Activelife NATURE
THE SPOTTED FLYCATCHER
GARDEN
SIMPLE AND NATURAL DESIGN IDEAS Garden designer Teresa Kennedy tells us how to follow some of the trends that appeared at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show It has been six weeks since the 2018 RHS Chelsea Flower Show extravaganza, giving us plenty of time to ruminate, digest and absorb all of the beauty and quirkiness on display. High summer is here and in between the dead-heading, watering, feeding and mowing there is time to stand back and look at how your outdoor space performs during the warmest months of the year when we tend to want it to work its socks off for our pleasure. Bringing in some of the trends and styles that featured at Chelsea back in May can enhance what you have and add a new dimension to your outside space. NATURAL PLANTING Styles were much looser. We saw woodland-
style planting, soft edges and less clipped structures. Bringing in just one multi-stemmed tree gives you the backdrop you need to create a woodland scheme. Birch and amelanchier are both excellent choices for a regular-sized garden as they don’t have a heavy canopy and by gentle pruning you can create a through-view. Underplant with ferns, spring bulbs, foxgloves and grasses, and leave everything to grow long – the less you fuss, the more natural the end result will look.
A large garden with mature trees may attract a pair of spotted flycatchers, one of the latest migrants to return from Africa. They are sparrow-sized, grey brown above and paler below with an upright stance as they sit quietly on branches waiting for insects to fly past. When prey is seen the bird flies out, seizes it and returns to its original perch. This characteristic behaviour draws attention to this otherwise unobtrusive bird. Insects up to the size of a butterfly may be taken. The nest is concealed in ivy or creepers growing on trees or walls and openfronted nest boxes are readily used in gardens. Usually one brood is reared from a clutch of four or five pale blue eggs. Like other summer migrants, spotted flycatchers have suffered a marked decline in recent years. Between 1965 and 2010 the UK population has dropped by a massive 89%. Many reasons have been proposed for this, including increased nest predation by jays and magpies, a lack of large flying insects during cooler summers, and problems in their African wintering areas. It would be sad if this lively bird was lost from our summer woods and gardens. Terry Mitcham
VERTICAL GARDENING This is a growing trend that has featured at Chelsea recently, and is brilliantly suited to a modern, new-build garden, a rooftop or courtyard. A simple way to introduce it at home is to build a wall-hung grate – a wooden frame, two verticals and regular-spaced horizontals – and use the horizontals to hang pots and baskets. This works really well in a dark and shady corner with creepers and ferns but equally your hot spot wall will offer you plenty of vegetable gardening space with tumbling tomatoes, chillies, strawberries and herbs. RECYCLED MATERIALS Yes, there was crazy paving this year - and I am a big fan. It offers a perfect setting for creeping thyme and little alpines and also allows you to keep things a little more rough around the edges. Recycling is big news at the moment. It can be surprising what you find after a root around your garden and behind sheds. Chelsea showcased plenty of large rocks, stones and tree stumps which offer architectural shaping and double up for natural seating. The perfect place to sit and admire your handiwork. www.viridisdesign.co.uk 07726 334501
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