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At a glance

Who would use this garden?
Urban and suburban homeowners, renters, or community gardeners who want to support wildlife – especially hedgehogs – while enjoying a relaxed, beautiful, and low-maintenance garden.

Where is the garden set?
The garden is situated within a larger garden in Bedminster, South Bristol, representing a typical domestic space that has been reimagined as a wildlife-friendly area and a corridor for nature.

The Garden

Welcoming Wildlife offers a new perspective on how we define the edges of our gardens – not as
barriers, but as thresholds for nature to move freely. At the heart of this concept is a curved line of hazel stakes, creating a loose, natural delineation between spaces. Rather than rigid boundaries, this garden embraces softness and openness, encouraging the movement of wildlife – especially hedgehogs – between gardens.

The planting is relaxed and abundant, with native species and layered textures, offering forage and shelter for insects, birds, and mammals. A deliberately less manicured approach to maintenance allows nature to shape the space, with leaf litter, log piles and a hibernacular, each creating vital microhabitats. This garden challenges the idea that tidy equals healthy, instead celebrating a wilder, more connected way of gardening – one that supports biodiversity and invites nature to feel at home in our urban landscapes.

Plants

The planting includes several statement and less commonly used varieties to add height, texture, and visual interest. Tall spires of Verbascum bombyciferum bring bold structure and soft silvery foliage, while Liatris spicata offers striking vertical drama with its rich purple flower spikes that attract pollinators. Geranium ‘Azure Rush’, a lesser-known but equally long-flowering relative of â€˜Rozanne’, adds a gentle lavender-blue hue and ground-hugging form, helping knit the border together.

The planting follows a loose, naturalistic colour scheme with soft purples, pinks, blues, and pops of warm yellow. This palette blends harmoniously while still offering contrast and movement. The theme centres on creating a relaxed, wildlife-friendly aesthetic – prioritising plants that support pollinators, insects and ultimately hedgehogs, while embracing a less formal, more ecologically generous approach to garden design.

Garden legacy

After the show, the Planting Pocket aims to return to Bristol to be installed within the local area, highlighting the presence of hedgehogs and what we can all do to support them. Some of the plants will also be donated to various charities and trusts that have contributed to the creation of this garden.