Written by: Charlie Harpur
Charlie Harpur's guide to wilding your garden
Charlie Harpur is the Head Gardener at Knepp Estate, working closely with Isabella Tree to bring the estate’s rewilding vision to life. With a background in architecture and horticulture, he creates naturalistic, biodiverse gardens that reflect Knepp’s innovative approach to restoring nature and challenging traditional ideas of cultivated landscapes.
1. Kaleidoscopes
Think of the garden as a moving mosaic of different habitats.
Seeing the garden as a dynamic landscape rather than a fixed picture is a fundamental mindset shift. Functioning ecosystems are constantly changing, and as gardeners we can observe and guide these processes - rather than prevent them - to support more wildlife over time.
2. Lumps and bumps
Think in 3D.
Natural landscapes are rarely flat. Allowing variation in garden topography creates ecological complexity, with wetter conditions in low areas and drier conditions on higher ground, for example, producing a wider range of habitats and more opportunities for life.
3. Grazing and browsing
Vary your disturbance.
Mimicking different herbivores when cutting back adds structural diversity. Rather than cutting everything at once or to the same height, leave some plants standing and vary cut levels to create shelter, structure, and nesting sites for insects.
4. Value the weeds
See opportunity in the plants we get for free.
Before removing a plant, consider its role. How many species depend on it? What services does it provide? Is it invasive or difficult to manage? Does it look good? Thoughtful observation helps decide which plants contribute positively to the garden ecosystem.
5. Embrace a spectrum
Vary soil fertility.
Plants on fertile soils grow larger and faster, often reducing diversity through competition. On poorer soils, slower, more compact growth allows more species to coexist. Fertile soils suit crops; low-nutrient soils favour biodiversity. Providing a range of conditions increases opportunities for life.
6. Death and decay
Allow natural cycles.
Death is a vital part of an ecosystem. Decaying plant material feeds fungi and insects that break it down, cycling carbon and key nutrients back into the soil. Leaving dead material in place supports healthy soils and the many organisms that depend on it.
7. Plant for opportunity
Consider both species and structural diversity.
Planting native species helps support more selective native insects that may rely entirely on these plants. Including species from native plant families adapted to drier climates can complement natives by extending the season of pollen and nectar for pollinators in an increasingly unpredictable climate, while also prolonging the garden’s season of interest. Consider the diversity of vegetation structure, too: providing a mix of plant heights, layers, and densities to create many different microhabitats.
8. Cue to care
Place 'orderly frames' around 'messy ecosystems'.
Wild gardens can appear neglected without visual signals of care. Simple cues—such as mown paths, clear edges, or neatly stacked deadwood—show intention and stewardship. These “orderly frames” help people accept wilder planting, an idea described by Joan Iverson Nassauer in Messy Ecosystems, Orderly Frames.
9. Connectivity
Think beyond the garden fence.
We often tend to see our gardens in isolation, but thinking about how they connect to adjoining gardens and green spaces helps us make more informed decisions within our gardens, balconies, or window boxes. Next door’s lawn might be regularly mown, so yours could be left long. Next door’s window box flowers might all be over by mid-season, so yours could be planted to fill the gap this creates. Connected thinking also helps us feel a key part of the bigger picture
10. Monitoring
Record change to inform decisions.
Recording garden wildlife reveals changes over time and helps inform gardening decisions. Apps such as iRecord or iNaturalist make monitoring simple and allow observations to contribute to conservation research. Just as importantly, it can be deeply satisfying to watch life bounce back because of what you’ve done.
