Our main aim is to show that you can develop an attractive garden yet incorporate a high proportion of native plants. As the garden was initially planned on a ‘conventional’ design the areas nearest to the dwelling incorporate more exotic plants than the more recently planted areas.

No insecticides or fungicides are used. Herbicides are spotted to remove unwanted vegetation but generally unwanted plants are hand weeded or scythed. Inorganic fertilisers are not used, and we avoid peat-based products if at all possible. We do use lime, mushroom and garden compost and bark mulches.

The garden is sub-divided 

Patio of gravel with dwarf conifers and flower borders.

Main lawn with borders of mixed native and exotic species. One island border is solely native herbaceous plants. The lawn is not chemically treated and is florally diverse. There are two large walnuts, nearly one hundred years old, at the end of the lawn.

Whilst many exotics are planted here we have increased the proportion of native plants. The view from beneath the walnuts past the buttercups, lawn and towards a crimson cloud hawthorn is especially attractive. The shrubs include Vibernums, Robinia, Cotoneaster and Philadelphus. Herbaceous plants include deadly nightshade, foxgloves and native geraniums.

The main lawn merges into the spring meadow, which is again surrounded by shrub borders, but now containing many more wild species. The spring meadow has wild daffodils, hundreds of cowslips and masses of May-flowering bulbous buttercups. Twayblade orchids occur here. This area is cut towards the end of June when the spring plants have seeded. The area then becomes a cut lawn.

The summer meadow, like the rest of the garden, has a hedgerow edge and merges into the forest via coppiced hazel. Different cutting regimes are employed in the meadow to maintain floral diversity.

Areas include a regularly dug cornfield section (used in the winter as a bonfire site), marjoram meadow, grassy meadow and a chalk sward area that is rich in native orchids.

There is a wildlife pond, which is rich in amphibians and southern marsh orchids around the edge.

Animals from the forest naturally use the garden as part of their range and we have had roe and fallow deer, grey squirrels, stoats, foxes and hedgehogs visiting. Hares are now infrequent visitors but rabbits are a bit of a pest. The garden is home to common and pygmy shrews, short and long-tailed voles and woodmice. Moles occur in the flower borders, meadow and in the lawn. We have at least two species of bats that especially hunt near the forest margin and over the small pond. Badgers and weasels do occur locally but have yet to be seen within the garden.

Reptiles, except slow worms, are not common but we have seen a grass snake and a common lizard. Frogs and palmate newts breed in the garden pond.

Birds include: Blue, great, long-tailed, coal and marsh tits; dunnock, robin, nuthatch and house sparrow; greenfinch, chaffinch, goldfinch, bullfinch, siskin and linnet; starling, blackbird, mistle and song thrush; jackdaw, jay, rook and magpie; wren, collard and wood pigeons; pheasant and partridge; buzzard, kestrel, sparrow hawk, tawny and barn owl; green and greater spotted woodpecker; pied wagtail, swallow and house marten. Spotted flycatchers, cuckoo, redwing, treecreeper and goldcrest are visitors. We have had grey heron, woodcock, lapwing, yellow hammer and various warblers. Skylark, swift and black-headed gulls are seen overhead. [Bold = nested] I guess there must be several that I failed to identify!

Butterflies seen: Large, small and Essex skipper; white admiral. Painted lady, small tortoiseshell, red admiral and peacock; comma, silver-washed fritillary; green-veined white, orange tip, small and large white, brimstone and clouded yellow; speckled wood, wall, gatekeeper, ringlet, marbled white, meadow brown and small heath; small copper, common chalkhill and holly blue. [27]

The purple emperor is known in the area but we have yet to see a specimen. Silver Y moths are also common. Cinnabar, white-feather, poplar hawk, hummingbird hawk and burnet moths are seen.

Other insects: glow-worm, hornet, common and wood wasps, burying beetle, summer chafer, 2 and 7 spot ladybirds, green shield-bugs, bush cricket, field grasshopper, various hover flies and their allies, bee fly. Red and blue damsel flies, and Libellula depressa dragonfly are common. Red and yellow meadow ants.

Banded and common snail; Limneae and Planorbis snails occur in the pond.

Some two hundred and fifty different wild native plant species have been recorded in the garden. The most notable are orchids – southern marsh, spotted, broad-leaved helleborine, pyramidal and twayblade. Common gromwell, fairy flax, marsh and bird’s foot trefoil, kidney vetch, yellow rattle, meadow clary, meadow saxifrage, wild daffodil, royal fern, and deadly nightshade.

Bulbous and creeping buttercup, and cowslips dominate the spring meadow. The summer meadow by marjoram, wild basil, two species of ragwort, St John’s wort, hedge and ladies bedstraw.

Trees include pedunculate oak, silver birch, field maple, holly, whitebeam, wild cherry, damson and cherry plum. Shrubs include spindle, dogwood, various hedgerow willows, privet, elder (flower), hazel and wild rose species.

Hop, honeysuckle and wild clematis grow in the hedges and trees.

The garden is often open to the public under the ‘Yellow Book’ scheme, but we allow individuals or groups to visit if possible. 

Please do contact us if you'd like a garden tour.

You can read more about Forest Edge's garden and / or local gardens in my Australian articles: Hello From Up Here on www.global-garden.com.au.