Nature Features

Renowned conservationist, Professor Dr David Bellamy got his hands dirty helping out in the final stages of the eco-planting for the new conservation showcase, Future Gardens, which is set to open on 5th June this year.

Future Gardens is the first phase of the £27m Butterfly World Project near St Albans.

David Bellamy is a patron of the project

The centre will feature awe-inspiring gardens including 12 showcase contemporary designer gardens from some of Europe’s best known designers as well as some new faces to the gardening world. The majority of planting throughout the 27 acre former Low Grade agricultural land has been specifically chosen to attract wild-life such as butterflies and bees.

David Bellamy is a patron of the project and said:  "This is a hugely exciting conservation project set to inspire everyone and get them thinking about how they can affect the environment we live in.

"Everything in this project has been carefully designed so it will shine as a beacon of bio-diversity. As well as creating a unique destination for days out, it will form the base of a fantastic and luscious habitat for a variety of creatures including butterflies and bees, which are in worrying decline.

"Future Gardens is the first stage of this highly important conservation programme echoing a stark message about our environment."

Future Gardens will showcase highly creative and forward-thinking designs for four months every year.

Visitors to the site near St Albans will be able to see how gardens mature and evolve through the seasons. They’ll also experience a fascinating journey through a variety of contemporary landscapes which will include permanent gardens with a real difference. Each permanent garden is an acknowledgment of the anatomy of the butterfly, such as land art 'antennae' walk-ways and a spiral ‘proboscis’ walk.

Ivan Hicks, the lead designer and responsible for developing the innovative landscape for Future Gardens - Phase I of Butterfly World added:  "Everything is taking shape and looking great. We can’t believe its only four weeks until the public will be able to come and explore this new world. It seems like yesterday when this was a blank canvas.

"The aim is to create gardens that are fun and informative, designed to spark an interest in gardening and the natural world and offer a clear environmental message."

Each designer garden within the Future Gardens event has an inventive and individual theme, with many inspired by nature. All the garden designs demonstrate that sustainability and innovative, contemporary design can co-exist and be mutually beneficial.

On final completion, the 26-acre site will be the shape of a butterfly with a dome as its eye.

It will incorporate underground caverns featuring tropical creatures, including scorpions and spiders, and there will be more than 10,000 tropical butterflies in flight at any one time in the walk-through centre.

Butterfly expert Clive Farrell

Butterfly expert Clive Farrell, who has developed the project, said: "Butterflies are like the canaries in the coal mine. When their environment is under stress, they are the first to suffer and disappear."

Organisers hope the site will attract up to one million visitors a year when it fully opens in 2011.