Rustling End - a garden with a wild side
Julie Wise, a former air stewardess, has created a garden retreat at Rustling End in Hertfordshire where wild flowers and cultivated plants grow happily together. Here is how it all began...
My rose-tinted spectacles...
When we bought our cottage from Knebworth Estates in 1992 we were offered the rental of a nearby three-and-a-half acre pony paddock; a great idea, we thought and I, wearing my rose-tinted spectacles, pledged to transform it into a flora rich meadow.
The site was once a primary meadow but had since been used to grow cereal, for pig rearing and finally for pony grazing. My research established that I needed to reduce the fertility of the soil to encourage wildflowers and reduce the grassy swards, docks, nettles and creeping thistle.
In the early days we simply cut the meadow for hay and removed it. I would wade through the tall grass trying to spot wild flowers - a few patches of self heal, common knapweed and meadow buttercup grew at the southern end but to the north nothing. To create more interest we would mow winding paths through the grass. The route was changed each year to allow the ground to recover and often new species arrived as the shorter grass allowed them to seed. We also added a bench - somewhere to sit for sundowners.
So where were all the wild flowers?
Near the cottage were three existing meadows, one already a SSSI (site of special scientific interest), and I dreamed of having our meadow full of Devil's bit scabious, Lady’s smock, Bird's-foot trefoil, Pignut.
By 1999 I was beginning to lose patience and considered harrowing the meadow and resowing with a wild flower mix. But the following spring brought a break through - I spotted something purple poking above the grasses and went to investigate. I discovered a solitary orchid, which was identified as a Green-winged orchid by local botanic noter Trevor James. Our orchid is featured in Trevor's book Flora of Hertfordshire, as the furthest west ever recorded in the county. It stayed for six years then disappeared. The meadow was spared from harrowing though - when an orchid appears you must be doing something right.
No species have been added to the meadow apart from a small amount of hay from one of Herts and Middx’s meadows containing some yellow rattle, to help reduce the grass strength, and Red bartsia. The meadow is now considered important enough to be a County Wildlife Site. It contains 72 different species. We also had 17 species of butterfly identified last year including marbled whites, meadow browns, holly blues, small blues and skippers.
In 2007 we purchased the meadow and are now busy restoring the hedgerows. We created a scrape for amphibians, renovated the public footpath and dug a new wildlife pond. Our sundowners bench is now accompanied by a Rajasthan tent purchased on a visit to India a couple of years ago.
Rabbits, deer and hares have also helped reduce the grass strength and rarely eat the wild flowers although the orchids have occasionally had their heads bitten off - muntjac, I suspect.
I was born not far from our cottage and have seen the county become increasingly built up. Saving a little piece of our countryside for the local flora and fauna has been frustrating but very rewarding; it is my favourite part of our garden.
My top tips
- Be patient, primary meadows are ancient and have been grazed/managed over many years. It will not be a flowery paradise overnight - think of it as a legacy. It is still pleasant walking through grass; many butterflies lay their eggs on grass stems and birds such as barn owls hunt in long grass for voles.
- Walk your meadow often with wild flower book in hand; new species arrive all the time.
- Rabbits, hares and deer can help reduce the grass strength for you by their nibbling.
- Mow paths
- Place a bench, table and chairs or tent for picnics so you can use your meadow.
- Make sure all the mowings are removed and rake up any left after hay removal.
- If you have grazing animals allow them to graze the aftermath or mow and pick up, this is usually carried out in the September time here.