“We want to show that a garden can be attractive and also wildlife friendly.”
In April, eight members of the WGG visited Bell House Garden in Dulwich. Co-ordinator Czech Conroy reports.
We were shown round by their three senior volunteer gardeners.
We were impressed by the wide range of habitats in the garden, and by the number and variety of ‘homes’ (bee hotels, broken pots, logs, rockpiles, and bundles of old stems and seedheads) for all sorts of invertebrates.
Our guides were very knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and the volunteers who manage the garden have made it attractive as well as wildlife-friendly.
There was plenty of wildlife in evidence, including three newts in a pond, four butterfly species and about 20 bird species (as recorded by the Merlin app).
After nearly three hours at Bell House Garden, most of us then went to the Dulwich Picture Gallery cafe to discuss what we had seen and learned. It was a very enjoyable afternoon – sunny and warm, despite forecasts of rain.
The Bell House Garden has regular open days on the first Saturday of the month from 11.30 am to 1 pm.