Flower-filled wildlife haven
This plant-packed plot is full of nectar-rich flowers and welcomes all creatures great and small – even hungry ducks! Jim and Brenda Collins tell us more
With its impressive veg patch, wildlife pond, overf lowing borders and climbers galore, this charming plot is the epitome of an English cottage garden. “We moved here in 2007 but spent the first two years working on our house,” explains owner Jim Collins, who lives here with his wife Brenda. “The house was formerly two cottages knocked into one, with a traditional red-brick pig cot to one side that used to house the neighbours’ pigs. “After renovating the house we turned our attention to the garden,” says Jim. “It was a neglected ‘gardener’s garden’, where the soil had been cultivated for about 130 years. We now have about a foot of decent, slightly acidic soil that’s perfect for planting roses. But when we arrived here there had been two very hard winters down to -18C (-0.4F), which had damaged many of the plants. “Our first thought was to create a decent veg garden,” says Jim. “I had to build the beds high off the ground to protect the crops from rabbits, and use mesh cages to protect vulnerable fruit and veg from hungry birds and butterf lies. Now we have 18 sleeper-edged elevated beds and a central runner bean tunnel made from metal arches, all separated off from the rest of the garden with a row of espaliered apple trees.” Crops include a full range of fruit – from apples to strawberries and currants – plus vegetables supplemented by peppers and tomatoes grown in the greenhouse. “We feed half the village!” jokes Jim.
The couple excavated their large wildlife pond at around the same time, creating planting areas for moistureloving candelabra primulas, Dierama pulcherrimum (angel’s fishing rod), Iris ensata, foxgloves and fluffy pink Sanguisorba hakusanensis ‘Lilac Squirrel’. “We now have a broody duck living there,” says Jim. “She’s laid 11 eggs and I think she’s eaten all the frogspawn. When we had tame ducks before, we found that the ducklings do tend to nibble at everything to give the leaves a try.” Jim and Brenda had been assured that a nearby bamboo they’d inherited was not one of the invasive kinds. “Though of course, it was,” says Jim. “After getting rid of it, we created a circular patio in that spot and built a circular pergola around it overlooking the pond. It’s the ideal place for growing wisteria and clematis.” The garden’s main f lowerbeds are laid out on an east-west axis to give views across the length and breadth of the garden. “To frame the views we’ve created a wisteria tunnel with three pink, white and blue wisteria plants on each side,” says Jim. “Then, right in the centre of the garden, is a leafy grove with a large terracotta pot spilling over with pink fuchsia f lowers.” Within this formal framework the planting itself is relaxed, colourful and exuberant. “Our tree-peony bed is a riot of colour in summer with pink and cream Paeonia lactiflora ‘Bowl of Beauty’ and lots of phlox and yellow hemerocallis,” says Jim. “Another bed overf lows with honeysuckle, Astrantia rubra, Digitalis lutea, purple salvia, lilac scabious, catananche (cupid’s dart), eryngiums, orange daylilies, pinkf lowered hostas and veronicas.” As well as the wisteria tunnel, Jim and Brenda have installed several structures to accommodate their collection of climbing plants, including seven rustic rose arches and a number of metal obelisks too. “We like a bit of height,” Jim explains. “Nowadays we’re more into the ramblers and climbers than shrub roses. Our yellow rambling rose ‘Malvern Hills’ scrambles around the garden on ropes. It offers almost year-round colour, flowering to the frosts, but needed taming last year when it started rampaging around the pig cot.” Clematis clamber round the couple’s covered wooden gazebo. “We have a collection of around 60 clematis in the garden,” says Jim. “Our favourites include deep purple cultivars ‘Jackmanii Superba’, ‘Étoile Violette’ and ‘Amethyst Beauty’, as well as mottled ‘Tie Dye’, reddish-purple ‘Yatsuhashi’, rosy ‘Dark Eyes’ and silvery ‘Samaritan Jo’.”
“We now have a broody duck... She’s laid 11 eggs and has eaten all the frogspawn”
At ground level, alpines are another passion for this plant-loving couple. “We grow lots of tiny plants with green leaves and dainty pink flowers,” says Jim. “The collection includes dierama ‘Tiny Bells’, ipheions, saxifrages, corydalis, lewisias and Ledebouria cooperi.” The garden’s sunny borders are full of nectar-rich plants such as lilies, roses, heleniums and nectaroscordum to draw in the bees – Jim has spotted seven different types! “We also have three large bird feeders and enjoy regular visits from goldfinches, great tits, long-tailed tits and great spotted woodpeckers. We also have a merlin, which is unusual. But like the ducks and rabbits, it’s a mixed blessing, because he took one of the woodpeckers. Still, it’s important to share the garden with wildlife and we wouldn’t have it any other way.” ✿