The Wildlife Habitat Garden

The new Wildlife Habitat Garden evolved from the original Butterfly Garden created 20 years ago. It has been designed as an ornamental representation of the park with some of the various wildlife habitats created in the same way you could in a normal garden.

Divided into different habitat types and areas: Dragonflies and Amphibians; Bats and Moths; Beetles; Garden Birds; Butterflies; Reptiles, and Bees, and has been planted accordingly. The garden will attract a huge array of insects and small birds as it matures and evolves.

The chalk mound provides the specific habitat required by Blue butterflies, rock piles to encourage basking lizards and bug boxes and log piles to encourage Stag Beetles and over-wintering bug life. Bat boxes will provide roosting sites for these small mammals.

 

Two meadow areas have been planted with several hundred native wildflower plants to form a Bee Meadow and Butterfly Meadow. These are adjacent to a large pond surrounded with native plant species to encourage Dragonflies and Damselflies.

A Bird Bank alongside the garden is covered with large shrubs for nest sites and planted with Teasels, Thistles and garden perennials with seedheads that are both ornamental and potential food sources for birds throughout the autumn and winter.

Spring bulbs include dwarf Iris, dwarf Narcissus and Muscari. Spring perennials include Pulmonaria, Helleborus and Euphorbia. Summer flowers include Astrantia, Sedum, Verbena, Solidago and Salvia species.

Fragrant shrubs to attract Bats and Moths include Daphnes and Viburnum,  and climbers such as  Passion flowers.

Find out how you can attract wildlife into your garden by watching this interview with Pensthorpe‘s Head Gardener, Imogen Checketts and BBC Springwatch presenter Chris Packham in Pensthorpe‘s newest garden.

As the garden prepares itself for its first winter there is still so much colour and form out in the garden.  See the latest winter pictures of this, Pensthorpe‘s newest garden, by visiting our news page.