Restoring Banham Gardens

Written for Mia Witham, ZSEA Head of Horticulture. She discusses her vision for the future of the Gardens at our park in Banham.

Mia has dedicated her life and livelihood to the positive impact that nature can have on improving mental health and wellbeing. She has joined us at ZSEA to restore the plant life at Africa Alive Zoological Reserve and Banham Zoological Gardens to their full potential, with an emphasis on sustainability, inclusivity, and developing community relations.

Applying these principles throughout her projects, developing trails and interactive displays throughout the park, she will encourage visitors young and old to develop a love of planting and nature.

“Work with the land, not against it”

One of the first projects that Mia is getting underway is the development of a sensory spiral maze at Banham Zoological Gardens. A previously under-utilised area adjacent to the tropical house has been selected for this venture.

The entrance will be flanked by welcoming perennial plants, providing beautiful colours, and attracting butterflies and other pollinators to the project. Then, using the existing vegetation as a backdrop to encourage further native nature, a spiral of tactile ornamental grasses will lead visitors on a journey to a centre sculpture. This space will provide visitors with an area to rest, encourages education, and highlights the positive impact that beautiful natural areas can have on mental health.

Another exciting project that Mia is developing is a way of utilising one of the by-products of animal conservation, manure.

Currently, at Banham Zoological Gardens, any animal waste is collected by Greenways Recycling, a local recycling firm. Mia is intending to reach out to local learning institutions to collaborate on the best process and practices to turn what is essentially waste, into compost that can be used throughout the site.

Mia plans to let the park grow and develop throughout the seasons, working with the existing flora where possible, without the need to replant entirely. This builds upon the focus on sustainability which will underpin her work.

She hopes that her projects will appeal to a broad spectrum of guests and that they will provide lots of opportunities for the community to be involved. Stay tuned for the next issue of “We are ZSEA” to find out what else she has in store for the parks.

Autumn planting

Whilst the height of summer may be when we want our gardens to look their best, Mia cautions against planting currently as any new additions will need a surplus of water to survive. In early autumn, the soil is moist and warm, which makes it perfect for establishing plants before winter sets in. She suggests waiting and investing in next year’s blooms.

Bulbs

Bulbs add such value to any garden with its early spring flowers. As soon as bulbs become available, invest to ensure you have a good range to choose from. Planting takes place in the autumn typically October and November for most bulbs. They do not like wet soil, so make sure you plant them in a flower bed with good drainage. Dig the bed over and incorporate some organic matter before planting the bulbs; pointed end facing upwards and at a depth roughly three times the width of the bulb.

Trees and hedges

You should not prune hedges during bird nesting season typically between March to August.

Larger plants such as trees, hedges and specimen shrubs should ideally be planted during tree planting season which runs between November and March and is generally when a tree is dormant. You must not do any planting when the ground is frozen or the temperature is below zero.

Maintenance

If you plant plants in the right place, in the most favourable soil and with the correct aspect, then maintenance requirements will be minimised significantly. Take your time to plan your garden and do not just buy the prettiest plant in the nursery without knowing the ideal place for it. Work with nature and not against.

If you have unhappy plants then that is usually a sign they do not like it where they are. If this happens, you can either dig them up and move them to a new location in the autumn, or remove it all together. Keep an eye out for plants that self seeds in your garden as these are clearly very happy in their location.

Do not cut back all flowering plants in the autumn to the ground. Unless they look really messy leave them over the winter months as they provide homes and food for wildlife and can then be cut back in early spring.