Wildlife Paradise Garden

From a small and bare urban courtyard, to a lush haven, this has been one of my biggest projects to date. Almost every element of this garden design had wildlife an environment in mind, with the raised wildlife friendly pond as the focal point. Other features include a reclaimed wood store with green roof, insect friendly planting, and a vegetable growing area.  

I have tried to create an urban garden that is as self sustainable as possible. Installing a water butt means less tap water is used and making a nettle fertiliser station means the garden can be fed organically. A cold frame means salad and veg can be sown and grown almost all year round.

Bug hotels and bird feeders have also been installed. The pond has an access and exit point for aquatic life and the walls are built with recessed pointing to attract all the little critters. 

Front Garden Makeover

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The aim of this project was to create a multifunctional space out of a small front garden. The main features of the new garden include larger planting beds, a hidden bin storage space, a mini seating spot and two sandstone paths. The garden also has wooden wall planters and even a wildlife friendly minature pond

The use of a diagonal path allows for deeper, easy to access planting beds, which gives the illusion that the space is larger than it actually is. The path leads you to a seating spot, the pond and the bin storage area, meaning the whole space will frequently be used.

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It has been made more wildlife friendly with planting space maximised. Long flowering pollinator friendly wildflowers like Silene have been planted along with Salvias, Honeysuckle and Ceanothus. Long reclaimed wood planters sit on the walls and are filled with white Lavenders. The tiny pond is easily accessible for insects and birds. It is fitted with a small solar pump and oxygenating plants to keep the environment healthy.

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And yes, birds have already visited the front garden!

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Planted Corner Seat

Annabelle and Adam wanted to turn an unused corner of their garden, into a seating area where they could enjoy the late evening sun. The corner seat is made from used scaffold board and has an inbuilt planter filled with plant species, which are beneficial to pollinating insects.

 
The Shade Garden

Carols garden is north facing and thus receives very little direct sunlight. The old garden lacked structure and due to the lack of light, felt dark and uninviting. The aim of the project was to make an easy to maintain social space, that was bright and lush with shade loving plants. Landscaping materials were chosen carefully with environmental impact considered at every step. Key plants used included Tree Ferns, low growing fern species, Bergenia, Dicentra, Oak Leaved Hydrangea, Day Lilies, Crocosmia and Star Jasmines. 

Here is how The Shade Garden was created in an environmentally conscious and wildlife friendly way..

   - Natural walling and paving stone as well as lime mortar was used instead of concrete based products. This has a far smaller impact on the environment in the production process. 

   - Both the in built corner seat and garden store are made from reclaimed wood from local reclamation yards. As well as not contributing to timber consumption, the use of reclaimed wood reduces the amount that may find its way into landfill.

   - A green roof was installed on the garden store. This helps attract wildlife in, reduces run off (lowering the flood risk) and creates more surface area for plants. The store also has an internal water butt.

   -The pond is a must have if you want to help wildlife. Ponds help to encourage amphibians, aquatic insects and birds into your garden.

   - Unseen construction materials like adhesives and wood oils were only used if they were environmentally friendly and wildlife safe. 

Green Roof Garden Store

This reclaimed scaffold board garden store  was made with a deep based green roof. The extra depth meant a wider variety of plant species could be used. With no direct sunlight, shade loving species were used. These included anemones , mossy saxifrage, jasmines, ferns and ivy.

Planted Lounging Deck

This small deck was built at the back of the garden, shaded by a large cherry tree. The built in planters were filled with shade loving woodland species and double up as back rests. There is even a little wildlife hollow. The planting included native ferns, vinca, toad lilies, hellebores, crocus bulbs and a star jasmine.

Reclaimed Wood Bike Store

This bike store was made using reclaimed wood from the Bristol Wood Recycle Project. Using the reclaimed wood is great for a number of reasons including reducing wood waste and creating an aged rustic look to the structure.

Green Roof Recycle Station

The clients wanted a bin store that was as unintrusive as possible for their front garden. This slim line store was planted with sun loving species in a fairly shallow growing medium. I chose plants like sedums, thymes, dianthus as well as a few other alpine species.

The Mini Garden

Ryan and Maria's home has a tiny and shady strip of space in front of the bay window. The aim was to make a miniature front garden. The railings were removed and pale coping stones installed with long wooden planters sitting above. A bespoke bin store with green roof helped to keep the bins out of sight. 

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Shade loving plant species were incorporated to finish off the project. Species included ferns, jasmines, snowdrops, vinca and lily of the valley. 

Front Garden Transformation

Jo and Simon wanted a green and practical space in their front garden, that will help to encourage wildlife. This design includes an easy to access bin store area with green roof. The green roof is planted with species such as creeping phlox and thyme, which are great for insects. The sleeper bed is filled with species commonly seen in Cornwall.

Eves Storage Area

This bespoke storage area is made from used wood collected from around Bristol by the Bristol Wood Recycle Project. I sanded the wood quite heavily, but left just enough texture on to maintain the aged look of the timber.

Driftwood Shelving

These rustic shelves are made from driftwood collected from a beach in west Wales.  They were designed to hold nature related books.

Gardening at Tiddenham

At Tiddenham, I was asked to tidy and plant up some large borders. I used drought tolerant ground cover species.

Garden Maintenance

Here is an example of some of my garden maintenance work. From an overgrown bed, to an accessible wildlife friendly area. The work included planting pollinator friendly plant species, mulching and creating a pathway through the bed. 

Stone Walling for the Woodland Trust

These walls are part of large area of Victorian terraced gardens in Bishops Knoll Nature Reserve, in Stoke Bishop, Bristol. This is an ongoing project led by Nick Strawbridge-Smith (stonesthrow.eu), and aims to open up new areas of the reserve once work is complete. We use lime mortar instead of cement to help preserve the stone.

Green Roof Bin Store

This bin store was designed to fit into a very tight space in the front garden with all recycle bin shelves accessible from standing position. The green roof itself has a deeper growing medium than usual to house a wider variety of shade loving plant species including Vinca, ferns.