Pro Landscaper January 2019 by Eljays44

Concept to Delivery

January 2019

DESIGN, BUILD AND MAINTAIN

Let’s Hear it From

RUPERT KEYS DEBS WINROW

New Year’s Resolutions

A Garden for all Seasons

SEAN BUTLER

BALI & LI AWARDS IN PICTURES

Rural Retreat BARNES WALKER LANDSCAPES

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PC_210x265_2_9_18:Layout 1 02/10/2018 11:16 Page 1

Space To Grow Area Designed by Rae Wilkinson At The Chelsea Flower Show 2018 Featuring Corten Steel Cylinders and a Water Bowl from The Pot Company

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www.thepotco.com sales@thepotco.com 01892 890 353

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WELCOME

Concept to Delivery DESIGN, BUILD AND MAINTAIN

January 2019 | Volume 9, Issue 1

January 2019

Let’s Hear it From

RUPERT KEYS DEBS WINROW

Welcome to January 2019 Happy New Year and welcome to the January issue of Pro Landscaper. We hope all our readers managed to relax and recharge over the Christmas period and are rejuvenated and ready for the busy year ahead. Over 1,000 people attended the BALI Awards in December and we would like to offer our warmest congratulations to all the winners. Eljays44 entered into the affiliate exceptional service category but had to

NOW WE KICK OFF A NEW YEAR WITH THE LANDSCAPE INDUSTRY IN A BETTER POSITION THAN IT’S BEEN SINCE BEFORE THE RECESSION

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EDITORIAL Editorial Director – Lisa Wilkinson lisa wilkinson el a s com el

experience the disappointment of not walking away with the Principal Award which was carried off by London Stone, a very worthy winner of course! We were absolutely delighted for Bowles and Wyer as they were presented with the Grand Award for a scheme designed by Wilson McWilliam Studio. Now we kick off a new year with the landscape industry in a better position than it’s been since before the recession (can you believe that was 10 years ago?). Let’s hope Brexit doesn’t make much of an impact on our sector – there will no doubt be some caution, and people using overseas suppliers may see some temporary disruption, but our country is very resilient and will hopefully come out in a better state than ever.

ADVERTISING Business Development Manager – Jamie Wilkinson amie wilkinson el a s com el Sales Manager – Jessica McCabe essica mcca e el a s com el

Content Manager – Rachael Forsyth rachael fors th el a s com el

Horticulture Careers – Liam Colclough liam colclo gh el a s com el

Editorial Assistant – Amy Fitz-Hugh am t h gh el a s com el

Managing Director – Jim Wilkinson im wilkinson el a s com el

Editorial Assistant – April Waterston april waterston el a s com el

MARKETING AND CIRCULATION el

Subeditor – Kia Wilson kia wilson el a s com el

Subscription enquiries – Chris Anderson chris anderson el a s com el Design – Kara Thomas, Kirsty Turek

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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New Year’s Resolutions SEAN BUTLER

BALI & LI AWARDS IN PICTURES

Rural Retreat BARNES WALKER LANDSCAPES

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WE HOPE ALL OUR READERS MANAGED TO RELAX AND RECHARGE OVER THE CHRISTMAS PERIOD AND ARE REJUVENATED AND READY FOR THE BUSY YEAR AHEAD As usual, for us 2019 will start off with lots of visits to readers and advertisers, it’s a great opportunity to reconnect and share news and views about the year ahead. We have some very exciting developments for 2019 so keep in touch as you may want to be involved.

@jimeljays

Printed by ensord ress td, went, Published by la s td onnecting ortic lt re ro andscaper s content is a aila le for licensing o erseas ontact amie wilkinson el a s com ro andscaper is p lished times per ear la s td he s scription price is scription records are maintained at l a s td, h rchill o rt, he treet, stington, est sse , rticles and information contained in this p lication are the cop right of l a s td and ma not e reprod ced in an form witho t the written permission of the p lishers he p lishers cannot accept responsi ilit for loss of, or damage to, ncommissioned photographs or man scripts hilst e er e ort has een made to maintain the integrit of o r ad ertisers, we accept no responsi ilit for an pro lem, complaints, or s se ent litigation arising from readers’ responses to advertisements in the maga ine e also wish to emphasise that iews e pressed editorial contri tors are not necessaril those of the p lishers eprod ction of an part of this maga ine is strictl for idden

Cover image ©Barnes Walker Landscapes Limited

A Garden for all Seasons

@lisaeljays

Pro Landscaper is pro d to e an aﬃliate member of BALI

The Association of

Professional Landscapers

Pro Landscaper is proud to be an associate member of The APL

MANAGEMENT Managing Director im ilkinson Director isa ilkinson Business Development Manager amie ilkinson

Pro Landscaper / January 2019

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CONTENTS

January 2019 INFORM

Agenda Accommodating evolving landscape needs

News Our monthly roundup of industry news

FutureScape Coverage 2018 seminar roundup

BALI Awards All the winners from 2018’s BALI National Landscape Awards

Landscape Institute Awards A summary of the awards and all of the winners Concept to Delivery

Association News The latest from APL, Plants@work, BALI, SGD, and RHS

January 2019

DESIGN, BUILD AND MAINTAIN

Let’s Hear it From

RUPERT KEYS DEBS WINROW

30 Under 30 Noticeboard Updates from previous winners

Let’s Hear It From Rupert Keys

Company Profile

New Year’s Resolutions SEAN BUTLER

BALI & LI AWARDS IN PICTURES

Scape Design

Rural Retreat

Landscape Architect’s Journal Nigel Dunnett

A Garden for all Seasons

BARNES WALKER LANDSCAPES

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Time and a Half Andrew Wilson

All For Show Holly Youde

Celebrate Together Adam White

Immune to the March of Time Knebworth House, Hertfordshire

Pro Landscaper / January 2019

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INSPIRE

Rural Retreat Barnes Walker Landscapes Limited

Eco Estate Elephant Park

Easy Living Habitat Landscapes Limited

56 56

A Garden For All Seasons Debs Winrow

Love Horticulture Ruth Willmott

Resin Bond/Bound A look at the wide variety of colours of resin - bond and bound products www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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CONTENTS

EDUCATE

Pro Landscaper Business Awards: Winner Profile Acre Landscapes

New Year’s Resolutions Sean Butler

66 NURTURE

Nurture News News from the UK’s growing sector

Nurture News Extra

Jeff Stephenson

Green Connections Palmstead soft landscape workshop

Designer Plants

African Dream Don’t Snub The Shrub Noel Kingsbury

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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Tough Shrubs Andy McIndoe

Nursery Fact File Practical Plants Ltd

Butterworth Horticulture Curators of plants and gardens

Book Review We review five new landscaping and horticulture books

What’s Your Role? Simon Mackrell

Product DNA Buzzgrass

Edging A selection of four latest edging products

True Survivors Ian Drummond

Jamie Butterworth

Alluring Aloes

Focus For The Future Angus Lindsay

Vara Garden Design

Trading With Hardscape Resourcing Ltd

Little Interviews Quick-fire questions with the individuals who make up our industry Pro Landscaper / January 2019

20/12/2018 17:06

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

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20/12/2018 13:25

INFORM

SPOTLIGHT ON

CONTRIBUTORS

Andrew Wilson

Debs Winrow

Andy McIndoe

Noel Kingsbury

Garden designer and lecturer

Creative director, Garden House Design

Leading horticulturist

Garden designer and writer

To help students transition from college to the work place with as little stress as possible, the process is slowed down to allow them to gradually build up the skill base needed. Andrew explores how this benefits his students and prepares them as best as they can for their next steps.

