What Is The Difference Between a Cultivated, Wildlife Friendly, And A Wild Garden

The difference between a cultivated, wildlife friendly, and a wild garden is how hands on the human is in the environment they manage.  Below I will go into more detail about each type of garden to help you decide what is right for you.

Cultivated Gardens

Cultivated gardens are designed for human enjoyment.  They are often carefully planned and maintained, with a focus on beauty, food production, or recreation.  Cultivated gardens may use a variety of plants, including flowers, vegetables, fruits, and herbs.  They may also include water features, such as fish ponds or fountains, and other elements, such as sculptures or benches.

• Fertiliser, herbicides and pesticides are used.
• Compost and topsoil often brought in to improve garden soil.
• Plants not always suited to the location
• Ground dug over
• Plants cut back and kept tidy
• Grass cut on a regular basis
• Weeds and wildflowers removed

Very little consideration for wildlife, or knowledge about the impact tidiness and chemicals have on wildlife.

Wildlife Friendly Gardens

Wildlife friendly gardens are designed to attract and support wildlife.  They often use native plants, which provide food and shelter for birds, butterflies, bees, and other animals.  Wildlife friendly gardens may also include water features, such as birdbaths or ponds, and other elements, such as deadwood piles, which provide habitats for wildlife.

• Herbicides and pesticides are not used
• May use fertiliser
• No digging in vegetable patches
• Plants left to do their own thing - up to a certain degree
• Grass cut less often, or follow no-mow May movement.
• Includes wildflowers
• Use homemade compost

More consideration is given to wildlife and a balance is found between encouraging wildlife to use the space, while still enjoying aspects of gardening such as taking cuttings and tending to some plants to prolong flowering, as well as using the space for recreation.

Things to consider if you want to move to the next level of being wildlife friendly

Often wildlife friendly gardens are created with plants from Garden Centres which have been labelled as wildlife friendly.  However, garden centres use herbicides, pesticides and fertilisers to grow plants to get them to look great.  These chemicals are transferred to your garden once the plant is in place.  Buying from organic suppliers is a great way to avoid unwanted chemicals getting into your soil and damaging the ecosystem you are working hard to create.

Wildlife friendly gardens incorporate small areas to mimic wildflower meadows.  The wildflower meadows we remember from our childhoods were man made and didn't happen on their own.  When adding wildflowers people often believe they can throw the seeds down on grass or soil and they will grow.  It's not the case, you have to cultivate the area of ground they will be sown in then water, this has to happen every year.  As wildflowers are a great source of food for many species they are always worth adding in a wildlife friendly garden.

Having a cat or dog roaming around your garden will reduce the amount of wildlife that will use the space.  And although tests have not yet been done, it is presumed as worm and flea treatments are pesticides, they are likely to be present in animal waste.  Those pesticides then transfer to the soil and the wildlife within it.

Wild Gardens

Wild gardens are designed to mimic natural ecosystems.  They often use a mix of native and non-native plants (where suitable, or a native option isn't available) and are managed with minimal human intervention.  Re-wilding may include a variety of habitats, such as forests, meadows, wetlands, and grasslands.  They may also include water features, such as puddles, ponds or streams, and other elements, such as rocks, fallen logs, dead trees/plants, and/or animal burrows.

• No commercially made products such as beehives, bird boxes, bird feeders.  The ecosystem created has to support life.  However recycled old wood and dead tree trucks can be made into bird boxes or natural beehives.
• No chemicals used, such as pesticides, herbicides, or artificial fertilisers etc
• Preferring organically grown plants and seeds, often using seed and cutting sharing schemes. 
• Making own compost
• Retaining deadwood, allowing plants and woody shrubs to provide habitat for food for wildlife
• Managed with a lighter touch, such as by mowing and using the grass trimmer less often, selling the leaf-blower and practising no-dig in the vegetable garden.
• Embracing ant hills and mole hills
• Only doing jobs that large animals would naturally do, when those animals aren't present.

