Theres is nothing quite like the warmth & cosiness of a secluded sunken garden to relax & unwind, nestled away from the hustle & bustle of the city . The solid feature steps in Easton Limestone set a striking balance to the ruggedness of the Penbryn Drystone Walling creating a garden masterpiece. Delighted to celebrate with Bowles & Wyer in 30 years of inspiring landscapes.
We are Allgreen. Masters in Stone.
Just over 30 years ago, Vicky and I had just given birth to our first child, the country was in recession – and I started a new business. It wasn’t as foolish an idea as it sounds. I had a lot of experience in high-end landscape design and build, and combining that knowledge with the agility and non-existent overheads of a start-up, I could be fast-moving and competitive.
I had expected to draw deeply on my existing client base. In fact, all but one of my clients were new, passed on to me by word of mouth. I invited Chris Bowles to join me towards the end of the first year, and Bowles & Wyer was born.
From the start, we wanted to build out our own designs. We wanted to retain control. We had a quote from Humphrey Repton in our brochure (brochures were a thing back then) that said: “Nothing can be so well completed as under the eye of he who devised it.”
We are an enthusiastic believer in dialogue. It is only by repeated conversations with our clients that we (and they) discover what they want to achieve. The more we listen, the more we learn of the brief. To this day, our pitch documents start with ‘What you have told us’, followed by our response.
Our aim is simple: we want to leave the lives and landscapes that we touch better for having come into contact with us. Everything else follows.
We have grown from those early years to a team of around 50 people. At this size, we can achieve what we want to. We have a network of suppliers and specialist contractors who we work with. And loyalty is a two-way street – we’re quick to support those who go the extra mile and slow to forget those who let us down.
We are in a fast-changing world – and often not for the better. Having a positive impact is vital today. There is no place for a business which treads heavily; but firms also need to have both resilience and agility to survive. This is more important than growth. To achieve this, we need to be open to new ideas, and to stretch our clients, suppliers and people to achieve more, and better than they thought possible. The future is uncertain, but the only way we can face it with confidence is to hold fast to our core values as an organisation, and as individuals.
JOHN WYER CEO, BOWLES & WYER“OUR AIM IS SIMPLE: WE WANT TO LEAVE THE LIVES AND LANDSCAPES THAT WE TOUCH BETTER FOR HAVING COME INTO CONTACT WITH US. EVERYTHING ELSE FOLLOWS ”
In John Wyer’s own words, a business built this way shouldn’t work – and yet it does, and it has done for the last 30 years, albeit adapting and evolving along the way. When he first founded the business, it was still as a design and build company, but its structure has arguably become more cohesive and “agile” thanks to what John refers to as a “re-founding” in 2016.
It was first founded in 1993 by John and Chris Bowles, who had worked together at Clifton Nurseries where John ran the design department and Chris headed up the construction side. John left in 1992 to set up his own practice and was joined a year later by Chris, allowing the design and build company – which had been subcontracting labour – to introduce an aftercare offering.
The business grew steadily for the first few years but really started to gain traction in the late 90s. It began making a name for itself, undertaking projects such as Earls Terrace, a large development in Kensington, which helped to put it on the map.
Then in 2006, it gained a “whole new momentum” thanks to directors Matthew Maynard and Dan Riddleston joining. With a background in civil engineering, Dan had retrained as a quantity surveyor and project manager before working for a couple of landscape design and build companies as well as Waterers (which was later acquired by facilities management firm ISS) before setting up his own consultancy for landscapers working on large contracts in 1997.
It was through this consultancy that Dan first began working with Bowles & Wyer on projects such as the Pavilion Apartments in St John’s Wood and Kensington Palace Gardens when there was “an explosion of work all of a sudden,” he says. It was around this time that Bowles & Wyer jumped from around six employees to 20 “in quite a short space of time,” adds John.
After a few years, though, Dan and his business partner at the time decided that they wanted to put their name to projects and build them, rather than advising others. “I didn’t want to start up as a man in a van with a wheelbarrow; even then, I felt I was too old for that. So, we looked at how we might join our skills with another company.”
With Bowles & Wyer already an existing client, it made sense to add a “bolt on to their existing portfolio” as a joint venture, says Dan. “The idea was that we would bring our skills to an existing, well-known name but we would build for other designers. We’d already built a portfolio of people we knew within landscape and garden design, so we could bring these and create a larger construction arm which would also then feed the aftercare.”
