Team Wilder BS5 Garden St George in Bloom

Grenville Johnson and his partner, Alan, live in one of the most inspiring gardens ever – for wildlife and for people. The benefits of joy, fun and wellbeing stand out profusely, as well as intentions to create space for wildlife, which is also embedded into the benefits. This reasonably small, urban garden uses every nook and cranny, with a well thought out plan to maximise these essential and beautiful benefits. 

Local areas have also been improved for wildlife and people, gardens are celebrated via St George in Bloom, trees and plants have been added to their street, plus various rewilding projects on the local park entrance, near a shopping centre and various patches of land nearby.

To celebrate Grenville’s family being at this house for 120 years, an amazing wall mural was created by the extremely talented Gage Graphics – what an inspirational and important message...

Grenville’s views (in his words) about gardening, horticulture and looking after nature are:

• We as humans are part of nature’s cyclic and recurring patterns. We need to remind ourselves of this important factor in order to try to live in harmony with nature.
• Take the opportunity to watch nature at work and learn about its patterns and cycles.
• Gardens and wild or natural spaces should be places of beauty and tranquility.
• There is no reason why streets in built up urban areas should also be part of this important value.
• Gardens and spaces should capture the imagination, raise spirits and feed the soul.
• These spaces have tremendous capacity to assist our health, wellbeing and recovery.
• The main elements of planting should encompass colour, pattern, texture and form. Nature has these capacities in huge abundance.
• Use the elements of site and sounds to learn about natures patterns.
• Be prepared to take risks within gardens and learn from them.

In 2004, the Kensington Road Residents Association was formed and added to the St George Neighbourhood Partnership. They wanted to promote the green agenda and encourage sustainable practices to benefit the residents and local wildlife. 

Kensington Road Residents Association created their group, received funding from Tesco's, created a constitution and opened a street bank account to help one another improve their gardens. Regular emails are sent to keep everyone in touch and share wildlife sightings and tips. Get-togethers were arranged via street parties, to help celebrate work and support the residents by sharing advice, plants and gardening help. The street was also tidied up through the removal of scrap cars and general litter. 

Beautiful Rowan trees were added to the street through obtaining permission from the council. Trees bring so many benefits to urban areas - cooling the temperature, reducing flooding risk, multiple wildlife habitat, food source and shelter, plus aesthetically pleasing, raising spirits and happiness levels. 

The majority of plants are growing in large pots or containers and are either shade loving, or they supply food sources for bees and other pollinating insects.

These includes a Gothic Folly with a large stone front, a Stumpery and Fernery, an Italianate Garden, a water feature, a rocky outcrop, classical statutory, a seating area, dining area, a woodland glade and wildlife habitats and provision for urban birds with nesting boxes.

Grenville passionately believes that urban gardens should be havens for wildlife and they have the capacity to raise the spirits and feed the imagination and soul. They should be places of ‘garden theatre’ that take you from here and now, and allow us as humans to reflect and reconnect with nature.

Grenville loves to create colourful exciting and exotic planting schemes in the garden through the use of colour, pattern, texture and form in plants, and he calls this ‘Painting with plants’.

Sometimes a wildlife garden is considered 'messy' and 'unkept'. A wildlife garden is still maintained and can look however it makes you happy and the time spent on maintaining your garden is up to you. Grenville's garden is stunning, well planned, exciting, enlightening, practical, joyful and also encompasses many benefits for wildlife, shattering some disbeliefs about wildlife gardens. 

• Container gardening for wildlife
• Dry Gravel Garden
• Bee hotels
• Bug hotels
• Birdboxes and bird feeders
• Stumpery
• Mini Pond
• Water features at different heights
• Pollinator friendly plants and native wildflowers
• Vertical gardening
• Peat free
• Pesticide free

ADVICE: Gardening is a physical activity. Know your limits!

In 2005 Grenville setup then RHS affiliated group ‘St. George in Bloom’ that has won top RHS awards, encouraging local residents in BS5 to share their gardening pictures, knowledge and support to celebrate gardening. The three core aims of the group are:

1. Horticultral excellence
2. Community participation
3. Environmental responsibility

RHS awards: Gold Pennant 2014-16, Silver for Best Urban Entry 2015, Silver National Finalist 2016, 'Outstanding Its your Neighbourhood'. Grenville's garden was also a significant feature at RHS Hampton Court.

An Awards Ceremony is held for the featured gardens from St George in Bloom, including local allotment plots from Bristol East Allotment Association. The awards are inclusive of everyone and are a celebration of all aspects of gardening, catering for everyone's needs and tastes. It is a huge privilege and opportunity to learn from others and celebrate action that has been taken.

This unique inner-city garden has been featured on national television and in several books, and gardening magazines. These include the book ‘Dream Gardens of England’ published by Merrell and also the book ‘First time gardener’ by Frances Tophill a co-presenter of BBC's ‘Gardeners World’.

It was chosen by Alan Titchmarsh as one of the best British back gardens and featured in the television series, and the garden was also featured on BBC's ‘Gardeners World’.

RHS Hampton Court

Several years ago, Grenville and Alan’s street was featured at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show at the launch of the RHS Greening Great Britain (then called 'Grey to Green Britain'). They cleverly included a ‘grotto street’ with no community pride, nature or life – it was grey, deprived and deserted. After walking through this, the contrast and importance of streets like Grenville’s highlights what urban streets have the potential and power to create. to this day, Grenville is still showing what urban streets can and should include, benefiting people and wildlife.  

The house fronts had different themed gardens & bike stores and wheelie bin stores with green roofs. A wildflower area was also included with a planted area to help to remove urban pollution and car emissions. Thermal imagining cameras under the trees showed how street trees help to cool the urban environment.

Nature knows no boundaries – a bird will view the area as a whole, not limiting its visits to specific gardens. This is why it is good to view your garden as a bird (or whichever wildlife you wish to attract) and see beyond your property. Wildlife needs green corridors to travel, survive and thrive.

Not only has Grenville helped to improve habitats in his street, as well as setting up St George in Bloom, he has also branched out to local community spaces.

• St George Park entrance
• Billboard site, Church Road – funding was obtained from an RHS Grant and local traders
• Foundation monument, near St George’s public Library
• Kingsway Shopping Centre planters

Plus reaching thousands of people at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show, as well as press through receiving awards and various local events. Grenville will inspire anyone he meets! His passion and values for wildlife gardening is genuine, knowledgeable, motivating and fun.

By getting involved with the local community, everyone has the opportunity to get involved, share and learn. This increases community spirit as well as creating valuable habitats for wildlife and a more attractive and sustainable environment for people.