IT was encouraging to see so many wildflowers and naturalistic planting in the show gardens at Chelsea Flower Show, offering havens for wildlife, and there were many inspirational and ecological ideas to take home.

The best by far was in the New Wild Garden (sponsored by RBC). Designed by Dr Nigel Dunnett, a champion of green roofs, he transformed an old shipping container with green roof technology and a flowering meadow atop. Around 50 per cent of the water that lands will be absorbed, while the remainder will run off into the one of the two connecting round pools with an overflow into the flower borders. A series of drystone walls were not quite what they seemed. Built using materials salvaged from skips and charity shops, the walls contained such oddities as old books and timber to dinky cars. In time, all the nooks and crannies would become bug shelters.

Perhaps the most innovative aspect of the garden was its ‘rain’ garden, designed to capture and use every single drop of rain that falls on it. From the living roof on the converted shipping container through to the collecting pools and the soakaway planting, the garden acted as both a reservoir and a big sponge.

London Wildlife Trust published a report last week highlighting how many of London’s gardens are being concreted over to provide patios and parking spaces. With built up areas in towns and cities being susceptible to flash floods, the report stressed the importance of using permeable surfaces that are environmentally friendly to allow adequate drainage.

The New Wild Garden had all these elements and, after the show, the whole garden has been reconstructed at the Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre in Gloucestershire, and visitors will be able to see the garden for themselves.