Outdoor space is just as important as indoor, and it is a space that can be enjoyed all year round. This month we welcome a new contributor, Debs Winrow, who brings us a collection of outdoor styling items which are sure to spruce up any space, no matter the size of the garden or your budget.

Andy recommends a variety of his favourite flowering shrubs to brighten up any planting scheme. He comments how they are reliable, affordable and easy to grow and maintain, making them a perfect choice to mix easily with roses and perennials.

Shrubs have always played an important role in the landscaping industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s planting design for both providing screening and visual mass. However, Noel explores how with the increaseed use of perennials, shrubs are being left behind.

www.lcgd.org.uk @AndrewWilsonii

www.gardenhousedesign.co.uk @gardenhousedesign.co.uk

www.andymcindoe.com @AndyMcIndoe

www.noelkingsbury.com @noelk57

Other contributors Holly Youde Director/designer, Urban Landscape Design Ltd

Jamie Butterworth Horticultural consultant, London Stone

Ian Drummond Creative director, Indoor Garden Design

Adam White Director, Davies White Ltd

Jeff Stephenson Head of horticulture and aftercare, Bowles & Wyer

Sean Butler Director, Cube 1994 Angus Lindsay Head of fleet, idverde

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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Pro Landscaper / January 2019

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INFORM

AGENDA

WITH PROPERTY DEVELOPERS BUILDING TO RENT, WHAT STEPS SHOULD THE INDUSTRY BE TAKING TO ACCOMMODATE EVOLVING LANDSCAPE NEEDS?

With more people opting to rent rather than buy their own homes, the need for green spaces has evolved. What steps should the industry be taking to accommodate these changes? Six key players in the industry give their take.

Andrew Fisher Tomlin Director, London College of Garden Design

Some 60% of new homes are apartments with none or very little outdoor space and so the provision of community shared space has risen to the top of the agenda. Our own experience is very mixed with some developers willingly creating planted spaces with substantial trees and planting within traditional garden or pocket park layouts, and others making no provision. The outcome is that those with good outdoor spaces find it easier to rent and to retain renters in their property. It might seem obvious to us, but we should be pushing this point to the property developer world that good community space can lead to higher rents and longer tenancies. 8

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Pro Landscaper / January 2019

Kate Savill

John Wyer

Garden designer, Kate Savill Landscapes

Director, Bowles & Wyer

Living in a rental property myself in a highly populated area, I know how important gardens and green spaces are to the people that inhabit them â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the nearby park forms a vital part of our community. Green space makes a fundamental contribution to our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing whist maintaining our essential links to the environment. With this in mind, the spaces between the buildings have to work as hard and be considered as important as the buildings themselves. We need to promote landscape and garden design, to imaginatively create affordable spaces using more planting than hard landscaping materials. We need every opportunity we can get to plant more trees and shrubs to create comforting green spaces that also encourage wildlife rather than pushing them out of our cities. When developers, horticulture and architecture work side by side, we can create a harmonious way of living. We need to work on rolling this idea out to support affordable and sustainable living.

The move towards build to rent offers huge opportunities to the industry, but it will need to adapt to make the most of it. Perhaps the biggest shift is that developers will have a long-term stake in the development, instead of just trying to shift individual units as quickly as possible. Schemes will tend to be higher density overall, but with bigger chunks of high-quality communal space rather than smaller defensible spaces. Both of these factors mean that developers will tend to favour quality and creativity over price. The whole life cost will become more important, as opposed to solely capital cost. Therefore, although there will still be a desire to keep service charges to a minimum (so as to maximise rental), quality of aftercare will be balanced with price. Developers will be vying to create destination properties that develop value over time. Seasonality and change will be important rather than just appearance at point of sale. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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INFORM

Rob Woodhouse

Rae Wilkinson

Barry Randall

Garden designer, Rae Wilkinson Design Limited

Managing director, Leicestershire Garden Design

Managing director, Solent Garden Services Ltd

Where development properties are being built for the rental market the maintenance of the space is often basic, minimal or non-existent. Developers are beginning to recognise the importance of a green element for their schemes, but with this they need to be educated about aftercare from the outset. Equally, the design must be approached carefully to ensure it is sustainable. When it comes to ongoing maintenance, the approach is sadly often misaligned or inadequate. With more understanding of what the requirements are from clear maintenance guidelines, alongside a commitment from the outset to ensure that a suitable maintenance contract is in place, this can be avoided. As designers we have a task on our hands in terms of future proofing of these landscapes and ensuring they have longevity by having low ongoing input requirements. Green urban space is valuable space which enhances quality of living and needs to be designed and maintained thoughtfully in a development for rental situation.

I think there’s an opportunity to form ongoing maintenance arrangements with the developers. The rental market has less patience and pride in the look of their outdoor space, but as we know there’s a significant cost to reinstating landscaping, if and when, it is allowed to get out of hand. I suggest we form closer relations with the developers and look to offer a cost-effective solution for rental gardens. If we can pick up a Chelsea garden and reinstate it somewhere different, maybe there’s an opportunity to rent a garden to the tenant. As crazy as that sounds, why not? We’re only really confined by our current beliefs about landscaping – we could easily create a deck and raised planters that can be moved and reused.

This is an issue which is very relevant to our company. There has been a boom in housing within a five-mile radius of our base in Southampton. We have had to be flexible, adapt and sometimes go against our instincts to build gardens around a beautiful planting scheme (easier said than done!) We have found a growth in the need for low-maintenance gardens as landlords look for an install which will require little or no ongoing maintenance, featuring products such as artificial lawns and composite decking. 2017 was the first year that we had installed more artificial lawns per square meter than the real thing, and when we can install artificial lawns with a life expectancy of 10 years and composite decking which can last 35 years, you can see why landlords want to ‘fake it’.

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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NEXT MONTH

To keep your reputation intact, how do you ensure the quality of the subcontractors you use?

