Meadowsweet provided a knowledgeable and professional service through the whole process. Elly conducted a thorough site visit to assess the current state of existing grassland and was on hand to offer advice throughout, from the ground preparation and seed purchasing, to the timing and practicalities of sowing. Her enthusiasm to improve habitats for wildlife is contagious and I look forward to working with her on future projects! 

Natalie MitchellEast Cornwall Reserves Officer

    

 Elly visited to give us some advice on how to deal with a meadow that had been left untouched for many years. She identified many of the wildflowers and plants that were unknown to us and suggested how we could develop the field so that it remained beneficial for the birds and insects and other wild life while we co-existed with them. It was an invaluable visit and Elly followed it up by sending a list of wild flowers that we could introduce into the meadow and how we should maintain it to encourage diversity of plants. We would definitely recommend Elly as a true expert in her field! 

Helen & Richard PrinceSt Issey, Cornwall

     

 We recently moved into a rural village after living in a town house for all our married life. We had never had a garden before and didn’t know where to start. We just knew which plants we liked (but we didn’t know their names!) I have quite a controlling personality and knew I couldn’t live with a messy / unruly garden but I also really wanted to encourage wildlife. Simon was looking forward to working in the garden and creating a lovely outside space but didn’t want to be a slave to it! We knew we needed some expert help and guidance so turned to Meadowsweet. Elly paid us a visit and we sat with her and told her what we liked and disliked in very basic terms – we wanted to grow vegetables easily, we wanted to encourage hedgehogs, insects and bees, we like wildflowers but couldn’t cope with long grass everywhere, we fancied the idea of a small pond but not a large one and so on. Elly was able to draw up a rough sketch of the garden identifying the optimum positions for the pond, vegetable bed etc as well as suggest wildlife friendly flowers, provide us with information on how to create and maintain a small pond, advise us on no-dig vegetable beds and so much more. It has really helped us to understand the garden, solidify our ideas and start creating a garden that works for us and Mother Nature. We would highly recommend Meadowsweet to anyone unsure about where to start with an outdoor space, regardless of whether you are aiming for a formal garden, a wildlife haven or something in between. 

Simon & Rebecca StaddonRuishton, Somerset