A SHOW garden with nature’s recovery at its heart has been awarded a gold medal at this year’s RHS Malvern Spring Festival – and won Best in Show and Best Construction. RHS judges praised the garden for its atmosphere, flair and impact and for the high standard of its design and build.
Gold medal for Wildlife Trusts garden at RHS festival
BBOWT and The Wildlife Trusts' show garden at the 2023 RHS Malvern Spring Festival, created with Oxford Garden Design, Charlie Luxton and Future Nature WTC. Picture: Chris Dobbs
Recycled materials used to create wildlife haven.
The Wildlife Trusts: Wilder Spaces garden takes wildlife-friendly gardening to a new level, combining beauty with biodiversity. Sponsored by The Wildlife Trusts, the garden has been led by Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) and its ecological consultancy Future Nature WTC. Working with experts from Oxford Garden Design, the team has demonstrated how wildlife habitats can be designed into the structure of a garden, using building waste, reclaimed material and untreated timbers. And there were celebrations when the prestigious RHS gold medal and awards were announced, after a race to get the garden finished in challenging weather conditions.
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.
BBOWT's chief executive, Estelle Bailey with Jamie Langlands and Sheena Marsh from Oxford Garden Design
Estelle Bailey, BBOWT’s Chief Executive, said:
“We are absolutely thrilled that our Wilder Spaces garden has been so highly commended by the RHS after such a lot of hard work by everyone on the team. The festival gives us a great opportunity to showcase to people what they can achieve in their own gardens for nature, for climate and for themselves.
“Nature is in crisis and not enough is being done to reverse this terrible decline. 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 to help bring nature back. 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.”
An insect wall at BBOWT and the Wildlife Trusts' garden at the 2023 RHS Malvern Spring Festival, created with Oxford Garden Design, Charlie Luxton and Future Nature WTC. Picture: Chris Dobbs
Craig Bennett, Chief Executive of The Wildlife Trusts, said:
“A garden that 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.”
A waterfall at BBOWT and the Wildlife Trusts' garden at the 2023 RHS Malvern Spring Festival, created with Oxford Garden Design, Charlie Luxton and Future Nature WTC. Picture: Chris Dobbs
BBOWT’s consultancy, Future Nature WTC, 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 provide pollen and nectar for insects, alongside often unsung native plants that feed the larvae of butterflies, moths and other invertebrates. Key species include hawthorn, ivy, nettles and blackthorn. The garden provides a calm space in which to enjoy the diverse species living in the varied habitats – including deadwood, grassland and wetland.
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 composting channel, solitary bee columns, hoverfly lagoon and recycled habitat wall are all innovative examples.”
BBOWT and The Wildlife Trusts' show garden at the 2023 RHS Malvern Spring Festival, created with Oxford Garden Design, Charlie Luxton and Future Nature WTC. Picture: Chris Dobbs
Wilder Spaces is full of surprising features, plants and materials that enhance nature and provide eye-catching charm. A watercourse meanders through the plot towards a central pond surrounded by a range of wildlife habitats and climate-positive features:
- A partially submerged amphibian reef, a hoverfly stump lagoon, leaf-cutter bee towers, a compost channel, and a biodiverse living roof
- Pollinator and larval friendly planting
- A stream, waterfall, pond, bog and grassland, all with marginal planting
- Recycled materials such as untreated timber, steel and building aggregate
- Climate resilient planting and landscaping
A pavilion, created in conjunction with Charlie Luxton Design and constructed from reclaimed steel joists and grating, is topped with a living roof. Materials used in the building of the garden have been sponsored by Grundon Waste Management Ltd.
Oxford Garden Design, with Jamie Langlands as lead designer, has returned 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 and the team are delighted with their gold medal win and Best in Show and Best Construction awards.
Jamie Langlands of Oxford Garden Design at at BBOWT and the Wildlife Trusts' garden at the 2023 RHS Malvern Spring Festival, created with Oxford Garden Design, Charlie Luxton and Future Nature WTC. Picture: Chris Dobbs
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 chance 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 built 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.”
Concept art for The Wildlife Trusts' Wilder Spaces garden entry to the RHS Malvern 2023 spring festival, co-designed with Oxford Garden Design. Collage inspired by artist Henri Rousseau.
Once the RHS Malvern Spring Festival is over, the garden will be distributed across various Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust sites and projects, including those working with schools and community groups. The seating will go to BBOWT’s College Lake Visitor Centre, near Tring, and Lindengate, a nature health and wellbeing charity in Wendover, will also receive some of the planting.
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