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At a glance

Who would use this garden?
This garden is designed to be used as a refuge for wildlife in our inner cities. The gullies mimic natural riparian zones and the planting will provide much needed homes and food.
Where is the garden set?
Set in a waterlogged new-build garden, this pocket will capture and store surface water runoff from existing infrastructure. Creating a wonderful habitat for a wide variety of species and enabling the user to enjoy the rest of their garden once more.

The Garden

Go with the Flow is a reaction to our wetter winters and the worsening flooding happening around the country. Overloaded rainwater systems go on to overwhelm water treatment plants and these storm surges cause the release of untreated or partially treated sewage into our waterways.  

The garden presents an attractive alternative, designed as a plug-and-play system where existing drains and downpipes can be rerouted through planted gullies. Native plants channel water through the gullies, which flows into small catchment pools then onto a bog garden, a haven for wildlife.  

The spoil from the excavations is used to create drier zones, extending the variety of planting and therefore attracting a greater number of species.  

Plants

The planting is inspired by the diversity found within riparian zones and the beauty of our British waterways. Riparian zones contain the greatest rage of biodiversity and our planting will celebrate these changes within a small space. 

Light and airy banks planted in swathes of grasses and flowers will direct water down through the lightly planted gullies into richly planted bog garden through capture pools. The colour scheme is very natural, inspired by British waterways, with lots of verdant greens, whites and yellows, pale pinks, blues and purples.

Key plants: Lythrum salicaria, Molinia caerulea, Carex pendula, Leucanthemum vulgare and Betula pubescens, all of which provide homes and food for our native caterpillars. 

Garden legacy

This garden will be donated to , located on the banks of Willen lake, Milton Keynes. It is the designers hope that the garden can be enjoyed by its patients, their families and its hard working staff and volunteers. 

With thanks to:

, which will be the home for the pocket; , who is helping look after the plants; , who helped and supported in the early stages of the design.