Creation Of A Woodland Garden

In 2000 on the east side of the house at Abbeywood, I decided that I wanted to
create a woodland garden. With my husband we went into this area of unloved
woodland to see what it would entail. There were a number of mature pine trees,
1 purple beech, a selection of Oaks of differing sizes and shapes, holly bushes and
mountain ash. On the floor there was a carpet of Ivy, brambles and bracken. We
then had to decide which trees would stay and which had to go. This was the first
job that David did. All the of the Mountain Ash where taken out as none of the
specimens were of any great substance. All of the Holly bushes were also removed,
except the one nearest the house, as every Winter it is smothered from top to
bottom with berries.

The next part of the clearing process involved the removal of carpets of ivy from
the ground and also any growing up the trees. We felt a surge of guilt as we knew
full well what an important ecosystem Ivy is, during the Winter it protects the soil
from frost and snow cover, giving foraging birds the chance to keep feeding. It
also provides a home for small animals and insects. The Spring ripening berries are
high in fat, though are poisonous in large amounts. The flowers in the Autumn are
an important source of pollen and nectar for insects, moths and butterflies. It also
provides shelter for birds to build their nests, and for bats to roost in during the day.
There is however some Ivy on the side of the house and also on an outbuilding,
which we have made a pact to leave. Bracken was then pulled and brambles
stripped out. It was at this point that the area was barren, we saw few birds and
only ground loving insects, there was no shelter or food sources.

The next part of the development of the garden was the creation of the plant beds.
The sandstone found around Abbeywood was used as the borders, there was no
point buying anything in when we had this natural resource lying all around us.
We had also seen, that once aged, it would soften with a covering of mosses and
lichens. I then started to plant these beds up, not always with proper preparation!
I wanted to use interesting trees and shrubs, with some conifers for all year colour.
I then started filling in with perennials and bulbs. I particularly like Spring so put in
lots of plants that would be flowering then.

Slowly as the garden started to evolve we noticed the number of insects and birds
visiting the garden increasing. In the past couple of years, which is a decade since
we started the garden we have had some really exciting visitors, some whom have
made their home here, others who have only passed by. Toads and frogs seem
to really like rooting round in the leaves and edging stones. We frequently find
hedgehog poo, but never see the culprit! During 2011 we also had Common lizards,
who were very photo obliging. Baby grass snakes have also been in the garden.
Butterflies, moths and dragonflies all come in to feed on the flowers. Another first in
2011 was Bullfinches taking the seed of the Geranium phaeums, one of my favourite birds that I hadn’t seen for years. This in some ways makes us feel our decision to commence the work in the woodland and transform it into a woodland garden in cheshire was right, and who knows what wildlife may visit in years to come.