Garden of the future opens at Slimbridge

News – Get a glimpse into the future at Slimbridge Wetland Centre, as the popular attraction unveiled its new Rain Garden this week.

Slimbridge Wetland Centre’s fans, both old and new, will have all the more reason to visit the popular Gloucestershire attraction, as this week saw the launch of a brand new Rain Garden, which is being hailed as the ‘garden of the future’.

The RBC Rain Garden has been designed by award-winning designer Dr Nigel Dunnett to cope with periods of deluge and drought, particularly poignant as UK gardeners are having to adapt to more extreme weather conditions.

Organisers say that by mimicking some of the natural processes of wetlands, the RBC Rain Garden uses every drop of rain to service its planting beds and ponds. It features a building formed from a recycled shipping container with a living roof that slowly releases water to the garden throughout the day.

Veronica Chrisp, general manager at Slimbridge Wetland Centre, said: ‘The RBC Rain Garden is a wonderful addition to Slimbridge. This garden of the future enables us to plant an array of simple messages and ideas into the heads of our visitors as they head for home.

‘We hope that they will be encouraged to have a go and discover the multiple, practical benefits of rain gardens from harvesting rainwater, encouraging wildlife and bio-diversity and providing localised flood control. In short providing solutions even small ones to important environmental problems that affect us all.’

The RBC Rain Garden is closely modelled on the RBC New Wild Garden, which is said to be the first full-scale rain garden to appear at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, where it received a silver gilt award in May.

Over the last couple of months it has been carefully reconstructed at Slimbridge Wetland Centre using most of the original features and plants, where it will remain as a permanent attraction allowing visitors to gain tips to take home on how to garden sustainably.

For more information about visiting the centre see Slimbridge Wetland Centre Wetland Centre, call (01453) 891900 or visit wwt.org.uk/slimbridge directly.

SoGlos.com
25 August 2011