A SHOW garden with nature’s recovery at its heart will be premiered by The Wildlife Trusts at this year’s RHS Malvern Spring Festival. The Wildlife Trusts: Wilder Spaces garden promises to take wildlife-friendly gardening to a new level, combining beauty with biodiversity.

Wilder Spaces is sponsored by The Wildlife Trusts, led by Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) and its ecological consultancy Future Nature WTC. Working with experts from Oxford Garden Design, the team will demonstrate how wildlife habitats can be designed into the structure of a garden, using building waste, reclaimed material and untreated timbers. With biodiversity designed into the garden, hopes of winning a prestigious RHS medal are high.

The Wildlife Trusts believe gardening has a vital role to play in nature’s recovery, with long-term benefits for climate and people’s wellbeing too. The aim of the garden is to inspire visitors to think differently about the appearance of a garden designed for people and wildlife, and to show how we can all nurture nature, no matter what size or style of garden.

Estelle Bailey, BBOWT’s Chief Executive, said:

“Nature is in crisis and not enough is being done to reverse this terrible decline in the UK’s biodiversity. We want to see 30 per cent of land well managed for nature by 2030 and our gardens are a vital part of that wild jigsaw. The Wildlife Trusts: Wilder Spaces will show that any garden can have wildlife habitats at its heart, with recycled materials and nature friendly planting, yet still be beautiful to look at and provide relaxing spaces to spend time.

“Private gardens make up a bigger area than all of Britain’s nature reserves combined – they can provide a mosaic of mini-habitats that support a diverse range of species, so they are key to helping create more nature everywhere. RHS Malvern Spring Festival will be a great opportunity to showcase to people everywhere what they can achieve in their own gardens for nature, for climate and for themselves.”

Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, said:

“A garden alive with nature is a delight to spend time in. Being immersed in wildlife brings joy – whether that’s hearing the hum of bumblebees, catching the dart of a dragonfly over a pond, or the sound of goldfinches chattering in a tree. Nature soothes our souls, brings us pleasure and makes us feel good.

“Nature is also vital for the health of the places where we live because natural habitats absorb water during heavy rainfall, help cool our cities during hot weather and give us shade while also storing carbon. We hope our Wilder Spaces garden will inspire people everywhere to take action for nature and our climate.”

BBOWT’s consultancy, Future Nature WTC, has worked closely with the garden and building designers to create a garden that is designed for wildlife, yet still beautiful to the eye. 

Carefully chosen cultivated plants will provide pollen and nectar for insects, alongside often unsung native plants that feed the larvae of butterflies, moths and other invertebrates. Key species will include hawthorn, ivy, nettles, blackthorn and cow parsley. The garden is intended to provide a calm space in which to enjoy the diverse species living in the garden’s varied habitats. Materials used in the building of the garden have been sponsored by Grundon Waste Management Ltd.

Russell Hartwell, Managing Director at Future Nature WTC, said:

“What differentiates The Wildlife Trusts: Wilder Spaces garden from others, is that nature is the driver in the design, with habitats of high ecological value forming the foundation of the garden’s structure. The garden is full of materials, plants and features that enhance biodiversity, without conforming to the myth that a wildlife garden must be an untamed rewilded jungle. Standing deadwood, building waste and reclaimed aggregates all enhance the aesthetic appeal and provide niches for wildlife to nest, shelter and find food.  Our bee-bench, composting channel, solitary bee columns, hoverfly lagoon and recycled habitat wall are all innovative examples.”

The garden will include a range of nature and climate positive features, including:

• A variety of wildlife habitats – including grassland, wetland & deadwood
• Pollinator and larval friendly planting
• A stream, waterfall and pond
• A compost channel and hoverfly stumpery
• Recycled materials – timber, steel, building aggregate
• A biodiverse roof and solitary bee columns
• Climate resilient planting and landscaping

The garden features a watercourse that meanders through the plot towards a central pond and a section of bog planting. A pavilion, created in conjunction with Charlie Luxton Design and constructed from reclaimed steel joists and grating, will be topped with a living roof.

Oxford Garden Design, with Jamie Langlands as lead designer, is returning to the RHS Malvern Spring Festival following its successful 2022 show garden. Jamie has designed a garden that’s beautiful to behold and beneficial for the natural world.

Jamie Langlands, Lead Designer from Oxford Garden Design, said:

“I love creating spaces that are wild and untamed whilst having a little wonder within them. Having the opportunity to work with the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust gives us the opportunity to showcase the amazing work they are doing improving the biodiversity and ecology within the local area. It also offers us the opportunity to showcase how to improve wildlife habitats within visitors’ own gardens.”

Sheena Marsh, Owner and Founder of Oxford Garden Design, which is also building the garden, said:

“We are delighted to be working with BBOWT on The Wilder Spaces Garden, bringing together our learnings from BBOWT with Jamie’s creativity. We hope that this garden will inspire home owners to create wilder spaces in their own gardens.” 

Once the RHS Malvern Spring Festival is over, the garden will be distributed across various Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust sites and  projects. The seating will go to BBOWT’s College Lake Visitor Centre, near Tring or Sutton Courtenay Education Centre’s wildlife garden near Didcot.

The RHS Malvern Spring Festival runs from 11-14 May 2023 at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern, Worcestershire. For more information and tickets to the show visit: rhs.org.uk/shows-events/malvern-spring-festival