Have your say: content@eljays44.com Pro Landscaper / January 2019

20/12/2018 16:40

INFORM

NEWS Kew to open giant new Children’s Garden in May 2019

The oyal otanic ardens, Kew has embarked on its most ambitious design pro ect in recent years with the creation of a giant new Children’s Garden due to open to the public on ay . Covering , m , it s the si e of nearly tennis courts, and has been designed by a Kew garden designer around the elements that plants need to grow: earth, air, sun and water. Children will be able to play and explore as they wind their way through a landscape filled with over mature trees, discovering hidden treasures and adventure, and developing their love of nature, plants and the outdoors along the way. u ie ewell, Children s arden esigner, Kew said ith the Children’s Garden we really hoped to design and create a unique space for children to play

in, that would not only be fun and stimulate their imagination, but also give them a different perspective on how the plants grow and why they are so important. ork on the , m site, which is close to the existing Climbers and Creepers indoor play space and the White Peaks family cafe, began in ctober . The site already had mature trees in place, including Eucalyptus and Sweet Chestnuts, and a further mature trees were added to this space, including ingko and ines. These old giants’ are part of what makes this Garden unique and will capture the imagination of kids and adults alike as they explore the pathways and different elements of the arden. unding for this pro ect has come from private donations and corporate sponsor Thames ater. undraising is continuing to complete the pro ect. www.kew.org

Matthew Wood named APL WorldSkills UK Champion Matthew Wood, apprentice at Myerscough College, won gold at the APL WorldSkills final. The event took place at WorldSkills UK LIVE from ovember at the C irmingham. am ordon, The Gardenmakers and APL apprentice, won silver, with eece cKay from C took bron e. The orld kills final took place last week from 15-17 ovember at orld kills K . The event is at the irmingham C in front of over , . The competitors had hours to build a garden from scratch designed by head udge and general manager, hil Tremayne. uring the final, competitors were marked on elements such as paving including recessed drain cover detail and block paving provided by arshalls. They were also marked on decking, fencing,

planting, lighting, health and safety and the overall appearance of the garden. The final also included a plant ident created by orth est based nurseries ones, designed to test the competitors plant knowledge. The also hosted the orticulture nclusive kills competition on the Saturday of the show. This enables young people with learning di culties and disabilities to showcase their work skills and growing independence. The competition was once again a great success, and as of next year the nclusive kills competitions are being fully integrated into the show. any thanks to lowervision irmingham for the plants supplied. The would like to thank sponsors co ek, ones, Landscapeplus, Makita and Marshalls for their support of the competition, without whom this would not be possible. orld kills K opens for entries in arch. worldskillsuk.org

Concept to Delivery

November 2018

DESIGN, BUILD AND MAINTAIN

ANJI CONNELL

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CONNECT Round table event

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Ultimate outdoor entertainment

Agenda

Concept to Delivery

FLEXISM

DESIGN, BUILD AND MAINTAIN

IN BUSINESS

December 2018

Happy hollydays

Case study

FUTURESCAPE 2018

IN PICTURES

FESTIVE FOLIAGE

Let’s Hear it From

SUSSEX PRAIRIE GARDEN

KATE GOULD

The Dutch New Wave

Let’s Hear it From RICHARD CURLE

Entertaining al fresco

LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATES

OUTDOOR CREATIONS

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INFORM

Robin Williams, VMM, FSGD, FIHORT, FAPLD (USA) 1935-2018 On Friday 30 November 2018 Robin Williams sadly passed away at home after a long illness. Robin was a revered garden designer, lecturer and writer on garden and landscape design. He was a Fellow of the Society of Garden Designers of which he was a founding member and past chairman, a Fellow of the Institute of Horticulture and the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (USA) and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Gardeners. Robin was a recipient of the Royal Horticultural Society Veitch

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Memorial Medal, a past RHS council member and a past RHS show garden judge. Among many other awards and accolades, he received the John Brookes lifetime achievement award from the Society of Garden Designers in 2015, in recognition of his work and influence in the industry. Peter Killen commented: “Robin was my landscape lecturer for my last year at Merrist Wood and then I worked at the college for another two years as the senior Landscape Technician until moving to Bournemouth in 1978. Robin was great fun to work with and

very patient with students and staff alike. e set up the new Landscape workshop near the Agricultural Machinery workshop and finished it off with the help of students, concreting the workshop floor drive and storage areas. ll of this was completed with a sense of mischief and kindness, never a bad word but loads of encouragement. His party piece at that time was to go into the tool room blow down a hose pipe swing it around and make it sound like a boys brigade band whilst the students were building projects in the main workshop. I learnt all my designing from him and still use it today. He is still a big influence on the current private garden landscape industry.” Pro Landscaper would like to ask any other readers who have memories they would like to share of Robin to get in touch at content@eljays44.com.

NEWS IN BRIEF Countrywide wins additional grounds maintenance contract with LiveWest LiveWest will deliver grounds and garden maintenance for over 600 properties across Devon and North Somerset, starting on January 1 2019. countrywidegrounds.com

BTL conﬁrmed as idverde’s Dutch masterpiece

idverde announces the acquisition of BTL, Holland’s market-leading green services provider. BTL has principal operations in landscape construction and grounds maintenance. This provides an opportunity for BTL to develop its domestic strategy further. idverde.co.uk

The Young Horticulturist of the Year Competition launches for 2019

The Grand Final began at the Harrogate Spring Flower Show on 28 April. The winner was Tim Miles who is currently working at the National Trust Garden at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent. horticulture.org.uk

20/12/2018 17:12

INFORM

IPM Facilities Ltd win national grounds maintenance and cleaning tender

New Green-tech Trade Centre opens up in North Yorkshire Landscape supplier Green-tech opens up a Landscaping Trade Centre on Monday 3 December 2018, selling everything needed for commercial landscaping projects. Customers will also benefit from discounted trade prices. The Green-tech Trade Centre will be open from 7am on weekdays. It is within the Rabbit Hill Country Store on Rabbit Hill Business Park. There is plenty of free parking outside the Centre for quick and easy loading. Trade Centre manager Frankie Helliwell said: “There is nowhere locally for estate owners and

landscape gardeners to buy and collect professional strength products. We will be selling over , different landscaping products. Customers can call in from 7am and collect what they need without worrying about minimum order value or waiting for delivery. There will also be a collection service available during the weekend.” www.green-tech.co.uk

Horticulture/ Landscape Supervisor Apprenticeship approved The new scheme, announced by the arboriculture, forestry, horticulture and landscape apprenticeship trailblazer group will provide the technical and supervisory skills for those who are maintaining and installing parks, gardens and commercial landscapes. This is the latest in a

suite of new standards which are revolutionising careers for the future in arboriculture, forestry horticulture and landscape industries. This apprenticeship joins the arborist, forest operative and horticulture / landscape operative apprenticeship standards that were approved in the summer of 2017. Designed by employers working together as the trailblazer group, they contain the skills, knowledge and behaviours that will provide the industry with highly ualified workers. instituteforapprenticeships.org