That came to fruition in the form of Bowles & Wyer Contracts in 2006. And although a good step for the business, both admit it set the business on a course that they later had to unravel 10 years later, when the business had become too siloed.
“It was quite painful to unpick,” says Dan. “It’s a lesson – unless you are very large in terms of employees and there’s a need to silo – of what not necessarily to do.”
So, a decade later they sought to break down these silos and introduce a “whole business view” where each arm would seek to benefit Bowles & Wyer as a whole rather than solely focusing on its own profitability.
The contracts arm became
“WE ARE TRUSTED AS A BUSINESS AND AS INDIVIDUALS , AND THAT INTEGRITY IS VERY MUCH AT THE HEART OF HOW WE THINK AND WHAT WE DO ”
amalgamated with the design and build side. “You wouldn’t have thought that a design and build company that is design led could successfully build gardens for other designers; but we are trusted as a business and as individuals, and that integrity is very much at the heart of how we think and what we do. Those designers know us personally and know that we would never steal clients,” says John.
Its de-siloing, alongside a rebranding during which Bowles & Wyer set its values and determined its positioning as a company, helped to bind the business. Chris Bowles retired in 2017 too, and the management structure changed. The directors are now John and his wife Vicky, Dan, special projects director Stuart Wallace and operations director Matthew Maynard, who joined the construction arm with Dan in 2006. Below the directors are department heads Jeff Stephenson, Jonathan Woolfenden, Anca Panait and Mandy Jones. “It’s a fairly flat management structure though,” says John, adding that this was a conscious decision.
One of the things that makes Bowles & Wyer unique, that came up as a result of its rebranding, is ‘great landscapes come through collaboration’, and that’s how the leadership team operates. “I had an engineering background, and Matt came through a great landscape construction course at Merrist Wood College. Jonathan came through landscape architecture and [estimator] John Grayson started in a design and build company before studying quantity surveying at university. Jeff
We’re convinced that landscapes have the power to enhance lives – something we work hard to make happen every day, for all of our clients.
become more agile. It means we don’t have so many things set in stone, which can be slightly scary at times. But from a core principle of design and build, we have got a position that we want to be in the market, and we strive towards that, and we have values which are set in stone, and we know what we are. But we now move around quite quickly.”
It’s a particular mindset, adds John. “If you are too heavily processdriven and too defined in both your business structures and your market structures, you’re never going to be agile. Flexibility has to be at the heart of how you think, and part of it is keeping an entrepreneurial attitude about opportunities whilst being careful about the risk.”
was the top student at Kew when he was there, and Stuart is a fantastic horticulturist and designer, and he’s incredibly practical too. So, it’s a real mix of people who are here,” says Dan.
Combining skillsets is what makes Dan, John and Matthew work so well together too. John now focuses on the design, client and marketing side of the business as CEO, whilst Dan focuses on the commercial side, supported by Matthew on construction operations. There’s a great deal of overlap in their roles, but John says he tends to look at the business longer term, whereas Dan tends to look up to a year ahead. As they both put it, Dan is more “boots on the ground” whilst John is more “head in the clouds” but they always run ideas past each other before rolling them out.
The pandemic surprisingly helped to cement how Bowles & Wyer would function going forward. “It’s an overused word, but we have
In three decades, Bowles & Wyer has undoubtedly grown in terms of success and industry recognition, but it’s not a big company, says both John and Dan. Its focused instead is on reputation. When the company rebranded, it went through a process of learning what its clients valued most about it, and the result was somewhat surprising.
“We expected them to value quality, and they did. But what they most valued was that we listened to them. When I thought about it, it made perfect sense. Our clients tend to be wealthy and influential, and whilst time and wealth are not shared equally, we all have the same amount of time, and if someone is giving you their time, that’s an extremely finite resource. So, if you don’t listen to them, you screw it up from the very beginning.”
So, through listening, Bowles & Wyer has become a trusted brand, both by clients and the industry alike, and its newfound agility will ensure it remains on top.
“ FLEXIBILITY HAS TO BE AT THE HEART OF HOW YOU THINK, AND PART OF IT IS KEEPING AN ENTREPRENEURIAL ATTITUDE ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES WHILST BEING CAREFUL ABOUT THE RISK ”
John Wyer first started a design and build practice in 1992. He was followed a year later by Chris Bowles, and that’s when Bowles & Wyer was born. The company’s big break came in late 1994, when it was retained by Northacre to design Earls Terrace in Kensington, which was comprised of 24 rear gardens and a 160m-long communal front garden. It was completed in late 1999 and put Bowles & Wyer on the map. Its aftercare portfolio was also growing and in 1996 Jeff Stephenson and Richard Pantlin joined to form its horticulture division.
