Let it grow: the case for messy gardens and living soil

by Elle Runton. Deputy Trustee Sussex Green Living.

It would be fair to say I’m not yet a gardener. My grandfather had a smallholding, and my uncle just lays his thumb on a plant leaf and it blossoms at his touch, but I’m embarking on a learning journey—with some success. My local Sussex nursery-bought raspberry bush yields fruit for months every year without fail (possibly thanks to its daily cup of used coffee grounds), and my blackberries are sweet and plump under the Sussex sun. I haven’t needed to buy any of those so-called superfoods—just pop along to the fruit bed and help myself free of charge!

When exploring how to get more from your veg patch, I discovered the importance of soil health. Most of us probably wish for a garden that’s easy to care for, beautiful and beneficial to the environment. According to Juliet Sargeant, presenter of BBC Gardeners’ Question Time, it all starts with the earth. Speaking at the recent Sussex Green Living “Plant to Plate” Festival in Horsham, Juliet explained that soil is not just dirt: it’s a living, breathing ecosystem filled with microbes and earthworms that break down organic material and release nutrients. When we use synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, we harm the delicate balance of nature that supports healthy plant growth.

I recently learned that human exposure to synthetic fertiliser, weedkiller and pesticides is linked to cancer, heart, respiratory and neurological diseases. Many studies show modern garden chemicals are toxic, contaminating water and air, negatively affecting soil health and driving biodiversity loss—ultimately leading to pest resistance. It’s a never-ending cycle: soil health declines, so we add manufactured shortcuts, which in turn destroy the earth’s ecosystem, and the cycle continues.

That’s where regenerative gardening comes in—a natural, simple way to grow plants while protecting the planet. It’s all about nurturing your garden without the use of harmful chemicals that damage soil, pollinators and wildlife. It’s not new, of course: generations of traditional farmers and gardeners have ‘let nature take its course’, aligning with the seasons and working in harmony with the earth’s rhythms.

I discovered that our dreaded dandelion was once grown specially for its medicinal properties—stimulating hair growth, reducing inflammation and cleansing the liver. It adds nitrogen and minerals to the soil and, thanks to its deep tap roots, pulls up nutrients for plants with shallower roots. Bees and other pollinators seek out dandelions as one of the first food sources after winter. Dandelion leaves themselves are delicious in a bitter green salad, pairing wonderfully with parmesan shavings and a lemon-mustard dressing; they’re also a great source of vitamin C and rich in vitamins A and K. So really, the dandelion is an all-round hero, not the blight we’ve come to believe.

To embrace regenerative gardening at home, my lawn isn’t manicured like a boot-camp drill-sergeant’s parade ground. It’s tidy, but I let it grow for No Mow May and left a wild patch at the back to ‘just be’. This resulted in all sorts of buzzy creatures and creepy-crawlies—not necessarily beautiful, but essential for a healthy veg patch, a cut-flower garden or as food for our Sussex songbirds. I also left all the winter detritus—piled up at the back of my borders and under the hedges. Knowing that many pollinators and insects lay their eggs under fallen leaves (not hatching until the end of May), I wanted to give nature the best chance to thrive. Instead of disposing of dead plants in my green bin, I cut them back but let them remain to decompose naturally—adding nutrients back into the soil, improving water retention and shading the ground from harsh drying heatwaves.

Using our local Facebook group, I explained that I care about the appearance of our neighbourhood, but I care even more about nature—so please bear with us. Our Sussex countryside remains under threat, with plans to ‘build baby build’ leaving nowhere for nature’s infant residents to take refuge as they support our food-supply systems.

Did you know insect populations make a substantial contribution to the productivity of many agricultural crops and the seed set of wild flowers? Research shows UK cereal crops have experienced a 37 per cent decline in insect abundance, with beneficial predators such as ground beetles and ladybirds falling by 80 per cent and 78 per cent respectively. Sussex Green Living is committed to regenerating nature by creating a networked trail of Pollination Education Stations (PES) across the county. The PES Trail will help connect fragmented landscapes and provide vital habitats for pollinators. This project supports the Weald to Waves network, which aims to form a 100-mile nature-recovery corridor in Sussex.

Will you help us?
Please get in touch with our charity if you would like to install a Pollination Education Station at your school, church, office or housing community. If you don’t have space, perhaps sponsor one for a local organisation. You can find out more at:
https://www.sussexgreenliving.org.uk/renature/