Projects
Wildflower Meadows, Wildlife Ponds & Ecological Horticulture
in Devon & Cornwall
Newton Ferrers & Noss Mayo, Padstow & Rock, Salcombe & Kingsbridge, Dartmoor & Bodmin Moor
Here's just a small sample of the wildflower meadows, wildlife ponds and pollinator friendly projects we've undertaken over the last few years across Devon and Cornwall.
Small Estate, Newton Ferrers, Devon
Remember the lake stream and associated planting beds that we installed last year? It really is starting to look beautiful and growing fantastically! I can’t wait to show you more pictures in the coming weeks.
Machinery Preparation, Devon
We have been making investments into our machinery, our Iseki TK532 tractor has had a lot of love recently with his forestry cage, worklights and lots of brackets and strengthening for his new front loader.
This will allow us to safely undertake larger (small scale) agro-forestry work scopes in partnership with his 3.5 tonne rear mounted forestry winch and blade.
The front loader (not fitted above) will allow us to work more efficiently on larger projects moving materials around.
Calstock, Tamar Valley, Cornwall
We’ve built this shed to fit behind this mini greenhouse on a plot in the Tamar Valley, it’s been a good project with a clear roof and glazed gable end so that we do not block any light into the greenhouse as well as having a good workspace inside the shed.
Plant Nursery, Tamar Valley, Cornwall
We have partnered up with one of our local plant nurseries and have two hives there currently with the bees working away already.
Small Estate, Tamar Valley, Cornwall
A new location for us we started over winter getting to grips with the extensive woodland here that has needed a lot of ash felling and trees made safe.
After pruning the older apple trees, preparing vegetable beds and a separate fruit garden we have now moved on to the gardens within the immediate grounds of the house.
Starting from the bottom up we have given the stream fed pond attention and above we have dug out a bed, brought in tonnes of compost by hand and have now replanted in a more natural, ecologically conscious and native planting scheme which will give year round interest with shapes and structures as well as colours, yet need less maintenance and watering once established.
Cottage Wildflower Meadow, Newton Ferrers, Devon
A neighbour of one of last years larger projects asked us for a beautiful wildflower meadow of their own but with a differing colour scheme. After de-turfing the area we rotovated and raked in tonnes of sand to reduce the fertility before a combination of a wildflower turf core surrounded by a seeded area using our own mix.
We can’t wait to see this develop in the coming months and year!
Traditional Tamar Valley Orchard, Cornwall
We had several days working on the beautiful Harewood Estate at the end of winter, the orchard had not had any TLC for a decade or so and we were glad to be working upon its local and historical apple varieties.
We carefully removed overlapping branches and thoughtfully opened up their interiors to allow more airflow to remove the prospects of disease. We will return next year to continue our work slowly and with the health of the trees as our paramount thought.
Wildflower Meadows, Newton Ferrers, South Devon
We had several schemes on this beautiful small estate including native wildlife hedging, a moorland themed formal garden (bedding in, in the picture above) and 2 acres of wildflower meadows surrounding that.
In the meadow seen above we installed pre-grown wildflower turf after de-turfing, rotavating and raking in tonnes of sand to reduce the fertility of the soil. As you can see we get an amazing, diverse and species rich result 2 months after planting! The butterflies, bees and birdlife have been exceptionally happy!
Wildflower Meadows, Newton Ferrers, South Devon
In the meadow seen above we de-turfed, building a bank with the 20 tonnes of green waste generated and then raked in several tonnes of sand to reduce the quality of the soil. We then sewed our own mix of native wildflower seeds. There is a longer development time than pre-grown wildflower turf, and it will need more care within the first year as it establishes, but it has given us a wonderful result at the end of this summer and will continue to get more spectacular as it develops.
Can you spot two very happy and productive beehives right at the back?
Dartmoor moorland themed formal garden, Newton Ferrers, South Devon
This beautiful small estate tucked away in South Devon offered the perfect opportunity for a moorland themed garden around a stunning converted barn and 2 acres of wildflower meadows surrounding that.
Lake stream, small pond, bog and borders, Newton Ferrers, South Devon
Another project area within the small estate with the beautiful barns was this lower valley area, working around an overgrown and steeply banked stream that runs out of a small lake.
I’m really looking forward to sharing this with you when it has all bedded in!
