Rwîldñ gardnz z “pyṛtanicl nonsns”, relz Monti Dón. Aḷn Tićmarś b’livz gardnrz hv bn “brenwośt”. H’z jst ritn t ɖ Lordz abt it. Ɖ rwîldñcrêz, h tld pirz, z an “il-cnsidrd trend” lodd wɖ “mslidñ propganda” ɖt wl “dplit ǎr gardnz v ɖer btanicl rićz” n b “caṭstrofic” fr wîldlîf.

Ẃt z fṛstretñ abt ɖs ǎtbrst z ɖt nɖr hv graspt ẃt rwîldñ a gardn acć̣li mīnz. Ɖr’z a comn miscnspśn ɖt it’s abt dwñ nʈñ, “letñ nećr tec ovr”. Bt trnñ yr bac on a gardn, az bʈ Dón n Tićmarś clirli unḍstand, z nt ɖ we t impruv it fr wîldlîf. Ʈugiś paynirplants tec ovr n, ivnć̣li, coḷnîzñ triz śêd ǎt ɖ lît fr uɖr plants. Lac v plantdîvrṣti līdz t lac v insectdîvrṣti n abundns v uɖr lîf. A gardn z onli complex n spīśīz-rić bcz v ɖ inṭvnśnz v ɖ gardnr.

So, ɖ rwîldñgardnr z nt seyñ, stand bac n let it ol g. Qt ɖ contrri. It’s onli at ɖ wilḍnis end v ɖ rwîldñspectṛm – in vast eriaz sć az Alasca, wɖ fŭli fuñṣ́nñ īcosistmz n epxpreḍtrz – ɖt hymn biyñz cn rlax n let nećr gt on wɖ it. Olmst ol ɖ rest v ɖ land on ǎr planit z olrdi manijd, in sm we, bî hymnz. In ǎr dplitd, fragmntd, dveḷpt n p’lūtd wrld, wɖ so mni spīśīz lost n a miłn mor on ɖ brinc v xtñśn, hymn biyñz mst inṭvin, in vẹriyñ dgriz, t rstor ɖ naćṛl prosesz ɖt r ɖ fǎnt v lîf.

At lanscepscel, ɖs mt mīn rvîvñ dnamic rivrsistmz n riintṛdysñ cīston spīśīz sć az bīvrz, bîsn n wōtrbuḟloz ẃć, ɖmslvz, hlp riistabliś wetḷndz, sôl n vejteśn. At smōlr scel, sć az ǎr 3,500-ecr rwîldñproject at Nép, in Wst Susix, ɖr r obvịs cnstrents. W yz old brīdz v dmesṭcetd catl, pigz n poniz az proxiz fr ɖ ōrocs, tarpan n wîld bōr ɖt wns roumd hir. Ɖer dstrbns criets a c’lîḍscop v haḅtats ɖt z rocitfyl fr wîldlîf. In ɖ absns v epxpreḍtrz, ǎr mn inṭvnśn z cntrolñ hrbivornumbrz t levlz ɖt max̣mîz haḅtat fr wîldlîf.

At īvn smōlr scel, se, 20 hecterz (50 ecrz) or les, ẃr fri-roumñ animlz r nt poṣbl or dzîṛbl, sîɖz, spedz, bldozrz, hejtrimrz n ćenswz cn mimic ɖer dstrbns. Bî ranḍmîzñ n vẹriyñ ɖ intnṣti v ɖz inṭvnśnz, az hapnz in ɖ wîld, ɖ īcosistm v īvn ɖ smōlist rwîldñsait cn bcm complex n dnamic.

A cnvnśnl gardnr, fr xampl, mt bild a pond. Gd fr wîldlîf. Bt it wd most lîcli b yṇform in depʈ, rǎnd, stīp-sîdd n éjd wɖ rocs or pevñ. Ɖ rwîldñ gardnr wd criet a pond wɖ opn éjz n vẹriyñ depʈs, n ɖen ʈnc lîc a bīvr – ptñ ded branćz in ɖ wōtr t criet haḅtat fr aqatic insects. Ɖe mt pudl ɖ marjinz lîc a wōtrbuḟlo, crietñ pocits fr aqatic plants n plesz fr ńts, frogz n tǒdz t spōn. A minićr īcosistm.

Phps ɖ gretist insult t nećr in a gardn z ɖ monoculćr lōn. A nećr-frendli gardnr mt cut ǎt ɖ hrḅsîdz n psṭsîdz, rdys ɖ mowñ, incurij lōnflǎrz, n alǎ rufr eriaz v loñgras az cuvr fr wîldlîf. A rīwîldr wl ʈnc agn. At Nép, in a gardn rīdizînd bî Tom Stywt-Smiʈ n Jemz Hićmo, w’v dumt 400 tunz v cruśt bric n concrīt on t a maṇkrd crocelōn. Ɖ ruf, 3D srfis mimics ɖ humps n holoz faund in nećr, pṛvîdñ mîcroclîṃts fr difṛnt cḿṇtiz v plants on difṛnt aspects v ɖ slǒps.

An ifīmṛl pond cmz n gz wɖ ɖ sīznz. W hv’nt bn pyrist abt netivz. W’v plantd 940 spīśīz, mni fṛm ɖ Mediṭreńn n suɖn heṃsfir wɖ loñ flǎrñsīznz ɖt ǎr insects luv. Ɖe r plants ɖt luv pur, drî sôlz – ɖt w’nt nīd frṭlîzr or wōṭrñ.

Ǎr gardnz, nǎ, mst hlp s in ɖ batl agnst ɖ clîṃtcrîsis. Ɖ planit z on fîr. Wōtr z caṭstroficli scers. Ɖ sprinclrz, mowrz, līfblowrz, hî-carbn gizmoz, pītcompost n cemicl in-pts pśt on s bî gardnsntrz – ɖ biłn-pǎnd horṭculćṛl inḍstri ɖt Tićmarś hz bn dfndñ t ɖ Hǎs v Lordz – z az bad fr ɖ planit az industrịl farmñ.

It’s olwz gwñ t b trici, ćaḷnjñ ɖ istabliśt cnvnśnz n isʈetics v smʈñ az prsnl az garḍnñ, ispeṣ́li f it’s yr pṛfeśn. Bt ɖ rwîldñ’proć cn b rfreśñli liḅretñ. It cn rliv a gardnr v ɖ brdn v pfx́n n yt stl pṛdys a spes ɖt z ecñli bytifl. W wd luv Dón n Tićmarś t cm n si ǎrz: let it spīc fr itslf.