Wildlife haven, good all year
This tranquil garden in Wales has a laidback look that draws in wildlife. Glenna and David Toyne give us a tour
This relaxed, free and easy garden is full of leafy shrubs and colourful perennials. Groundcover plants fill every inch of bare soil, helping to hold back weeds and create a sense of luscious leafiness. As you might expect, it’s a soothing haven where wild birds, frogs and small mammals feel very much at home. “When I first moved here in 2000 there were just a few shrubs, three trees and an area of unkempt grass,” says owner Glenna Toyne, who lives here with her husband David. “It was a true wildlife garden and very overgrown. I decided that the best way to transform it was by giving it a good tidy up, then taking stock. We cut back the grass, took out a large sycamore tree, trimmed the hedges and made some borders – checking on the shapes from an upstairs window. “I had a rough idea of what I wanted but I had no overall plan. I knew I didn’t want a formal look, so although we have the box balls and topiary hedges around the lawn, it’s not a regimented garden by any means. For me a garden needs to evolve over the years. So although we created the circular lawn and herbaceous borders from scratch, the rest of the garden has simply developed as we went along.” Encouraging wildlife is a priority. “We have three small ponds: there’s one in a zinc tub, another in a large wooden barrel and the third has a plastic pond liner sunk into the ground. We have nine frogs that like to sunbathe near them and there are marginal plants in all of them – sedges, yellow flag irises, marsh marigolds and a small bullrush.
“We also leave out shallow dishes to collect rainwater for the birds. We’ve had about 40 different species in the garden, which is incredible when you consider we’re on the edge of a town. All manner of birds come and visit, from great spotted woodpeckers to tree creepers, nuthatches and waxwings.” While the top of the garden is left to grow a bit ‘wild’, the rest of the garden is organised into a well-tended, plant-packed journey. “Nearest the house is a small patio with a ‘damp’ border for tree ferns and hostas, with a rustic log shed smothered in clematis ‘Fragrant Spring’. From here you go up some steps, with roses and geraniums on either side, to reach a shaded area with beech and silver birch trees. “Under the trees I grow shade lovers such as epimediums, hostas, ferns and pinkflowering mounds of Geranium palmatum. From here you go through a trellis arch to the veg garden, with raised beds made from sleepers for runner beans, strawberries, peas, rhubarb and tomatoes. We’re currently growing a massive fennel too, which must be about 10-12ft tall!” When Glenna first came here it was winter. “There was one removal lorry for the house and three for the garden,” she laughs. “One plant is particularly well travelled: our rambling rose ‘American Pillar’ came from my grandfather’s garden to my mother’s, and now lives in its current position on our trellis arch. I can still remember it growing at my grandparents’ house – it’s lovely to have the same plant in my own garden. It’s a real family heirloom.” The area with the circular lawn used to belong to Glenna’s neighbour Pat. “I used to help her with her garden when she became poorly,” says Glenna. “Then when she passed away six years ago, she left it to us in her Will. We’ve kept it on as a quiet, tranquil, open space in tribute to her.” The lawn is edged with a smart box hedge. “We bought the entire hedge for just £25,” says Glenna. “I’d helped to build a display at RHS Tatton Park Flower Show for the Cottage Garden Society and the plants were going spare afterwards. It’s amazing what you can squeeze into the back of the car when you’re determined!”