My Wild Garden – Wildlife Trust

My Wild Garden is part of The Wildlife Trust’s My Wild Cardiff project that inspires communities to be more wildlife friendly. We were asked to design and build a wildlife garden for the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales to promote wildlife gardening in a typical urban garden. With a four-day build time this garden was quite a challenge. However with a great team of volunteers from the Wildlife Trust we created something that was buzzing with bees and butterflies from the off.

It is Easy to Create a Wildlife Friendly Garden

The UK has over 10 million acres of garden. By making our gardens more friendly to wildlife by planting native species: making a pond, piles of logs and rocks for invertebrates, creating a compost heap and making a small hole in your fence to allow hedgehogs to come and go, together we can create the UK’s largest nature reserve.

My Wild Garden August 2017

wildlife garden, Bute Park Cardiff, My Wild Garden, Wildlife Trust

Rain chain and sedum roof

Wild life garden created for the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales.

wildlife garden, Bute Park Cardiff, My Wild Garden, Wildlife Trust, green roof

A buzz with bees

Axonometric colour design

Compost heap

Sunflower bird feeder

pond, wildlife garden, Bute Park Cardiff, My Wild Garden, Wildlife Trust

wildlife pond

wildlife garden, Bute Park Cardiff, My Wild Garden, Wildlife Trust, pond

My Wild Cardiff

Wild life garden created for the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales.

wildlife garden, Bute Park Cardiff, My Wild Garden, Wildlife Trust, oak bench

Rustic Oak Bench with log pile

Rustic FSC oak bench

Flowering Rush

Garden shed with sedum roof and rain chain.

Native planting for wildlife

Bergomot and Bees

Demonstration compost heap

Can you see the worms?

Flowering lawn

wildlife pond

Using climbers to vertical garden

Harebell

Borage and bees

Bergomot and Bees

Wild Life Trust of South and West Wales Pop up garden Bute Park Cardiff 2017: Plant List

Shrubs:

Corylus avellana ( Hazel)

Ilex aquilfolium

*Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’ ( Elderberry)

Hebe ‘Autumn Glory’

Climbers:

*Hedera helix (Ivy)

Fuchsia ‘Hawkshead’

Lonicera p. ‘Serotina’ ( Honeysuckle)

Trachelospermum jasminoides (Evergreen jasmine)

Herbaceous Perennials:

*Actea s. ‘Brunette’ (Bugbane)

Ajuga x reptans ‘Braun Hertz’ (bugle)

Aster xf. ‘Monch’ (Michelmas daisy)

Astilbe chinesis var pumila

Borago officinalis (Borage)

Carex elata ‘Aurea’ (Bowles golden sedge)

Chelone glabra (Turtle head)

Chelone lyonii ‘Hot Lips’ (Turtlehead)

Geranium ‘Rozanne’

Hyssopus offincinalis ‘Rose‘ (Hyssop)

Lavender ‘Hidcote’ (dwarf Lavender)

Lysimmachia ‘Candela‘ (gooseneck loosestrife)

Lysimmachia nummularia (Creeping Jenny)

Lythrums salicaria (Purple loosestrife) native

Lythrums salicaria ‘Dropmore Purple’

Monarda ‘Balmy rose’ / ‘Lilac(Beragmot)

Nepeta racemosa (Catmint)

Origanum vulgare (Majoram)

Penstemon ‘Sour Grape’

Periscaria a. ‘Darjeeling Red’

Perovskia ‘Blue Spire’ (Russian Sage)

Salvia nemorosa ‘Serenade’ (Salvia)

Sedum spectablis ‘Autumn Glory’ (Iceplant)

Thymus sp (thyme) including native

Verbena bonariensis

Wild flowers:

Foeniculum vulgare (fennel)

Ocimum basilicum(wild basil)

Daucus carota (Wild carrot)

Malva moschata (musk mallow)

Linaria purpurea (Purple toadflax) naturalised

Linaria vulgare Common (Toadflax)

Campanula rotundifolia (Harebell)

*Agrostemma githago (Corncockle) annual

Scabiosa (Scabious)

Prunella vulgaris (Self heal)

Dipsacus fullonum(Teasel) – loved by goldfinches – can get to 2m high and self seed!

*Digitalis purpurea (Foxgloves)

Silene diocus (Red campion)

Centaurea nigra (Lesser knapweed)

Water plants:

Butomus umbellatus(flowering rush)

Nymphaea sp (water lily)

Hydrocharis morsus-ranaey (Frogbit)

Scripus cernuus ( Fibre optic plant)

Alisma plantago-aquatica (water plantain)

Stratiothes aloides (Water-soldier – native but can be invasive in garden ponds)

Veronica beccabunga (Brooklime) planted under the rill

Mentha aquatica (Water mint)

Myosotis scorpioides ( Water forget me not ) planted under the rill

Mentha pulegium ( Penny royal)

Pots:

Mixed herbs including: Rosmarinus prostrata’ Cardiff’, Thymus Pink ripple’; Cinamon, Anise hyssopus, cabbage, aubergines, strawberry, corn marigols, Cosmos sp. ivy*, Sedum spectablis, Achillea ‘Summerwine’; Geranium wlassovianum‘, Sambucus ‘Black lace’

Wate tub: Cypercus longus (Sweet galingale) – native but can be invasive

* harmful if eaten &/or can cause irritation to the skin.

Usefull Links – Wildlife Trust

My Wild Garden- a pop-up garden in Bute Park