RSPCA Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre is opening its doors this weekend so the public can take a tour around the charity’s award-winning RHS Chelsea Garden.
The garden opens at the centre on London Road on September 30 for the first of five Saturday free-of-charge open days.
It has been designed on a wildlife-theme and all the plants/shrubs and features have been transported by lorry from London to Cheshire to an area of Stapeley Grange which is part of a long-term rewilding project.
The RSPCA Garden at the 2023 Chelsea Flower Show picked up a prestigious silver-gilt medal from the judging panel.
The animal welfare charity teamed up with award-winning garden designer Martyn Wilson for the Great Spring Show earlier this year.
They created a stylish sanctuary for wildlife and people, with funding provided by Project Giving Back.
The garden celebrates how wildlife enriches our lives and showcases the small steps people can take in their own gardens and community green spaces to protect them.
About 40% of incidents reported to the RSPCA concern wildlife.
Last year, the charity received calls about more than 100,000 wild animals in need – more than 11 every hour.
Martyn took inspiration for the garden from a visit to an RSPCA specialist wildlife centre in Taunton.
At the Chelsea Flower Show, RSPCA chiefs said they were “absolutely delighted” to scoop the silver-gilt gong.
Martyn said: “Animals were at the heart of my design for this garden.
“I’m a passionate advocate for wildlife, and the RSPCA’s tireless work in recruiting Wildlife Friends to help them is so important.
“This garden was all about inspiring the public to do little things in their own gardens and communities to help wildlife.
“When planning the garden, I saw first hand on a visit to the RSPCA West Hatch wildlife centre the incredible rehabilitation work the charity’s team carries out, from injured seals to poorly hedgehogs, and everything in between.
“But the RSPCA can’t help all wild animals themselves.
“And that’s why I was so proud to create a sanctuary garden which is full of ideas people can easily recreate at home, whatever space they have.”
(Image courtesy of Emma Jacobs)
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