A Long-Overdue Visit to Hilldrop – A Lesson in Brownfield Planting

Dean and Barbara travelled to Essex on a swelteringly hot day for a long-overdue visit to the infamous and truly unique Hilldrop garden.

Its owner, John Little, is a pioneer and passionate advocate for the creation of open mosaic habitats everywhere, particularly on brownfield sites. He shares his findings and ideas in a refreshingly casual, no-nonsense, self-deprecating style, always delivered with plenty of humour. John has advised developers and councils for years on the biodiversity value of brownfields, and we are huge fans of his work at Moss. We’ve learned a great deal from him and continue to draw inspiration from both his thinking and his garden at Hilldrop.

John loves growing wild things on waste. He famously sows wildflower meadows into crushed toilets and sinks, which thrive thanks to the low-nutrient content of these unconventional substrates. Over time, he has experimented extensively with waste materials and recycled building components, turning the garden into “a sort of hub — a place where people can come and go and contribute ideas.”

Key Takeaways from Our Visit

• Leave dead trees. Whether standing, if possible, or lying down, keep them on site rather than shredding them. They can be beautifully sculptural and provide vital habitat for invertebrates and pollinators.
• Create habitat on every surface. Wherever possible, think creatively about how surfaces can support life.
• Aim for a mosaic of habitats. 
• Work with the planting medium you inherit. Broken concrete, hardcore, and builders’ sand can be excellent growing media for many native plants.
• Rethink brownfields. Counterintuitively, brownfield sites can be far more biodiverse and ecologically valuable than Green Belt land, which is often intensively farmed and among the least biodiverse landscapes.
• Use building waste creatively. Construction debris can inspire unique garden features while also providing valuable habitat.
• Avoid unnecessary soil replacement. Planting directly into available rubble rather than excavating and importing tonnes of topsoil can dramatically reduce costs, lower maintenance needs (less feeding and watering), and significantly cut embodied carbon.