Our Principles
GARDENING THAT WORKS WITH NATURE
Every healthy garden
begins with healthy soil
Our natural gardening principles are simple, proven, and rooted in years of hands-on experience.
OUR STORY
The journey that led us back to nature
I’ve been working with gardens for over 25 years. When I started out, I followed what I was taught – using fertilisers, pesticides and other quick fixes. Overtime, I saw what those methods left behind: compacted soil, locked-up nutrients and the quiet loss of life in the soil.
So I changed my approach. I began learning from natural systems instead of trying to control them. That shift became the foundation for Natural Gardening Principles – a way to make the benefits of soil-first, life-centred gardening simple and accessible for everyone.
Today, this journey continues with my daughter, Tami, whose research explores the connection between people and nature in gardens, and how those spaces can restore both. Together, our work bridges experience and new insights into caring for soil as a living system and creating spaces where plants, wildlife and people can thrive in harmony.
Sarchen & Tami Bassingthwaighte
ONE
Soil is the foundation
Healthy soil is alive – billions of micro organisms, fungi and bacteria form intricate systems that hold water, exchange nutrients and keep plants balanced.
When we protect and feed this invisible world, everything above the surface thrives naturally.
TWO
Work with micro organisms
Micro organisms are nature’s quiet engineers. They connect roots, unlock minerals and share information through the soil network.
Our products – like the Enliven fungi blend – support these relationships, restoring the soil’s natural intelligence.
THREE
Feed from within
Most conventional fertilisers (especially synthetic NPK types) are water-soluble and fast-acting. They supply nutrients directly to the plant through the root zone, but because they’re highly available, they promote rapid top growth (leaves and stems) rather than promoting long-term soil health or deep root resilience.
We feed from the ground up – encouraging roots to grow deeper and plants to become resilient from within.
When the soil is nourished properly, everything else falls into place.
FOUR
Encourage biodiversity
A healthy garden hums with life – bees, birds, frogs and beneficial insects all play their part.
The goal isn’t control, but connection. Diversity builds resilience and every new species that arrives is a sign your garden’s ecosystem is in balance.
