Natural garden: Everything for planning & designing

A natural garden offers a habitat for many animals and plants and thus ensures biodiversity. Humans also benefit from rich harvests.

In a natural garden, people and animals live in harmony. It offers people a fresh harvest and many animals food and shelter. Although it is planned and planted, it still looks like it has grown naturally. Native plants grow there. These are durable and require little maintenance.

What is a natural garden?

In order to create a real natural garden, three criteria are particularly important: On the one hand, the application of chemical-synthetic pesticides is completely avoided in the natural garden. These are not only deadly for pests, but often also have fatal consequences for beneficial insects such as bees. The renunciation of these agents protects species diversity and also reduces the risk of pest infestation by protecting useful garden animals. Birds eat caterpillars, hedgehogs and toads eat slugs and ladybugs keep aphids away. In addition to chemical-synthetic pesticides, mineral fertilizers are also avoided as far as possible in the natural garden. In contrast to organic fertilizers, these have the major disadvantage that they bypass the natural nutrient cycle and can thus throw the soil into a chemical imbalance. In addition, the sole use of mineral fertilizer affects the

humus formation, so that the soil properties often deteriorate. In order to maintain or even improve the natural capacities of the soil, the natural garden is there organic fertilizers. Finally, in the natural garden, the use of peat avoided: especially the high CO₂-Balance of soil containing peat cannot be reconciled with a sustainable and natural garden. In addition, peat can dry out the natural soil in the garden, as it absorbs a lot of water but only releases little to its surroundings. On the other hand, those who rely on natural and sustainable products and chemical substances for plant protection, fertilization and potting soil avoids, improves the soil and the diversity of species in the garden in the long term and can thus produce healthier and therefore more robust plants plant.

These three criteria are particularly important for the natural garden:

• Complete renunciation of chemical-synthetic pesticides
• Refrain from using such fertilizers
• Refrain from spreading peat

Planning a natural garden: This is how you do it

Anyone planning a natural garden will find their inspiration best in natural vegetation. Similar to a nature-enchanted environment, the natural garden can contain many different elements and serve very different purposes: During some natural gardeners value natural biotopes and retreats for beneficial insects, others also want vegetable beds in their natural garden invest. A garden pond or purely ornamental beds can also be integrated into the natural garden. But not everyone has the space to realize everything. So it is important to choose the right elements for your own garden and your own needs from the possible elements - let your creativity run free Lauf: Unlike other types of garden, there are no strict specifications for natural gardens and almost every wish can be incorporated into the garden design incorporate. As a small decision-making aid for the design of the natural garden, we have listed the most common components of a natural garden here.

Typical elements of a natural garden:

• biotopes
• flower meadows
• garden ponds
• Vegetable beds with crop rotation
• compost heap
• Natural seating
• fruit bushes
• dry stone walls
• shelters for beneficial insects
• wild hedges

Tip: The Naturschutzbund Deutschland e. V (NABU) has many basic tips for planning and designing a natural garden. A colorful and diverse animal and especially plant world dominates. Gardening intervention is not dispensable, so here are some practical tips for creating the natural garden yourself.

Designing a natural garden: ideas and tips for beginners

Designing a natural garden sounds easy at first, but poses great challenges, especially for beginners: due to the almost endless possibilities Variety of design options and the numerous different elements, it is often difficult to keep track and make initial decisions meet. To make it a little easier to get started, we have put together some ideas and tips for the natural garden for beginners choosing the right plants, designing retreats for beneficial insects, and laying out a garden pond.

Native plants for the natural garden

By definition, neither environmental toxins nor artificial fertilizers or peat have access to a natural garden. The natural gardener plants regional species and combines them into a natural plant community. This requires a lot of patience – and a plan. Instead of a high-maintenance lawn, a near-natural meadow with native flowers is a good choice Bee and butterfly pasture serves. Native flowering and berry bushes can be used as enclosures, which also provide food for the birds. Of course, a house tree should not be missing in the natural garden. Robust, native trees and wild fruit such as linden tree (Tilia), Oak (Quercus), chestnut (Castanea), service tree (Sorbus domestica) or the bird cherry (Prunus padus). the service pear (amelanchier) or the red honeysuckle (Lonicera xylosteum) are also beautiful ornamental shrubs. An advantage of the native plants: Since many plants are particularly robust and adapt well to the prevailing conditions in our country have adapted, a low-maintenance natural garden is often created that requires significantly less attention than a traditionally designed garden needs.

