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.

Estelle Bailey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust’s Chief Executive, says:

“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.”

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

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.

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