There’s plenty for our garden volunteers to celebrate this month as the Watts Gallery grounds were awarded Gold in Guildford in Bloom’s Nature Champions category. The Nature Champions award pays tribute to our nature first practice and the work our amazing team has done to increase biodiversity at Watts.
“We’re really thrilled we got a Gold,” said Chris Sharples, Head Gardener at Watts. “The Nature Champions Award is about really putting nature at the forefront of your practice, and that’s something that we do here.”
From creating new habitats to leaving areas undisturbed, the team is always looking for ways to give wildlife more space.
“Some people might see that as neglect, but actually the opposite is true. It gives the habitat and wildlife a chance.”
A recent hedgehog sighting was a welcome sign that the approach is working.
The award is thanks in no small part to the work of our volunteers, providing vital extra hands for the more time-consuming jobs and helping the team make the most of the incredible 18-acre site.
This year’s hot, dry weather has brought its challenges, particularly for newer planting. Chris explained that the sites sandy soil has meant that plants without well-established roots have struggled.
But there have been some positive standouts.
One plant that has done particularly well is the Chilean tree mallow, or flowering maple, Corynabutilon vitifolium. Visitors can see this striking flowering shrub near the entrance of the historic gallery. It was donated by Sheila, a long-time friend and volunteer at Watts Gallery, who was herself given the plant by the Head Gardener at Munstead Wood, the former home and garden of Gertrude Jekyll. Jekyll was an influential horticulturist and close friend of Mary Watts adding an especially fitting link to the plant’s story.
“It really does suit our sunny, dry site,” said Chris. After flowering back in May “it’s now coming into its second flush of flowers.”
Another successful plant this year has been Muehlenbeckia or maidenhair which has worked well as drought-tolerant ground cover.
“I’m going to be using that a bit more and planting it along some of the path edges. It’s been a real little star this year.”
Rosemary and other traditional dry-weather plants have also coped well, while some young trees have struggled simply because they haven’t yet had time to establish deep roots.
One of Chris’s personal favourites is Artemisia abrotanum, or lad’s love.
“It has this lovely, sweet kind of smell. It’s almost like an aftershave or something. It’s one of my favourites, and one that I remember from my childhood.”
As summer slowly gives way to autumn, our team’s attention turns from helping the garden survive the unprecedented summer heat to the practical work of preparing the site for the months ahead.
One of the priorities will be hedge laying around Limnerslease, plus the less visible but equally important side of gardening, the maintenance and preparation tasks essential to help shape what comes next.
After a challenging summer, it will be a chance to build on what has worked, learn from what hasn’t, and continue creating a garden where plants, people and wildlife can thrive alongside one another.