Working with nature

Informed by the surveys, a patchwork of natural and semi-natural habitats are now emerging across Bridgewater. Plants within these areas complement natural surroundings and aim to increase biodiversity, with a particular emphasis on the RHS Plants for Pollinators initiative.

Areas of the site, such as the Weston Walled Garden, will be managed as ornamental spaces, but the seeds of ecological diversity are being sown here, too. Incorporating nectar-rich flowers will bring visiting insects and by association the birds and bats that feed on them.

As well as enhancing existing deciduous woodland and lowland fen – two habitats identified as ‘at-risk’ under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan – the team at Bridgewater is introducing five other significant habitats to encourage wildlife to repopulate the garden, including meadows, ponds and a bog garden.

Some of these spaces will be purist in their approach, while others will balance ecology and aesthetics, incorporating beneficial non-native garden plants alongside native species. This diverse planting will ensure a longer window of flowering through the year and thus more food for wildlife.

One of the more traditional habitats can be found in the Orchard Garden, where a hay and wildflower meadow will surround a ‘mother orchard’ of heritage fruit trees. Such a combination supports invertebrates and birds, and especially pollinating insects.

Also within the Orchard Garden, a sensitively designed Bee and Butterfly Garden is being established. Flowering plants have been carefully selected to provide a year-round source of nectar for pollinators, from snowdrops in early spring through to autumn bulbs and winter-flowering shrubs.

In the Kitchen Garden lies the forest garden, where the team is using permaculture principles to layer edible crops with shrubs and trees to enhance productivity, as well as biodiversity. This layering naturally creates cover and offers protection for wildlife.

The beds are regularly mulched with compost and bark. While this creates invertebrate and fungi habitats, it also improves the soil’s structure, increasing its water-holding capacity and lowering reliance on the site’s water supply.

In keeping with Bridgewater’s sustainable ethos, the team is keen to work with the water on site rather than against it, implementing a Sustainable Urban Drainage system.

The site-wide strategy captures surface water, diverting it through the wet woodland of Middle Wood and a series of swales and ditches, to collect in Ellesmere Lake. The site’s car parks have permeable surfaces to collect water run-off, which is channelled to a detention pool that can hold up to 24 hours of constant rainfall.

These drainage systems slow the flow of water across Bridgewater, reducing soil erosion and flood risks, and benefitting the ecology of the garden. The stored water will be used to irrigate the Garden Centre, as well as the garden during drier summer periods.

Leading the way in Bridgewater’s sustainability effort is the Welcome Building. Ecology and efficiency combine in many of the building’s features helping to reduce its carbon footprint.