Plantwild: The Pollinators Sanctuary Garden

The garden

Plantwild: The Pollinators Sanctuary Garden is a low-maintenance border for busy, nature-minded people who want to welcome more wildlife into their space.

At its centre, eight sculptural bee towers create a strong visual rhythm, while charred deadwood, interspersed throughout, illustrates how plants support wildlife not just at their most attractive, but throughout their full lifecycle and decay. A small gravel pond provides a safe water source for visiting creatures.

The natives are the real stars of the show and the garden includes a range of native and naturalised plants in different colours and forms, including Campanula rotundifolia and Achillea millefolium sitting beautifully alongside more traditional herbaceous perennials and grasses. The planting includes blues, pinks, purples and whites, with flashes of crimson. With a focus on pollinator-friendly and drought-tolerant species, many plants are also enthusiastic self-seeders, allowing the garden to evolve over time with minimal maintenance.

Plants supplied by: Plantwild

The designer – Darren Gillingham

Darren is a garden designer and gardener based in North Bristol, dedicated to ‘Bringing Nature Home’ by transforming domestic plots into biodiversity powerhouses. With a focus on sustainable, peat-free practices and planting for pollinators, he is committed to supporting native wildlife and mitigating climate change from the ground up. His aim is to create resilient, wildlife-friendly havens that balance ecological needs with natural beauty, turning gardening into a life-affirming act of conservation.

The garden legacy

The wood frame will be returned to Bristol Wood Recycling Project for reuse. The cobbles will return to Somerset Reclamation. The plants and any remaining materials will return to Plantwild to create small areas of biodiverse habitat around the site.