Today we are going to talk about holistic gardening, which is nothing but organic gardening. We plant flowers for our own enjoyment and vegetables for food. There is a whole universe of insects, butterflies and birds who also benefit from our gardening. By using chemicals in our garden we poison ourselves slowly-sometimes over generations-. That is because we are bigger built than most of the wildlife we see in our gardens. These wildlife perish when chemicals are used either in the form of pesticides or in the form of fertilizers. Todays talk is about my experiences as a gardener for the last about ten years in Gurgaon. About the wildlife I observe in my garden which gives tremendous pleasure and meaning to my gardening efforts. Conserving wildlife does not mean saving tigers and elephants alone, it means conserving the whole web of life and we as garden enthusiasts can play a BIG part in conserving the web of life.

1. Gardening for Wildlife

2. Gardening for Wildlife-Why?
• Ever since we discovered chemicals we have
been using them to increase yield or to kill
insects which eat away leaves of plants.
• We have now reached a stage where no
amount of washing and cleaning can take
away the chemicals we eat with our food. The
flowers we see are beautiful but have mostly
lost their smell

3. Gardening for Wildlife-Why?
• The soil is so degraded that only a constant
infusion of chemicals will ensure that plants
survive well.
• We can test the freshness of a fruit by holding it,
smelling it, giving it a soft squeeze, checking for
bumps and spots and bruises, but how do we
check the level of pesticides contained in it?
• As per an average diet of daily intake of various
foods, we will be exceeding the ADI (Acceptable
Daily Intake) of pesticides by approximately
400%! (CSE)

4. Gardening for Wildlife-How?
• No pesticides. Many of the insects that live in our gardens
are beneficial. They creep around our plants and gobble up
aphids and caterpillars and the like. Therefore, it stands to
reason that if we increase the number of beneficial insects in
our gardens, then we will decrease the pests. Plus, pesticides
pollute and can get on your food and into your body.
• Ant Control. Ants can run off other predators. Use
vinegar to keep their armies in check.
• Mulch. Mulch provides creeping space for crawling animals.
It also locks in moisture.

5. Gardening for Wildlife-How?
• Planting native shrubs and trees is the easiest
way to provide the foliage, nectar, pollen,
berries, seeds and nuts that many species of
wildlife require to survive and thrive.
• Wildlife require places to hide in order to feel
safe from people, predators and inclement
weather. Use things like native vegetation,
shrubs, thickets and fenced areas or even
dead trees.

6. Gardening for Wildlife-How?
• Use organic manure. There are a number of organic
manures like farmyard manure, green manures, compost
prepared from crop residues and other farm wastes, vermi
compost, oil cakes, and biological wastes - animal bones, bone
meal.
• Replace external inputs with local
knowledge. Organic manures have low nutrient content
and therefore need to be applied in larger quantities. The
nutrient content of organic manures is highly variable from
place to place, lot to lot, and method of preparation.

7. Gardening for Wildlife-How?
• Green manure crops /rotation crops. Plant
different crops being alternately grown on the same land in a
specific order to have more effective control of weeds, pests,
diseases, and more economical utilization of soil fertility. In
India, leguminous crops are grown alternately with wheat,
barley, and mustard.
• Crops like cowpea or lobia or any dal variety
can improve the nitrogen cycle of the soil.

10. Simple joys of nature
• The simple joys of nature bring with them immense pleasure;
they sooth our frayed nerves, all the while teaching us the
ways of life.
• For those interested in attracting butterflies to their windows
or gardens, you can grow plants like Ixora, Marigold, Petunia,
Sadaphuli, Jatropha, Aster, Lemon grass, lime trees —
Kalanchoe, Curry Leaf, Passiflora, Bryophyllum or Calotropis
and watch as various varieties of butterflies arrive to suck
their nectar and breed their young.

11. Watch birds in your backyard!
• Birds will munch pests. You can attract birds
with a bird bath or some berry-producing
trees.
• Do not feed birds. But keep some water for
the birds always.
• Go ahead and observe the miracle of nature
— it will humble you for sure; albeit
delightfully.

12. Gardening for Wildlife

41. Thank You