Anyone who owns a garden will be aware of the immense effort it takes to keep it healthy and make it a place of peace and beauty. Unfortunately this has been done to the detriment of our environment "Our garden mirror the plight of the environment as a whole: for too long they have been poisoned by chemical fertilisers and pesticides. A natural garden is a garden with a living soil, healthy plants and teeming with wild life --and in which we are at peace with nature." (Natural Gardening by Irmela Reichardt - Delta Books 1993)

In order to create such a garden we need to understand the functions and interrelationships which exist amongst the living and non-living organisms and how they maintain a natural balance. The awareness of the plight of our environment has prompted many people to seek alternative measures to maintain a healthy garden and to avoid if possible toxic substances to control pests.

The first step to this ideal is to realise that most insects and plants, even those considered as pests, have a place in the web of life in the garden. For example some plants we think of as weeds can repel unwanted insects:- Nasturtiums planted between roses protect them from aphids and scale, parsley and wild garlic planted in the beds deters snails and rosebeetles; thyme and lavender repel ants. If however the problems become too great there are many natural sprays that can be easily made and used effectively. These sprays do not obtain instant results and must be used regularly until the problem has disappeared.

There are three basic methods for making these sprays: