Healthy gardens thrive on biodiversity, which is just a fancy way of describing having a big variety of all living things in the garden – trees, shrubs, herbs, flowers, birds, insects and microbes. Plants we often call ‘weeds’ help to create biodiversity by providing habitat for different insects, attracting different birds, and filling the soil with their roots, which helps to build soil and provide food for worms and microbes.

As well as benefits to the environment, a lot of herbs can be used for medicinal purposes for people, and in fact many, many modern pharmaceuticals have botanical origins. Finding another use for a problem plant helps us be willing to give it space in the garden.

Read the article in Autumn – Week 8.