A HOME FOR YOUNG AND OLD
Those in a hurry overlook diversity. (Marion Gitzel)
We invite you to immerse yourself in our little paradise, mindfully and without haste. Living space has been created here - living space for countless small creatures that we hardly see in our everyday lives. In fact, we often don't even notice they exist. However all these creatures are part of a system that can only remain in balance if their existence is not lost.
By creating our "Luzi-Garden", we are making a small contribution to giving nature a space, promoting diversity and perhaps inspiring other people to do the same. Because this environment, located in the middle of an industrial area, is also an oasis for two-legged friends - the mindful perception and recognition of diversity can bring peace and contentment.
A SAFE SHELTER
SHELTER
​The larger cavities in cairns provide shelter for hedgehogs and stoats, but small animals such as spiders and insects also find a home. Lizards in particular seek shelter in the cracks of dry-stone walls.
FOOD SOURCE
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Over time, mosses, algae, and flowering plants grow on the piles of stones. This attracts specialized small butterflies and snails. These in turn serve as food for lizards and hedgehogs.
HEAT SOURCE
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On sunny days, the stones become warm, and lizards bask on them. Butterflies also love the warmth and wait there for a mate.
A SANDY OASIS
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WINTER QUARTERS AND QUITE RETREATS
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The white tower snail is very rare in Switzerland, as it lacks the necessary habitat. It needs open, sandy soils where it burrows for the winter. If it gets too warm and dry in summer, it can be found - withdrawn into its shell - dangling from dead plant stems.
NESTING PLACE FOR WILD BEES
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Around half of all wild bees nest in the ground. They dig holes in the ground and build cavities there, called nesting holes. They then lay their eggs in them.
REFRESHING COOL WATER
DIVERSITY IN THE WATER
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Ponds and pools can be home to a wide variety of animals such as water snails, aquatic insects, and amphibians.
The larvae of dragonflies can live in the water for 1-3 years. Only then do they develop into adult dragonflies so we can observe these beautiful creatures in the air. Newts never leave the water, but frogs have lungs as adults and can move back and forth between water and land.
IT'S GOOD TO DRY OUT SOMETIMES
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The yellow-bellied toad (an amphibian) typically lays its spawn (eggs) in ponds that dry out again. This keeps away the predators that would eat the spawn (especially newts, fish, and dragonfly larvae).
A PILE OF HAPPINESS
A woodpile made of branches of different thicknesses provides a welcoming home for reptiles, hedgehogs, stoats, and other small mammals that like to hide. The wood warms up quickly in the sun, and as it decomposes it also generates additional heat. What more could you want than a warm home?
A place to live is created when garden waste is allowed to remain in the garden and is piled up. Hedgehogs need shelter - not only for hibernation, but also for sleeping during the day. Many hedgehogs live in human settlements, where they search for beetles, spiders, worms and snails at dusk and at night. As hedgehogs like to change their homes and travel between different shelters each night, every additional heap is good luck for the friendly garden visitor.
A PARADISE FOR SOME
Dead wood is an important food source for many insects. In Central Europe, over 1700 species of beetle live in some form of dead wood. Fungi also feed on wood and help to decompose it.
It’s also a nursery for many insects like the Common Viper's Bugloss Mason Bee, which lays its eggs in dead wood branches and dead plant stems. Please don't always tidy up your garden perfectly - the more dead wood, the better!
Hopefully a few branches will fall from our willow trees because these would provide a perfect food source for the larvae of the musk beetle. The musk beetle is known for secreting a substance that was once used to perfume tobacco.
A SUMMER PLAYGROUND
This is where the specialists grow and the heat-lovers play. Where there is gravel, sand and stones, ruderal areas are created. It gets hot and dry here in summer - nutrients are scarce. This is why only specialized pioneer plants can grow here. Plant growth is typically very sparse. However, there are insects that depend on these open patches of vegetation, such as grasshoppers. Although the bow-winged grasshopper is not very demanding in terms of food (it eats mainly grasses and leaves), it loves plenty of sun and warmth and lays its eggs in dry soil.
EVERYTHING CHANGES
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Ruderal areas change over the years and the longer they are left, the denser the vegetation becomes – some plants disappear, to be replaced by others.
IT'S GETTING TIGHT FOR SPECIALISTS
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Naturally, ruderal areas can only be found on gravel banks along rivers, where they are rebuilt after every flood. But how many wild rivers without embankments do we still have in Switzerland? With the disappearance of these areas, the plants and animals that specialize in them will no longer find a home.
THE NATURAL PERFUMERY
Many raw materials in perfumery have their origins in the plant world. We love fragrant plants! But why do plants smell at all?
