Plant and promote native perennials and flowers

Which nature lover does not dream of a bedding of plants whose splendour of colour and shape delights the eye for months, which smells wonderfully and in which it creeps and crawls, hums and flutters? Naturally planted containers and areas with native perennials and flowers serve as a recreational and meeting space and as a unique close-up experience of nature for young and old.

What is meant by native wild perennials?

Native wild perennials are perennial plants that settled here after the last ice age, i e., more than 10,000 years ago. Native wild perennials are optimally adapted to our nature and environmental conditions. This is one of the reasons why they are so easy to care for, robust and undemanding. Together with likewise native animal and plant species, they form valuable communities in which they benefit optimally from each other.
  Not to be confused with shrubs, perennials only thrive in the growing season between spring and autumn. With the onset of winter, all above-ground plant parts die. The warmer temperatures of early spring cause the herbaceous shoots of perennials to sprout again from their rhizome, bulb or bulbous stem or from some other storage organ. This cycle repeats itself year after year. The simplest example of this is the snowdrop. Many wild perennials also serve as a tea or as a spice, or delight as a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

Agony … or rather the joy of choice

The flowering season of native perennials and flowers lasts from early spring until deep autumn. Even in winter, the scrawny stems and seed heads develop a very special, natural beauty and enable insect pupae to survive successfully.
  Whether bellflower, mullein, mallow or St. John’s wort – they are all beautiful. Whether outside on the window sill or balcony, by the garden seat or on the terrace, around the house or in the garden - wild perennials enchant everywhere. Whether in a small box or pot, in a tub, trough or garden is irrelevant. But which wild perennial is suitable for which place and purpose?
  To begin with, look at the location of the planting: Is it sunny, semi-shady or rather shady? If you are planting in the garden, you should also consider whether the soil is nutrient-rich or poor, moist or dry. Once the conditions of the location have been clarified, you can start selecting plants that are appropriate for the location and suitable for the purpose. The colour and shape, the beginning and duration of flowering of the perennials also plays an important role in the choice.

Preparation of the soil and planting the perennials

It is important to prepare the soil carefully. Although wild perennials are very robust, they will hardly thrive if the space is already heavily overgrown with other plants. To prepare the ground, remove the previous vegetation, remove as many root remains from the soil as possible and loosen the soil. Then work the surface with a rake so that a fine crumbly planting surface is created. Now the well-watered wild perennials can be distributed over the area at a sufficient distance: Tall plants are best at the back or in the middle of the group, low ones at the edge and in the foreground. Now plant and water well.

Care

In the first period after planting, it is advisable to pluck out any competing weeds so that the perennial plants can grow well. If there is a lot of droughts, water during the first year. Larger plants should be tied to a support. After that, the wild perennial area is very easy to care for. After withering in autumn, shrub stems should be cut back only very cautiously or, even better, not at all. Especially the useful ladybird and other insects prefer to nest in the stems and thickets of a perennial bed and later overwinter in the same place. Withered flowers full of seeds or fruits also provide food for hungry birds and new seeds for next year as well. There is still enough time to cut back the withered plant residues after the end of winter, i. e., shortly before the start of vegetation. If the cut plant parts are laid out on the surface of the soil, their inhabitants can find their way out into the open at the right time.

Species diversity and biodiversity

With the easy-care wild perennials, a diverse fauna makes its way into the garden. Many insects such as bees, bumblebees and butterflies depend on these plants. On average, more than ten insect species benefit from a single native wild perennial, which promotes biodiversity. Wild perennials provide animals with shelter, nesting material, food and water. Because of the diversity of insects that live on and in wild perennials, larger animals also find their way into the flowering wild perennial kingdom. While the perennial flowers provide abundant nectar and pollen for insects, birds, bats, hedgehogs and other animals feed on these insects. Later in the year, the fruit and seed heads of the perennials provide fruits and seeds for many birds and wild animals.

Wild bees and other insects as important pollinators

Without flower pollination by insects, fruit and vegetable cultivation would not be nearly as productive. The importance of wild pollinators, especially wild bees and hoverflies, was long underestimated. Today we know that they provide about two-thirds of the total pollination in agricultural crops and increase fruit set even where many honey bees are active. Hoverflies provide a double service at that: they are considered pollination professionals, and their larvae are true aphid killers. Wild bees are also masters at pollinating flowers. Moreover, thanks to their great biodiversity and special adaptations, they have a number of advantages over the honey bee. For example, some wild bees fly even in cool and rainy weather. Others pollinate flowers that are not visited by the honey bee. Mason bees are many times more efficient at pollinating fruit flowers than the honey bee.
  Wild pollinators such as wild bees and hoverflies need a rich and continuous supply of pollen and nectar as a basis for life, as well as a large and varied supply of small structures for their nest sites and preferably short distances between nest and forage plants.

And last but not least

There is nothing good unless you do it: the easy-to-implement garden project makes it possible to experience nature all year round with great added value.  •