The story of Flatford Garden begins with two sisters; Sylvia and Margaret Richardson. The sisters were well-liked in the village, and ran a successful tea room on the site for many years. Their love of nature was epitomised in the garden they tended for the benefit of wildlife and later bequeathed to the RSPB for the benefit of everybody. In the intervening years, the garden became overgrown and neglected, so the RSPB in honour of the wishes of the sisters designed a new garden to maximise biodiversity on the site while providing access to the public to enjoy the riches of the garden.
RSPB's first wildlife garden opened to the public in June of 2011. The new garden, rich with wild flowers for Britain's declining bees and butterflies, also included a young orchard, planted for the diverse range of species supported by mature orchards.
Winding paths with benches gently guide visitors through the many attractions of the garden, with the aim of inspiring similar diversity in their own back yards. To further this aim, the next phase of the development of Flatford Garden was to further inspire and educate visitors on the importance of creating wildlife-friendly gardens by constructing a single-storey, Suffolk barn-style building in which to engage visitors in all weathers.
The new barn would include interpretation of the site, including the story of the Richardson sisters and the construction of the garden, space for education in propagation and garden maintenance and a library of gardening books.
Valencia Communities Fund is proud to support the construction of the barn, which officially opened on 6 September 2012.
Bridge Cottage (C) Paul Farmer
