Gardens
Pioneering gardens at Knepp, including the rewilded Victorian walled garden and regeneratively farmed market garden.
Our experiment within Knepp’s rewilded walled garden is a process of changing the conventional gardening mindset. To help us on the journey we’ve engaged some of the UK’s most imaginative garden minds: landscape designer Tom Stuart-Smith, James Hitchmough (professor of horticultural ecology at the University of Sheffield), Mick Crawley (emeritus professor of plant ecology at Imperial College, London) and Jekka McVicar (organic gardening expert).
The market garden team harvest fresh produce for the Wilding Kitchen & Shop supplying a diverse range throughout the seasons. Growing regeneratively means we’re always aiming to have living roots in the soil, keeping the surface covered with a wide range of plants to help build topsoil and protect it from the drying sun, wind, and excessive rain. Restoring the soil also increases biodiversity – from soil biota to the insects that act as pollinators and pest control. We disturb the soil as little as possible, planting directly into it without digging and overturning, allowing the soil biome to thrive.
