About
Wildflowers and talks to help you create your own nature haven. Inspired by my garden on an urban street in Exeter, where wildflowers now grow and wildlife finds a haven.
My ordinary, urban garden has evolved into a life-enriching wilder space filled with wildflowers, where bees, butterflies, ladybirds, hedgehogs and birds are just some of the wildlife finding food and shelter.
You can do this too! Or maybe you already are? That’s the joy of coming along to my plant stalls, talks and workshops in Exeter: meeting like-minded souls and supporting each other.
My wild garden was inspired by books, childhood memories of nature in Exeter’s green hinterlands and a desire to do something tangible to help reverse the biodiversity crisis in my home city.
Following on with an RHS diploma (commendation), working in organic flower-growing, garden maintenance and therapeutic horticulture, I started a small wildflower nursery to help get more wildflowers into other local gardens.
My garden wildflowers: peat-free, pesticide-free and supplied plastic-free
Starting a wildflower nursery
During Covid Lockdown, I imagined growing wildflowers could be a brilliant way to help garden wildlife: providing food for caterpillars as well as being rich in pollen and nectar. Designed by nature, wildflowers have a delicate beauty that blends with other plants while being resilient in a changing climate. Visiting Grow Wilder in Bristol showed me that people were happy to try planting wildflowers in their city gardens. Could something similar work in Exeter, on a small scale? Could wildflowers help nourish a connection with nature in our gardens, where it’s needed now more than ever? I started sowing seed in my 6x4 garden greenhouse…
All of my plants are grown in Soil Association-certified peat-free compost, without any pesticides, and sold in biodegradable packaging including pots made by a woman’s co-operative using renewable materials.
Giving talks and sharing ideas
Experiencing the joy of nature right outside the backdoor inspires me to share stories and ideas with people of all ages: if I can do it, so can you! We’re living in a biodiversity and climate emergency but at this pivotal point we can make tangible, life-enhancing changes.
I hope my talks help you feel that creating your own wild space is at your (green) fingertips.
Part of the community
Lou’s Wild Garden is based in Exeter’s local community where so much is happening to create a sustainable, compassionate future.
My wildflowers are sold seasonally at Quayside Farmers Market, Brillsville Market and Fore Street Flea, at occasional events and to order.
I’m now growing some of my plants with Zero Mile Gardens in Theatre Alibi’s outside space with their kind permission, close to St Thomas Library – how brilliant to be part of this community hub!
Thank you to Exeter Seed Bank and Zero Mile Gardens for opportunities to work together, to everyone who has bought my plants and local organisations including Theatre Alibi, Happiness Outdoors Project, Newton Abbot Seed Library, Devon Wildlife Trust and Exeter Cathedral. Connections and collaborations are always welcome.