The Orchard

The Orchard

The Orchard is an area of land that was gifted to the people of Brandon by a local lady, Margaret Harwood CBE. She was passionate about the natural world and wanted to ensure that our green spaces were protected from development.

The site is approximately 1.2 acres and a mixture of grassland, fruit trees, woodland and scrub.

There is seating provided on site along with waste bins. 

The front boundary comprises of a mixed species hedgerow, flanked at each end by the two main entrances. The hedge was thinned out last winter before replanting with a variety of hedging which includes blackthorn, hawthorn, spindle, guelder rose, dog wood, dog rose and wild privet. 

The existing hedge was in poor condition and a tangle of dead wood and ivy. Our aim was to rejuvenate it, increasing ecological diversity. The dead wood was removed then relocated to the woodland area, creating some habitat piles. 

Bird boxes were built and installed on some of the mature trees to attempt to mitigate for the temporary loss of nesting sites, whilst the hedge re-establishes. 

This year we have decided to allow some of the grass areas within the orchard to grow. It has been rewarding to see the swathes of flowering plants providing a much needed source of nectar for a wide variety of invertebrates, which will in turn, encourage other species of fauna to the site. 

 In Spring you can see swathes of red dead nettle, daisy and speedwell emerging from the previously manicured grass. Dotted around the site are cowslips, snowdrops, bluebells and wild garlic. These were planted fairly recently and not indigenous to the orchard itself, but have helped increase the plant diversity. 

There is an abundance of green alkanet, comfrey, mallow, herb robert, cow parsley, goose grass, ox eye daisy, ragwort, yarrow, black meddick and stitchwort to name but a few of the wild flowers present.  

To date, we have not had any official wildlife surveys performed on the site, but hope to do so in the near future. Our ultimate aim is to write a management plan so we can best maintain and improve the diversity of wildlife.

There are often two muntjac deer in the small wooded area, and we can presume there are other mammal species present. I think the abundance of mole hills can verify their subterranean existence in the orchard!

Several species of butterfly have been spotted including; orange tip, small white, large white, brimstone, peacock, red admiral, holly blue and speckled wood. 

We have planted some hazel in the north west corner, with the intention of creating a small area of coppice. 

The orchard is a valuable site for Brandon and it’s residents and we are incredibly lucky to have been gifted it.