Where the wild things are

As SusMo members take over the Lighter Footprints, regular readers may spot that some posts are noticeably more plant and biodiversity related - those will be my topics, as I will generally leave matters of technical detail and energy efficiency advice to the superior expertise of my co-volunteers. I'm Maggie, if you missed my previous contribution to the blog my day job concerns the research and development of green roofs. I will try to relate some of the things I have learnt about sustainable technology in my field and ways I see that it can be translated to everyday life, and will always welcome comments from any readers who may be more experienced in the terrestrial garden!

I remember gardens from my childhood that invariably featured a patch of 'elephant grass' at the end, by an old swing, where the lawn mower couldn't quite reach and hedgehogs could slumber undisturbed. It was a constant source of guilt and procrastination for my parents, and I can see how the urge not to appear 'unkempt' may have disturbed many an ecological pocket of refuge in urban gardens. However I am keen to find ways of gardening that can maintain aesthetic pleasure and be beneficial to wildlife at the same time - I resent the connection of 'biodiverse' with 'scruffy' because it is a false simplification. It's an area where everyone must find their own balance according to personal preferences, but a few ideas spring to mind.

Rather than letting rampant elephant grass take over, you can choose pretty 'weeds' and have a small wildflower meadow area that will have a long flowering season and require minimal maintenance - just trim off the seed heads once a year after flowering if you are worried about infecting the rest of your garden. There are some great mixes available suitable for every soil type and colour scheme, usually best sown in the autumn to come up the following spring (try http://wildseed.co.uk/). Best of all this will provide a great food source for butterflies and bees, who can then attend to pollinating your vegetable patch.

Another option is to choose classic plants that also happen to be great for local wildlife - lavender for example. Or even help resuscitate communities of lovely and interesting plants that are declining but will fit in with the rest of your garden - I was surprised to find that the humble cornflower is critically endangered in the UK, with few naturally sustainable communities left in the wild. Some of these can be a beautiful addition to a garden, and at the same help the city develop sustainably by replacing some of the diverse plant life lost through urbanisation and agriculture.