On 23 June, 2024 a new event occurred in Wellesbourne and Hunscote. More than 20 residential, business and community gardens were opened to share ideas and methods for gardening with wildlife in mind. The diversity of the gardens was greater than you might expect. They ranged from the very wild – almost nature reserve – to the very formal. Some had beautifully crafted features such as insect hotels and ornaments from salvage to enjoy. In each garden there was information about their techniques, things of interest, hidden habitats and who shares the garden with them. 

Different features could be found in different gardens – a variety of ponds, composting techniques, long lawns and wild planting could be enjoyed. Many visitors happily picked up new ideas through the day. 

Chedham’s Yard, the bowls club and The Methodist church at Wellesbourne acted as start points to pick up a map, stop for a comfort break or have refreshments. At Twitey’s Campsite in Hunscote you could find out how the land has been changing since they decided to start rewilding around five or more years ago. Warwickshire Wildlife Trust joined Chedham’s Yard for the day and managed to recruit a few new members as well as providing visitors with more wildlife gardening tips. There was a plant stall at the bowls club, and a display of container planting for pollinators put together by Rainbows (one of the Scouting Groups) in the Methodist church garden. 

A little over £750 was raised, £250 of which went to Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. The other charities were the Warwickshire Hedgehog Rescue and the Heart of England Forest. One of the participating gardeners made and sold some hedgehog homes too, raising further funds for the Hedgehog Rescue.

The Open Gardens for Wildlife demonstrated the beauty in biodiversity and how wildlife can benefit from our gardening methods.