What a difference a year makes!

In 2019, Wild Truro, a collaboration between Truro City Council and Truro Urban Buzz, created Truro Cathedral’s wildlife garden. Located on the High Cross side of the cathedral, the garden is so full of plant and insect life that it is hard to believe it has only been there for one year.

Speaking about the garden, deputy parks manager, Liam Shoesmith, said, “It was last January that works first started on digging over the very compacted soil and adding in the organic matter. This was followed in February with the planting of the plants there today. You might think when walking past the planted area that there’s not a lot going on wildlife wise, but you’d be wrong. The log piles have many a creepy-crawly hiding away within them, providing food to certain birds – keep an eye out for little wrens first thing in the morning.

“The soil is also a hive of activity underneath. Digging with a trowel will expose the worms which are happily breaking down the organic matter we added last year. Flower wise, we have Hellebores along with beautifully scented Mahonias. All flowering in their first year with a better show to come this year. These, of course, are important for our pollinators which wake during the mild weather and need a food source. The wet weather has hampered things but the plants are prevailing, I can’t wait until the spring when growth really starts again.”

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