How Can I Rewild my Garden?

What are the easiest things I can do in my garden to make it wilder?

All wildlife needs food, water, and shelter, provide each of these in your garden and wildlife will come. The key is to understand how to provide these things in the most effective way that works with how you use your garden.

How can I relate what I hear about rewilding to my own garden?

Sometimes it can be hard to find the time to take what we read or hear as general advice to concrete actions in our own garden. Chalkhill Rewilding offers support to rewilding your garden.

Use Chalkhill Rewilding services for rewilding advice and guidance tailored to your garden.
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Many organizations provide excellent advice and resources to help you rewild your garden.

Can I really rewild my garden?

Gardens are managed and curated by humans. Clearly our gardens are not wild places and largely we don’t want them to be. There are many lessons we can take from a rewilding approach to be kinder to the wildlife which shares our garden space and support the natural processes.

Does rewilding my garden mean it will look overgrown and messy?

In short, no. Most gardens work better for us with a level of regular maintenance. Tidy and well-tended gardens can have great wildlife value.

Will rewilding my garden be a lot of work and mean a long list of gardening jobs?

No, rewilding is more about changing your approach than changing what is there already.

Even the smallest action will be beneficial.

Will rewilding my garden cost me a lot of money?

Hopefully it will be cheaper. Encouraging plants which are suited to your garden’s environment means they’re more likely to thrive. Recycling your own compost, growing from seed, not using chemicals all mean buying less not more.

Do I need a large garden to rewild it?

Any garden large or small, even a balcony can be rewilded.

I live in the centre of town, is there any point in rewilding my garden?

Gardens are vital habitats for many species associated with the built environment. Many of these species such as Swifts, starlings, song thrush and house sparrow are declining. Garden owners can play an important role supporting their populations by providing nesting space and food sources.

Urban gardens provide important resources for wildlife. Worringly garden spaces are increasingly under pressure. The area of domestic gardens throughout the UK is likely to decrease with increasing urbanisation and denser housing. And a recent report suggested that nearly half of all households in some areas have paved over most of their front gardens to create off-road parking (RHS, 2007).