It’s easy to think about how our gardens meet our immediate wants and needs and add color and character to our landscapes. They provide fresh produce for our families. They become a favorite spot for quiet reflection after a busy day, and gardening as a hobby can reduce stress and provide a great outlet for physical activity.
However, our own little backyard oases also play a role in a much bigger picture. Have you ever thought about your garden as an important puzzle piece in the greater natural world? Every garden, whether large or small, represents an opportunity to embrace biodiversity in a way that nurtures and protects the natural world around us.
Even if yours is no more than a four-foot square, every garden can positively impact the environment, and biodiversity is a key component of that impact. Read on to learn more about embracing biodiversity in a self sustainable garden and why it matters.
| Takeaways |
|---|
| Every garden, regardless of size, can positively impact the environment through embracing biodiversity. |
| Biodiversity refers to the variety of life within a garden, including plants, insects, and other invertebrates. |
| Sustainable gardening focuses on using native plants that require minimal maintenance and care. |
| In biodiverse gardening, insects play a beneficial role in maintaining a natural balance and preventing plant damage. |
| Avoiding the use of synthetic pesticides and chemicals helps protect the environment and maintain the natural balance of waterways. |
| Composting is an effective and natural way to fertilize the soil in a self-sustaining garden. |
| Attracting pollinators like bees to the garden enhances self-sufficiency, and certain plants can be added to attract them. |
| Creating a butterfly-friendly garden by adding nectar-rich flowers and host plants can contribute to biodiversity. |
| Even small steps in increasing biodiversity can have a significant impact on the natural world and protect native species. |
It’s easy to think about how our gardens meet our immediate wants and needs and add color and character to our landscapes. They provide fresh produce for our families. They become a favorite spot for quiet reflection after a busy day, and gardening as a hobby can reduce stress and provide a great outlet for physical activity.
However, our own little backyard oases also play a role in a much bigger picture. Have you ever thought about your garden as an important puzzle piece in the greater natural world? Every garden, whether large or small, represents an opportunity to embrace biodiversity in a way that nurtures and protects the natural world around us.
Even if yours is no more than a four-foot square, every garden can positively impact the environment, and biodiversity is a key component of that impact. Read on to learn more about embracing biodiversity in a self sustainable garden and why it matters.
What Is a Biodiverse Garden?
Biodiversity is just a shorter way of saying “biologically diverse.” When we think of biodiversity in terms of gardens, we look at the variety of life within that garden. This means thinking beyond “just” the tomato plants or a few flowers.
A biodiverse garden (even a relatively small or average-sized one) can contain hundreds or thousands of varieties of life, from plants to insects to other invertebrates. Biodiversity is critical to the natural world as it helps us maintain a natural balance among all the earth’s species.
What Is a Self Sustainable Garden?
Sustainable gardening is all about choosing crops that need minimal maintenance and care, which will be those native plants that thrive in your region. As long as you have healthy soil, your crops should be plentiful in a self-sufficient garden, and you can enjoy fresh produce and healthy food for your family while also saving money and helping the environment!
If you are new to gardening and want to create a green space filled with biodiversity and self sustaining crops, or if you are a seasoned gardener looking to make some changes for the good of your natural environment, read on for some practical tips to get started.
Bugs Aren’t All Bad!
Many gardeners focus on getting rid of pests, but in biodiverse gardening, it is important to remember that many insect species benefit your garden and the natural world around us. A diverse group of species in your garden can also prevent the possibility of one species dominating and potentially damaging your plants.
So, resist the urge to spread harmful chemicals in your garden soil for the sake of killing bugs; instead, focus on whether or not the right variety is present to maintain a natural balance, meaning enough predators and parasites to take care of the ones that might otherwise damage your garden.
Lay Off the Chemicals
Synthetic pesticides and other chemicals applied to a small backyard garden might not seem like a big deal to the average homeowner. It’s easy to think, “How is a little weed or bug spray in my tiny yard really going to hurt the environment?”
Most people do not realize while gardening how quickly those chemicals can travel. When harsh pesticides are washed off of lawns and ultimately into local waterways, they can have a detrimental impact on the natural world at large, in some cases killing off fish and algae, upsetting the natural balance of our waterways.
A biodiverse and self-sustaining garden does not need much intervention, which means it does not need chemical intervention. There are plenty of natural options for addressing pests and some safe and environmentally friendly pesticides in the gardening market these days.
Consider Composting
The quality of soil in your self sustainable garden is critical to its success, and composting is one of the best ways to ensure your garden is fertilized in a natural way that promotes biodiversity.
Homemade compost (or manure) ensures your plants and crops get all the nutrients they need to grow and thrive without any additives that negatively impact the environment or the native plants in your region.
Composting also keeps natural and organic matter and waste from unnecessarily filling up trash bins and is another incredibly effective way for you to be an active participant in protecting biodiversity when practicing sustainable gardening.
Pay Attention to Pollination
Self sufficient gardening is aided by insects who pollinate, and luring them to your garden in strategic ways will help your staple crops. Honey bees, solitary bees, and mason bees are pollinators who could positively impact your biodiverse and self sustaining garden.
There are a wide variety of plants with flowers that attract pollinators thanks to the amount of nectar and pollen they produce. Consider adding any of these while planting your garden: sunflowers, snapdragons, dandelions, lavender, or goldenrod.
Make a Beacon for Butterflies
While your garden may be primarily geared toward providing fresh produce for your family, from growing vegetables like cherry tomatoes and leafy greens to sweet potatoes and winter squash, it can also be a place where butterflies thrive.
All it takes is the addition of some flowers rich in nectar and host plants for their larvae. Surround your family garden with healthy plants like some zinnia, black-eyed Susan, and New England aster, to name a few, and you will be delighted to see butterflies in your backyard gardening oasis.
Final Thoughts on Biodiversity and a Self Sustainable Garden
Father and son in an outdoor garden
Even the smallest steps can make a tremendous difference in how our gardening can impact the natural world around us.
The planting you do in your own backyard can not only mean a healthy crop of potatoes, beans, and tomatoes for your family to enjoy along with fresh herbs, but it can also mean you have played a part in promoting a healthy natural environment by protecting native species and keeping chemicals out of our waterways.
Think of each measure you take to increase biodiversity in your garden as one tiny seed planted that will grow and blossom and spread.
For 15 years, Hellen James has worked in the gardening industry as an expert and landscape designer. During her career, she has worked for a variety of businesses that specialize in landscaping and gardening from small firms to large corporations.