New lease of life turns legacy garden into wildlife haven

Last modified: 06 April 2009

Painted lady feeding on buddleia - Steve Round

When the RSPB inherited the long-term derelict Tea Gardens at Flatford Mill several years ago, the wish was that a 'haven for wildlife' be created at the site. 

That vision will move a step closer this summer as the wildlife charity investigates plans to create a place where nature can thrive and where local people and visitors can relax, be inspired and enjoy the natural surroundings.

The garden is very close to Flatford Mill on the River Stour, famed for its connections with the artist John Constable, in particular his painting The Hay Wain.

The RSPB hope that the plans to revitalise the garden will provide an additional benefit to the area's existing visitors, who will be able to stop by the garden free of charge, be enthused to create their own wildlife gardens at home and see nature at it's best in a tranquil English setting.

The new RSPB garden at Flatford Mill will be used to teach, inspire and demonstrate

The importance of domestic gardens as 'homes for wildlife' has never been more important.  Pressure on our green spaces and development creeping into areas previously left for nature, means that our much loved garden creatures are finding shelter and sanctuary increasingly hard to come by.

The RSPB's Homes for Wildlife project is designed to inspire people to make a real difference for the wildlife that shares the open space closest to them - their garden. It aims to help a range of wildlife, including familiar birds that have seriously declined. The new RSPB garden at Flatford Mill will be used to teach, inspire and demonstrate how you can utilise the space at your disposal to most benefit wildlife.

It will demonstrate how you can do as much or as little as you like. From a few potted plants on a balcony, to putting up a nesting box, to installing a water-butt and planting trees in a garden – everything will help. The top ten RSPB Homes for Wildlife activities are:

• Provide seed mixes, particularly sunflower hearts and millet-seeds for house sparrows and starlings
• Provide plants/shrubs of different sizes, shapes and ages
• Grow a range of plants
• Provide flowering plants as a source of nectar for butterflies and moths
• Grow plants attractive to insects in tubs and planters
• Retain dead flower stems and heads over winter
• Maintain any beds with a good layer of ground cover, shrubs and herbaceous plants for song thrushes and blackbirds
• Provide a nestbox or build your own for small birds
• Provide dense, thorny bushes for cover for song thrushes and blackbirds
• Prune trees, shrubs and climbers during January or early February.

It is hoped that this summer the site will open to the public visiting Flatford, to show them the initial stages of our very own wildlife garden and talk about the future development.

For more information about the RSPB plans at Flatford, please contact Joanne Hand on 01603 697517 or at Joanne.hand@rspb.org.uk