Pavilion was an important and far-reaching project for Bowles & Wyer. It was appointed as designer in 1996 and went on to construct it four years later. The project was the start of an association with KSR architects that continues to this day. It was also the project where Bowles & Wyer first began to work with Dan Riddleston as a quantity surveyor. Stuart Wallace also joined at this point and was responsible for the planting design at the Pavilion. It was the first large podium project Bowles & Wyer had done, and the team learnt a lot from it. The iconic lines of this design were widely admired and copied, and for years afterwards developers would say ‘I want my scheme to look like this’.
In 2010, a private garden in Surrey that Bowles & Wyer had designed and constructed won a ground-breaking hat-trick at the National Landscape Awards: Garden over £250k, Design & Build Award and the prestigious Grand Award. It was the first time that a single project had won both the Design & Build and Grand Award. The judges were effusive about the garden: “A great design and a fantastic installation. The quality of the work was faultless and the whole scheme represents an exercise in perfection... What impressed, apart from the end product, were the technical drawings. These were spot on with the detailing and a testament to the intricacy of this truly bespoke design.”
GREAT
As landscape architects, designers, engineers, builders, horticulturists, and gardeners we’re obsessed with sharing ideas, experiences and expertise.
The following year, in 2011, Bowles & Wyer built a garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for garden designer Tom Hoblyn called ‘The Homebase Cornish Memories Garden’. Dan Riddleston brought his extensive experience of Chelsea to bear and delivered a fantastic garden, wining a Silver Gilt medal. This was the first of many gardens and trade stands at Chelsea over the years, resulting in two Gold Medals and a People’s Choice award. Designers at Bowles & Wyer have also had show gardens at RHS Tatton Park (Anca Panait and Max Harriman) as well as the Shenzen Flower Show (Anca Panait).
In 2017, when Chris Bowles retired, Bowles & Wyer went through a renaissance. With new directors and shareholders, it acquired fresh impetus. It worked with all its people to redefine the values and purpose of the business, before embarking on a bottom-up process of repositioning and rebranding. Working with Carter Wong and artist Andrew Lovell, it came up with an identity that was as distinctive as the company –and instantly recognisable. Bowles & Wyer was once again looking forward.
In 2021, the company took steps to embrace the next generation at Bowles & Wyer. It was joined by Magdalena Sowa as purchasing manager and John Grayson as estimator. The same year John Wyer stepped back from everyday management of the design department and handed the reins over to Anca Panait and Jonathan Woolfenden. They have reinvigorated the department and significantly broadened the range of projects to include work abroad, commercial development, and large country estates. This was celebrated with four principal National Landscape Awards in 2022. We’re looking forward to a bright future, with a new generation of people active in Bowles & Wyer.
From humble beginnings, Bowles & Wyer has blossomed into one of the most reputable design and build companies in the industry
Bowles & Wyer has become increasingly agile, and whilst a restructuring in 2017 pla yed a pivotal role in this, the Covid-19 pandemic also shaped how Bowles & Wyer would look going forward. When the first lockdown struck in March 2020, it anticipated aftercare taking one of the biggest hits, expecting to lose around 50% of the work. Fortunately, it managed to retain around 90%, and it recovered fairly quickly, says Dan Riddleston.
“But design probably had the biggest upturn,” says Stuart Wallace, special projects director, who has been with Bowles & Wyer since 2000. “People were at home and thinking that they should do something with their London or their country home.”
They were “overheated’ in the design department in both the commercial and domestic sectors, says John Wyer. From 2020 up to going into 2022, it was “really quite challenging” –like having your “head out of the window on a motorway,” as Jonathan Woolfenden puts it.
The head of design has been with the company for the last eight years, running the department alongside senior landscape architect Anca Panait, who joined three years later.
The design work has now “balanced out,” says Jonathan. “The jobs we take on react to the market, and it’s been interesting over the past three years. Before, we were heavily design and build, and then we had a few jobs where we moved into slightly different markets and made a bit of a name for ourselves, and people have come back to us with the same work.”
“ We were quite focused on small, urban gardens in London. But during covid and after, it’s now more developments in London for offices trying to re-engage their workforce,” explains Anca.