Other plants for the natural garden:

• Blood Cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum)
• aconite (aconite)
• Large-flowered mullein (Verbascum densiflorum)
• Ordinary columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris)
• bluebell (campanula)
• crawling bugles (Ajuga reptans)
• Adderhead (Echium vulgare)
• Sal willow (Salix caprea)
• Black elder (Sambucus nigra)
• rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)
• wild strawberry (Alchemilla glaucescens)
• meadow sage (Salvia pratensis)
• wild roses (pink)

Create wet and dry biotopes in the natural garden

Wet and dry biotopes are typical of the natural garden. cairn, dry stone walls or dead wood form the habitat for the animals in the garden. An old tree trunk can become a home for insects, fungi and lichens as a pile of dead wood. Loosely stacked piles of leaves and brushwood, on the other hand, are attractive as a retreat for hedgehogs, but also for numerous species of insects. A dry stone wall is particularly decorative. And since these walls are built without mortar, small niches are created in which slowworms, lizards, bumblebees, toads, wild bees or weasels find a hiding place. A particularly simple way to create a dry biotope in a natural garden is to make it available more openly Sandy areas: Many wild bee species use sunny sandy hills or unplanted areas in the bed for their roost to build. If there is enough space in the garden, a wet biotope should not be missing. Garden ponds are not only popular with people, but also provide a suitable habitat for numerous species of wild animals. Even a small stream attracts many wild animals and beneficial insects and is perfect for making your natural garden attractive.

Nesting boxes and shelters for beneficial insects in the natural garden

Retreats and winter quarters for birds, insects and bats are important. nest boxes are breeding grounds and nests at the same time for young birds. Often they are also used as sleeping quarters. Anyone who creates a home for wasps and other insects in their garden has help in controlling pests such as flies, caterpillars and aphids. An "insect hotel" creates a home for centipedes, various beetles or earthworms. This consists of a frame filled with various natural materials such as straw, pine cones, wooden discs or hollow branches.

A guide on how to make one Nesting aids for wild bees build, you can find for example here in our article.

Compost heap in nature garden

In nature, rotting organic materials become plants again, as in a never-ending cycle. It makes sense to use this principle in the garden and not waste anything. However, there is one thing to keep in mind: compost does not arise by itself. Microorganisms and soil animals, which absolutely need air, are involved in the development. The compost must not ferment under any circumstances. Good air circulation is therefore a basic requirement for healthy compost.

In addition to kitchen waste, grass clippings or leaves, chopped branches from shrubs or tree cuttings also belong on the compost. The compost heap must not dry out, otherwise the microorganisms will retreat to the lower layers and not work on the decomposition of the waste. On the other hand, if there is too much moisture, the waste will rot.

Tip: It is best to leave the compost heap alone over the winter and not rearrange it in the spring. The reason: there are a lot of insects, caterpillars, worms and larvae living there. Is the compost heap closed? humus rots, it serves as a nutrient-rich fertilizer in the garden and ensures a great harvest in the vegetable patch.

Create a pond in the natural garden

If you want to design a natural garden, you will soon be toying with the idea of ​​a pond. In fact, the pond is an enrichment for every natural garden, as it increases the diversity of species even more. In addition to numerous pond plants, which feel comfortable both in the water and at the edge, insects in particular, but also toads, frogs and newts benefit from the cool water. In order for them to feel comfortable, however, several rules should be observed: Above all, the pond in the natural garden should not contain any fish. The popular goldfish and koi in particular make life difficult for insects in the garden pond by eating eggs and larvae. In the worst case, they can severely disturb the natural ecosystem, which is why it is better to avoid them. However, the natural garden pond will not be boring: if you design it with different depths, an unbelievable variety of plants and animals can use the garden pond as their home. Deeper zones, which should be at least 1.20 meters deep, also serve as a frost-proof wintering zone for numerous animal species.

Here you can find out what else you need to consider when creating a garden pond and which pond plants are particularly suitable.

More ideas for designing a natural garden

A wild shrub hedge is a visual highlight all year round. It blooms in spring, bears fruit in summer and turns brightly colored in autumn. The fruits, such as the rose hip or the elder, serve as a sweet treat for people and birds. In addition, a wild shrub hedge is easy to care for and offers beneficial insects, birds and small mammals an important habitat.

One flower meadow adds color to the garden and is totally easy to care for. It thrives on very poor soil, needs no fertilizer, little water and only a pruning once a year. 50 to 60 different types of plants grow there and new colors or plants can be added every year. It creates a habitat for more than 1,000 species of insects – including bees and butterflies.

Grow in a wild corner nettlesthat offer food to butterflies. This area is important for the ecological balance and develops all by itself. There is no need for regular maintenance. This can be a hidden corner behind the raised bed or next to the compost heap.

Further butterfly friendly plants, as bee friendly plants you'll find here. And in this post you will learn more about butterfly houses.