AdobeStock-Seventyfour

Flourishing life in your garden

Flourishing life in your garden

Would you like to fill your garden with life? That’s a great idea, as natural gardens, whether big or small, that attract wildlife play an important role in promoting nature in cities. Garden owners have an opportunity to have a piece of nature at their doorstep, to create flowered areas and habitations, and to share their space with animals and plants. A natural garden doesn’t have to be overgrown to become a little natural paradise. Gentle care and design are needed. This way, you can create a unique, seasonal play of colours.

Target species

Common blue butterfly

Common glow-worm

Goat willow

Lavender

White-breasted hedgehog

Wild carrot

Good to know

Native plants are the corner stone of a more natural garden.
The more diverse structures and habitats you offer, the more natural diversity will emerge.
Existing plants are often ecologically very valuable and therefore worth preserving, i.e. Old trees.
Try to favour natural construction materials and permeable coverings in your natural garden.
Sealed areas and the currently fashionable gravel gardens are unsuitable for flora and fauna.
Refrain from continuous and high fence footings. These act as barriers for hedgehogs etc.

What does the City of Vienna do?

The City of Vienna - Environmental Protection department awards a prize to the most beautiful, bee-friendliest gardens:
Plakette Naturnahe Grünoase der Stadt Wien (wien.gv.at)

What can I do?

Info, tips, instructions, videos, sources, etc.

Internet links have been selected as examples and do not claim to be complete.

Examples

Wild shrub beds as flowered areas

Aquatic micro-habitats

Wild shrub beds as flowered areas

Flower beds are magical with their vibrant blooms and colours. Changing plants and using annual garden plants can be very time-consuming. It’s better to plant perennial, cold-hardy shrubs and native wild plants. This promotes biodiversity, is low-maintenance and still colourful.

Tip: Add bulbous plants to your shrub bed. After all, seeing flowers pop up in early spring is wonderful.

The following collection of Internet links was selected as an example and does not claim to be complete.

Set-up:

General information on how to set up shrub beds; combining colours, growth habits, flower shapes, succession of flowers, suitable types of plants:
Natur im Garten: Staudenbeete richtig anlegen (PDF)
Instructions on how to set up wild shrub beds, suitable types of plants, planting distance, and flowering period:
NABU: Wildstaudenbeet anlegen (nabu.de)
How to set up a wild shrub bed: Preparation, planting and design suitable to the location; moist locations, gravel margins:
Margrit Gähler: Wildpflanzenbeet anlegen (naturimgarten.ch)
Alternatives for lifeless gravel gardens: Natural gravel and crushed rock beds:
LWG Bayern: Kies und Schotterbeete (PDF)

Choice of plants:

Drought-tolerant wild plants for low-nutrient soils and natural gravel beds; plant profile sorted according to flowering period:
Margrit Gähler: Wildpflanzen für Trockenrabatte (naturimgarten.ch)
Wild plants for flower beds in high-nutrient soils, plant profiles according to flowering period:
Margrit Gähler: Wildpflanzen für nährstoffreiche Böden (naturimgarten.ch)
List of species of insect-friendly bulbous plants, tips for planting and care:
Netzwerk Blühende Landschaft: Insektenfreundliche Zwiebel- und Knollenpflanzen (PDF)

Interesting:

Have you noticed the changes yet? Shrub mix for alternating flowering periods in flower beds - more and more flower beds in Vienna are sporting a new, natural look:
Stadt Wien: Neues Bepflanzungskonzept der Wiener Stadtgärten (PDF)

Sources:

Product database for soil, fertilizer, beneficial insects, herbicides etc., with a quality seal from “biologisch gärtnern”:
Die Umweltberatung: „biologisch gärtnern“ - Produktdatenbank(umweltberatung.at)
Sources of supply with regional plant materials of proven origin (wild plant seeds, wild plants, and wild-growing trees for private and large-scale projects):
Rewisa Netzwerk: Fachbetriebe naturnahes Grün – Pflanzenlieferanten(rewisa.at)

Aquatic micro-habitats

Natural aquatic micro-habitats such as ponds and natural pools are particularly high in biodiversity. Not only amphibians, but also insects, snails, and also hydrophilic plants will find habitats there. Over the last few decades, the number and diversity of these habitats in Austria has decreased considerably. With relatively simple means and without costly technology, you can create new habitats. You can look forward to exciting field observations throughout the seasons.

The following collection of Internet links was selected as an example and does not claim to be complete.

Set-up:

Before setting up an aquatic micro-habitat, you should decide whether you want to promote amphibians, birds, or insects. They have different requirements which should be considered beforehand:
LBV: Kleingewässer (lbv.de)
You have decided to set up an aquatic micro-habitat? Great! Practical advice on location, size and water sources can be found here:
LBV: Kleingewässer anlegen (lbv.de)
Everything you need to know at a glance: from set-up to care to safety:
Stadt Luzern: Stichwort naturnaher Gartenteich (PDF)

Choice of plants:

Use local and native plants in your aquatic micro-habitat, as they are best adapted to our climate and thus the most resilient:
Teichpflanzen-Teichbau: Wasserpflanzen für den Gartenteich (teichpflanzen-teichbau.com)
Examples of European aquatic and swamp plants with pictures:
Europäische Sumpf- und Wasserpflanzen (tillandsia.at)
Identification guide for aquatic and swamp plants:
Pflanzenbestimmung Wasserpflanzen (pflanzenbestimmung.info)

Interesting:

How is a pond different from a natural pool? Which types of animals can be found in ponds? See here:
BfN: Lebensraum Kleingewässer (bfn.de)

Other measures

AdobeStock-Pran stocker room