Large eco-friendly garden with wildflower meadow and wildlife pond in Berkshire
This beautiful large eco-friendly garden area was created for a rural residence in Berkshire. Our client wanted to create a natural haven in their large garden for birds, butterflies, amphibians and other species. Using our garden design, natural landscaping and native planting expertise, we created a large wildflower meadow and informal wildlife pond.
There was already an old pond in the grounds of our client’s property, but the pond had been poorly installed and was leaking. It was also located in a shaded area under trees. This meant there wasn’t enough light for wildlife to thrive and the pond was full of leaf litter from overhanging branches.
Living pond design and landscaping
We filled in the old pond and built a brand-new pond in a more suitable open and sunny location. When a pond is in good health it will provide a rich and varied environment for plants and wildlife to flourish. The pond was dug deep enough to minimise overheating, with varying levels and, most importantly, a shallow side and shingle beach to give easy access for wildlife. The pond also has a concealed circulatory system to keep the water in a healthy condition.
This pond design includes a suspended seating deck which we built over the pond and within the wildflower meadow. Decking over a section of a pond like this provides some valuable shade for wildlife and wonderful close-up wildlife watching opportunities for our client.
Sustainable wildflower meadow
A pond doesn’t work in isolation, and the meadow here is an important adjacent habitat, helping wildlife to move between the areas. A meadow is an open space without shrubs or trees which has a natural ecosystem of native grasses and wild flowers growing together. A tall grass meadow is more suited to larger spaces as it can reach a height of over two metres. A short grass meadow would work well around a building or a small outdoor space. In this garden, taller native wildflowers and grasses create a semi-secluded area for the seating around the pond. We also introduced mown paths to invite exploration in this large eco-friendly garden.
Pond planting
We selected a variety of different types of plants from submerged and floating, to emergent and marginal. This creates and diversity in the pond for wildlife to hide and live in. The planting in and around the pond also creates the optimum level of light for the pond.
As well as attracting an abundance of wildlife, the new pond and surrounding meadow has become a wonderful place for our client to spend time, relax and enjoy nature.
At Artscape we have many years’ experience in creating wildlife-rich gardens. Our specialist wildlife garden design and build services can include natural ponds, water features, wildflower meadows, butterfly and bee borders, hedgerows, living green walls and eco-friendly landscaping. Whether you want to see more birds or just encourage as much wildlife into your garden as possible with your own nature reserve, we can help.
