AS every gardener knows preparation is the key to success, so on Saturday the 1st Wroughton Scouts joined the Wiltshire Landscape Rangers in the Avebury Manor orchard to develop a wildflower meadow between the fruit trees.

The wildflower garden will create a natural habitat for friendly insects such as butterflies and bees, as well as making a delightful springtime display.

Lorretta Waters, National Trust area ranger, said: “This is the first joint venture by the Wiltshire Landscape Rangers and the Manor Gardeners and it’s great that we have the help of the 1st Wroughton scouts today as we have a lot of work to do.”

The enthusiastic team raked up the cut grass for composting and they spread yellow rattle seed across the area which will encourage wildflower growth. They also spread woodchip around the orchard trees to act as mulch to stop unwanted weeds.

It was a wonderful sunny day, and not only did the scouts work tirelessly in the garden they spent some time building bug boxes and hedgehog houses to encourage these creatures which love to eat aphids and slugs.

Ms Waters added: “The scouts worked really hard. We hope that they will visit again next summer to see the results of their work.”

To find out more about the wildflower garden at Avebury Manor call 01672 539250 or email avebury@nationaltrust.org.uk or go to nationaltrust.org.uk/avebury