The Cotton Traders Greener Future Garden

The city centre garden is imagined as a space for a downsizing retiring couple who like to get out into the countryside. They choose to use their outside space for parking, relaxing and pottering.

The garden is planted to be attractive all year around, and to attract wildlife, especially butterflies. There’s even a small clump of stinging nettles, Urtica dioica, essential food for the caterpillars of red admiral, painted lady, comma and tortoiseshell butterflies.

All the surfaces are permeable to help with urban water run-off and to prevent urban flooding. There is rainwater capture too via a rain chain into a small pond that may overflow into the two adjacent planting beds.