A garden is not only a place of recreation and retreat for us humans, but also an important habitat for native plants and animals if designed appropriately. A garden with native shrubs, flower meadows and small structures such as piles of stones or branches creates space for our unique Valais species. Such a garden also reflects the seasons - it changes and lives. The creation and maintenance of a near-natural garden is environmentally friendly: local materials instead of peat, recyclable natural stones instead of disposable concrete elements, permeable surfaces instead of sealed surfaces and no use of poisons and artificial fertilizers.

So that you too can promote indigenous nature in your garden, the Nature Park would like to use this "tips and tricks" series to provide input for more indigenous diversity in the garden, which at the same time creates a feel-good paradise for us humans.

Tip & trick no. 1: Disorder is valuable

Gardens designed close to nature are often described as wild and untidy. But if you look closely, you will see an orderly wilderness and the diversity that native plants and animals need to survive. From the point of view of birds, butterflies and bees, gardens with trimmed hedges of non-native plant species such as cherry laurel and robot-trimmed lawns are absolutely hostile to life. Try it out for yourself: sit for ten minutes in a meticulously manicured English lawn and then in a humming and buzzing flower meadow. After that, it should be clear what a garden should look like so that we can encourage, admire and observe native butterflies, birds and insects.

If you don't want to design the whole garden in a natural way, start this year with a native flower strip.

Tip & trick no. 2: Native flower strip

A flower strip doesn't need much space: a sunny strip 60 centimeters wide is enough. A large flower pot on the balcony can also be used for this. The soil for the new flower strip is loosened, all existing plants are removed and a fine seedbed is prepared. The native perennial flowers, known as perennials, can then be planted. The tall perennials (e.g. wild teasel, viper's bugloss, chicory, knapweed, St. John's wort and meadow sage) are planted in the background, while the smaller ones (e.g. dodder, field thyme, Carthusian pink, creeping gypsophila and alpine stonecrop) are planted at the front on the sunny side. Water well immediately after planting, then only during long dry periods. During the summer, weed discreetly, do not fertilize and do not apply pesticides. Don't rush at the end of the gardening season: leave the dried out perennials and their stems until next spring. The larvae of various butterflies, insects and beneficial insects overwinter in the hollow stems of many perennials.

Additional inspiration at wildstauden.ch