“And large country estates,” adds Vicky Wyer, director and landscape designer who has worked for the company on and off since its inception. "Prior to covid, we’d also been working on quite a number of wellness gardens in education and health in hospitals and places like that, so we’d built up
a portfolio of these,” alongside expertise in highend roof gardens and podium landscapes too.
"We’re building skills around these different sectors and can suddenly change direction to work on different projects,” says Jonathan.
Whilst design soared and aftercare experienced a steady curve back up, it was the construction side that was hit by the pandemic, says Dan. The team temporarily went from running more than 10 sites pre-covid to around two sites, soon tackling material shortages and new site restrictions as well. More sites had re-opened again by 2021, but the war in Ukraine, soaring material and fuel prices, and the ongoing impact of Brexit then took their toll.
"The market has hardened up due to adverse economic winds. There was a degree of nervousness in the industry at the end of last year, especially with a couple of competitors going under," explains operations director Matthew Maynard, who joined Bowles & Wyer in 2006, when he helped Dan to set up for the former sister company Bowles & Wyer Contracts before it merged with the rest of the company.
The silver lining from this time period is that there was a “refocusing on landscape generally,” says John. “We like to define our clients as the overlap on a Venn diagram where there are people who love landscape and gardens and understand what it can add to either them or the project, and the other circle is people who can afford it and have the resources to achieve that. The pandemic reinforced that – it made people revalue landscape in a different way.”
When estimator John Grayson receives enquiries, his assessment includes looking at this overlap. “It’s part of the process, understanding who we are going to be working for ultimately,” says Grayson, who has worked for Bowles & Wyer for two years.
Grayson has noticed how Bowles & Wyer looks to recruit less experienced designers who can learn from those with loads of experience in the business. “That puts a lot back into the industry over time. It couldn't be underestimated the broad skillset we have on the ground as well on construction, whether it be planting heavy trees, through to the groundwork."
"There are foremen who have got skills in all those areas,” shares Dan. “And Jeff [Stephenson’s] knowledge of plants, pests and diseases is second to none,” adds Vicky. The resulting spread of talent and knowledge is vital when you consider the spectrum of projects being covered.
"You can go from looking at a large roof garden to a small courtyard, from a big country estate to an office, from a tiny community garden to a hospital courtyard – the breadth is huge.”
It’s unusual for a company to have such a wide variety of projects, notes Anca. “Normally, y ou’d have landscape architects specialising in larger masterplans or public realm, and then garden design companies specialising in smaller or countryside gardens. It's rare to have a place where you combine both of them, and then also have construction, aftercare, design and build.”
People’s roles are not limited, either. “We run a flat style on management, there’s no real hierarchy. My hat is mainly running contracts and overseeing contract managers, and I’m now heavily involved in aftercare, which is expanding at a rate of knots. I also get involved in pricing projects when workload demands it – there’s no fixed agenda,” says Matthew.
As he alludes to, aftercare is increasing year on year and is now a huge growth area. “It was a third of the size in 2017 compared to now,” reveals Dan. John explains: “There are two things feeding it; one is excellence – the amount of horticultural knowledge within that department is incredible. The other is an internal track for feeding it. Because we design and build projects, it naturally feeds through into looking after them.”
“ The amount of take up that we have with clients on the aftercare side is a testament to the trust that we build up in relationships in design and then the construction,” adds Vicky.
The design department also continues to evolve, taking on more work abroad in the last 18 months. Anca has been running a large project in Hong Kong, whilst designer Meg Calow has been working on one in Africa – neither of which have impacted the company’s carbon footprint, as both have been managed remotely.
In construction, the team is involved in a lot of high-end private gardens – “so large that they border on being commercial in size,” says Dan. The majority of work on its books is for other designers and landscape architects too.
“Running up to 2020, we were very busy, and we had a lot of work on the ground. We’re taking the position now of scaling back and concentrating on quality and profitability,” adds Matthew. And above all, focusing on maintaining a newfound flexibility to go where the market takes it.
We’re a diverse team, but we all share some important core values. Trust, excellence and creativity are the everyday metrics we use to measure our work.
Culture has always been important to Bowles & Wyer, but it became even more so six years ago when it went through a “refoundation of the business” after Chris Bowles retired. “We thought much more in detail about the culture and went through a process, involving a lot of employees as well as some people outside the business,” says John Wyer.
Vicky Wyer says it was a process of “distilling” the existing culture, rather than creating a new one. It started with questioning the board of directors as to the purpose of the business.