In wilding schemes native plants are preferred.  These are plants that have come to Britain naturally, without human intervention.  They are often more resilient to the local climate and pests, and they provide more food and shelter for native wildlife.  When choosing native plants for your garden, look for single-petal flowers, as these have more nectar and attract more pollinators.  Also, choose plant colours that match the original wildflower they came from, as these are closer to the original and will also have more nectar.

In a re-wilding garden, humans need to replace the roles of animals that would normally be present in a natural ecosystem.  This includes grazing animals like cows, ponies, and pigs, which would eat the grass, turn the soil, and fertilise it with their dung and urine.  At least once a year, you would need to cut the grass.  You would also need to turn the soil once or twice a year, as pigs would do to get at insects and vegetation.  After that, you would let the soil rest until it replenishes itself.  You would also allow ant and mole hills to form, and you would grow comfrey and nettles to create natural fertiliser.  Re-wilding gardens require much less human intervention than traditional gardens.  You mostly sit back and watch what happens, intervening only when one species starts to out compete the others.  Eventually, the garden will develop into a self-sustaining ecosystem.

Which type of garden is right for you?

The type of garden that is right for you depends on your individual needs and preferences.  If you enjoy spending time in your garden and taking care of plants, then a cultivated garden may be a good choice.  If you are interested in attracting wildlife to your garden but still prefer the cultivated look, then a wildlife-friendly garden may be a better option.  If you are willing to let your garden go a little wild and attract even more wildlife, then you can start wilding your garden.  However, be aware that this may not be suitable for everyone, as it can lead to what neighbours might consider an untidy garden and they will complain.  If you are interested in wilding your garden, I highly recommend reading The Book of Wilding by Isabella Tree & Charlie Burrell, it's a real eye opener.

Personally I'm in between the wildlife friendly and wild garden, I have a certain amount of untidiness, and I don't mind mole and ant hills.  I'm finding having a wildlife friendly garden far more enjoyable then I thought it would be as I'm naturally very tidy.  But I now get to sit and watch what is happening instead of having to be full on weeding, watering and keeping everything tidy.  I'm taking it slow so the neighbours can see the garden is going wild on purpose, and is not being left because I can't be bothered.  I also make a point of mowing a pathway through the long grass in the front garden as an indicator the grass is long on purpose.

Here are some additional tips for creating each type of garden:

Cultivated Gardens:

• Choose plants that are appropriate for your climate and growing conditions.
• Plan your garden layout carefully.
• Water your plants regularly.
• Fertilise your plants as needed.
• Protect your plants from pests and diseases.

Wildlife friendly gardens:

• Use native plants whenever possible.
• Provide a variety of food sources for wildlife.
• Provide a variety of shelter and nesting sites for wildlife.
• Avoid using pesticides and herbicides.

Re-wilding gardens:

• Use a mix of native and non-native plants.
• Don't include man made objects
• Don't include bird seed, hedgehog food etc
• Recycle natural materials where possible
• Manage your garden with minimal human intervention.
• Observe and learn from natural ecosystems.
• Be patient and enjoy the process!

More articles about wildlife gardening:

How To Grow Catmint
Simple gardening tips to help you have a beautiful garden that also helps wildlife find a home they can thrive in
Eight plants to help bees through winter into spring
What is yellow rattle
Oxeye daisy leucanthemum vulgare
10 of the best climbers for wildlife
Wildlife Gardening Tips
The secret to getting birds into your garden
The best flowers for bumblebees
Plants to add to your garden for caterpillars
The best flowers for honeybees
The best shrubs for butterflies
What you need to know before starting a wildlife-garden
How to attract bees to your garden
How to attract birds to your garden

Wildlife gardening diary:

Wildlife gardening jobs for January
Wildlife gardening jobs for February
Wildlife gardening jobs for March
Wildlife gardening jobs April
Wildlife gardening jobs May
Wildlife gardening jobs June
Wildlife gardening jobs July
Wildlife gardening jobs for August
Wildlife gardening jobs for November
Wildlife gardening jobs for December