April Tour of My Wild Welsh Garden

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:03]Shwmae pawb. Hello everybody. Croeso, welcome to my wild Welsh garden. My name's Isabel and this is my garden at the top of the Swansea Valley in South Wales in the UK.

[00:00:15]And it's halfway through April. So, what better time for a garden tour?

[00:00:21]The weather's not brilliant, but there's no good weather in the forecast. So, I think if I'm going to do anything, I just have to get out whatever the weather and get on with it. So, that's what I'm going to do.

[00:00:35]Those of you who've been following me for a while must know your way around this garden quite well by now.

[00:00:42]Uh I'm standing by the back door just looking at this amazing pieris, which I have to say is nothing to do with me. It was here when I came and I don't do anything to it. I don't prune it. I don't feed it. Yeah, it just just grows and grows.

[00:00:59]And unfortunately, the magnolia stellata has gone over and most of the flowers have disappeared now.

[00:01:08]But there's more azaleas coming out.

[00:01:10]There's two red azaleas.

[00:01:12]The salmon pink azaleas have gone over.

[00:01:15]But I thought we would start as we did last time out at the front with the wildflower meadow.

[00:01:22]I'm sure the plants in the wildflower meadow have grown at least all the 2 in since the last time I filmed them.

[00:01:31]There's still no flowers apart from the primroses and the forget-me-nots.

[00:01:36]But you know, one thing does just strike me is as the plants grow up, people aren't going to be able to see my sign.

[00:01:49]So, I think I'm going to have to move it a bit nearer to the edge.

[00:01:55]So, we're back at the back door under the azaleas.

[00:01:59]There's a lot of self-seeded primroses in the garden and a lot of this dog violet that just gets everywhere.

[00:02:08]And don't they look lovely together?

[00:02:11]And if I if I back up, this is the wheelbarrow planter that used to be a wheelbarrow pond, which was a total failure.

[00:02:23]And the plants are looking looking quite settled in. So, yes, I'm hoping that this is going to work.

[00:02:31]Everything else is the same. The deadwood is still there.

[00:02:36]And there's a little bit of a container garden going on here.

[00:02:41]And these are pots of mint.

[00:02:44]Yes, I finally got around to repotting the mint after oh several years.

[00:02:50]And then what we do, time-honored fashion, is go up the steps and onto the main part of the garden.

[00:03:09]There's the old mangle that I bought here.

[00:03:12]All the pots that I put there, they were just pots that I I had already and they've gone over. So, I've taken them away and I'm just trying to decide what to put on it for the summer really.

[00:03:24]But this is the the view from the back door. And at the top of the steps, there's a hazel arch that I made from hazel poles that I pollarded from the hazel tree that I've got over the road.

[00:03:38]And it's got various things growing up it and uh over it. There's a rose on each side.

[00:03:45]And then over the top is a honeysuckle copper beauty, which is evergreen.

[00:03:52]And the heart that I made from the cornus stems the other day is hanging from the arch.

[00:04:03]The honeysuckle is actually planted to grow up the trellis, which is on the right as you go up the main path.

[00:04:15]And at the other end of the trellis is another honeysuckle, a different variety. I'm not sure what it is, but it has little orange flowers that are just about to come out.

[00:04:29]And then just tucked into the trellis is a tin full of raspberry, old raspberry canes chopped up for the insects.

[00:04:41]To the left of the main path up the garden, there's a series of little flower beds.

[00:04:48]This used to be lawn when I first came 8 years ago all the way up to the greenhouse.

[00:04:54]And the idea was that this garden was going to be an old like an old cottage garden, not a garden full of flowers.

[00:05:03]The idea that we have that a cottage garden is a a garden sort of full of flowers is a bit of a fallacy really because the old cottages used to use their gardens to grow vegetables.

[00:05:16]They'd grow a few flowers and particularly herbs that could be used in cooking.

[00:05:22]But cottage gardens in the olden days were primarily for growing was going to be. It was going to be like an allotment outside our back door.

