Introduction

We have been developing the garden ever since we moved to Greenacres in 1997 and you can find details of what we have done on the History tab.Today there are numerous trees, shrubs, perennials and bulbs spread around a number of informal borders with the aim of providing year round interest. There is also a large vegetable and soft fruit area.

The garden is as organic as we can realistically achieve and there is a strong focus on living in harmony with nature and encouraging wildlife. A good variety of birds including woodpeckers and goldfinches visit the bird tables. Little owls have also been in residence and this year we had a gold crest nest in the garden. We have recently started bee keeping and have a hive in the orchard. Large compost bins for garden waste and leaf mould are sited at the end of the paddock and are used to feed and enrich the vegetable garden and the borders. Deep layers of bark mulch (shredded rotted leylandii) is used as a thick mulch on borders to prevent weed growth and retain moisture. The many lime, silver birch and other native trees planted in our adjacent field boundaries external to the garden are beginning to mature to provide an attractive backdrop to the garden.

The woodland walk through the poplar and conifer trees at the rear of the garden has now been completed and adds a significant new feature to the garden with its 'woodery' (well what else do you call a rockery made with wood rather than rocks!), a shaded seating area and a bug hotel.

Please look at the charities page to understand one of our motivations for opening our garden and to see where the money raised will go.