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HEADLINE SPONSOR

IPM Facilities has been awarded a three-year contract to deliver cleaning, grounds maintenance services and civils works nationally for Property Management Agents Edgerley Simpson Howe. Mark Noakes, Managing Director at IPM Facilities said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this contract and already work nationally for Edgerley Simpson Howe on their other national portfolios. They specialize in edge and out of town retail and leisure parks and as a growing market for our client, we have kept pace with the demands these parks place on both them and us”. He continued: “We look forward to partnering with ESH on another of their growing national portfolios and this contract strengthens our presence in South Wales, the Midlands and the North and further consolidates IPM Facilities’ place as a progressive, forward thinking, national grounds maintenance and

property management company”. As well as the horticultural element of the contract, part of the contract involves continual H&S monitoring of the public areas and as part of the tender submission, IPM provided a fully bespoke client portal for ESH, enabling their Facilities Managers’ real-time access to updates, ticket resolution, and H&S documentation. Stuart Bromhead, senior facilities manager at ESH commented: “The footfall on our retail parks is enormous and the safety of the public is paramount. IPM Facilities have worked for us for a number of years and their attention to detail is second to none. Our decision to award them the contract was not only based on their horticultural expertise but also based on their H&S records on similar portfolios they manage on our behalf”. www.ipmfacilities.co.uk

12 MARCH 2019

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20/12/2018 13:26

INFORM

FUTURESCAPE 2018 SEMINAR ROUNDUP Industry experts delivered much food for thought in a wide range of seminars at this year’s event

ith visitors and exhibitors flocking from across the country, this year’s FutureScape was the biggest to date. Held on 20 November at Sandown Racecourse in Esher, the ever-expanding list of exhibitors and comprehensive seminar programme solidified FutureScape as the UK’s leading landscaping event. Our seminars were once again hugely popular, with speakers from various different sectors of the industry covering a range of topics, all bringing their expert knowledge and advice.

Increasing the value of your design: lighting In this seminar Luke Thomas, design director of John Cullen Lighting showcased how lighting can be used to enhance designs to create a magical space. Starting with a brief description of John Cullen Lighting, Luke then continued to talk through a series of his recent projects showing the audience how lighting enhanced planting, trees and seating areas, as well as hard landscaping and sculptures. Whilst explaining in detail the pros and cons of different products being used in different scenarios, examples were passed around the audience with everyone eager to take a look. Luke also showed the audience some simple tricks that enhance gardens at night, such as how moving the position of your lights can illuminate the garden instead of turning your patio doors into mirrors where you can’t see the outside at night. It was a full house of people eager to learn more and Luke even ran out of time to answer all the questions. Soft landscaping: plants In the final session of the day in room three, many interesting discussions arose when Jamie Butterworth (London Stone) hosted a panel about soft landscaping. Sitting on the panel was Rosanna Porter (soft landscape consultant), Guy Watts (Architectural Plants) and Phil Tremayne (General Manager of APL), all experts in their field. After quick introductions outlining their routes into the industry, the panel discussed topics ranging from finding the right plants for your project to how to help clients visualise designs. One stand-out discussion was: do designers need planting plans on domestic projects? Are heavily designed planting plans a waste of time? Rosanna was of the opinion that highly sophisticated drawings of planting plans are not needed. She believes that taking a client out into a garden and showing them potential plants in real life is an easier way to help clients feel inspired and visualise how their garden could look. The seminar ended with an eclectic mix of questions, including one visitor who asked what no one else was thinking: “What flower would you have on your tombstone?”

Pro Landscaper / January 2019

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www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/12/2018 15:26

INFORM

The digital world: hype or a valuable tool? Hosted by Jamie Wilkinson, a director of Eljays44, the panel featured Adam White, president of the Landscape Institute, Ben Shaw from one of the leading UK digital companies Adtrak, and Debs Winrow from Garden House Design. The panel discussed how to make digital marketing work for your business and how to understand the value of social media in the business environment. Adam said he had looked at how big companies like Coca Cola, Fujitsu and Disney do their marketing. “I realised, there is no rule, there is no right or wrong way to use social media as a marketing tool, use it how it suits you. “We’ve found, it’s really established our business, we win work through using social media and Twitter. 72% of small businesses are winning work because they’re on Twitter. It’s a very, very powerful tool and the important thing is hashtags – don’t just post a message – it’s really important that you put a hashtag.” Ben spoke about the importance of defining the company’s goal before choosing which social media channel to use and how it should be used as a platform to spark a conversation. Speaking from a landscaping aspect, Debs said when using social media it was important not just to post about what the company do day-to-day but to look at the person behind the design. “The consumer is wanting to engage with your brand and this is a really great platform for you to let just a little bit of personality in. It can be something as simple as why did you choose a particular stone in that design, was it because you love the texture?” At the end of the session, questions asked by the audience included how to make the best use of hashtags. It all starts with a design… A panel of three young garden designers who have already achieved great things in their careers provided inspiration to a packed audience at FutureScape. Chaired by Jamie Butterworth, the panel featured Tony Woods, of Garden Club London, Lilly Gomm, of Lilly Gomm Studio and Will Williams, of Will Williams Design and winner of RHS Young Designer of the Year. The designers spoke about how they started their careers and shared tips about their inspiration. Chair of the debate, Jamie Butterworth, asked the panellists if they would recommend designing a show garden to young designers. In reply, Tony said: ‘It is an amazing opportunity because you get to express all of those ideas that you’ve been sketching and scribbling. There’s a huge audience, national TV, national newspapers and all the support from the RHS. It’s a beautiful environment.” Speaking about how to approach an entry to the RHS show, Lilly said: “Start with www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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an idea, you’ve got to be passionate about it and have got to want to put it in front of a lot of people to be judged.” And Tony added: “You might get commissions out of it but it’s about revealing future ideas and collaboration also about building your profile in the press.” The young designers were asked by Jamie about current trends and themes within garden design. “British horticulture is leading the way around the world. Where do you think garden design is going?” he asked. In response, Lily said: “I’m not sure about themes but one thing I have been thinking about is that we shouldn’t just be meeting the clients’ brief, but should be hitting a separate environmental brief.” The future of garden design, according to Tony, involves being more sustainable and using ethically sourced products. Questions from the audience included how to design outdoor spaces for people living in flats and the sustainability of show gardens. Pro Landscaper / January 2019 15

20/12/2018 15:27

INFORM Growth, but at what speed? Understanding how and when to grow a business was the subject of a thought-provoking seminar at FutureScape. Chaired by Jamie Wilkinson, a director of Eljays44, the session covered how a company should focus on achieving its growth goals. The panel comprised Ken White of Frosts Landscape, Barry Randall of Leicestershire Garden Design and Holly Youde of Urban Landscape Design. Ken spoke about how the company, which has gone through a recent restructuring, had spent a long time looking at the nature and type of projects it takes on. Success for the company involved decreasing turnover while making more profit. “The best thing our business has learnt to say is ‘no’. We used to take it on, take it on, take it on, and we were becoming busy fools and over the years we worked harder and harder to stand still. The focus of the business now is an entirely different strategy. “Doing more of what you do really well, for me, is the better strategy or it is the better strategy for us. Less of it but higher quality.”

Barry shared his three key tips for growing a business – define your success, play big and define your network. When asked to share his three tips on growing a business, Ken said you have to ask yourself: “Where are you, what section do you want to be in, how am I going to get there and does everybody know what the plan is?” Holly explained how Urban Landscapes had grown rapidly over the last few years and how the company had plans to diversify in the future but not necessarily to grow actively. At the end of the session the panel was asked if it was better to invest before growth or to hold back until the company expands. According to Ken, the decision depended on whether you were moving into a new market sector or whether you were doing more of existing trade. “If you’re entering a new market, you’ve got no choice but to invest ahead of the curve,” he said. Other questions included if there were any pointers that help indicate when a business is ready for the next push.