“We defined our purpose as enhancing lives and landscapes, because there’s so much more to what we do than just the landscape element. It’s about the enjoyment, the client’s engagement and what comes with that.”
Having a professional approach – turning up on time, being polite, looking right, delivering on our promises –are our business fundamentals.
They came up with three key values to sum up the company’s DNA: trust, excellence and creativity. “These were defined by a process of elimination. We had loads of words that we thought up which were then distilled down into those three words,” says Vicky. “Then we went through a process with volunteers from across the company to define what those three words mean t to us and what behaviours they embodied.”
So, whilst the initial concept came from the directors, it was the whole business that fed into it and decided what those three words meant and how they were put into practice. “It’s something
Tell us about your role. My role involves the management of the design department, overseeing design and technical related matters across our portfolio. My role is client facing, visiting prospective projects and supporting our current client base.
How long have you been at the company? Eight years.
What’s your favourite part about working at Bowles & Wyer? We work on such a variety of projects there’s always something new to learn.
What has been your biggest achievement at the company? Converting non-gardening clients with ‘low maintenance’ aspirations into plant/garden enthusiasts.
Do you have a standout project? Meadway, Berkhamsted.
What first attracted you to the industry? Homefront in the garden.
that we have striven hard to embed right through the company and we reinforce it at our information exchanges. We try to focus on it as much as possible.”
Part of the idea behind it is that all departments feel part of one company, especially now that Bowles & Wyer has been de-siloed as much as possible. Crystalising its values has made it important to work with people who share those values too. “We work with suppliers who share them and seek out clients who share them too.
Tell us about your role.
I run the office, so I make sure everybody behaves themselves. I also look after the fleet and help with HR and finance.
How long have you been working at the company? 16 years in September.
What’s your favourite part about working at Bowles & Wyer?
We’re all one big family. There’s nothing that I would be afraid to tell anybody. I couldn’t ask for a better team.
What has been your biggest achievement at the company? Watching the company grow and being a part of that.
Do you have a standout project? The one I really loved was a private garden in Surrey that won the BALI Grand Award in 2010. It was massive and looked so stunning. It’s amazing, the work the designers do – they're very talented.
It’s allowed us to be more aligned in what we do.”
John and Dan Riddleston also took the business through a repositioning exercise that was external facing, and so asked a consultant to ask a large selection of Bowles & Wyer’s clients what they thought of the company. “Through that feedback, we repositioned ourselves and that’s when we rebranded,” says John. “As a result, most of the clients that we engage with now are people who really get what we’re about and who share our values.”
It was a collaborative approach to define what makes Bowles & Wyer unique
Tell us about your role at Bowles & Wyer. I’m a senior landscape architect leading projects and client facing. I’m also involved in the day-to-day running of the design department, supervising the design proposals and supporting members of staff, particularly at concept design and planting proposals.
How long have you been working at the company?
Almost five years.
What’s your favourite part about working at Bowles & Wyer? The variety of projects and opportunity to be creative.
What has been your biggest achievement at the company? Nurturing other members of staff and seeing them gain confidence in their professional abilities.
Do you have a standout project?
King’s Road, Chelsea. This is a project that has been going on in the office for more than seven years and the landscape is due to start on site in autumn this year.
What first attracted you to the industry?
I grew up connected with nature, spending most of my weekends in the middle of the countryside or in a woodland. I was naturally drawn to the outside and wanted to have the opportunity to make a difference to the environment but also to engage people with nature.
Tell us about your role. It’s an exciting role which includes being an assistant plus also being in charge of my own sites. This role really allows me to take in a lot of knowledge and expertise from experienced foremen and then replicate and use this knowledge to further maintain and develop gardens that I look after.
How long have you been working at the company?
I joined in July 2022, so over a year now.
What’s your favourite part about working at Bowles & Wyer? There are many, but one thing that stands out is the attention to detail that the company has, which I feel is spread throughout the entire workforce.
What has been your biggest achievement at the company? Working at RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year. We crafted a stand for the remarkable sculptor Hamish Mackie with a standout main centrepiece of a woodland-themed setting with two magnificent bronze sculptures of wild boars, not to mention all of the other brilliant bronze sculptures.
What first attracted you to the industry? Initially through doing small garden jobs for family and friends. As I worked more and more in gardens, I was hooked and wanted to pursue horticulture as a career. The team at Bowles & Wyer have given me a massive opportunity to develop my skills and experience with the company. I hope to further develop these skills and learn more from this amazing team.