[00:05:35]But then I decided I didn't want all the vegetables and so I turned them into flower beds.

[00:05:41]And then when I decided I was going to wild my garden, I started to take out the non-native plants that really didn't benefit wildlife very much and replace them with native ones.

[00:05:56]And the reason for that is that I don't just want to provide food for the pollinators, the adults, in the form of the flowers, but I also want to provide food for other insects and also for the caterpillars.

[00:06:12]And they need the leaves of native plants.

[00:06:17]Cute little tulips.

[00:06:24]And I've only just cut down all the dead stems from the winter.

[00:06:30]Some of the stems I put on the bug snug and some I bundled up and just tucked in this um space between the trunk of this cherry tree and a piece of standing deadwood that I've just leaned against it.

[00:06:46]But some of the stems I've decided not to cut down at all.

[00:06:51]And that's because these can still be used as habitat and homes.

[00:06:56]So, there's lots of stems here for creatures to use if they want to.

[00:07:03]And some of the dead stems I've tied to the trellis over there. And I've also tied some to the trunk of the silver birch tree.

[00:07:17]On the trellis, there's a lovely red rambling rose called Rambling Rosie.

[00:07:23]And then there's a sort of shrubby honeysuckle, which is red and cream colored. And this is where the sparrows like to gather and congregate and squabble with each other.

[00:07:36]And at this end of the trellis, there's a climbing rose Gertrude Jekyll.

[00:07:41]Well, when I pruned it in the spring, I I did something a bit different. I bent over those long stems that it sends up vertically and made a sort of heart shape out of them.

[00:07:57]And look at the number of shoots that there are coming out of this stem that I bent over.

[00:08:04]So, I'm looking forward to lots of flowers this summer.

[00:08:09]There's a rose arch with two different roses growing up one each side.

[00:08:15]For a long time, it wasn't an arch. They were sort of they didn't meet in the middle, but now they do. So, it's a proper arch.

[00:08:23]On the left is what I call the secret garden cuz you can't see it from the back of the house.

[00:08:30]And this has the swing seat where I sit and just watch what's going on.

[00:08:36]And in the honeysuckle to the left there, there's a blue tit box with a pair of blue tits in.

[00:08:50]But I don't think I'm going to be sitting in there drinking my coffee today because it's really perishing cold.

[00:09:00]And this is my view from the swing seat.

[00:09:06]This bed in the center of the garden has the tiny forest.

[00:09:11]I made this just over a year ago, the winter before last. I planted about 25 little trees in here.

[00:09:19]So, this is their second season. So, they should start growing. And this is a bit of an experiment because tiny forests are supposed to be the best way of increasing biodiversity in a small space.

[00:09:33]>> [snorts] >> So, this is an experiment really to see if it would work in a just a small garden, a small suburban garden.

[00:09:40]And a few people have said to me, "Well, how are you going to manage them as they grow?" And uh well, yeah, the answer is I I I really don't know. So, um but I'm going to have fun. I'm going to have fun while I'm experimenting.

[00:09:54]And And in addition to the tiny trees, there's all sorts of volunteer plants and wildflowers and weeds that have found their way in there.

[00:10:09]There's last year's raspberry canes.

[00:10:12]And there's a standing deadwood structure in the middle hiding behind the pear tree.

[00:10:18]And there's blossom, lovely blossom on the pear tree.

[00:10:22]And last year's teasel heads.

[00:10:26]And the perennial kale.

[00:10:30]So then we go up to the very top of the garden past the greenhouse.

[00:10:34]I'm not going to go in there today because it's uh there's not much going on in there. But we go up past the pond bed, which is now the pond bed and the bog garden bed, of course.

[00:10:46]And I just want to show you my native hedge, which I am so pleased with. Yes, if you've been watching me over the past few months, you'll know my anxieties.

[00:10:58]I laid this hedge. This hedge was about uh oh, I don't know, 12 ft tall.

[00:11:04]And I laid it during the winter and was so worried that I had uh killed all the little trees.