Recruitment: the good, the bad and the very ugly With 4.2% of people unemployed, this seminar was more significant than ever. Liam Colclough (Eljays44) chaired the panel consisting of Nigel Payne (Tivoli), Marian Barker (Fresh Horticultural Careers), Elisa Zimmatore (Garden Club London) and Koreen Samuel (Ground Control). Advice was given on how to make your company appealing to potential applicants, with all agreeing how important it is to show applicants who you are as a company – from your website to job specification. As well as this, the importance of staff retention was discussed, with Nigel arguing that if an employee feels valued, and you nurture their talent they’ll promote your business amongst their friends. Discussions surrounding the interview process were had, with Koreen expressing how important it is to have a trial day, explaining that at Ground Control they push interviewees pretty hard these days to see what they’re made of. Elisa expressed how little time Garden Club London has to do these trial days, reiterating how essential this makes the face-to-face interview. Audience members were keen to find out how to change the perception of the industry and attract more young people, with issues of how it’s perceived in secondary school raised. Liam spoke about his work alongside BALI Go Landscape to change young people’s opinions and provide the information necessary to inspire and educate. A big thank you to all of our speakers, panellists and to the audience for making these sessions possible – we’re thrilled with all your positive feedback and we look forward to seeing you at FutureScape Spring on 12 March 2019! Make sure you go to the Pro Landscaper website to read a full report on all the seminars: www.prolandscapermagazine.com 16

Pro Landscaper / January 2019

FutureScape Coverage.indd 16

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20/12/2018 15:28

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20/12/2018 14:24

INFORM

BALI Awards 2018 2018 Principal Award Winners BALI Registered Designers and Contractors Joint Submission – sponsored by Easigrass John Nash MBALI and Buckland Landscapes for From Pit to Picture

Domestic Garden Construction – cost over £250k – sponsored by Europlants UK Bowles & Wyer for Private Residence in the Chilterns Community and Schools Development – sponsored by Wyevale Nurseries Ground Control for Calverley Adventure Grounds

Domestic Garden Construction – cost under £30k – sponsored by Derbyshire Aggregates Langlea Garden Design & Construction for Victorian Flavour

Design Excellence Award, Overall scheme over £125k – sponsored by Ground Control Marian Boswall MBALI for Sussex Farmhouse

Soft Landscaping Construction (Non-Domestic) – cost between £300k–£1.5m – sponsored by Todds Nursery Frosts Landscape Construction for Holland Park Villas

Grounds Maintenance – Private, value over £50k – sponsored by ICL & Round Up Gavin Jones for Virginia Park, Virginia Water, Surrey

Grounds Maintenance – Free Public Access – sponsored by Rigby Taylor idverde for Colchester Castle Park

Domestic Garden Construction – cost between £30k–£60k – sponsored by Gabriel Ash The Landscaping Consultants for Rose Bank

Hard Landscaping Construction (Non-Domestic) – cost over £1.5 million – sponsored by Bourne Amenity Maylim for Rathbone Square

Sports Grounds and Leisure Facilities Blakedown Sport and Play for Archbishop Park

Domestic Garden Construction – cost between £60k–£100k – sponsored by Johnsons of Whixley Land Design Partnership for Private Residence in Greenwich Soft Landscaping Construction (Non-Domestic) – cost under £300k – sponsored by Adtrak Frosts Landscape Construction for London Wall Place Interior Landscape – Maintenance only Nurture Landscapes for Milton Keynes Winter Gardens Hard Landscaping Construction (Non-Domestic) – cost under £300k – sponsored by Vande Moortel NV Blakedown Landscapes (SE) for The Royal Ballet School Domestic Garden Construction – cost between £100k–£250k – sponsored by Van den Berk Nurseries PC Landscapes for Private Residence in Winchester Hard Landscaping Construction (Non-Domestic) – cost between £300k–£1.5m – sponsored by CWS Group idverde for Theatre Square, The Royal National Theatre

Interior Landscape – Installation only Planters Horticulture for Aprons & Hammers, La Mer Green Roof Installations and Roof Gardens – sponsored by Green-tree Topsoil Total Protection (Landscaping) for Riverside Studios and Queen’s Wharf

Grounds Maintenance – Limited Public Access – sponsored by Reesink Turfcare John O’Conner (Grounds Maintenance) for The Emergency Planning College, The Hawkhills Employer Excellence – Turnover over £2.5 million – sponsored by Fresh Horticultural Careers Harrod UK International Award – sponsored by CED Stone Group Beijing Tsinghua Tongheng Urban Planning and Design Institute for Design for Children, Ya’an Panda Green Island Park Landscape Design Design Excellence Award, Overall scheme under £50k – sponsored by Provender Nurseries Elaine Rutherford MBALI for Private Residence in Worsley

Regeneration Scheme over £500k – sponsored by MCM (SE) Ground Control for Elephant Park

Affiliate Exceptional Service – sponsored by idverde London Stone (Principal Award Winner 2018)

Grounds Maintenance – Private, value under £50k Clifton Nurseries for Private Residence in Wentworth

Employer Excellence – Turnover under £2.5 million Leicestershire Garden Design Company

Pro Landscaper / January 2019

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L-R: BALI National Chairman Matt O’Conner; Ken White; John Wyer

Regeneration Scheme under £500k – sponsored by Tim O’Hare Associates Whiting Landscape for The Petwood Hotel

Design Excellence Award, Overall scheme between £50k–£125k Matt Nichol MBALI for Tranquil Cheshire Garden

Langlea Garden Design & Construction wins a special award for Best Newcomer to BALI

Elaine Rutherford picks up the Design Excellence Award from Provender Nurseries’ Richard McKenna

BALI CEO Wayne Grills and RHS Director General Sue Biggs

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/12/2018 15:33

INFORM

All images ©BALI

On 7 December Grosvenor House once again played host to the BALI National Landscape Awards. Now in its 42nd year, the event celebrated the hard work, quality, commitment and successes of BALI members. A total of 32 Principal and Special Awards were presented to members, with Bowles & Wyer taking home the prestigious Grand Award for its project Private Residence in the Chilterns. Pro Landscaper would like to congratulate all those who won an award for their continued dedication to our industry.

2018 Special Award Winners Special Award for Best Newcomer to BALI – sponsored by Talasey Group Langlea Garden Design & Construction for Victorian Flavour Special Award for Design & Build – sponsored by British Sugar TOPSOIL Sandstone Design Solutions Special Award for Best First Time Entrant Matt Nichol MBALI for Tranquil Cheshire Garden

2018 Grand Award Winner Grand Award – sponsored by Green-tech Bowles & Wyer for Private Residence in the Chilterns

The Special Award for Design & Build sponsored by British Sugar Topsoil went to Sandstone Design Solutions 2018 BALI Grand Award Winners Bowles & Wyer

Ashley Zymanczyk received BALI Chalk Fund’s Top Student of the Year Award 2018

Matt Nichol won the award for Best First Time Entrant

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

BALI Awards.indd 19

BALI Chalk Fund Trustee Richard Gardiner

Employer Excellence turnover over £2.5m winners Harrod UK

LDP collected the Domestic Garden Construction £60k-£100k Award from Andrew Richardson of Johnsons of Whixley

Marian Boswall was delighted to win the Design Excellence Award for a scheme over £125k

The Eljays44 team...not too disappointed!