Woodland wildlife pond, stream, bog and glade, Newton Ferrers, South Devon
Another project area within the small estate with the beautiful barns was this small woodland pond and stream, adjacent to the old well. Digging out the sludge within the old pond, relining this and the stream we then partially cleared the bank behind, to find and restore an old field drain, before an intensive weed and then planting the area out.
I’m really looking forward to sharing this mix of native and subtropicals with you when it has all bedded in!
Wildflower Meadow creation, Newton Ferrers, Devon
Another new wildflower meadow in Newton Ferrers, Devon for 2023, this shows it a couple of months after planting out as pre-grown wildflower turf. It will continue to develop and become even more stunning through the summer and onwards!
This was quite a logistical challenge with steep access and steps down the side of the house through the more formal gardens and lawn above. It was worth all of the effort though bringing this slice of diversity and beauty into the heart of one of our favourite villages, just look at the view down to the river..
Pollinator friendly formal garden, Newton Ferrers, Devon
Entrusted with the Newton Ferrers vicarage garden we are tending carefully with pollinator friendly additions.
Scrub land to allotment, Calstock, Tamar Valley, Cornwall.
This was heavily overgrown and a mass of brambles at the start of the year. We cut, cleared and then sneaked the tractor in with the rotovator. The raised beds we made in house by welding them up in 2m sections and had them galvanised for that bright finish and long lasting life, the earth within is partially from levelling the site & digging the pond and partially from our locally supplied compost. The crop and quality for this first year has been enormous.
The pond is deep enough to dangle your legs over the side on a hot summers day but has a shallow ramp for access and egress on the opposite side for any mammals needing a water source. It was teeming with water boatmen two days after it was dug, birds and bees are often seen drinking from the pebbles in its shallows!
Wildlife pond and wildflower meadow restoration, 100 acre estate, Cornwall.
This 100 acre small country estate tucked away in central Cornwall offered a great opportunity for an advanced rewilding project. The owners had already started to work on the biodiversity within their meadows by cultivation stopping and regular grass cutting ongoing.
Our part in the project was creating habitat that isn’t found on this land already (no still water, only flowing streams) by building two wildlife ponds and one big natural swimming pool with wild flower edges that will spread further into the meadow, in addition to planting native pond and bog plants.
Beekeeping, 542 acre Country Estate, Cornwall
This 542 acre country estate centred around a 19th Century Manor House in mid Cornwall had a single bee hive which we took over the care of. We’ve worked on hive health & population over the year and ended up with 3 healthy colonies and a delicious honey harvest.
Another interesting project on this site has been the introduction of a few acres of native bog plants in a changing flora site where the owners have introduced beavers!
Eco friendly Holiday Cottage Hamlet, Bosinver, Cornwall
This Cornish holiday farm offers 20 gardens, all organically and eco consciously managed. Plenty of shrubs flowering around the year give a great food source for insects, underplanting and regular mulching from the farms own compost heaps has created healthy borders and a full display for the visitors.
Wildlife garden project, historical Coastguard House, Cornwall
This Coastguard Watch House built in the 1800s has beautiful sea views. This client has had the idea to turn her formal garden into a thriving wildlife garden. By creating a pond, wildflowers edges, pollinator friendly garden borders, fruit tees and fruit hedging we have transformed the site and given it a sustainable ecosystem.
Pollinator friendly garden, Riverside Rectory, Cornwall
This riverside Rectory is now a family home with a terraced garden facing the river. The garden offers a beautiful balance of wild flowers, pollinator friendly and ornamental perennials and shrubs.
Within the time working here we have rebuilt and improved a water feature, created a Japanese style garden area surrounding it, in addition to the creation of an all season flowering bulb underplanting for their established pear tree and increasing the diversity of wildflowers in the rest of their orchard and meadow area.
Wildflower meadow patch and habitat creation, Newton Ferrers, Devon
A small garden and very much loved by its owners who have their focus on wildlife and habitat creation.
We have designed and created a small wild flower area as well as creating a small pond offering a breeding ground and habitat for mammals.
Designer Garden, Noss Mayo, Devon
A project we were commissioned to design a planting scheme for. This was to include a perennial wildflower meadow, an edible meadow & food forest, native hedging and contemporary pond.
We use the latest industry standard design software for our work, to help plan, quantify and visualise your dream.