[00:11:11]But no, they've all greened up. I'm so pleased with it.

[00:11:17]Because it's looking so thick and interesting. And I'm sure this must be almost suitable for birds to nest in.

[00:11:28]And there's quite an impressive uh patch of flowers from one of the bird cherry trees.

[00:11:35]Yes, if only the sun would come out. I'm sure the insects would enjoy these.

[00:11:40]And all these little trees are native trees. So again, they're all the the food plants of our native insects.

[00:11:49]And it's so important to cater for the insects in a wildlife garden. Because they are the basis of the food chains.

[00:11:58]Uh they're the sort of the bottom of the pyramid.

[00:12:01]The foundations. And of course, if you get the foundations right, then the whole structure is safer.

[00:12:09]And in front of the hedge, there's rhubarb.

[00:12:13]Last year's raspberry canes.

[00:12:15]Couple of fruit bushes. Some raspberry canes, summer raspberries.

[00:12:20]Autumn raspberries behind. And more of last year's raspberry canes behind that.

[00:12:26]And if you're wondering why there's so many of last year's raspberry canes that I've stood up around the garden, it's because yet again, homes for insects, particularly a little solitary bee that likes to use them to lay its eggs.

[00:12:43]Just pause to look at the view from the top of the garden.

[00:12:48]It's just amazing how much the garden changes in a short time at this time of year.

[00:12:55]The garden is looking completely different than it did when I did the tour in March.

[00:13:02]And this is the pond with the hibernaculum just behind it.

[00:13:08]The sparrows bathe on the hibernaculum, if you've been watching my my videos.

[00:13:13]And uh they'd almost flattened it. So I put some more sand on top of it, and they've started to flatten it again.

[00:13:20]Yes, the sparrows have been out and bathing on it. I've tried to creep up on them, but they're not for being filmed.

[00:13:28]But uh I think you can see they've already started to excavate little holes. And if you're wondering what on earth is a hibernaculum, it's basically somewhere for creatures to hibernate, to spend the winter.

[00:13:43]It's a an underground structure that I made a couple of years ago.

[00:13:46]And there's two entrances on this side and two on the other.

[00:13:51]So then we go along the path at the top of the garden to the potting shed.

[00:13:59]Past the bog garden.

[00:14:03]With small deadwood.

[00:14:05]That's a piece of oak that I pinched from over the road, from the woodsman over the road.

[00:14:12]And this I'm not sure what this is, but it's an old fence post that came down the river in one of the storms during the winter.

[00:14:20]And then there's more deadwood leaning against the shed.

[00:14:24]And another climbing rose.

[00:14:27]And the bog garden is looking suitably boggy.

[00:14:31]You can see how I'm uh directing water straight from the shed roof.

[00:14:37]So that whenever it rains, the bog garden gets filled up.

[00:14:42]And all the plants that I planted are looking reasonably happy. They're all growing. Apart from the sphagnum moss, which is looking decidedly unhappy.

[00:14:52]Uh but we'll see.

[00:14:56]The cherry tree is coming into flower.

[00:14:59]Leaning against it is a another bit of deadwood, which actually came from the tree. That was a branch that was sort of overhanging the pond and shading it and dropping its leaves into it.

[00:15:13]So I I chopped it off in the winter.

[00:15:15]Well, I didn't. I got a bloke to do it for me with his chainsaw. And then I just leaned the branch against the tree.

[00:15:22]Yes, it's just beginning to flower.

[00:15:26]I'm not sure this is much good for wildlife because the flowers are double.

[00:15:31]So I don't think they produce any pollen and nectar.

[00:15:35]But underneath it over there, there's quite a number of habitat piles made from stones and wood and twigs and all sorts of things. And some more dead stems from last year that I haven't cut down. I've just left.

[00:15:58]On the right here are the veg patches that I'm turning into permaculture beds.

[00:16:04]I'm not going to go into any detail about these cuz I think they warrant a video of their own, really. That and the what's going on in the polytunnel.

[00:16:18]Another pause.

