Garden heroes with Six legs 

Welcome to July in the Organic Yarden – where the compost is hot, the radishes are confused with the unusual heat and bolting, and the real garden heroes might have six legs and no publicist.

This week I want to shine a light (not too brightly – they’re nocturnal!) on the brilliant bugs that keep my little organic world buzzing, wriggling, and surprisingly balanced.

Meet Barry the Ground Beetle. Barry is no Instagram influencer – he works nights, wears black, and avoids all drama. But this silent stalker is a powerhouse in the pest patrol department. While I’m inside editing blog posts or sipping nettle tea, Barry is out there munching slugs and dealing with larvae like a pro.

And he’s not alone. My garden is alive with tiny, tireless workers. Ladybirds guarding my beans. Hoverfly larvae hoovering up aphids like nature’s hoovers in disguise. Even the solitary wasps – who I give a wide berth to – are off pollinating flowers and carting off caterpillars.

in a world that’s often too tidy, too pruned, too poisoned, I’ve learned to embrace the wildness. My garden needs the unexpected – the volunteer verbena in the crack by the water butt, the calendula that shows up uninvited but always dressed beautifully, the beetle patrolling the compost pile like it owns the place.

And let’s talk about those “weeds” and “random seedlings” – my favourites! I’ve got honesty popping up like ghost guests from last spring, and a mystery plant growing between the bricks that may or may not be borage. Nature, as it turns out, has excellent taste.

So this week, I’m inviting you to pause before you squish, prune, or weed. Get curious instead. Who’s that little shiny beetle? What flower just appeared by magic? Maybe it’s not a mess at all — maybe it’s magic. Or at least a sign that your garden is alive and doing its thing.

And isn’t that what we want?

Bonus Organic Yarden Wisdom:

• Let some plant stems stay in place – beetles and bees use them as shelter.

• That self-seeded cosmos in the wrong pot? Let it bloom.

• Imperfect = biodiverse = beautiful.

Let the Yarden do its thing. Just maybe not with bindweed. Even Barry the beetle draws the line there!

Find out more about encouraging biodiversity in your garden