Be inspired by the latest DESIGNER IDEAS to welcome wildlife into your garden
COLOUR-MATCH NECTAR-RICH PLANTING If the thought of mass planting makes you nervous, restore a soothing sense of order by colour-matching your plants. So, rather than going for a mismatch of bright colours, concentrate on a single colour family. The result is a sense of harmony that’s restful on the eyes and mind, and will still attract clouds of pollinators. In this RHS Wildlife Garden at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival 2023, designer Jo Thompson ( jothompson-garden-design.co.uk) opted for a divine mix of plants including buddleja ‘P ink Delight’, Sanguisorba menziesii, airy Verbena rigida and dreamy digitalis ‘Illumination Raspberry’.
Want to attract more wildlife into your garden without sacrificing its style or purpose? Look no further!
Garden designers have taken rewilding to the next level with smart ideas that upgrade your outside space as well as support nature, and enjoy the best of both worlds. From rethinking planting and boundary choices through to introducing sculptural shelters, shallow water features and nifty planting pockets, leading landscape designers have bedazzled us with gardens brimming with clever ways to woo all manner of native wildlife, and we’ve picked the very best that are simple to recreate at home. Which of them will suit your garden best?
CLAD WALLS TO SHELTER INSECTS Cladding existing brick and blockwork walls with tactile timber is such a smart way to boost your plot’s biodiversity, as this idea from The Royal Entomological Society Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023, by Tom Massey (tommassey.co.uk) shows. Mixing lengths and cross sections of timber, with and without bark, creates a tapestry of different colours and textures as well as handy nooks for insects and pollinators to rest and hibernate in. While stacked logs are weighty and best professionally installed, making a wall panel from a wooden frame and sawn cross sections is easily achievable. Frame with strips of Corten steel (try metals4u.co.uk) to get the designer look. PHOTO: RHS/SARAH CUTTLE. SPONSOR: ROYAL ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY AND PROJECT GIVING BACK USE SLATTED TIMBER SCREENS TO SECTION WILD PLANTING Garden designers know that the secret to balancing masses of nature-friendly planting lies in adding structural features. Using slatted timber screens is a highly effective way to create key views of the garden and zone the space without losing the leafy feel, as this design by Adolfo Harrison (adolfoharrison.com) demonstrates. Staggering head-height screens through the plot also lends a sense of mystery, controlling what is gradually revealed, and leading visitors on a meandering journey. FEATURE JILL MORGAN. PHOTO: ADOLFO HARRISON NESTLE A PATIO AMONG MEADOW PLANTING Bring a sense of discovery to your patch with a patio cocooned amid a wildflo