[00:16:20]Just to look at the view from outside the potting shed.

[00:16:30]So now we go down the left-hand side of the garden towards the hawthorn arch there.

[00:16:37]Past the bug snug on the right.

[00:16:39]And some autumn raspberries on the left.

[00:16:44]There's a blackthorn tree growing up this side of the arch, which hardly flowers. I think it's had about half a dozen flowers on.

[00:16:52]And never never fruits. Never produces any sloes.

[00:16:58]And there's a hawthorn tree on this side of the arch, which hasn't really flowered yet, either. And hasn't produced any fruit.

[00:17:09]But I can see that there's lots of flower buds coming.

[00:17:13]So hopefully it will be in full flower for the for the May garden tour because hawthorn blossom is also called May blossom.

[00:17:23]And then we go through the arch and onto the meadow.

[00:17:28]This is the view from the summer house.

[00:17:31]I'm afraid the dandelions are all closed up.

[00:17:35]Yes, they open up in the sunshine. So of course, there's no insects for you to see.

[00:17:44]The sweet peas are growing furiously up the willow obelisk there.

[00:17:56]And this is what the meadow looks like from the other side.

[00:18:02]I will be cutting a path up the middle.

[00:18:05]I don't cut the sides at all until the end of the summer.

[00:18:08]But I'll be cutting a quite a wide path up the middle to the arch, to the hawthorn arch and to the summer house.

[00:18:19]And there's some more things I made with the corner stems the other day.

[00:18:25]And there's the bee boxes, but there's no um there's no male bees hanging around waiting for females today. Yeah, I think they're hiding away somewhere out of the rain.

[00:18:38]More of last year's raspberry stems.

[00:18:41]And again, this bed is a mixture of non-native herbaceous plants.

[00:18:47]Different sorts. And some wildflowers, some native plants.

[00:18:51]Lots of geraniums. More geraniums than you can shake a stick at.

[00:18:57]And this is the other side of the azaleas and the magnolia stellata.

[00:19:03]And then we go down the little path to the wood shed and the side garden where the polytunnel is.

[00:19:12]Past the new pond, which isn't so new anymore.

[00:19:16]And the sort of wild long grassy area that surrounds it.

[00:19:24]Lovely marsh marigold flowers.

[00:19:28]In the basket there, those are the plants that I rescued from the wheelbarrow planter.

[00:19:34]Uh and I couldn't think what to do with it. So I've just put them in there for now.

[00:19:40]Pulmonaria here, which is usually uh very attractive to the bumblebees.

[00:19:45]But like I say, it's a bit too cold and a bit too wet for them today.

[00:19:50]And I've been wondering what to do with this sort of wild grassy bit.

[00:19:55]Uh should I cut it down or should I just leave it? Leave it and let the new grass grow up through it.

[00:20:02]Yes, I'm I'm not sure. Um I think probably what I might do is cut half of it and leave half of it. So cut the side nearest the path and leave the grass over the other side.

[00:20:17]And the reason why I've left this area like it is, um I planted grass because it's the larval food plant of so many of our native butterflies.

[00:20:29]And I've left it long all winter because this is just an amazing place for so much wildlife to hibernate and to overwinter.

[00:20:38]But the winter's over now, it's spring and uh yeah, I'm just wondering what to do with it.

[00:20:45]Up there is the side garden. Um there's the compost heaps down the side of the polytunnel and another long grassy area which I'm not going to touch. I'm just going to leave that.

[00:20:57]And we won't go into the polytunnel again today because I was there in the last video uh when I was putting up my green stalk planter. So, if you're interested, you can always go and uh and you haven't seen it of course, can go back and watch that one.

[00:21:13]And then we go back down this the slope to the back of the cottage where we started.

[00:21:25]Here we are, back where we started.

[00:21:28]And uh it's just beginning to rain, so I think I'm going to go in and get warm and have some lunch and uh yeah, so thanks for joining me. Thanks for coming on the tour and I'll see you in the next video.

[00:21:42]Bye.

[00:21:43]Well, farewell.