|
READ MORE ARTICLES....
How to Create a Wildlife
Friendly Garden - BBC Easy Gardening
Growing the 10
Best Plants for Wildlife in your Garden - BBC Gardens Illustrated
A Flavour
of April in your Wildlife Friendly Garden - Country and Border Life
The Rural Craft
of Hedgelaying in Dorset - The Countryman
Managing your
Garden in October - Country and Border Life
The Historic
Welsh Gardens of Plas Tan y Bwlch - The Countryman
Looking after
the Bees in your Garden - Daily Express
Making Wildlife
Ponds the Easy Way - Daily Express
Wings over
Mull - a Centre for Birds of Prey - The Countryman
A New Garden for
Wildlife with Butterflies in Mind - Butterfly Conservation
The
Wildlife Art of Ian and Richard Lewington - Limited
Edition Magazine
'I went to
Noke and Nobody Spoke' - Fascinating Otmoor - Limited Edition
Magazine
Gardening on the
Wild Side of Town - New Consumer Magazine
Peter
Parks and the Great Rainforest Project - Limited Edition Magazine
The Countryside in January - Limited Edition
Magazine
The Countryside in May - Limited Edition
Magazine
Return to Article Selection
Contact Jenny to find out more about her freelance writing |
PLAS TAN Y BWLCH - WILDLIFE MONITORING IN AN HISTORIC GARDEN
In
1992 a momentous meeting took place in Snowdonia between an enthusiastic
and knowledgeable gardener from the Midlands and a Welsh-speaking tutor at
Plas Tan y Bwlch, the Snowdonia National Park Study Centre in North
Wales. Both had the same objective – to preserve the historic beauty of
the gardens of the imposing Plas Tan Y Bwlch, thirteen acres of oak
woodland with wooded ornamental gardens below the house, but also to
enhance the wildlife attracting potential of an already outstanding
wildlife garden. Here nightjars churr above the lawns on summer nights,
attracted by the large numbers of moths, pied flycatchers nest in the
boxes set high on the oak trees, and otters roam the valley below. The
passion for the local wildlife and landscape shared by Chris Hall and Twm
Elias fired their plan of action which has resulted in this becoming one
of the best large wildlife gardens in the U.K, whilst maintaining its
undoubted historic importance.
The Vale of Ffestiniog, home to the meandering Afon Dwyryd below the
terraced gardens of the Plas, is dominated by oak woodland, once an
important crop for an area renowned for its slate quarries, and traversed
by the famous Ffestiniog railway. In recent times the woodlands have come
under the stewardship of a variety of conservation bodies and are
maintained as wildlife habitats as well as for their amenity value. This
habitat surrounds the gardens here, and when a certain amount of neglect
of the Plas estate set in after the Second World War, the local wildlife
began to move in and made the garden its own.
The rich variety of ornamental trees and shrubs that dominate the steeply
sloping terraced garden are testament to the enthusiasm of the Oakely
family, owners of the estate from 1789. William Oakely married the Welsh
heiress Margaret Griffith in 1789 and began the mammoth task of creating
an ornamental garden on a grand scale. The River Dwyryd was re-routed to
provide a more pleasing view from the house and terraces, and the planting
of Cedars, Rhododendrons, Magnolias and many other exotic species began.
The Oakely family continued to plant and expand the garden until the
decline of the slate industry on which their wealth was based. The estate
eventually passed into the hands of the Snowdonia National Park Authority
in 1968 who found a huge task before them. There was no doubt that this
historically important garden, now badly invaded with Rhododendron
ponticum had to be restored to its former glory. However, due to their
far-sightedness, and the enthusiasm of Twm Elias and Chris Hall, in 1993
the decision was made to maintain the garden and its history, but also to
encourage wildlife wherever possible. This was done in a variety of ways
including banning pesticides, leaving deadwood, allowing ivy to climb the
magnificent trees, creating tangles of bramble and other native plants in
undisturbed areas, and developing a wildflower meadow. Under Chris’s
critical eye, planting in the herbaceous borders below the huge stone
walls tends towards species and varieties known to be good insect
attractants, a system that has worked to the advantage of the eight
species of bat recorded here, including the rare lesser horseshoe. This
internationally endangered bat has a small summer roost at the Plas, and
obviously finds a more than adequate supply of moths, beetles and other
insects that it depends upon, partly as a result of Chris’ careful
choices.
Work well beyond the usual call of duty began by Chris and his part-time
staff. Monitoring all the wildlife in the garden started as a means of
keeping the Trustees of the estate up to date on progress and hopefully
convincing them that this approach worked. After all, at this stage a
huge amount of extra work was involved including the early morning bird
survey and the late night moth trapping and bat detecting. A
comprehensive annual report was produced to keep track of wildlife
developments and provide data for analysis. If this method of maintaining
historic gardens was effective, both in terms of cost and enjoyment for
visitors, then other gardens of this type could benefit greatly from the
work being carried out in North Wales.
It
soon became obvious to Chris and Twm that their joint efforts were well
rewarded, as the wildlife flocked to make this garden its home. As time
passed the eight species of bat were joined by 64 bird species, including
nightjar, goshawk and the delightful pied flycatcher. The latter, together
with blue tits and great tits, make use of the forty nest boxes around the
garden, but many other species, including greater spotted woodpecker are
encouraged by the policy of leaving rotten stumps or dead branches on
ancient trees. Ten breeding pairs of song thrush, a bird in worrying
decline, were seen in the garden in 2000. Many species of butterfly and
other insects (including a rare hoverfly) abound, and an impressive 340
species of moth have been recorded. Mammals seen in the garden include
stoat, weasel and wild polecat, and a brief but tantalising glimpse of a
pine marten occurred in 1996. Otter spraints are occasionally found.
Grass snakes and slow worms are common garden inhabitants, breeding
undisturbed in compost heaps and finding plenty of small frogs and toads
around the ponds.
Visitors to the garden enjoyed immensely seeing both the common and the
unusual wildlife as they walked around this peaceful haven with its
stunning views of mountains and oak woodland. Soon a monthly newsletter
was being produced to inform visitors of what was around, and to keep them
up to date with future work. As the garden’s reputation for wildlife
grew, the Snowdonia National Park Study Centre itself made full use of
this new facility. In 1995 the first professional training course on
Wildlife Enhancement in Historic Gardens and Parkland was held here, and
is now a well-established annual event. This training course encourages
gardeners working at all levels in nationally important gardens to make
provision for wildlife – an approach that saves time and labour costs.
Courses on wildlife gardening for the public are now an annual part of the
teaching at the Plas and many other weekend or longer courses make use of
this garden’s special assets.
For some time now it has been accepted that gardens can provide an
important habitat for our native wildlife, but the idea that a previously
manicured park with many exotic species could be at the forefront of
wildlife gardening is exciting. Visiting large gardens is a growing
national pastime and as more and more professional gardeners from large
estates and National Trust properties attend courses on wildlife
enhancement with Twm Elias and Chris Hall, it is not only the general
public who are benefiting, but our native wildlife too.
©
Copyright Jenny Steel 2017 |