Tell us about your role.
I’m the senior foreman, so I run the larger sites and the more challenging ones.
How long have you been working at the company?
15 years, so straight out of college.
What’s your favourite part about working at Bowles & Wyer?
I’ve always liked working outside, and here I love the opportunity to build different gardens. We learn a lot on site and try out a lot of new things; it makes it more interesting.
What has been your biggest achievement at the company?
Getting to be senior foreman. I started in a labourer role and worked my way up, and eventually would like to go onto higher management.
Do you have a standout project?
I’ve got a couple: the one I’m on at the moment in Cambridgeshire, which has been very challenging. We’ve been on it for nearly two years. Another one is two projects right next to each other in Avenue Road.
What first attracted you to the industry?
When I left school, I started off in groundkeeping, and I came across some people doing landscaping. I thought that looked more like me, so I decided to go back to college and do a National Diploma in horticulture. I got a job once I left at Bowles & Wyer and have never looked back.
During this time, aftercare gained three maintenance teams and Jeff was promoted to horticultural supervisor in 2007. The department grew at a steady pace over the next decade until there was a regular team of around nine staff working in London and the home counties on a range of gardens, from roof gardens to country estates to public realms.
At the end of 2017, during the repositioning of the business, Jeff was promoted to his current position of head of horticulture and aftercare, with a team of more than 20 staff. “We look at a wide variety of projects and are not restricted to own-build or own-design. They may be new or existing domestic or commercial sites. We are always looking for a ‘best fit’ in new projects. There is no ‘typical’ size to our gardens.”
Aftercare at Bowles & Wyer has gone from strength to strength, and John Wyer puts most of its success down to head of the department, Jeff Stephenson. Jeff joined the company back in 1996 as a maintenance foreman, having worked with both John and Chris Bowles at Clifton Nurseries, when he was on an industrial placement as part of his Kew Diploma of Horticulture. “Chris Bowles was a former Kew Diploma student himself, so that gave me an instant foot in the door,” says Jeff.
The use of the term ‘aftercare’ is purposeful too. “At our end of the market, ‘maintenance’ doesn’t really do justice to what my dedicated team carries out on behalf of our customers throughout the year. In reality, most sites need a mix of skills from the mundane but essential through to the more technically challenging, such as identifying what could be ailing a plant, through to keeping the aesthetic of an herbaceous border for as long as possible into late autumn.”
Bowles & Wyer’s horticultural expertise sets it apart in the market. “Knowledgeable, experienced, good practical ability, careful, personable, observant and proactive are some of the key attributes that all good gardeners need. Our senior foreman and supervisors have the right mix of these to drive excellence in our gardens."
When he first started, he was looking after gardens recently designed and built by Bowles & Wyer with the help of one assistant, Richard Pantlin – who is still there today as one of the senior foremen – and the occasional seasonal temporary worker. In his own words, Jeff was soon “press-ganged” into the role of site foreman, helping out with the soft landscaping on large high-end projects in London, including Earls Terrace and The Bromptons.
Jeff later gained a new assistant, Ian Grun – now also a senior foreman – as Richard moved on to aftercare. “I regularly swapped between having a regular maintenance round of my own and being a soft landscape foreman on larger projects; this allowed me to have full knowledge of the gardens we would be caring for.”
Its in-house HortAcademy has also hosted a range of training sessions for staff, from lawncare delivered by the Grounds Management Association to a syllabus-led visit to Majestic Trees. “This provides a wider experience of horticulture to less experienced staff or useful reminders to others.”
The next focus is on reducing its carbon footprint by trialling battery-powered cargo bikes to service inner London, alongside the gradual introduction of an electric fleet of vans and electric machinery.
The aftercare department continues to grow and help to develop the team’s skillset
Listening is how we learn. That’s why we’re always tuning into our clients – discovering what they like, love and hope for. It’s why we spend time asking our industry about best practice and new ideas.
WE’RE ALL EARS
National Landscape Award winner for Best Roof Garden over £100k
• COMPLETED: SUMMER 2021
• VALUE: £350K
• DESIGN: BOWLES & WYER
78 St James’s is a Grade II listed building in central London, developed by BentallGreenOak to create office accommodation and outdoor terraces. The client brief was to ensure these terraces highlighted the impressive views and could act as a flexible area for tenants. The sixth floor features the largest roof garden; one side has booth seating, hugged by scented greenery, with the other featuring more open-plan seating. We have also added a green wall to adapt an existing false mansard roof, adding to the cocooning effect of the greenery on this side of the terrace. Moveable planters are used to zone the area and can be easily moved to the edges to create an event space. These planters even feature edibles and herbs to enhance cocktails during functions. The planters and benches consist of laser-cut light boxes with a design inspired by vermiculated stonework, reflecting the historic masonry of the building. The construction was challenging thanks to crane-only access, and complex engineering needed behind key features such as the planters and cantilevered benches.
