Via the NGS book, The Yellow Book, we had the opportunity to book a weekend up in Sheffield to explore three gardens, owned by members of the “Sheffield School of Planting” who have been encouraging the use of wildflowers and wildlife mixed borders for years now. In particular they have been encouraging local authorities to take a fresh look at their parks and verges, with the emphasis on planting or sowing for wildlife and in many cases reducing maintenance budgets.
The leading figure in this movement is Nigel Dunnett and it was to his garden at Bramble Wood Cottage we made our way first, as it was the furthest from the city centre. As we drove around the Sheffield area we could see the influence of this planting movement.
Nigel met us part way up the pathway that took us through the sloping front garden and welcomed us then explained what his garden was all about and what it meant to him. The planting here was to set the tone for what was to come behind the cottage. Native plants and wildlife friendly cultivated plants intermingled to present soft gently planted borders both sides of the path.
The back garden was a large sloping garden with mature woodland area at the very top which gradually became more cultivated as we moved towards the cottage.
To get the full effect of the garden I will create a gallery of some of the photos taken during our visit. As usual just click on the first photo then navigate with the arrows.
So from Bramble Wood Cottage we drove back into the city and found our next garden situated half way up a steep street of brick-built terraced houses.
greenbenchramblings 
2 replies on “The Sheffield Gardens – Part 1 – Bramble Wood Cottage”
Wonderful. I more and more think that ‘taste’ is one of our greatest challenges. Half of the country wants a bit of healthy, wildlife friendly, abundance while the other half still want things spick and span. A local wilding group wanted to enrich a huge cemetry in our town but there has been much opposition from those who want their loved ones to rest in a tidy space.
There are some wonderfully ‘wilded’ churchyards in Herefordshire – truly inspirational places. They feel alive with wildlife in such a gentle way. Restful peaceful places which seems so appropriate!