Garden Ecosystems 101: Biodiversity, Climate Change & Regenerative Gardening
Hello gardeners!
Traditionally, gardeners were taught to think in terms of beds, borders, and zones. A more eco-conscious perspective is to see the entire garden as an ecosystem — something alive, dynamic, and intertwined.
What is a garden ecosystem?
A garden ecosystem is not complicated. It includes plants, soil microbes, insects, birds, fungi, water, air — and yes, humans. It includes what's happening underground, above ground, and around the edges. The health of one element affects the health of all.
Your garden does not end at the property line
And here's the quiet revolution:
Your garden doesn’t stop at your property line.
Pollinators cross fences. Water runs downhill. Seeds move with wind. Healthy soil supports the larger soil web. Birds use my garden and then visit other host gardens in the community. Every regenerative garden strengthens the ecosystem beyond itself.
Biodiversity is the heartbeat of this ecosystem.
More species = more resilience
As a regenerative gardener, if I build more biodiversity into my garden, and my neighbour does as well, suddenly, we have improved supports in place. Then we add in the neighbourhood park and green belt. Collectively it begins to make a difference when it comes to supporting more species and building resiliency. The cornerstone of ecological gardening focuses on biodiversity.
Why traditional gardening practices are failing us
Yet traditional gardening has worked against this — often unintentionally. We’ve been encouraged to:
Sweep away leaves
Control insect populations
Remove “weeds”
Plant monocultures aka lawns
Value looks over function
Many of us grew up thinking a good gardener, had no weeds, every plant was deadheaded immediately after flowering and certainly no leaves were left over the winter. I remember receiving an anonymous letter late one November, a neighbour was criticizing us for not having raked our leaves up yet. I had a newborn at the time, plus two dogs, and a husband who travelled, but I am sure I internalized that criticism for not being a good gardener.
To read more about my perspective on “good” gardening read this blog post .
Photo: R. Pak
Those methods worked when the climate was stable. Now? Not so much.
Biodiversity is what allows a garden to bounce back. Climate adaptive plants can provide expanded support for all users of the garden ecosystem. More root depth, more food sources, more shelter, more pollination cycles, more interaction between species. And this includes a mix of native and non-native plants that match the shifting climate, not just the historical one.
Academics and botanical experts are already debating what this means.
Should we move plants north? Should we redefine “native”? How do we build ecosystems of adaptive plants while weather events are unpredictable?
The take-home message is not that everything we know is wrong — it’s that everything is evolving.Carbon is only a problem when it’s in the wrong place.
How to Begin? Start with asking yourself these Questions the next time you walk through your garden
Who lives here besides my plants?
Who do I want to live in my garden?
What systems are already working? Or what isn't working?
How can I support this piece of the planet, rather than control it?
A regenerative garden isn’t made.
It is allowed.
And when we let the garden be an ecosystem, we give it — and ourselves — the best chance to thrive in a changing world.