily sustainable year after year.

Wilding is different from creating an annual wildflower patch or meadow. If this is your preferred route, you will need to clear the area and keep it weed free, which is very difficult in a wild garden area. Many of the wildflower meadows in the large show gardens we visit are an annual display. They are made from annual seeds which will die back each year. This method of creating a wildflower garden is very colourful and eye-catching, and it is also time consuming. It looks casual but is high maintenance.

Tips and growing instructions for creating a wild flower area.

Nettles are wildlife-friendly and support over 40 species, including many butterflies. Their sting deters predators and their threat, which is mainly being eaten by grazing animals. This makes nettles a haven for insects, lava, and caterpillars.