Biodiversity and Garden Style
It’s often assumed that if you plan your garden with biodiversity in mind, you’ll have to sacrifice on style. This absolutely doesn’t need to be the case.
There are many, many beautiful plants that are also good for wildlife – both native British species and others from Europe and the Northern Hemisphere. At the Royal Parks, when planning our ornamental planting we try to get a balance of these, as well as some of the more exotic species and horticultural cultivars that visitors love.
We’ve drawn together a series of resources to inspire you to help nature thrive at home - whether you have a windowsill, a balcony or a garden. From creating a meadow-in-a-box to filling your borders with pollinator planting, there are many ways in which you can bring wildlife to your home, school or workplace.
Help Nature Thrive’s Marketing and Communications Officer Alex Rainford-Roberts has lent her expert advice on garden design to produce these fabulous resources. Alongside her work at The Royal Parks Alex runs her own landscape design business, designing gardens and public spaces across London and the South East. She has won multiple competitions for her work and has designed a garden for the Hampton Court Flower Show which won a silver-gilt medal. Alex has a particular interest in eco-design and the creation of gardens that promote biodiversity, which drew her to the work of Help Nature Thrive.
What can you do?
Why not think about how to design a garden that is both beautiful and wildlife friendly. It could be as simple as potting up some pollinator-friendly plants for a splash of colour by your front door, through to creation of a wildlflower meadow in your back garden, or making a mini-pond.
Click the links below to download print-at-home resources for ideas and how-to guides for bringing pollinators and other invertebrates into your outdoor space.
