Diversity is a superpower when it comes to British gardens
DAVID DOMONEY: Variety really is the spice of life in the garden... adding extra resilience, colourful displays and happy visitors
If you want to make some garden changes to improve its visual interest, resilience, and benefits to wildlife, one of the best ways is to make it more diverse. Diverse gardens tend to cope better with difficult and changing conditions, as if one plant struggles, another may thrive. This kind of assortment can work as a garden insurance policy and provides a more visually stimulating look, whilst also benefiting visiting garden wildlife.
Mixed planting
The more different plants you have, the better. A mix of bulbs, shrubs, perennials, annuals, climbers, ground cover, flowering plants and evergreens all offer differing benefits. A good place to start is making sure something is in flower for as much of the year as possible, offering the garden greater and more varied interest, and giving pollinating insects a larger range of options for every season.
Native plants are well worth including, as they support a wide range of insects and tie the garden into the wider landscape. Foxgloves, knapweed, oxeye daisies, hawthorns, holly and ivy all offer value, from nectar and berries to shelter. If you have space for a native hedge, flowering tree, or small wildflower patch, you can broaden the benefits further. Learn more about growing wildflowers on my YouTube channel, @daviddomoney.
Non-native plants have an important role too, especially when it comes to extending the season. Plants like hellebore and pulmonaria can start the year well, whilst salvias, nepeta, verbena and scabious can keep colour and nectar consistent through summer. Later, asters and sedum can do some autumn heavy lifting. A decent mix of both native and non-native tends to be effective, giving longer and richer planting displays.
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Wildlife habitats
Establishing different areas to provide wildlife habitats can be just as important as your choice of plants. Wildlife needs food, shelter, and water, so the most successful garden provides all three. A mixed hedge, flowering tree, patch of long grass, a tucked-away log pile, and a small pond can make all the difference.
Even the smallest pond can attract life, and a less manicured patch can be every bit as valuable as a neatly planted border. Dead wood, leaf litter, and dense climbers can all provide shelter, nesting sites, and precious protection.
Start with one change
This time of year is perfect to begin. You could simply add a single flowering shrub, sow a few nectar-rich annual plants, or leave a section of your lawn to grow a little longer. None of the changes needs to be dramatic or happen all at once. It can be built in layers over time. But once you begin, your whole garden will gradually become livelier, steadier, and will offer a rewarding impact.
Focus Plant - Lungwort
This month, lungwort, or Pulmonaria, is a great option for gardens. As borders fill out with more and more colour, it brings clusters of pink, blue, or violet blooms, with soft, hairy foliage, often tinged with silver. It’s a wonderful plant for brightening shady corners, and is a valuable food source for early bees, too.
Lungwort is happiest in a spot with dappled shade and lightly sheltered, with moist but free-draining soil. It’s suited to the front of borders, the base of deciduous shrubs, or at the edge of woodland-style pathways. If you’re adding any to your garden now, enrich the soil first with leaf mould or garden compost to help the soil’s moisture retention throughout the seasons. Mulching can also ensure consistent soil conditions.
There are some lovely varieties to choose from. ‘Diana Clare’ is a particular standout, with boldly silvered foliage and deep blue flowers making it a strong feature from a distance. Another reliable favourite is ‘Mrs Moon’, providing plenty of spring colour alongside striking spotted leaves. For a warmer shade, ‘Redstart’ has lovely reddish flowers alongside attractive foliage.
Lungwort care is nice and simple this month. Remove any leaves that are looking worse for wear, allowing the new growth to shine. Keep young plants watered during dry periods. Once flowering finishes, cut back to encourage a flush of fresh foliage. You can learn more about lungwort and other spring flowers on my YouTube channel, @daviddomoney.
Fun Fact: Lungwort flowers can open pink and gradually turn blue as they mature. This means a single plant can carry two different colours at the same time.
Gardening Jobs
1. Now is a good time to make compost tea – as pots and other hungry plants begin active spring growth. Steep some homemade compost or comfrey leaves in water in a lidded bucket. Then, strain and dilute the dark liquid before watering it into containers.
2. Plant out hardy annuals raised under cover, but make sure you have hardened them off first, so they can adjust to the cooler outdoor air. Getting them into the ground now gives them time to get fully established.
3. Sow basil seed indoors, to later use for outdoor summer pots and sunny windowsills. Basil prefers warm conditions from the start, so use small pots or trays, keeping them somewhere bright. A few successive sowings will give you a steady supply of leaves throughout the season.
4. Thin beetroot seedlings once they’re big enough to handle, and to be sure the roots have room to swell properly, as if the seedlings are left too crowded, you’ll end up with more foliage than beetroot. Space them according to the ultimate size you would like.
5. Check fruit tree blossom regularly this month, especially after cold nights. Spring frost can damage flowers and reduce cropping, so smaller or trained trees may need fleece protection when sharp weather threatens. It’s also a good opportunity to assess how well the blossom is forming, as this will give you a clue as to how much fruit you’ll get later.
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Did you know?
Cherries can split if heavy rain arrives just before they open. The fruit ends up taking up water so quickly that the skin doesn’t have the time to stretch. Therefore, the tight surface cracks.
In the British Isles, rowan was long treated as a protective tree. Pieces were carried to ward against enchantment, and on the Isle of Man, rowan crosses were made for May Eve, then worn or hung indoors for extra protection.
Nettles were once a genuine fibre crop. In parts of Europe, particularly during the First and Second World Wars, nettle stems were processed as a substitute for cotton and used to make textile fibre when other supplies were limited.
Shop-bought wisteria often flowers within three to five years, especially if it was propagated rather than raised from seed. Seed-raised plants are much slower and can take up to 20 years to bloom.
