Where do you get inspiration for the garden?

At Sizergh, we have to make sure the garden is planned with important working documents such as the Conservation Management Plan and the Gardens Management Plan in mind. People such as myself, the gardens team, gardens consultants, and historical specialists all get involved with creating and implementing these.

I also take inspiration from new horticultural techniques or plant trials that are shared by people from organisations such as the RHS or from various horticultural societies.

Which flowers do you like best in the garden?

One of my favourites has to be the flowers on the magnolia tree in the South Garden, beside the topiary yew pyramids. Also, I’d say rather than flowers, the acer trees in the Rock Garden are another favourite. I particularly like the shapes of the twisted branches in winter, the young fresh leaves in spring, the textures of the leaves in summer, and all the various bright fiery colours in the autumn.

What tips do you have for other gardeners?

Rather than collecting all the fallen leaves in autumn/winter, let them sit and become a natural mulch on any bare soil in your borders. This is something that we have started doing at Sizergh, as it helps to make sure the soil doesn’t get damaged by the Winter’s harsh cold and wet. Plus, it is very beneficial for insects and wildlife.

I recommend leaving a patch of your lawns at home to grow long, or add wildflowers, as it is highly beneficial for pollinators. Don’t cut down all of your herbaceous plants as not only do they offer great winter structure, it means insects can overwinter in the stems and birds can feed on the seed heads.

Which is your favourite part of the garden?

That’s a tricky question but probably the Rock Garden. It’s such an important historical garden space and it’s the largest limestone rock garden that the National Trust owns.

I also really like the set of outdoor steps where Erigeron (Mexican fleabane) grows in all the cracks and crevices – it's a fantastic sight to behold when they’re all flowering.

What steps do you take to keep it 'tidy' whilst being wildlife friendly? What are your future plans for helping wildlife?

We are looking to invest in a hot water weedkiller machine for our paths and gravel surfaces in the gardens which is a much more sustainable way of working, as instead of any glyphosate products or machines that require fuel, we can utilise harvested rain water. We mow paths through our wildflower and long grass areas as it gives a neat finish and invites people into the space.

As Bertie is relatively new in post, the following questions were passed on to one of the Gardeners at Sizergh, Chris:

What wildlife do you get currently?

A range of birds including the local specialist hawfinch. The garden and wider estate is also a stronghold for Marsh Tit. We also get wetland birds on our garden ponds including Mallard, Moorhen, Little Grebe, Kingfisher and Grey Heron.

We occasionally come across great crested newts, palmate and smooth newts using debris and the limestone rocks as hibernacula throughout the garden. More common amphibians including toads and frogs may be found using similar hibernacula. There are of course small mammals around the garden including voles, mice and shrews.

How do you attract/look after the wildlife?

We use sustainable horticulture practices and are as organic as possible in our approach. This means the soil health is sustainably maintained and provides healthier plant growth and greater invertebrate populations.

If clearing debris from sluices or ponds we try to leave the debris close to the edges of these waterbodies for at least 24 hours to allow any invertebrates or amphibians to escape back into the water. The watercourses and pools throughout the Rock Garden provide drinking water and bathing opportunities for birds and other wildlife.

To avoid encouraging rats into the garden, we don't supplementary feed birds in the garden. However, we leave winter seeds heads on herbaceous perennials and fern fronds in the Rock Garden for winter interest and for the benefit of birds. We have twenty bird boxes attached to trees and buildings around the site, where the early nesting birds will start nest prospecting in early spring.

Winter mulching of garden beds also provides a source of worms for ground feeding birds. A hedgehog house has recently been constructed which will be placed in a peaceful spot of the garden.