Pro Landscaper / January 2019 19

20/12/2018 15:34

Spring 12 MARCH 2019

SANDOWN PARK RACECOURSE, ESHER FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT: EVENT DIRECTOR JAMIE WILKINSON T: 01903 777 570 E: jamie.wilkinson@eljays44.com FutureScape Spring.indd 8

20/12/2018 13:21

Landscape Institute Awards 2018

INFORM Winners: Open category:

• Dame Sylvia Crowe Award for Outstanding International Contribution to People, Place and Nature Winner: Quarry Garden in Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Beijing Tsinghua Tongheng Urban Planning and Design Institute • Fellow’s Award Winner: Beech Gardens and The High Walk, Barbican Estate, Nigel Dunnett and the Landscape Agency • President’s Award Winner: South Gardens, Elephant Park, Churchman Landscape Architects

Professional categories:

©Paul Upward

his year’s Landscape Institute (LI) Awards, held at The Brewery in London on 22 November, showcased the best in landscape architecture, design, planning and management both in the UK and internationally. Chosen from a record number of entries, the winners highlighted a range of projects which focus on landscape design, community, sustainability and innovative thinking. New York Times best-selling author and journalist Florence Williams was the keynote speaker and the awards were compered by broadcast journalist and BBC London radio contributor, Ebs Akintade. Speaking about the awards, Adam White, president of the LI, said: “From a quarry in Shanghai to a 21st-century back garden in Elephant and Castle, landscape practitioners are leading the way in combating climate change, creating places where people want to live and connecting people, place and nature.” And Dan Cook, chief executive officer of the LI, said: “One of the common themes this year across many entries is the importance placed on community engagement and is symbolic of the values held by the next generation of the profession.” In keeping with this theme, Churchman Landscape Architect’s project in South Gardens, Elephant Park, was the winner of this year’s prestigious President’s Award for the Best Landscape Scheme of the Year. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Landscape Institute Awards.indd 21

©Paul Upward

©Simon Williams

• Adding Value Through Landscape/ Environmental Improvement Award Winner: Maritime Streets, Farrer Huxley Associates • Design for a Small Scale Development Award Winner: South Gardens, Elephant Park, Churchman Landscape Architects • Design for a Medium Scale Development Award Winner: Aberfeldy phases 1 and 2, Levitt Bernstein • Design for a Large Scale Development Award Winner: Learning Forest, Singapore Botanic Gardens, Stephen Caffyn Landscape Design • Design for a Temporary Landscape Project Award Winner: Forest of Imagination, Grant Associates • Communications and Presentation Award Winner: Bluegreen Liverpool, reShaped • Heritage and Conservation Award Winner: Cassiobury Park, LUC • Science, Management and Stewardship Award Winner: Thamesmead, Land Management Services • Landscape Policy and Research Award Winner: Wandle Vistas, Untitled Practice Ltd and Fiona Fyfe Associates • Local Landscape Planning Award Winner: Connecting Burton and the Trent Washlands: A New Vision, Black and Veatch Ltd • Strategic Landscape Planning Award Winner: London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Parks and Open Spaces Strategy and Corporate Natural Capital Accounts, Jon Sheaff and Associates • Urban Design and Masterplanning Award Winner: Residential Regeneration at Poole Park Road, Barne Barton, Plymouth, Clifton Emery Design • Strategic ecology, horticulture and planting design Winner: Beech Gardens and The High Walk, Barbican Estate, Nigel Dunnett and the Landscape Agency

Student categories:

©Paul Upward

• Student Dissertation Award Winner: Displaced Ecosystems: Can implementing an ecosystem services approach improve the quality and sustainability of refugee settlements? Joelle Darby • Student Portfolio Award Winner: Indulge me, Michael Ekers

Special Awards:

©Nick Harrison

• Client of the Year Award Winner: HUB (in collaboration with B|D Landscape Architects) • New Landscape Professional of the Year Award Winner: Anneliese Walker • Volunteer of the Year Award Winner: Mike Browell Pro Landscaper / January 2019 21

20/12/2018 15:18

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These elegant grilles graced the Gold Medal-winning Seedlip Garden at RHS Chelsea in 2018. Laser-cut in-house in polished stainless steel, then set on rolled steel columns to form a pathway, they feature to the highest levels of precision, quality and finish. View this project online: www.outdoordesign.co.uk

Whatever you can imagine, we can make it a reality in metal. To discuss your ideas, email info@outdoordesign.co.uk or call us now on 01903 716960.

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20/12/2018 14:25

ASSOCIATION

INFORM

NEWS

plants@work outline Where is the industry heading as we start a new year? Although we can’t predict what may happen, we can comment on some trends that have been emerging over the last few months. The pull of biophilia One of the trends recognised is that planning for green installations is likely to be architect or designer led at project conception, whether it’s a new build or a refurbishment. Members also

felt that specifiers are definitely being influenced by the biophilia movement. Increasing value and investing in wellbeing Green walls have gained credibility as part of investment in wellness programmes for businesses wishing to be seen as acting in the best interests of their employees’. An eye to investment and management costs There is a move towards the purchase of plants and containers rather than rental,

plus many companies are seeing the benefits of maintenance and are factoring in these costs at the start. Some members feel that maintenance still needs more recognition as a professional service offered by trained horticulturalists to keep

CEG Kirkstall Forge by Urban Planters Leeds

installations in good condition. Trends: Cabinet tops, table tops, cacti and succulents Interior planting trends vary, but common ground has been found in the desire for cabinet top and table top planters. These are space saving, make it easier to incorporate planting in the hub of the workplace as well as keeping cabinet tops free from piles of papers. The call for cacti and succulents is popular to achieve a homely feel and follows a trend picked up on Instagram. www.plantsatwork.org.uk

APL update John Lewis Home Solutions The APL are proud to be the landscaping accrediting body for Home Solutions from John Lewis. This exclusive partnership enables members the chance to design, build and maintain gardens for John Lewis customers. Home Solutions began as a trial in the Milton Keynes area in 2017 and has since expanded in Bristol, Bath and Greater London. The APL are

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Association News.indd 23

now helping to recruit new members to the service in Hampshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex. Home Solutions reached out to The Association of Professional Landscapers to help find uality, experienced landscaping companies that have been accredited and

receive ongoing inspections through the APL and Trustmark inspection process. John Cotter, go to market lead for Home Solutions, said of the partnership: “Home Solutions is a brand-new proposition from John Lewis which connects our customers with uality vetted trade professionals. When looking for the very best Landscapers, partnering with the Association of Professional Landscapers was a natural fit. APL Chairman, Rod Winrow, commented: “The opportunity to work in partnership with one

of the best retailers in the UK is fantastic, it makes perfect sense when the organisations share similar values: to deliver landscaping excellence backed with superb customer service and professionalism. This partnership is exclusively for APL members, so If you are interested in applying for this or looking into membership of APL, contact Phil Tremayne at phil.tremayne@hta.org.uk or visit homesolutions. johnlewis.com/trades for more information. www.landscaper.org.uk

