Striking a balance between an overly cultivated garden and one that permits nature – wildlife, weeds and all – the freedom to roam is about the most topical challenge in horticulture right now. The principles are in place: chemicals are all but banished, May is becoming unmown, and slugs and snails are being rebranded. The question now is how, rather than why, we should provide for nature in our gardens. Frank van der Linden, a naturalistic garden designer based in the Netherlands, is well versed on this subject, and the move towards a more wildlife-inclusive vision for his own garden near Eindhoven had somewhat serendipitous beginnings.
“Twenty years ago, I started the garden with the aim of establishing a nursery for perennial plants and grasses,” says Frank. “But around 2017, the garden was left to its own devices for a couple of years while I was busy setting up another nursery. When I returned to it, it had become neglected in parts.” Within the structural footprint of hazel and beech hedges, weeds had taken over the planted borders, which had become overgrown with nettles. “I noticed that this had led to a significant increase in biodiversity.” Rather than restore order, this inspired a new direction for Frank’s garden and his wider approach to garden design – one that would provide functionality for users while creating living spaces for wild plant species and animals. “My eyes were opened to working with nature and understanding what it wants from – and with – a garden.”
Using weeds as groundcover
Esta historia es de la edición Summer 2023 de Gardens Illustrated.
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Esta historia es de la edición Summer 2023 de Gardens Illustrated.
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LAZY DAYS
Alice Vincent has had a hectic 2023, but for next year she's come up with a cunning plan to give herself more time and reduce her carbon footprint
SCULPTING THE LANDSCAPE
Charlotte Rowe's elegant design for a country garden in Hampshire fuses modern and traditional styles and captures the Zeitgeist for naturalism with a contemporary edge
Flavour of the seasons
Smallholder and former chef Julius Roberts suggests three easy, warming recipes for a winter feast with seasonal produce
JOINT ENTERPRISE
In southwest Germany, a couple have combined structural grasses and perennials with good seedheads in their garden to great effect, especially when touched by winter frost
COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS
There is a biodiversity loss crisis, but research into the wildlife found in gardens has made it clear just how important these spaces are as habitat. Discover how much you can learn, and gain, by identifying and documenting what you find beyond your back door
MATTHEW BIGGS
Horticulture's nicest practitioner on his journey from sweeping playgrounds to Gardeners' Question Time via offering gardening advice to insomniacs
YOUNG AT HEART
The garden of the late, great landscape architect Jacques Wirtz, which is more than 50 years old, is now being renewed by his children
PITTOSPORUM
These evergreen shrubs come in a multitude of sizes and shapes with shiny, often variegated or colourful leaves and small scented flowers
Festive flourishes
Entertain in style this Christmas with ideas for natural decorations from Swallows & Damsons
LUKE SENIOR
A former Ruth Borun scholar at Great Dixter, Luke is now one of the garden's full time gardeners