Harnessing the potential of private gardens

01 December 2025

The UK's millions of gardens and growing spaces play a significant role in shaping the environment, from biodiversity to flood mitigation

Our gardens and growing spaces matter – perhaps more than we think. Across the UK, 22.7 million residential gardens occupy an estimated area four times larger than England’s national nature reserves. Gardens represent 30 per cent of urban areas in England, constituting a principal component of our green infrastructure. Once perceived as ‘biological deserts’, gardens are increasingly recognised for their potential to provide sanctuary, sustenance and solutions, not only for us but for the multitude of species we live alongside. With 87 per cent of people having access to a domestic garden, according to a survey by the RHS, and more growing in communal spaces and allotments, on balconies, rooftops and in window boxes, the UK’s many millions of gardeners play a significant role in shaping the environment.

The government’s housebuilding target of 370,000 new homes a year will lead to the creation of hundreds of thousands of gardens within new residential landscapes. These new domestic green spaces could be designed to benefit people and planet, yet as I wander through a new development near where I live, I’m struck by the absence of insect life amidst a sea of impermeable tarmac, block planting and amenity grass mown so short that even clover is stripped of its nectar-rich flowers. It seems such a missed opportunity, especially when fields nearby teem with wildflowers, house martins skimming the surface for insects.

At a time of rapid biodiversity loss, accelerating climate change and rising risks of flood and drought, why are we not seeing more climate resilient, nature-led approaches in gardens and new residential landscapes?

A boost for biodiversity

With nearly one in six species in Great Britain at risk of extinction, gardens offer vital refuge for biodiversity, forming a mosaic of habitats that host between 2.5 and 3.5 million ponds, 28.7 million trees (almost a quarter of all trees outside woodlands), and more species than you might imagine, from microbes and moths to newts, bats and birds, according to a 2009 study by scientists at the University of Sheffield and De Montfort University. Zoologist Jennifer Owen started recording biodiversity in her medium-sized suburban garden in Leicester in 1971. She documented a staggering 2,673 species over 30 years, including several new to science, and wrote about her findings in her 2010 book Wildlife of a Garden: A Thirty-Year Study.

While many developers continue to pursue an outdated approach that pays little attention to nature, others recognise the need for change. Barratt Redrow has worked in partnership with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) since 2014, creating wildlife friendly show home gardens and incorporating nature into new developments, with an overarching aim to create a legacy of resilient landscapes and communities, delivering net gains for biodiversity and contributing to the conservation of local biodiversity priorities.

At their Kingsbrook development in Buckinghamshire this includes measures such as hedgehog highways, swift bricks and bat boxes, establishing hedgerows, pollinator plantings, wetlands and orchards. Survey results from 2015 (pre-construction) and 2021 (post-construction of the first 600 homes) are encouraging: bird diversity remained consistent while the populations of many species including house sparrows, goldfinches and sedge warblers increased, and bumblebee numbers more than doubled. Inevitably, a few species declined, yet overall impact on wildlife has been very positive, and should get even better as newly created habitats mature.

Imagine this becoming the norm. Networks of gardens and green spaces across the country, tended as living ecosystems, without chemical inputs, rich in plants and catering for the needs of wildlife and people. Each garden playing a role in creating corridors so animals can move, offering sustenance and safety through the seasons, buffering populations against shocks and stresses, and creating reservoirs of biodiversity that could supply future restoration, urban greening and biodiversity net gain sites.

Mitigating flood risk

Our outside spaces also provide a first line of defence to flooding, a risk affecting 6.3 million properties in England today, rising to one in four by 2050. "Retaining soil, incorporating plants and choosing permeable surfaces allows water to percolate into the ground, reducing runoff and alleviating burden on drainage systems" says George Warren, integrated water manager at Anglian Water and initiator of Enabling Water Smart Communities (EWSC), an Ofwat innovation project with a focus on water reuse. "Rainwater harvesting further slows the flow while storing water for later use, reducing demand on water resources."

Despite nearly half of UK residents believing their home to be at risk (according to a survey commissioned by the insurance company Aviva), the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) found that fewer than 20 per cent of people are aware that plants can help mitigate flooding. Depressingly, Aviva reports that that one in seven homeowners surveyed have already replaced part or all their garden with a non-permeable driveway and one in nine have replaced a lawn with fake grass, with another 10 per cent planning to do so. Rising electric vehicle use is exacerbating the issue – according to a survey by the smart vehicle platform EO, half of drivers would do away with their front garden to facilitate electric vehicle charging.

The Rain Garden, sponsored by Flood Re and created for this year’s RHS Malvern Show

Simple, creative and affordable approaches for creating multifunctional spaces that respond to local challenges while meeting people’s needs and maintaining wider benefits are essential. The Rain Garden, sponsored by Flood Re and created for this year’s RHS Malvern Show, is a living example. In its long-term home at a school in Walthamstow it mitigates flood risk, provides shade and cooling, and enables children to connect with nature.

