Designing a Coastal Wildlife Garden in West Sussex

Drone view from the side/back of the garden

Over the past couple of years, we've been building a garden on a protected coastal site in West Sussex, designed as much around wildlife as around our clients, and working alongside Architects Tim Ronalds, who designed the house it surrounds. Now in its second growing season, it's a good moment to look at what's actually taken hold.

From the outset, our goal was to design a space that felt connected to its surroundings, offering a mosaic of habitats. That meant planting with wildlife in mind, combining different habitats - each supporting different species and ecological processes, and giving them time to establish before judging the results. The planting was realised by BN1 Planting and Seb Stall Gardens, and is now cared for on an ongoing basis by them. Their development work and ongoing care is as much a part of this story as the original design.

A palette that belongs to the landscape

The hard landscaping materials were chosen to harmonise with both the coastal character and the contemporary architecture of the house. Purbeck stone boulders form natural stepping stones through the garden and appear as rocky outcrops in the gravel areas, giving the space a rugged, grounded feel. Matching gravel and stone setts tie the paths and open areas together, while clay brick terraces provide warm, earthy tones that complement the building and create a welcoming outdoor living space.

Paving and stepping stones surrounded by ornamental grasses

Still finding its shape: the hornbeam hedge

A newly planted Carpinus betulus (hornbeam) hedge marks one key area of the garden. It's still filling in, not yet the dense green screen it will eventually become, but the structure and the archway through it are already doing their job, framing the view ahead and drawing people through the space.

Woodland glades and seasonal displays

In the woodland sections, soft woodchip paths weave between the plantings established last year. The entrance garden has settled into its woodland feel, blending into the surrounding deciduous woodland of the wider landscape. Grasses such as Anemanthele mingle with shrubs like Nandina, and the evergreen planting has kept the approach inviting through every season so far.

Gravel gardens in motion

In the gravel garden borders, drifts of Stipa (Mexican feather grass, or pony tails) now sway in the coastal breeze, interplanted with Salvia, Echinacea, Oenothera 'Whirling Butterflies', and Verbena. In their second season, these plants have knitted together into a border that moves constantly with the coastal wind.

View of the back/side garden from the terrace

Welcoming and protecting wildlife

Two Crataegus prunifolia (hawthorn) trees mark the entrance to the house, chosen for their multi-stemmed form, autumn colour and berries that offer food for birds. Their thorny branches protect nesting birds from predators such as squirrels, and their tolerance of wind, heat and coastal exposure has suited this site well.

A wildflower meadow that exceeded expectations

This has been the standout result so far. The meadow areas, shaped with low mounds of nutrient-poor soil for wildflowers and shallow scrapes designed to collect seasonal water, have come into their own in their second year. This has been an unusually dry summer, and the scrapes are currently dry, waiting for the next seasonal rains to test how they perform. The wildflower display itself has been genuinely impressive this year, with drifts of oxeye daisies, a favourite of our clients, among the strongest performers.

Dead hedge

Deadwood, shelter, and signs of life

The dead hedge, built from prunings and waste wood layered between rows of stakes, has had a year to settle and begin breaking down, feeding the invertebrates that in turn draw in birds. Close by, the hibernaculum, a stack of rocks made from recycled paving salvaged from the garden, has been through its first winter, providing shelter for reptiles and amphibians.

The pond, and the birds it's brought in

The pond is establishing well, with planting settling in around its margins. It's already doing exactly what we hoped: bird activity around the garden has increased noticeably in its second season, drawn in by the water, the meadow, and the shelter the planting now provides.

Wildlife pond to the side of the property

A living mosaic, taking shape

The combination of woodland, seasonal wetland, meadow, gravel garden, dead hedge and hibernaculum is a patchwork of interconnected environments that together support far greater biodiversity than any single habitat alone. Some elements, like the meadow, have moved faster than expected. Others, like the hedging, are still finding their shape. That unevenness is normal after one year, and part of why we design for the long term rather than judging a garden in its first season.

Working with nature, and with the right people

This garden has never been the work of one team. Tim Ronalds Architects designed the house it surrounds, BN1 Planting brought the planting plan to life, and Seb Stall Gardens now manage its ongoing care, the kind of collaboration we think matters as much after completion as before it. By phasing the project and working closely together, we gave each part of the garden the best possible start, and left room to respond as it developed rather than fixing everything at the outset. That approach is paying off, in the meadow especially, and we're looking forward to seeing how the slower elements, like the hedge, catch up over its next few seasons.

You can read more about this project in our coastal wildlife garden case study

View to the sea from the garden

FAQs

What is a hibernaculum in a garden? A hibernaculum is a sheltered, insulated structure, often a sunken stack of rocks or logs, that provides safe overwintering spaces for reptiles and amphibians. At this West Sussex coastal garden, Joe Perkins Design built one from recycled paving salvaged from the site.

What is a dead hedge and why build one? A dead hedge is a wildlife feature made by stacking dead wood and branches between two rows of stakes. It provides nesting sites, shelter and a food source for invertebrates, birds and hedgehogs, while using site-felled timber rather than removing it as waste.

How do you create a wildlife-friendly meadow?

By shaping the ground to create microclimates. Low mounds of nutrient-poor soil suit wildflowers, while shallow scrapes are designed to collect seasonal rainwater and support wetland and wading birds when conditions allow.

How long does it take for a wildlife garden to establish? It varies by feature. In this coastal garden, the wildflower meadow performed strongly by its second growing season, while a newly planted hornbeam hedge takes longer to reach its full form as a screen.