Wild Gardening and Disability

Reflections from @merloreli

Now, it’s important to preface this with the fact that everybody is different, every disability is different and coping with being disabled is different for everyone. I’m also incredibly aware of our good fortune to have a garden and a landlord who is happy with us rewildling.

That said, here are 6 things that I’ve found useful for wild gardening in a disabled household:

1. If you have a “lawn” you don’t have to cut it all!

We’ve let about a third of our grass grow to be tall and never cut. After two years, we’ve noticed an increase in both crickets and grasshoppers. You know when you go out to a meadow and hear them chirping away? That’s what our garden sounds like currently.

I would love to keep most of it wild (this section gets bigger every year) but I have to keep in mind that we have tiny dogs so they need space to roam without it being too difficult for them.

We do a short cut at the beginning of the year before the bugs proliferate. In the summer months I snip the grass with some big loppers to avoid too many bug casualties, or we’ll sweep the grass with a rake before cutting with a non-electric mower. These older techniques are kinder to bugs by giving them a chance to escape. 

Most importantly, we only cut the grass when it’s needed, which is really not that often.

2. Let things grow

You don’t need to ‘weed’ all the time! A lot of so-called ‘weeds’ are just native plants someone has deemed not good enough. Dandelions and their family members are wonderful. Goldfinches absolutely love pulling out their fluffy seeds and they’re edible for us too! Bees can be seen hopping from one to another in the grass on their pollen path to the other flowers.

If you have nettles in an area you don’t really use, consider just leaving them. They are so great for butterflies and fill up the back of borders (massive win for covering ugly fences). Also, despite their reputation, not all nettles sting. We have two varieties of dead nettle that are so pretty to look at when they flower.

You never really know what will grow until you let it! Birds and mammals eat and spread seeds from just about everywhere, providing your garden with natural freebies. I’m now the proud owner of two holly bushes that I gained this way, without spending £20 at the garden centre. If you have a hedgehog hole in your fence (which you definitely should) they can bring seeds in on their speedy trundles around the area.

3. You don’t really need a green bin

I’ve lasted for two years without a green bin and I plan on continuing. Not only am I saving money, but also helping my brain not to forget to put an overflowing green bin out. The secret? Pile up your green waste behind bushes or under trees, whether that be twigs, grass cuttings or leaf litter. Stack larger bits of woody material into log piles that can be built on. It takes a few layers and then if you’re lucky you get hedgehogs living in your garden!

You can also use grass cuttings as a slight blockage to ‘weeds’ and a retainer of moisture in borders or around vegetables.

4. Plant share!

If you can’t plant from seed, there’s probably something growing in your neighbours garden that they’ll be glad to share with you! In our local environmental group people are always asking if people want plants that have massed in their gardens. You can also find people getting rid of things online on apps. If you’re super lucky, you can find someone in the village who has an interest in native plants and then gives you them in exchange for paintings of said plants (thanks Andrea).

5. Plant native

Native plants are more hardy, meaning they require less looking after. They are acclimatised to our soils which means no fertiliser is needed, they spread out rather well and look lovely. Logically, they’re also going to be the best food for our local wildlife. If you are in a space with no garden or small area try putting out some native plants in a pot. You can attract bees and butterflies and even birds, Goldfinches love picking seeds out of teasels. It might take some time and effort to start, but once they’re established they will look after themselves!

6. Wild Gardening doesn't need to be neat and tidy

Finally a Garden doesn’t need to be neat and tidy. We have been bought up in a world where we have seen the typical neat and tidy gardens and taught“thats how it’s supposed to look “. There is a lot of things we need to systematically unlearn, if we want to do our bit for the nature crisis this is one of them. I understand all of these things might not be for everyone. That’s fair enough but by doing even one of these things it helps out our local wildlife that is really struggling.

Be kind to yourself, to your garden and all its inhabitants.

Illustration by merloreli

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