• COMPLETED: JULY 2021
• VALUE: OVER £1M
This large residential garden in London was designed to create a year-round family garden. The rear garden features a variety of spaces – from secluded woodland areas to an entertaining terrace with a motorised louvred cover and fireplace; a barbeque area; a large terrace along the rear of the house; and a charming water feature overlooked by a teahouse; as well as significant tree planting. In the front garden, we wanted to keep the original feel of the space, where much of the planting is in the public realm, and a driveway sweeps through trees and shrubs. A secluded s un terrace is scooped out of the hillside, with a series of curved walls, steps and a water feature to create a more relaxed space. The scheme was one of our most complex projects in terms of both design and construction and won two National Landscape Awards 2022 principal awards for Design Excellence and Garden over £250k.
• COMPLETED:
Barnsbury Park is a care home for adults with learning disability. We worked with Peabody and landscape architects Turkington Martin to upgrade and landscape the garden ready for summer. After talking with residents to find out what matters to them most, private and communal spaces were created for them, their carers and their families. The garden has been designed with sensory needs in mind. There is a textured surface to walk on, xylophone, water play and equipment to encourage healthy active lifestyles. The garden also offers comfortable seating with a barbeque and space to grow food. The garden was officially opened in a joint event in summer 2023 with a barbeque and herb planting.
bowleswyer.co.uk
• COMPLETED: 2017
• VALUE: £500K-£1M
• DESIGN: WILSON MCWILLIAM
This beautiful garden in the Chilterns was designed by Wilson McWilliam and built by the Bowles & Wyer construction team in 2017 after winning it in competitive tender. A private entrance courtyard was surrounded on two sides by the house, separated from the garden by pleached trees. Terraced brick beds and steps give access to a grand lawn, broken at one end by walls built from traditional drystone, but in contemporary shapes. These crisp forms are subtly offset by soft herbaceous planting. The garden has a simple layout although it creates several different spaces. Despite many construction challenges, the work was completed to an exceptional quality. This was recognised by the British Association of Landscape Industries conferring it the Grand Award in 2018 – the company’s second (Bowles & Wyer’s first Grand Award was in 2010).
We’re convinced that landscapes have the power to enhance lives –something we work hard to make happen every day, for all of our clients.
“It’s been a real pleasure working with John and the team on our garden design. From the start, when we outlined our broad vision for our garden, they immediately “got it” and have demonstrated real commitment to coming up with a concept and a final design that meets our original brief, but including some new ideas we had never considered.”
"From the moment we first engaged with Bowles & Wyer we have been met with nothing but creativity, straightforward clear communication and efficiency. John managed to listen to our ideas, then nail the design in our first meeting. We are seeing the vision become a reality and feel totally comfortable in their hands."
Private client, Berkhamsted
All through the design and build process, we have found Bowles & Wyer to be responsive, helpful and exceptionally committed to quality. Although not the cheapest, we do think of them as delivering real value – so much so that they continue to maintain the garden and woodland today.”
Private client, Hertfordshire
“Bowles & Wyer have a can-do, vibrant and holistic approach to landscape design and planting, which is both inspirational and a pleasure to work with. Their presentation style is enthusiastic, their designs extremely well thought out given environmental constraints; they have an excellent ability to dissect a brief bearing in mind challenging design preferences from the client and the architectural principals. Bowles & Wyer’s clear and precise approach means that they can work effectively within a team and are good-communicators. They embrace co-ordination to produce designs that are beautiful, layered, exciting and fit for purpose.”
Amanda James, Director of development for Caudwell Collection"Because we were having to submit our plans complete with landscaping we met the team at B&W very early on. John and team understood from the very start that we needed to create something magical but also wild enough to maintain a feeling of natural beauty. Their design, overall sensitivity and carefulness has been one of the reasons the planning committee have allowed our dream to become a reality."
