This summer has very much been a summer of just leaving the garden to do it’s own thing!

I started moving in the direction of re-wilding last summer after the hedgehogs moved into an area which I’d been leaving to go wild for a few years.

Finding the right balance is difficult because I still want to grow a good amount of food in the garden… and my hope was that a ‘wilder’ garden would create a better environment for wildlife which would help with pest control.

The main pests we get in the garden are slugs and snails - so when Haggis the hedgehog became ill and we took her to a local rescue centre, I really noticed the increase in slug and snail damage.

The good news is that Haggis is back from her hydrating spa retreat and is fighting fit! She hasn’t moved back into the camera box and the hedgehog area is now so overgrown I can barely see the boxes or get to the feeding area, but I’ve seen a hedgehog shaped shadow moving around at dusk and the food is going, so hopefully she’s settling back into the old box or somewhere nearby.

The boxes are underneath here somewhere…

I was hoping that the random and companion planting would help with pest control on my brassicas in particular. I’ve done okay for cavelo nero (kale), but it’s now looking pretty nibbled and is covered in bugs… so not super successful.

Over-planting has helped with my purple sprouting broccoli. I normally have one enormous plant that drowns out everything else in the bed, but this year I have three or four healthy looking and more reasonably sized (if slightly nibbled) plants. So fingers crossed for lots of yummy broccoli next year.

The thing I’m happiest with this year is my new perennials bed. The wild garlic died off, but I’m hoping it’ll come back next spring. The loganberry has lots of new growth so it should start fruiting next year. And I’m loving the tree spinach! It’s tasty, so easy to grow and is rather pretty.

I also put some nasturtium in that bed to use in pesto, but they’re a bit too shaded by the tree spinach. If the wild garlic doesn’t come back then I’ll use that area for nasturtium next year.

Although I’ve left the garden to do it’s own thing over the summer - I did put quite a lot of time into it at the beginning of the year. And I definitely got carried away! A lot of things haven’t done too well purely because they’re being starved of light due to over-planting. But hey… the wild randomness looks pretty!

I really love growing things that come back every year (particularly soft fruit), and I’m definitely starting to lean more towards doing the no-dig wild gardening rather than annuals. It’s been a good year for raspberries and strawberries and the best year yet for our little blueberry bush (although they’re pretty sour!).

I think I’ll go a bit more minimal with the planting of annuals next year and maybe add a few more perennials. I’m also thinking about leaving things to seed themselves and just seeing what pops up!