PUBLICATIONS

Issue 47 - Winter 2008

EDITORIAL - Bring on the wildlife

A recent MORI poll in the UK found that 70% of people were anxious to attract wildlife into their gardens; this year a new strategy for all RHS gardens was launched which included a wildlife friendly agenda; in the autumn, it is no coincidence, that the BBC’s latest garden makeover series was called ‘Going Wild in the Garden’. With modern farming methods, gardens no longer play a secondary role, but a primary one, as a habitat and feeding ground for wild fauna. This is borne out by the BUGS (Biodiversity in Urban Gardens) research which, as we point out in the following pages, takes the wildlife issue beyond simple shibboleths like planting nettles to attract one type of butterfly.

There are times when one could be forgiven for thinking that flowers, especially annuals, are just not designer enough, however popular with the birds and the bees, so it is with great pleasure that I bring them into the centre of the picture with a description of ‘pictorial meadows’, a new planting style developed by the plant scientist Nigel Dunnett. We will all get the opportunity to meet Nigel when he speaks at our seminar in February alongside three other fantastic speakers, Sarah Eberle, Paul Cooper, and Julie Messervy.

Trees of course are the cornerstone of the natural world and I am glad to say that Angela Binchy, who talks about the glory of trees, and Tig Mays, who describes an inner city and a suburban woodland garden, can not get enough of them. Our ALCI award winner, Patricia Tyrrell, describes an equally fragrant feast for the nectar guzzlers in a piece describing a parish centre garden in Killiney. Finally Sarah Hallahan is still having problems with slug hate, an issue which has her pondering the nature of life and the universe.

If you don’t already realise it, I hope that, on reading these pages, you will feel that every garden designer has a responsibility to encourage clients to be supportive of biodiversity. I also hope that this is just a beginning of the debate; designs, I am sure can be minimalist and contemporary, and still be wildlife friendly. Do any of you know of examples?

Finally, I should point out that we have a change of Editor. I am taking over from Tig who did a fantastic job on the magazine and will be a hard act to follow. I am very grateful to Brian O Hara for assisting in the enterprise and I appeal to all our readers to send in emails if they have comments, news items, or stories about gardens that they want to share.

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