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Sustainability at holme
CARING FOR OUR GARDENS. supporting nature
GROWING WITH NATURE IN MIND
We're working positively to reduce our impact on Dorset's natural environment and create more opportunities for wildlife
Water
Energy
Nature
making water go further
Rainwater Harvesting
Climate change is delivering noticeable impacts to all weather across the world, but to ensure that Holme is ready to counter these effects, in 2022 we built a rain water harvesting system. The video below will take you through the process, of how Holme catches and uses it's water, along with some more noticable insights into the change in rainfall on our plant world.
renewable energy
Making use of sunshine
In 2023 we completed the installation of a 72 kw array of solar panels in our top car park field, which will save 38 tons of CO2 per annum. All the electricity which Holme uses that is not provided by our solar farm comes from suppliers which are using renewable sources such as solar and wind farms.
No fossil fuels are knowingly involved.
Plant conservation
Protecting plants -
a national collection
Holme hosts the National collection of hypericums for future preservation as well as holding a substantial collection of over 2500 cultivars of garden shrubs and trees. Further Nationals collections of Deutzias and Magnolias and Mountain Ash are on the way….
SMALL STEPS. LASTING CARE FOR OUR GARDENS
A Welcoming home
for wildlife
Holme encourages as much wildlife as possible into the gardens with bug hotels, compost heaps, natural hedgelaying practices, and native planting in the meadows. Good for pollinators and predators alike. We are replanting native hedges for the nesting birds, and using natural compost and leaf litter for mulch and fertiliser.
our apple juice
From orchard to bottle
Every apple in our juice is grown right here in the orchard at Holme.
Once harvested, the apples are gathered into crates and taken to a traditional pressing location near Honiton in Devon, where they begin their journey from fresh fruit to bottled juice.First, the apples are crushed into a coarse pulp, then wrapped in cloth and layered in the press.
As pressure is applied, the juice flows through the cloth, leaving the pulp behind. It is then filtered, poured into glass bottles and gently pasteurised to help preserve it.Finally, the bottles are sealed and brought back to Holme, ready for you to enjoy
A little taste of our orchard, with a story behind every glass.
Holme Grown
All the annuals on display in the Holme gardens are grown here in peat free compost, and every year we are growing more of our own cottage garden plants reducing ‘plant miles’.
Meadows & biodiversity
Several differing meadow environments at Holme ensure there is a habitat for many native plants and insect species. Holme practices no dig techniques to keep carbon capacity in the soil.
Water treatment