Wild Paddock home 🏡

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Consultation for creating a wildlife, ornamental and food forest garden design from a 1½ acre paddock. Provide a foundational road map, including detailed planting plans, species list and budget breakdown. Naturalistic planting with subtle symmetry & well-situated seating.

Site is east-facing with clay soil, woodland scrub to the north, neighbours to the east, road to the south, house to the west.

1. Key requirements

1. Support diversity of wildlife
2. Low maintenance & sustainable
3. Optimise aesthetics & screening

2. Features

1. Pond, clay-lined wildlife
2. Hedges, double thickness native hedge screen
3. Paths, perimeter & grass
4. Native, useful wild flowers & herbs
5. Ground cover, 80% grass
6. Edible trees & big shrubs
7. Sculpted dead hedges
8. Wild flower meadow
9. Diverse habitat for wildlife
10. Connection with kitchen garden
11. Maintain access to underground electric cable
12. Budget for maintenance!

I like gardening but I do like to do other things

2.1 Pond

• Situated to northern, lowest end of site
• Test clay on-site for suitability
• 1 metre deep, for maintenance
• No more than 30° angle
• At least 20cm thick
• Find “puddler”!
• Further reference: Clay lined pond and How to make a clay pond

2.2 Hedges

• On east side, 2m high maximum
• Double or even triple thickness
• Spiny hedging for habitat
• Native species where possible eg Cornus sanguinea, Alder Buckthorn etc See plant list
• Plant for final size & width (reduce maintenance)
• Create symmetrical plantings

2.3 Paths

• Grass paths, mowed with wheeled brushcutter
• Double mower width for main paths, single width for access
• Perimeter grass path for access & maintenance

2.4 Native

• Generally better for diversity, as co-evolved with wildlife
• Diversity of species & habitat to support diversity wildlife
• See Database of Insects & their Plant Foods for insect/plant interactions
• Almost every native plant has a practical use
• Can use native wild flowers aesthetically
• See Plants For A Future for reference, or books by Richard Mabey

2.5 Ground cover

• Non-grass ground cover expensive (£600ish per 100m²)
• So, keep 80% ground cover as grass
• Divide into 3 areas, cut on 3 year rotation
• 20% non-grass, more ornamental nearer house
• Option to convert later

2.6 Edible

• All trees are specimen trees!
• Edible &/or ornamental
• Eg Cornelian Cherry, Scarlet Hawthorn, Chinese Dogwood, Sour Cherry, Quince, Tulip Tree, Sweet Chestnut etc
• Shrubs also edible/ornamental
• Eg Chokeberry, New Jersey Tea, Sea Buckthorn, Lemonade Bush, Saskatoon etc
• Hedges & ground cover provide bulk of native plants

2.7 Dead hedges

• As feature in their own right (architectural)
• Protection for establishing hedges
• Temporary screening from neighbours

2.8 Meadow

• Ensure species rich by being nutrient poor!
• Establish specific mix & maintenance for conditions
• Scrape upper layer of top soil
• Form features from top soil
• If animals, use electric fence
• Size?

2.9 Habitat

• Pond, different levels
• Dead hedges
• Different species in hedging
• Thorny species for nesting (eg Blackthorn, Barberry)
• Standing dead wood (architectural)
• Nutrient poor meadow
• Possibly use building rubble/subsoil as growing medium
• Possibly retain stumps

2.10 Kitchen garden

• Create flow from kitchen garden to wildlife garden
• Reconfigure fencing?

2.11 Electric cable

• Ensure access to underground electric cable
• Possibly use for line of path?

2.12 Maintenance

• Ensure budget for maintenance
• Mostly weeding in first 2 years
• Mowing & pruning
• Sketch road map ahead

Files

• Latest PDF
• GitHub repository

This page online: grwd.uk/wildpaddock