Rewilding is an admirable intention. If you have a few acres to play with it can be amazing for creating bio diversity and recreating habitats for nature. Unfortunately most of us have suburban gardens that don’t really suit the rewilding philosophy. A strip of dandelions might do wonders for nature but probably won’t be loved by the neighbours.
There is a gorgeous compromise between a sterile, neat and tidy garden and a rewilded garden. I’m calling it Urban Rewilding. Designed to create utter beauty from Spring to Autumn even a small 3 metre strip can provide endless pollen and nectar for our wee insects.
This is how I would do it.
Choose long flowering summer plants that are super easy to look after. This example is 3 metres long by 70 cm wide. Notice the repetition which always looks so polished.
From left to right, front row : Lavender, Hebe. Long flowering time from the Lavenders and Hebes provide a nice mounding shape to give long term interest
Middle row : Achillea - Salmon Beauty. An absolute superhero for the summer borders. Grey/green filigree leaves with elegant ‘cauliflower’ heads! These flower endlessly all summer long and stand up well to atrocious weather. I’ll never be without Achillea.
Back row : Foeniculum vulgare, Euphorbia, Verbena (repeats). Foeniculum is tall, vibrant green and fluffy. Euphorbia is amazing for Spring vibrancy, incredible with Spring Tulips and looks good for most of the year. Verbena is tall, almost impossibly so, with slender stalks and floating flower heads, the Parma violet harmonises beautifully with the soft corals of the Achillea
There’s a lot to love here. Everything is giving good longevity but to really bump up the flower power and the biodiversity add loads of bulbs and seeds. I would add a Spring Bulb Lasagne for sure.
One little strip can be in bloom from February to October or November for not much work.
Adding some dark plum poppy seeds in summer would look so good too. The choices are limitless really.
This is how I approach every design. Good layer of base plants chosen to be minimum faff and ultra reliable, add to these lots of bulbs and seeds and it will look stunning from Spring to Autumn.
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