Management Methods

Practice low intervention horticulture. Not all areas need to be perfectly manicured and ‘tidy’ especially if they are a bit ‘out of the way’.

Leave perennials standing until spring to provide habitat and food sources. This also adds structure and aesthetic value to a winter garden.
Provide nest sites and cover for wildlife by allowing some trees and shrubs to grow to maturity undisturbed.
Adopt a reduced mowing regime.
Reduce predation by pests by protecting establishing plants with netting.

Take the opportunity to raise awareness and make a feature of low intervention areas by installing interpretation signs explaining what you have done. See ‘Communicating Biodiversity’.

Reduce or eliminate chemical use

Mulch beds (with wood chips produced from your own waste materials or from a sustainable source) to prevent weeds.
Use organic fertilisers including your own compost.
Encourage natural predators like ladybirds, hover flies and lacewings, by using suitable food plants for adults and/or larvae and by providing hibernation habitats.
Diversify planting to discourage pests and diseases.

Ensure use of sustainable materials

The use of peat is responsible for loss of valuable peat bog habitat. Choose from one of the many alternatives that are available.
Make sure that timber has Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) status.
Do not use limestone from limestone pavements. This stone is an endangered geological formation and habitat. If you need to use stone, choose a recycled or suitable quarry source.

In this section…

Management Methods

Connect

Stay Informed