Royal Entomological Society to sponsor garden in effort to show importance of less glamorous creepy-crawlies
Stag beetles and hornets will be among the stars of Chelsea flower show next year as horticulturalists encourage people to welcome invertebrates into the garden.
Bumblebees and butterflies tend to get a lot of press, but in a 2023 garden sponsored by the Royal Entomological Society, less glamorous creepy-crawlies will take centre stage.
Don’t use pesticides. Massey says: “It’s about creating balance. Ladybirds eat aphids, for example, both are valuable in their own right, but it’s about being patient – if you get aphids causing a problem, don’t panic and spray them but know a ladybird will come soon and gobble them up. Create a garden that is attractive to all kinds of life.”
Embrace mess. “We don’t need to tidy everything up to the maximum degree … there has to be some kind of movement towards a looser, I suppose more patient style of gardening. Leave some leaves on the floor, don’t tidy everything up,” Massey says.
Welcome weeds. “Dandelions, for example, are a good source for insects and are actually a really attractive flower. Yes, they can sow seed everywhere but you can allow them to spread around and it creates less work for us and it’s very beneficial for wildlife at the same time.”
Accept and enjoy garden life. “Slugs and snails have been demonised but they are actually really important in breakdown of material and a food source for other types of animals that are more desirable, like frogs or toads. Be a bit more accepting of new sorts of life forms and maybe if you look at them closer, and you know more about them through things like science, they become more interesting and more fascinating and more appealing.”
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