Challenging norms

Changing how we perceive, design and interact with gardens and open spaces faces many challenges. Cost, time and effort are often cited, while fear of failure and not knowing where to start, what to do or how to care for a garden contribute to inaction or the conversion of green to grey. Being unaware of the wildlife on our doorstep and the incredible benefits plants bring can blind us to their importance – from trees and shrubs that alleviate noise and air pollution, to climbing plants on walls that help lower inside air temperatures in summer and insulate through winter.

To raise awareness, shift perceptions, bust myths and open eyes to alternatives, there is nothing more powerful than showing what is possible. It is this that underpins the collaboration between Beth Chatto’s Plants & Gardens with a neighbouring development in Elmsted Market, Essex. The developer approached Julia Boulton, CEO and Beth’s granddaughter, asking to use the Chatto name for a planned 80-home residential development adjacent to the gardens. Boulton agreed, provided that the Beth Chatto team was involved in the planting of communal areas and front gardens.

"Chattowood was an opportunity to show what could be done and move away from standard approaches to planting new build sites," says Boulton. Situated in one of England’s driest regions, the aim was to create low maintenance, climate-resilient planting. A palette of 80 drought tolerant plant varieties was chosen to create year-round interest and benefit biodiversity. After years of dialogue the first planting was completed in April 2022. "We planted into a 30-cm deep ungraded sand mix to avoid issues with weed seed in topsoil, keep maintenance low and help set new homeowners up for success," says Boulton.

Chattowood is also demonstrating the business case for developers, because although the outlay per square metre for plants was higher than laying turf, initial watering was just six litres (versus 90 litres for grass in topsoil), with no watering requirements once plants are established, no fertiliser inputs or machinery use, and just 16 maintenance hours a month for 60 houses. "The initial outlay for plants could also be reduced by using smaller plants," Boulton says. Monitoring shows the Chattowood planting consistently supports 20 times more insects than standard new-build front gardens nearby.

With the government aiming to build 420,000 new homes in the East of England over the next 10 years, Chattowood is an exceptional model that delivers for people, nature, climate and business, with valuable learning to share. It’s not a one-size-fits-all but an approach to be adapted to suit local climate and landscape conditions while responding to community needs.

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Top tips for a biodiversity-friendly garden

• Get to know your growing space and select plants that thrive there.
• Make your own living compost or source compost locally.
• Add water, whether a small dish (remember to keep the water clean) or pond, and ensure that animals can get in and out.
• Choose flowers of varying shapes and that bloom at different times of year to support diverse wildlife through the seasons.
• Grow fruit and berry-bearing plants, like hawthorn, rose, crab apple and elder, which also provide shade, shelter and nesting sites.
• Mow less and allow grass to grow to different heights to increase the range and complexity of habitats.
• Leave fallen leaves, make log stacks or rock piles as overwintering habitat.
• Keep stems and seedheads standing through the winter as sustenance for birds and shelter for invertebrates.
• Reduce light pollution by dimming or switching off your outside lighting to support bats, moths and other nocturnal species.
• Keep cats indoors from an hour before sunset when bats emerge from their roosts.
• Avoid chemicals.

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Time to act

We need to build confidence for change across the industry, from developers and management companies to nurseries supplying plants and future homeowners. "The interest is there," says Anglian Water’s George Warren. “Research conducted for Enabling Water Smart Communities revealed the importance of gardens for homebuyers, with 80 per cent willing to pay £5,000 or more for a climate resilient garden and 38 per cent of those willing to pay over £10,000."

But what will it take to make better new-build gardens the norm rather than a novelty? We have energy ratings for properties, why not a scheme that differentiates a garden filled with concrete and fake grass, from a climate resilient, biodiversity rich space?

It’s a concept the RHS and others are exploring. "We’re looking at a Garden Performance Certificate to recognise new-build gardens that benefit people and planet," explains Professor Alistair Griffiths, director of science and collections at the RHS. "The idea is to assess gardens against five main features. It starts with the soil and surfaces, considers where water goes, planting with purpose and diversity, and creating habitat for wildlife, as well as a place for people that is functional, beautiful and inspires joy and connection. In parallel, the RHS is developing resources to support developers, builders and new homeowners in creating better gardens."

With the government currently considering rolling back requirements for biodiversity in smaller developments, nature is increasingly at risk. A voluntary scheme like the Garden Performance Certificate could act as an important market driver for improving integration of biodiversity, climate and water into newbuild gardens and the RHS is keen to work with others across the industry to take this forward.

The scale of opportunity for driving positive change through gardens is enormous. "We have the research and evidence, the skills across associated sectors, appetite for change and exemplars demonstrating what is possible," say Andrée Davies and Adam White, directors of Davies White Landscape Architects and the Sustainable Landscapes Foundation – an organisation bringing the industry together to share knowledge, innovation, information and tools for responsible land stewardship.

It’s not just landscape designers, developers, contractors and policy makers who have a role to play in driving this change. It’s up to us all to take part – through our gardens, allotments and green spaces, by advocating for change in our communities and in policy, and coming together as an industry to build capacity, innovate and collaborate to create better places for people and nature.

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Watch highlights from an Enabling Water Smart Communities workshop on climate resilient gardens and sustainable green spaces.

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Nicky Jenner is a writer, conservationist and gardener