This lovely new birdbath has just been installed in the little woodland glade area between the wild meadow and the path on the Brittany Road side of the Gardens. It augments the old one which is no longer fit for purpose: it leaks badly, it’s almost impossible to keep clean, and is generally more used by dogs than birds. With the increasingly hot and drysummers we are experiencing we were keen to provide an additional source of clean water for the multitude of birds and pollinators that live in and around the gardens.

The new birdbath is a ‘Shenstone theatre birdbath and drinker’ made from clayplas, a frost proof, easy-to-clean composite of recycled plastic and clay particles. It is tiered so even small birds and insects can drink safely from the shallower areas and has been set atop an old section of tree trunk that has been sunk into the ground to give it stability.This should be high enough to be out of the reach of dogs, whilst still low enough to attract the birds and insects we hope will soon start using it.

Over the coming days, weeks and months we are planning to add some bulbs (snowdrops and hoop petticoat daffodils)and a few pollinator friendly plants (Pulmonaria, Primula vialli, Betony rosea, Geranium nodosum and Campanula lactiflora) – all shade-tolerant, low maintenance, herbaceous perennials – which will provide a source of pollen andnectar from approx. Jan/Feb through to Sept/Oct and supplement the existing shrubs and trees in this area of the gardens. As herbaceous perennials, these plants will naturally die back in late autumn and reappear in late winter/early spring.

Hopefully, this newly enriched area will bring yet another dimension to our already stunning Markwick Gardens. Huge thanks to Gina for organising and installing these new additions, with help from her nephew James. “He is a star,” she says. Gina, you are too.