Village July2019

Village Landscapes
Garden
triumph
for Dan
A
village garden designer has
won a prestigious award for the
show garden he built at BBC
Gardeners’ World Live.
Dan Ryan, owner of Design It
Landscapes, teamed up with fellow
designer Lucy Bravington to create
“The High Line Garden”, which won
a Platinum medal and the award for
Best Construction at the NEC event.
The garden was inspired by an
elevated public park on a disused
freight line in New York City, and
combined industrial style with naturalistic
planting. It featured gingko
biloba trees (a symbolic street tree
of New York), a large steel “Portal”
sculpture, and bespoke corten panels
Advertisement feature
to represent skyscrapers and their
windows, and has been televised on
Gardeners’ World and Midlands Today.
Dan, who offers a full range of
garden design and landscaping
services, studied at RHS Pershore
College and has previously been part
of the creative team that achieved
six awards and medals at the RHS
Chelsea Flower Show, BBC Gardeners’
World Live and Malvern Spring
Flower Show.
Dan now plans to hold a sale of the
plants from The High Line Garden, on
Saturday July 6 from 10am in Rubery.
Get in touch with him for full details
and a plant list and pricing.
Tel: 07890 532859 / 0121 453 6520
dan@designitlandscapes.co.uk
www.designitlandscapes.co.uk
Become a friend of
Bittell Reservoirs
Barnt Green Waters is encouraging villagers to get
involved in a new “Friends of Bittell Reservoirs” scheme,
enabling them to enjoy and appreciate the amenities
and to contribute to the site’s upkeep and improvement.
The award-winning Site of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSI) is based at Upper Bittell (Sailing and Coarse
Fishing) Reservoir and covers a total of approximately 33
hectares (excluding the reservoirs).
It is home to many species of native and migratory
birds, a regular visitor being the osprey on its way to
and from its natural breeding grounds. Wild flowers and
many species of butterfly can be seen during the spring
and summer, and several friendly deer visit the shorelines
on a regular basis.
Many ecological improvements have been made
including the planting of reed beds, erecting bat and
bird boxes and the control of blue-green algae. Water activities
have increased with the introduction of standup
paddle boarding on Upper Bittell and game angling
tuition on Lower Bittell and Mill Shrub.
Individuals or social groups interested in the scheme
should contact Charles Deverill (Agricultural Officer,
Board member and Chairman of the Fishing Club) at
cdjd26@gmail.com
30 The Village July 2019