IT'S ALL FOR THE POLLINATION!
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Plants need to be pollinated in order to reproduce, and this task is largely carried out by insects. Plants use scent molecules to draw attention to themselves and attract pollinating insects.
PLEASE DO NOT EAT THEM!
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The biggest enemies of plants are animal predators. An efficient defense against predation is therefore a good survival strategy. Some plants protect themselves from voracious animals and therefore produce extra odorous scent molecules.
SURVIVAL IN TIMES OF DROUGHT AND HEAT
The production of fragrant essential oils reduces the evaporation of water, which is how plants protect themselves from drying out in hot, dry habitats.
CAVE DWELLERS
HOUSING SHORTAGES!
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Many species of wild bees and other insects burrow into the ground in open areas or in solid material such as clay or loess walls lay their eggs. Such walls used to be widespread along rivers and streams, but with the increasing damming of watercourses, the natural drop-off edges and loess walls have also disappeared. Today they are mainly found in gravel pits.
AN INSECT APARTMENT BUILDING
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We have filled small balcony boxes with a special clay-sand mixture to create an artificial living wall for wild bees. Hopefully as many cave dwellers as possible will find their way to Riedwiesenstrasse.
NATURE'S NURSERY
DON'T BE TOO TIDY IN THE GARDEN
In very tidy gardens, insects can hardly find shelter or places to nest. Garden waste, leaf litter, shrub cuttings or withered bushes are cleared away in many gardens and often end up in the green waste collection, which also means that habitats for useful insects are lost.
A ROOM FOR EVERY TASTE
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An insect hotel can at least partially replace the missing garden structures. Various materials are used to provide a substitute home, specifically for wild bees. The adults lay their larvae in hollow stems or in holes in wood or clay. The holes are sealed for protection. If you are lucky, you may get to see a young wild bee see the light of day for the first time as it crawls out of its hole or stem.
MANY FINE FLOWERS
MANY, MORE, THE MOST!
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Over time, ruderal areas can develop into dry meadows. They are called "dry meadows" because the plants here get by with little water and nutrients. As the vegetation never has the opportunity to become dense under these conditions, various plant species have the opportunity to establish themselves. Dry meadows are among the most diverse natural habitats in Switzerland, with up to 50 different plant species being found in one square meter!
DIVERSE FLORA LEADS TO DIVERSE FAUNA
It is not surprising that dry meadows are also playgrounds for all kinds of beetles, wild bees, spiders, grasshoppers, and butterflies. The greater the variety of flowers on offer, the more animal species can help themselves to the buffet.
BLUE WINGS FOR A BLUE SKY
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Dry meadows are often home to the blue butterfly. These beautiful little butterflies are a real delight, and are can easily be found here because it likes open spaces and prefers to feed on clover and clover-related plants.
THE JUNGLE GARDEN
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LUSH PERENNIALS PROVIDE SHADE AND HIDING PLACES FOR FROGS AND GRASS SNAKES
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Around the retention basin, which is occasionally filled with rainwater from the roof, moisture-friendly plants that need lots of nutrients thrive. Large and small animals often hide in the thicket – its particularly practical for amphibians and grass snakes, which live both in water and on land. Dragonflies spend their childhood in the water and emerge from there when they develop into adults. Our retention basins provide an ideal home for both the larvae and the adults.
BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS EVEN LATE IN THE YEAR
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Many perennial plants bloom late in the year. It’s just when the main flowering period of many meadows is over that the tall herbaceous meadows become really colorful, which allows butterflies and other nectar-sucking insects to feed well into the fall.
Butterflies visit from the forest
Butterflies like to stay at the edges of forests and in sparse woodlands with tall herbaceous plants. Who knows, maybe our tall shrubland is so attractive that it will take the adventure from the Aegert forest to us here at LUZI.
NATURE'S FENCING
THE WALL OF LEAVES
When bushes are grown close together, they become a hedge. A valuable hedge consists of as many different shrubs and bushes as possible, which bear flowers, fruit and thorns. As part of the natural landscape, hedges often form boundaries between agricultural areas. These boundaries and structures have a positive impact on the ecosystem and provide a diverse habitat for animals and plants.
EAT, SLEEP, REPRODUCE
A wild hedge covers all needs - the flowers provide food in the form of pollen and nectar for insects, the berries and fruit are eaten by birds. The dense foliage offers protection and hiding places which are ideal for finding shelter and protection from the weather or even for building a nest in. The importance of hedges is demonstrated by the number of animals that can be found here - they provide an important habitat for up to 10,000 animal species as a hiding place, food source and nesting site.