Pro Landscaper / January 2019 23

20/12/2018 15:00

INFORM

RHS report Handle with Care, RHS Lindley Library: 7 January – 15 February

Japanese Art Exhibition, RHS Garden Harlow Carr: 5 January – 7 February RHS Garden Harlow Carr’s first ever exhibition of apanese art invites visitors to come in from the cold and view handmade pictures in the style of iroshige.

rom rare sixteenth century herbals to the personal notebooks of plant collectors and garden designers, these ob ects must be preserved for future generations of gardeners and historians alike. This exhibition explores some of the challenges faced by librarians and will describe how they protect and conserve the collections.

Gardenalia Sale, RHS Garden Rosemoor: 19 – 20 January ead to the arden oom at arden osemoor s to browse new and vintage ornaments, furniture and decorative finds for the garden, and choose uni ue pieces to take home.

coming to arden isley this winter. xplore both the temperate and tropical ones of The lasshouse and find more than life si e ungle animals and plants. earn all about their habitats, the food they eat and the conservation efforts going on around them.

The Great Brick Safari, RHS Garden Wisley: 26 January – 3 March The reat rick afari is

There will also be the chance to oin in with a bricks making workshop in the lasshouse allery. www.rhs.org.uk

SGD bulletin Shortlist announced in the SGD Student Awards 2019 inalists in the The tudent wards have been announced with eight finalists and nine pro ects selected across the two award categories Commercial esign and omestic esign. The finalists were chosen by two award winning members of the ociety, ndy turgeon and ebbie oberts

Pro Landscaper / January 2019

Association News.indd 24

arden by Colm oseph

from cres ild, and represent a range of K colleges including ondon College of arden esign, rittle niversity College in ssex and Craven College in orth orkshire. The udges remarked on the impressive uality of the graphic presentations, which they said were exceptionally accomplished and of a highly professional standard.

Finalists: Student Design Commercial Bob Richmond-Watson ondon College of arden esign Amy Derby ondon College of arden esign Michael Ekers rittle niversity College Michael Ekers rittle niversity College Roger Hines Craven College Mark Knight Craven College Student Design - Domestic Richard Rogers ondon College of arden esign Colm Joseph ondon College of arden esign Duncan Cargill ondon College of arden esign

The winners of both awards will be revealed alongside the winners of the main ward categories at a ceremony on riday ebruary at ondon s andmark otel. Tickets for the ceremony are on sale now. To see details and images of all the shortlisted pro ects and to buy tickets to the ceremony go to the wards website www.sgdawards.com www.sgd.org.uk

arden by

ichael kers

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/12/2018 11:50

INFORM

BALI briefing BALI’s National Landscape Awards 2018 hits all the right notes The 42nd BALI National Landscape Awards was held on Friday 7 December 2018, with 1,000 members, guests and VIPs in attendance. 29 Principal and three Special Awards were bestowed during the live ceremony. This year’s prestigious Grand Award was presented by Richard Gill, sales director of Green Tech to Bowles & Wyer in front of the industry’s finest landscaping professionals. This

was the first time BALI delivered the event completely in-house and the team at Landscape House are delighted with the results. For a full list of winners, including the Grand, Principal and Special Awards, visit bali.org.uk BALI 2019 – More events, improved products With 16% of BALI Registered members responding to a recent membership survey, the team at Landscape House are working hard to publish the results before Christmas. The information will also form part of a new exclusive membership publication and a summary will be printed in the Winter copy of Landscape News in December. Members provided

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comment across all areas of the association. This data will now be used by the Landscape House team to help plan new events for 2019, as well as creating new products and refining service provisions.

©BALI

BALI to support members at Futurebuild 2019 Now that ecobuild has been rehomed within new show format Futurebuild, BALI has been working closely with organisers to provide its members with a unique opportunity to promote their

products directly with customers. As well as space only, there are four stand options available in a range of sizes. For prices and more details please contact BALI’s Marketing and Communications Manager Darren Taylor on 0247669 8656 or email darren.taylor@bali.org.uk.

bali.org.uk

At Eljays44 Ltd we’re always looking to expand our teams to ensure we have the most inspired, passionate and innovative members of staff working with us and to celebrate our success. We’re dedicated to providing the highest level of service to all we interact with, and as leaders in our industry we’re always looking to innovate and stay ahead. If you’re someone who shares this passion and is ready to make an impact every day then we would love to hear from you.

Sales

LIFE AT ELJAYS44 LTD

Editorial

Office

Freelance

• Generous annual leave

Staff at Eljays44 Ltd feel supported and + Christmas shutdown • Competitive remuneration have a fantastic balance between work and • Training, development home commitments. We have a particular and ongoing support focus on developing our staff and giving them • Modern working environment progression opportunities within our exciting with great local facilities industry. We all play a vital role in the success of • Remote and flexible working opportunities our business and like to attend various company events, away days. Other benefits our employees love:

For more information email careers@eljays44.com or call Matthew Trussler on 01903 777 570

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Association News.indd 25

Pro Landscaper / January 2019 25

20/12/2018 11:53

INFORM

30 UNDER 30

noticeboard

ANCA PANAIT

LYDIA NOBLE

Anca Panait Studio

Noble Stonework

Anca Panait was recently an assessor for the RHS Scotland Green Plan It Challenge (GPI). This is a campaign organised by RHS to try to promote garden design and horticulture in schools, aimed at year 8-9 / S2-3 pupils. The campaign tasks students across the UK with researching, planning and building a model showing their ideas of what would make an innovative or exciting new garden for their school or local community. As well as this, in January Anca will speak at the Palmstead Soft Landscape Workshop alongside Sarah Morgan, John Wyer, Helen Elks-Smith, Andrew Wilson and Adam White. The debate will be on conflict resolution and the importance of industry collaboration.

Lydia Noble has gained the Master Craftsman certificate with the Dry-Stone Walling Association of Great Britain. This is the highest qualification for dry-stone walling in the world and Lydia is the youngest person to achieve this level. The test involves building various technical features such as a pillar, an arch or a set of steps and then undertaking another feature in 5m of wall in a seven-hour timed exam. Lydia works with her older brother Cuthbert who was also successful in gaining his Master Craftsman certificate this year. This achievement now makes them the highest qualified walling team in the world as their father also holds the certificate.

JAKE CATLING

ED HIGGINS

The Landscaping Consultants

Hosta Consulting

The Landscaping Consultants took home the Principal award for the Domestic Garden Constructions – cost between £30k-£60k category at the BALI Awards. The Landscaping Consultants were awarded this for their work on the Rose Bank garden. Jake and his team celebrated their win at the prestigious BALI Awards held on Friday 7 December at Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London.

