In the garden
• We use no pesticides and hope by doing so natural predators within the garden will lessen the impact of invertebrates such as slugs, snails, whitefly and greenfly.
• We use no weed killers. Everywhere is hand-weeded giving the garden a more natural appearance.
• We have separate leaf mould and compost bins in several places in the garden for holding our own collected leaves and compost. The contents are used to mulch and suppress weeds or to feed the soil.
• We leave some standing decaying wood for fungi,
invertebrates and birds as well as some lying decaying wood both in heaps or occasionally as whole trunks.
• Fresh wood is used to make seats, edge paths and any excess is dried and used in the wood burning stove in the house.
• At least 3 trees are planted in the garden to replace any that have fallen naturally or have been extracted.
• We provide a variety of nest boxes for garden birds.
•We feed garden birds and Red Squirrels year round.
In the propagation area
• We use 100% peat free compost.
• Where possible we re-use plant pots given to us by local residents and re-use bought in pots.
• We supply some native plants for sale which are important for native insects and birds.
• We use no chemicals in the greenhouses.
• There is no form of heating in the greenhouses.