Ecological Garden Maintenance & Nature Landscaping Lost Habitat

Lost Habitat’s ethos of ecological garden maintenance is by caring for nature and landscape, and is centred upon understanding ecosystem functioning, the relationships within a natural web of connectivity between living things, including us, and non-living things such as food and shelter, supporting one another reciprocally.

Ecosystems are complex, thus disrupting relationships between vegetation can often cause imbalances, such as water shortages from heavy vegetation, lack of efficient tree planting causing soil loss to rivers, soil impaction from heavy traffic causing run-off, pruning shrubs at the wrong time of year when birds might be breeding, or the use of pesticides or fertilisers contaminating water and soil, with species building up natural resistance to chemical reagents making it more difficult to treat. All of these disturbances will upset the natural equilibrium of the ecosystem, so by maintaining habitats holistically will help to ensure all life is supported and our clients enjoy their outdoor space.

Ecological garden maintenance is all about working with nature, not against it, planting suitable vegetation and trees, and maintaining them with the understanding of natural connectivity will help to cultivate a landscape to contribute a balanced, more beneficial, and healthier environment. By planting with choice native plants where possible will promote better growth and encourage wildlife, they may be more resistant to drought or even flooding and be better suited to defend themselves against local weeds and pests. The stronger choice of seeds, plants, and trees at the start, the less resources needed for the long run.

Surprisingly, the methods used in ecological landscaping maintenance can save time, money, and resources by utilising organic materials already available on site. Soil quality soon becomes degraded by using fertilisers and chemicals, thus we discourage the use of them unless absolutely necessary, such as when combatting invasive non-native species. A much better way of combatting pests is to use nature, by way of planting pest-repellent plants and encouraging natural predators such as spiders, bugs, and frogs. We also encourage water conservation by way of utilising rain from roof space, water buts or sustainable underground drainage systems.

Lost Habitat can provide ecological landscape maintenance advice for small gardens and much larger areas such as woodlands or wetlands. Some examples of ecological and sustainable garden maintenance can include:

Careful planning of planting, selecting species tolerant to an area, and suitable for function, such as stabilisation, shade, or for attracting wildlife.
Compost your green waste – using organic fertilisers from on-site available cuttings, not peat!
Not using irrigation systems during the day – plants will be much more productive being watered before sunrise so the energy is put into growing deeper root systems.
Save and recycle water from run-off, and rain from roof space, or underground drainage.
Prune only when necessary – any shaping can cause damage to the plant and restrict growth.
Collect wildflower and vegetable seeds and repot them for use next year, or even better share them with neighbours.
Grow genetically strong native plants use to your region – this saves on maintenance, plus they grow better.
No herbicides – entice insects instead, like ladybirds and other beneficial insects, you could incorporate a bug hotel for encouragement.
Use raked up leaves for mulching to prevent soil from drying out, to supress non-favourable weeds, and to add nutrients back to the soil.