We design and create a range of greenspaces, whole gardens and planting schemes, from domestic food forests, exotic gardens, wildlife ponds, pollinator planting, wildflower meadows and more. Each project is unique and designed bespoke to suit the clients needs and specification as well as what is appropriate for the setting and wider geographical location. All of our projects consider wildlife carefully and we always include plants to benefit pollinators. Most store carbon effectively and our Edible Landscapes consider wildlife but also produce continual harvests of sustainably produced organic food for people. All our projects are special to us and some of our recent projects can be seen below:
Exotic Gardens | Food Forest Design | Wildlife Ponds | Wildflower Meadows | Pollinator Planting | Greenspace Planting
Creating EcosystemsGardens Of Eden take a scientific approach to gardening and landscape design; following advice from ecologists such as Fraser et al., (2015), we take a series of steps to encourage trophic cascades in our garden and planting designs, some of these include:
Fraser,L. Harrower, W. Garris, H. Davidson, S. Herbert, Paul. Howie, R. Moody, A, Polster, D. Schmitz, O. et al., 2015. ‘A call for applying trophic structure in ecological restoration’. Restoration Ecology |
Why Ecological Design?
UK biodiversity has plummeted dramatically over the last 30 years, according to the National Trust's State of Nature Report (2019): 15% of native UK species face extinction with 2% already extinct. 25% of UK mammals also risk becoming wiped out as well 50% of all UK birds.
When plants, insects and fungi are added; 1 in 7 of the 8400 UK species accessed are at risk of being lost completely (National Trust, 2019).
Climate change, agriculture, loss of habitat and pollution all contribute to the decline of our natives species. This risks destroying our native ecosystems, which humans rely on to provide ecosystem services (National Trust, 2019). This mirrors the 'Global Annihilation Of Wildlife' a worldwide decline in all wildlife, which scientists speculate will result in the 6th mass extinction on earth (National Trust, 2019).
Gardens; no matter how big or small can help to curb the threat of extinction. By designing gardens ecologically we can create ecosystems in our gardens and provide food and habitats for our wildlife. This need not be done at the expense of beautiful borders, ecological gardens can be beautiful and can be designed with a range of themes and colours to suit the location and preference of the client.
National Trust (2019) 'The State of Nature Report 2019'. National Trust
When plants, insects and fungi are added; 1 in 7 of the 8400 UK species accessed are at risk of being lost completely (National Trust, 2019).
Climate change, agriculture, loss of habitat and pollution all contribute to the decline of our natives species. This risks destroying our native ecosystems, which humans rely on to provide ecosystem services (National Trust, 2019). This mirrors the 'Global Annihilation Of Wildlife' a worldwide decline in all wildlife, which scientists speculate will result in the 6th mass extinction on earth (National Trust, 2019).
Gardens; no matter how big or small can help to curb the threat of extinction. By designing gardens ecologically we can create ecosystems in our gardens and provide food and habitats for our wildlife. This need not be done at the expense of beautiful borders, ecological gardens can be beautiful and can be designed with a range of themes and colours to suit the location and preference of the client.
National Trust (2019) 'The State of Nature Report 2019'. National Trust
Gardens Of Eden
Captivating gardens that provide societal and ecological functions, re-imaging the concept of Eden in our gardens and greenspaces and helping to provide the same abundance for humans and for wildlife.
Store CarbonAll our gardens help to store carbon as planting will be left to do its thing instead of being dug up again.
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EcologicalAll our gardens and greenspaces provide food and habitats for wildlife. We take care to include pollinator and bird-friendly plants.
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Provide Natural CapitalSome of our gardens produce sustainably produced, organic food for people as well as tea and medicine.
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It's not all about native?
Research undertaken by Andrew Salisbury et al., (2015) indicated that while it can be extremely useful for wildlife to include native plants in our gardens and greenspaces, exotic plants can be useful too.
The best gardens for wildlife actually contain both native and exotic plants, for pollinators in particular. The key is to have as many flowers out for as many months of the year as possible and to also provide open flowers easily accessible to pollinators (Salisbury et al., 2019). By including both exotics and natives in planting schemes, we have a much bigger pool of ecological plants to choose from which can make it more feasible to design planting to be more ecological (Salisbury et al., 2019).
Salisbury, A., Armitage, J., Bostock, H., Perry, J., Tatchell, M., Thompson, K. (2015) 'Enhancing gardens as habitats for flower-visiting aerial insects (pollinators): should we plant native or exotic species?', Journal of Applied Ecology, British Ecological Society
The best gardens for wildlife actually contain both native and exotic plants, for pollinators in particular. The key is to have as many flowers out for as many months of the year as possible and to also provide open flowers easily accessible to pollinators (Salisbury et al., 2019). By including both exotics and natives in planting schemes, we have a much bigger pool of ecological plants to choose from which can make it more feasible to design planting to be more ecological (Salisbury et al., 2019).
Salisbury, A., Armitage, J., Bostock, H., Perry, J., Tatchell, M., Thompson, K. (2015) 'Enhancing gardens as habitats for flower-visiting aerial insects (pollinators): should we plant native or exotic species?', Journal of Applied Ecology, British Ecological Society