Deronda Estate Bee Road

At Deronda Estate we worked with the Tenants and Residents Association, local volunteers and pupils from Elmgreen School to create wildflower-rich verges, and plant a new 30-metre-long wildlife hedge. Flowers to look out for include violets, lesser celandines and primrose in spring, and red campion, dames’ violet, field scabious, yarrow and clovers throughout the summer. 

We laid shade-tolerant wildflower turf alongside estate entrances in February 2023 and trialled the use of wildflower turf and plug plants to create ‘islands’ of flowers within the grass verges. Grass was left to grow long through the summer and then cut and removed in the autumn.

Leaving areas of longer grass provides forage and shelter to invertebrates, as well as revealing existing species growing in the grass – a rare Pyramidal orchid was spotted in July, previously unidentified in this location. Removing grass clippings each autumn reduces soil fertility over time, improving the conditions for wildflowers to grow.

The new wildlife hedge will provide screening for residents and shelter, pollen, nectar and berries for wildlife. Hedge species include hawthorn, guelder rose, beech, berberis, and a flowering currant, Ribes sanguineum. 

Initial evaluation carried out in July 2023 found Deronda’s Bee Roads verges had a significantly higher density of insect-pollinated flowerheads than a nearby control area. Pollinating insects spotted during the evaluation exercise included Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown butterflies, hoverflies, and social wasp species. 

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