Myth: Only “wildlife gardens” are good for wildlife
This myth has been thoroughly exploded by the many studies that have shown how randomly-selected ordinary gardens contain lots of wildlife. Have a look at our web page “How many species live in gardens” and read the results from the Sheffield University Biodiversity in Urban Gardens (BUGS) studies1,2.
Ordinary gardens are naturally biodiverse for several reasons:
• Contrived plant diversity – people keep adding new plants
• Continuous change and disturbance which prevents a few species dominating
• Great variety of physical structure of vegetation, lawns, shrubs, trees, perennials and annuals close together
• There are many food webs in gardens
• Domestic lawns contain a surprising number of species
• Plenty of food supply – a high biomass and productivity of vegetation
• Many garden habitats mimic diverse semi-natural ones.
Ordinary gardens contain lots of species - even if you as a gardener don’t want them or are not interested! This is why the Wildlife Gardening Forum wants everyone to know how important gardens are for wildlife in Britain – as well as for people and society.
This doesn’t mean that there is no point in adding features to make your garden more attractive to wildlife. There is every reason – if you want – to add a pond, grow grass longer, and plant flowers, shrubs and trees for pollinators, birds and other creatures. But remember – even if you don’t – your garden is a haven for wildlife.
References
1. Thompson, K., Austin, K.C., Smith, R.H., Warren, P.H., Angold, P.G. & Gaston, K.J. 2003. Urban domestic gardens (I): Putting small-scale plant diversity in context. Journal of Vegetation Science 14, 71-78
2. Smith, R.M., Warren, P.H., Thompson, K. & Gaston, K.J. 2006. Urban domestic gardens (VI): environmental correlates of invertebrate species richness. Biodiversity and Conservation 15, 2415-2438.
Page written by Steve Head, reviewed by Ken Thompson
Edwin Lutyens' beautiful garden at Castle Drogo in Devon.
It's not a purpose-made "wildlife garden" but it will be full of life.
This myth has been thoroughly exploded by the many studies that have shown how randomly-selected ordinary gardens contain lots of wildlife. Have a look at our web page “How many species live in gardens” and read the results from the Sheffield University Biodiversity in Urban Gardens (BUGS) studies1,2.
Ordinary gardens are naturally biodiverse for several reasons:
• Contrived plant diversity – people keep adding new plants
• Continuous change and disturbance which prevents a few species dominating
• Great variety of physical structure of vegetation, lawns, shrubs, trees, perennials and annuals close together
• There are many food webs in gardens
• Domestic lawns contain a surprising number of species
• Plenty of food supply – a high biomass and productivity of vegetation
• Many garden habitats mimic diverse semi-natural ones.
You can read more about these factors in our paper here.
Ordinary gardens contain lots of species - even if you as a gardener don’t want them or are not interested! This is why the Wildlife Gardening Forum wants everyone to know how important gardens are for wildlife in Britain – as well as for people and society.
This doesn’t mean that there is no point in adding features to make your garden more attractive to wildlife. There is every reason – if you want – to add a pond, grow grass longer, and plant flowers, shrubs and trees for pollinators, birds and other creatures. But remember – even if you don’t – your garden is a haven for wildlife.
References
1. Thompson, K., Austin, K.C., Smith, R.H., Warren, P.H., Angold, P.G. & Gaston, K.J. 2003. Urban domestic gardens (I): Putting small-scale plant diversity in context. Journal of Vegetation Science 14, 71-78
2. Smith, R.M., Warren, P.H., Thompson, K. & Gaston, K.J. 2006. Urban domestic gardens (VI): environmental correlates of invertebrate species richness. Biodiversity and Conservation 15, 2415-2438.
Page written by Steve Head, reviewed by Ken Thompson
Myth: Only “wildlife gardens” are good for wildlife
Edwin Lutyens' beautiful garden at Castle Drogo in Devon.
It's not a purpose-made "wildlife garden" but it will be full of life.