Private client, Hertfordshire
“We have had the pleasure of working with Bowles & Wyer on many of our projects as a directly employetd subcontractor to Walter Lilly or as a result of a direct client engagement. Bowles & Wyer hold a ‘primary’ status on our formal supply chain. Regardless of the procurement route we have always found Bowles & Wyer to be professional and who provide excellent levels of knowledge, service and communication on all of our projects. The quality of the finished garden is always outstanding.”
Shaun Frampton, Walter Lilly & Co“The team at Bowles & Wyer can really transform a landscape; their strong attention to detail and creativity has helped deliver beautiful grounds for our client who was very involved in the design process.”
Guy Matheson, SHH ArchitectsHaving worked with Dan Riddleston and the team at Bowles & Wyer Contracts creating my two Gold-medal winning gardens at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, I cannot speak highly enough of them. The depth of experience and resources they bring with them makes such a difference to the morale of staff and the confidence of a designer. Having absolute faith that no matter what happens Dan will find a way to bring about the best results means there is a deep sense of trust when it comes to decision making and makes for a wonderful collaboration... I look forward to working with them on many projects in the future.”
Darren Hawkes“We have worked with Bowles & Wyer since 2009 on projects ranging from £50k –£1.2m. We have always found them to be professional, not only in their comprehensive tendering and administration processes, but also managing client and designer expectations. B&W have an excellent workforce who take pride in their work. Recently, we had some clients with high expectations for a large terrace and I was really pleased as I overheard the clients praising the workmanship at their Open Gardens event this summer. But perhaps one of the biggest factors is B&W’s commitment to the industry; regularly contributing at conferences and in trade magazines, always keen to network and stay in touch with contemporaries. They are my 'go-to’ company if I ever have the need for some business advice or have a situation that I need to get off my chest.”
Thomas Hoblyn MSGDDon’t just take it from us. Here’s what those who have worked with Bowles & Wyer have to sayPrivate client, Milton Keynes
With a target of becoming carbon neutral by 2030, Bowles & Wyer is striving to continue lowering its carbon footprint. It already has ISO 14001 accreditation, so the company is setting its objectives based on that framework. Vicky Wyer has now carried out three carbon audits so far, also backdating the process by a couple of years. As well as total emissions, the two metrics used to measure the carbon are by pound of turnover and by number of employees, and it’s dropping steadily across both, says John Wyer.
The biggest area, in terms of energy use and carbon output, is its fleet, says Stuart Wallace. So, it is now already several steps into a roadmap towards lowering the footprint of this, introducing vehicle tracking, for instance, and self-monitoring for drivers.
We’re proud of our 25-year plus heritage, but we’re always busy building the future. We design every landscape not just for the here and now, but for what happens next too.
“It’s not so much picking the low-hanging fruit but picking something that will yield the most. We can’t do it at the strike of a pen, but directors’ cars are all electric now and we have just gotten our first electric delivery van. We also have trials set up for some e-cargo bikes for aftercare. Our roadmap shows us year by year what we need to achieve across different departments to get to a carbon neutral fleet.”
It is a struggle to switch to all electric, though. “It’s particularly challenging for small to medium-sized companies. A lot of the fleet is in aftercare, and they look after private properties where they can’t charge at the property,” says John.
Flee t is just one area which Bowles & Wyer is turning green. “We’re also looking at using electric plant on the construction sites. There’s limited availability, but we can certainly trial various electric skip loads and trollies, and we buy battery tools where we can,” says Stuart.
There have been smaller wins too, such as upgrading all the lighting to LED and monitoring paper usage. All green waste from the aftercare side is either composted or taken away to be used as biomass, and they will be auditing construction waste from next year as well.
In the design department, Anca says they are trying to communicate more with suppliers about how and from where materials are sourced so that these can be sourced more locally, or they can recycle more on site. The entire lifecycle of a product is considered, not just its initial carbon impact. So, they also explore materials that might last longer and not need to be replaced so often. Planting is more driven by the changing climate, so they are looking at more drought tolerant species, for instance.
Outside of sustainability, both John, Dan and Matt are hoping for “more of the same” – “great stability, great design and bringing on the next generation” – whilst growing to reflect the market, rather than growing for the sake of it.
“In the natural world, things grow where there is the opportunity and resources, so we will stick to the values that the business is built on and the client base that we have. So, the business will grow naturally as the opportunities arise, and we will restructure to fit those opportunities where it makes sense to us to do so,” says John.
Ultimately, they don’t want the core culture of Bowles & Wyer to be impacted. “That’s why people stay here – the mix of work and the culture –so we will be driven by that and the opportunities that come forward.”
