GARDENING - Doing what comes naturally

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Telegraph

Doing what comes naturally (Filed: 05/10/2002)

We were astonished by the quality and quantity of entries to our Wildlife Garden of the Year competition. Kylie O'Brien assesses the finalists - and announces the winner

When we launched the first nationwide wildlife garden competition last year, it was done on a wing and a prayer. Would anyone enter? If they did, would the gardens be any good? And at what point do a few wildflowers and a patch of nettles become an unkempt wilderness rather than a natural garden?

A visiting frog The winner: several hundred frogs now make their home in Jeanette Curry's Brighton garden

The idea, put forward by The Wildlife Trusts, was to set the standard by which future wildlife gardening could be judged. We all know that naturalistic planting is the height of fashion (witness this year's Chelsea). But, aside from passing trends and the childlike romance of sharing one's garden with a hedgehog and a frog or two, there is a serious point: as natural habitats disappear, gardens are becoming increasingly important as wildlife refuges.

So we were looking for more than a trendily planted border. We wanted to see gardens laid out to offer food and shelter for as wide a variety of wildlife as possible, given the size and situation of the plot; planting and design that was attractive to humans and, if possible, a garden designed with wildlife-viewing in mind.

Rosehips provide food for birds

In the end, we were amazed by the number, quality and dedication of the entries - 430 in total. We announced the 15 finalists in August, after which Helen Firminger, The Wildlife Trusts' gardening expert, and I narrowed the shortlist down to seven: Melinda Raker, Bridget Parke, Duncan Stewart, Roz Taylor, Peter and Roz Brighouse, William and Barbara Taylor and Jeanette Curry.

Two were city gardens; one a suburban garden; one was in a village; and three lay in open countryside. All had ponds, bird boxes, berry-bearing shrubs and native wildflowers.

First, the country gardens. We were taken by the combination of formal and natural-looking beauty at Melinda Raker's garden in Norfolk, and, in Wiltshire, by Bridget Parke's use of massed, single-flowered, garden varieties such as dahlias - good for nectar and attractive in a semi-formal border. We also admired her philosophy of "managed retreat" - for instance, leaving garden sheds to decay with their doors open so that birds could nest in them. We felt we could learn a great deal from her.

We loved the wild romance of sheep crofter Duncan Stewart's garden in Ardnamurchan, on the west coast of Scotland, which is visited by sea eagles, buzzards, dippers, ravens and cormorants. In the stream that runs through it, he has otters, eels and voles. Hard to beat. Next came Roz Taylor's garden in a Nottinghamshire village. We particularly enjoyed her wildlife diary.

Jeanette Curry: 'I plant one variety for the birds and one for me'

All four gardens were beautiful, but were they designed with wildlife at the fore? There was, for instance, a little too much lawn (a no-no for wildlife) in a couple of them, and the unfair blessing of a fabulous location in others.

To the town gardens. For exuberance and exotic planting, Peter Brighouse's densely covered plot in Manchester came close to ideal and despite being in the heart of the city, he supports a variety of butterflies, birds and mammals.

William and Barbara Taylor's lush suburban garden in Alnwick, Northumberland, caught Helen's eye. "Wildlife and stylish looks work in tandem here," she says. "I like the way the Taylors will only buy single flowers that are scented, for the nectar. And it was entirely organic."

But it was a small, unassuming garden on a slither of chalky land on the brow of Round Hill in Brighton that won us over. Jeanette Curry has turned what was, 20 years ago, a bare field into something magical. "When I started, I longed for a velvet lawn," she tells me. "I sprayed everything in sight. I stopped 15 years ago when I saw a frog sitting on some stones, and I was hooked. I felt really honoured that the little fellow had come here."

Two of Jeanette Curry's bantams

The third-of-an-acre plot is divided into several areas, linked by shrubs and tree-lined paths. Much of the garden has the feel of woodland, with clearings and glades in which herb-Robert, bluebells and snowdrops grow. In more open areas she has sedums, geraniums, asters and pots of pansies and antirrhinums bulked up against shrubs such as hebes, hawthorn and philadelphus.

"I like to plant one variety of shrub or flower for the birds and one for me," Jeanette says, pointing to a pretty yellow Clematis tangutica ("that's for me") and a thicket of C. vitalba, or Old Man's Beard ("for the birds").

We pass a patch of Verbena bonariensis and teasel: "This is what butterflies are feeding from at this time of year," says Helen. "By late August, many of the native flowers have gone."

I ask Jeanette whether she does any weeding. "I have an easy-going approach," she says, waving at a vast bindweed snaking its way over a dovecote. In fact, the less digging, planting and replanting done, the better it is for providing a settled environment for creatures such as ground beetles.

We were impressed by the number of hides and sheds from which to observe bird and animal life - including hedgehogs. Almost every tree was laden with bird boxes, feeders, even an old wire peanut holder filled with dog hair from which to make nests. This year, Jeanette has been rewarded by visits from jays, woodpeckers, a blackcap - her first - and bats.

An elder, stripped of berries, grows near fruit, vegetables and herbs - some for human consumption, some for caterpillars and butterflies - flanking the bantam runs at the end of the garden. We pass another of her seven ponds - "I lost count at 325 frogs this year" - and arrive at a greenhouse and compost bins. Next to them, a statuette of a woman is draped in a diamante necklace.

Jeanette disappears and returns with a Tupperware box half-full of what looks like tinned spaghetti. "These are fresh mealworms, which I give the robins," she says. "Six a day. It's their treat."

Groups of schoolchildren are regular visitors to the garden and Jeanette says her grandchildren love it. I'm not surprised. It's a garden you feel compelled to explore, and which constantly surprises: with its statuettes, its hidden spots and windy paths, its prettiness and unexpected charm.

"This is delightful - the perfect balance," Helen sums up. "The garden was created for wildlife, and Jeanette has maximised the opportunity to watch it. And she had made it look beautiful.

"I hope Jeanette's garden and this competition will inspire others; ultimately we'd like as many people as possible to follow suit to create a network. One wildlife gardener is valuable, 20 joined together is even more so."

Further information

# For more information on The Wildlife Trusts, call 0870 036 7711, or visit www.wildlifetrusts.org.

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2002


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