Rewilding
Rewilding
“Rewilding” is one of those words that can mean a lot of things depending on who you ask. In a large conservation project, it may involve restoring ecological processes across hundreds or thousands of acres. In a residential or commercial landscape, it might simply mean giving a portion of the property back to a more diverse plant community. And that second version is becoming increasingly popular. But here’s the part that sometimes gets lost: rewilding a landscape does not mean walking away from it.
A successful naturalistic planting still needs thought, plant knowledge, and management. The goal isn't to create a garden that looks abandoned. It is to create a landscape where plants and wildlife have more room to function while the people who use the space can still tell where the planting ends and the sidewalk begins.
“Rewild the Yard”
You don't have to remove every square foot of turf, stop mowing, and wait for nature to take over. In fact, starting small can be the smarter approach. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service recommends thinking about the whole landscape while starting with one manageable area, allowing the first project to serve as a learning experience before expanding.
That could mean converting a section of lawn, expanding an existing perennial bed, planting beneath mature trees, creating a meadow on an underused portion of a property, or adding a native planting along a property edge. Starting with one area also makes it easier to observe what happens.
Does the soil stay wet after a storm? Which plants establish quickly? Where do weeds show up? What gets browsed? What attracts pollinators? And, perhaps most importantly, how much maintenance does the planting require? Nature will provide plenty of answers (sometimes unsolicited).
Rewilding Still Needs a Plan
A common misconception is that naturalistic landscapes are supposed to be completely hands-off. News flash: they aren't.
Xerces Society notes that meadows and other pollinator plantings can be low-maintenance but are rarely maintenance-free. Without management, weeds, invasive plants, and woody species can gradually change the composition of a planting. That means the maintenance plan should be considered before the plants go in.
For a meadow, that may mean mowing or cutting back once a year after establishment. For a perennial planting, it could mean selective weeding, thinning, or cutting back certain plants. For a shrub border, it may mean pruning to maintain structure and access. The objective isn't to prevent change. Plant communities are supposed to change. The objective is to guide that change!
Planting for a Community, not a Collection
A rewilded landscape works best when plants are selected with relationships in mind. Think about layers: trees and shrubs, taller perennials and grasses, shorter plants, and groundcovers. Think about bloom times, seed production, foliage, winter structure, and the different resources plants provide throughout the year.
Penn State Extension talks about native meadow plants that can provide nectar, larval food, seeds, and cover for a range of wildlife. Grasses are particularly useful because their dense root systems help suppress weeds while also providing cover and seed resources.
Penn State also recently highlighted the value of keystone perennials, native plants that support disproportionately large numbers of insects and, through them, the larger food web. Research cited by Penn State indicates that roughly 5% of a region's native plants can support 70–75% of butterfly and moth species. So, when designing a naturalistic planting, don't simply ask, “What native plants do I like?”
Ask: What does this site need, and what does the plant community need to function? That's a much better starting point.
Make It Look Intentional
This is especially important in public-facing landscapes. A planting can support wildlife without looking like someone simply stopped mowing in June.
Paths, mown edges, defined beds, repetition, plant groupings, and clear transitions can all communicate that a landscape is being managed intentionally. Xerces Society refers to these kinds of features as “cues to care,” and recommends them as a way to make pollinator habitat more understandable and acceptable in residential settings. A crisp edge around a meadow can do a surprising amount of work. So can repeating a few dominant plants instead of scattering 47 different species across 500 sq ft. Wild does not have to mean random.
Give Wildlife Somewhere to Live
Rewilding isn't only about flowers. Habitat includes the spaces between the flowers, too.
Leaving some stems standing through winter can provide shelter for overwintering insects. Fallen leaves can provide habitat and organic matter. Bare soil is important for many ground nesting bees. Small logs, rocks, brush, and other natural materials can create additional places for insects and other wildlife to shelter and reproduce. Xerces Society recommends incorporating these features alongside native plants when creating pollinator habitat. This can also change how we think about fall cleanup. Not every perennial needs to be cut to the ground the moment it turns brown. Sometimes the brown stuff is doing a job.
That doesn't mean every landscape needs to look like it is preparing for a documentary about the forest floor. Selective cleanup can maintain structure and access while leaving enough plant material behind to benefit wildlife.
Watch What Wants to Take Over
Here's where the “without letting your landscape take over” part comes in. Not every plant that establishes quickly is necessarily a good thing. Fast spreading plants can compete with slower growing species and change the balance of a planting. Woody seedlings can eventually move into a meadow. Invasive species can take advantage of disturbed soil. Even well-behaved plants can become too aggressive for a particular planting design. Regular observation is one of the most useful management tools you have.
Walk the planting. Look at what is increasing, what is disappearing, and what is arriving on its own. Remove invasive species before they become a much larger project. Thin plants when competition becomes an issue. Adjust the planting when the site changes.
This is one reason professional management matters so much in naturalistic landscapes. Low maintenance is not the same thing as no maintenance!
“Recreating Nature”
A landscape isn't a restoration site simply because it contains native plants. And don’t worry, that's okay.
A designed landscape can borrow from natural communities without trying to recreate one exactly. We can use native plants, diverse layers, seasonal cycles, wildlife habitat, and reduced disturbance while still designing for people. University of Maryland Extension recommends using a diversity of trees, shrubs, groundcovers, vines, grasses, and herbaceous perennials when creating wildlife habitat. That leads to connecting plant islands where possible so wildlife has less open space to cross. That can happen at almost any scale. A 2-acre meadow can do it. So can a 200 sq ft. planting bed. So can the strip of lawn everyone has been awkwardly trying to mow between the parking lot and the fence.
Start Small
Perhaps the best approach to rewilding is not to ask how much of a landscape we can stop managing. Instead, ask how we can manage it differently.
- Reduce mowing where it isn't necessary. Increase plant diversity.
- Choose plants suited to the site.
- Incorporate habitat features.
- Leave some stems and leaves.
- Create clear edges. Watch for invasive species. Give plants time to establish.
- Then see what happens.
The result may not look completely “wild,” and that is the point. A good naturalistic landscape should feel alive, change with the seasons, support more than just the plants we planted, and still function as a designed space. You just have to give nature a little more room to participate!
Helpful Links
Attracting Wildlife to Your Garden | University of Maryland Extension
How to Make a Pollinator Garden | Xerces Society
Managing Habitat for Pollinators | Xerces Society
Meadows and Prairies: Wildlife-Friendly Alternatives to Lawn
Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Support Native Wildlife by Planting Keystone Perennials
Your Frequently Asked Questions About Pollinator Gardening at Home | Xerces Society
