I read this fabulous piece of news that hedgehog numbers are increasing in urban areas (although not as great news that rural numbers have still dropped.)
Your average person’s knowledge of hedgehogs’ habitats has increased due to brilliant education around creating ‘hedgehog highways’ between urban gardens to allow hedgehogs to roam throughout the night.
Hedgehogs can travel up to 12 miles per night, so our urban or suburban walls and fences make this really tricky for them. We always design in hedgehog highways into any fences, walls or boundaries that we design – these small factors can make a huge difference.
Pictured is the bespoke fencing our team built for the Gardeners’ World Live, which featured hedgehog highways before that was a familiar phrase.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/22/hedgehogs-britain-urban-city-recovery-aoe
This month’s Garden Design Journal, which is published by the Society of Garden Designers, interviewed me about industry issues, how I became a garden designer and where I take my inspiration from. I also talk about how recently I’ve been taking inspiration from Michelin starred chefs who use seasonal produce and pioneering techniques.
What have I been reading?
I’ve just read about a new campaign, which is a partnership between The RHS and The Wildlife Trusts to help people encourage wildlife to their gardens.
This year’s campaign focuses on swallows, swifts and martins, which are sadly all in decline. There is lots we can do in our own gardens to encourage these birds and provide them with a habitat, nesting materials or encourage the insects that they eat.
Find out more from the campaign here:
https://www.wildaboutgardens.org.uk