Pro Landscaper / January 2019

30 U 30 noticeboard.indd 26

Ed Higgins has begun work on a roof garden for the 400 residents of the Victoria Centre Flats, a significant project for Nottingham. As one of few intensive green roofs in the city, and the first commissioned by Nottingham City Homes, it is a landmark moment for the area. Construction started in October and is due for completion at the beginning of March 2019. In collaboration with Nottingham artist SmallKid, the garden features floral-themed artwork as a backdrop to the planting which has been selected to thrive within the specialist substrate and provide flowers all year for the residents. The highways team at Nottingham City Council have recently been working hard to lay the green-roof system and are currently laying the paving and creating the planting beds.

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/12/2018 16:53

INFORM Landscape designer Rupert Keys set up business early on in his career; here he shares his views on changes in the industry and his enduring enthusiasm for the outdoors You’ve been in the landscaping and garden design industry for 25 years, what got you started in the industry as a career? I think it’s in my blood. My grandfather was a head gardener in a large garden in the middle of Cheltenham and I used to help him occasionally when I was very young. We used to walk through a covered walkway from his house into the garden which was next door and it felt like walking into a secret garden. I just loved being outdoors and helping neighbours in their gardens. Mind you, I always wanted to be an engineer like my father – I guess there are similarities as you still have to be creative with your hands. How was Keyscape established and what is its current team and structure? Having left Pershore College of Horticulture in 1992 I returned to one of my middle year placement jobs for a landscape company in Canada for a few months. I came back after three months and went and worked for a commercial landscape company nearer home. After a few months, a couple of my college friends had set up a landscape company and not really having the desire for commercial work, I decided to set up on my own. I started Keyscape Design & Construction in 1993.

IF YOU ARE ENTHUSIASTIC, WORK HARD AND DON’T MIND GETTING YOUR HANDS DIRTY YOU CAN ACHIEVE ANYTHING Initially I carried out the design work or worked for other designers – which we still do today – but in 2002 my wife Ruth came on board. Ruth is a qualified landscape architect and garden designer and now runs her own award-winning practice, Ruth Gwynn Associates. We predominately build Ruth’s designs, however about 30% of our work is for other garden designers. Our work is predominantly domestic, however if an interesting commercial project is offered we’ll never say never. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Let's Hear it From Rupert Keys.indd 27

Let’s Hear it From

RUPERT KEYS KEYSCAPE

Unfortunately in recent years we have experienced a decline in the number of keen and enthusiastic people wanting to enter the industry. I have trained quite a few young people over the years and really enjoy it, especially when you see their enthusiasm when given an opportunity to better themselves and learn a skill. Sadly, there has been a decrease over the last few years of young people coming up through the ranks. So, in 2018 I took the decision to restructure. We are now a team of three and we are using more sub-contractors as and when required. So far this has been a great success and I’m enjoying the work much more. Obviously, this doesn’t help with nurturing new people, so I am planning to be more involved with training courses in landscaping around the country over the next couple of years. We are also really excited about plans for developing our premises near Pershore next year to offer potential horticulturists the opportunity to learn aspects of landscaping hands on. We would like to bring in other experts from the industry to give knowledge across the board. Many schools/colleges offer garden design but not predominantly hands on landscaping, so this will be a great opportunity for anyone – whether they are 16 or 60 years old.

We are very fortunate to have Alan Williams working with us. He started with Keyscape in 2014 and his first day was the start of our Living With Parkinson’s Garden at RHS Malvern. I know for sure that without Alan we would not have achieved the accolades we have won since at Malvern, Hampton Court and BBC Gardeners’ World. Alan has a degree in interior design so he has a great eye for detail. Pro Landscaper / January 2019 27

20/12/2018 09:10

INFORM

Can you tell us more about your special projects service? Over the last three to four years we’ve been fortunate enough to have been asked to ‘set dress’ weddings and gala evenings for various clients with planting schemes and props. People can find out more through our website and social media, however most of our work has come through word of mouth, especially for weddings. It’s a side to the business that we are keen to develop, but we have to find the time around our current landscape projects. What do you think the benefits to your business are of designing and building show gardens? We are incredibly grateful for the opportunities people in the industry have given us, especially when it comes to show gardens. I left Pershore College of Horticulture in 1992 and got the bug for show gardens having just built Paul Coopers The Greening of Industry as part of our end of year project. This was the first time a college had been awarded a Gold and Best in Show at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and we all felt so proud to be involved. Apart from the accolade, one of the most rewarding parts was meeting other people in the horticultural industry who shared a passion for the same thing. We have seen over the years, that being awarded RHS and BBC Gardeners’ World Live show garden medals means our projects have become a little more prestigious and we get the opportunity to try something a little bit different.

THE REWARDS ARE HUGE –AND THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE BOUNDLESS

Pro Landscaper / January 2019

Let's Hear it From Rupert Keys.indd 28

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/12/2018 09:11

INFORM

passion. RHS Malvern has a category called Green Living Spaces for newcomers which is a fantastic opportunity. I have seen designers go from creating a beautiful border at Gardeners’ World Live to building show gardens, so there are lots of opportunities out there.

WHAT YOU CREATE FOR A CLIENT GIVES THEM A HUGE AMOUNT OF PLEASURE FOR YEARS TO COME AND IT’S YOU AND YOUR TEAM THAT HAVE MANAGED TO DO THAT FOR THEM What are the benefits of being part of an industry association? We have been part of the APL for nearly 20 years. Alan Sergeant introduced me to the APL when I was studying at Pershore College and I always felt it had a family atmosphere and was very approachable. Being part of it reassures me that should we ever need support or advice for any aspects of the business, the APL can offer it. Support also goes wider than that as you are also a member of the HTA who offer HR support. The APL also carries out very informal cluster meetings – generally over a meal and pint – where you can keep up to date with legislation and what’s happening in the industry. It’s also great to meet other landscapers and designers and it’s all run by Phil Tremayne with the great support of industry committee members and Rod Winrow who is a great Chairman. How have you seen the landscape industry change over the past 25 years? Despite the need for more investment by the government for land base education it has changed for the better. I know some people may www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Let's Hear it From Rupert Keys.indd 29

oppose the likes of Ground Force, but it made gardening cool again and the love of landscaping has risen amongst the general public. It has moved on hugely during the last two decades, especially when you look at different materials and how we use them in the landscape and the advancements of modern technology. There is a larger community in the industry these days and everyone wants to make a change for the better. There are so many talented and passionate professionals out there and I feel privileged to have been involved with some of them. Why should people pursue a career in the landscape industry? You don’t choose a career in landscaping and horticulture for the easy life. It’s hard physical work, and you have the added challenges of varied weather conditions on a daily basis. But the rewards are huge – and the opportunities are boundless. If you are enthusiastic, work hard and don’t mind getting your hands dirty you can achieve anything. You learn something new most days or weeks and every day is different. What you create for a client gives them a huge amount of pleasure for years to come and it’s you and your team that have managed to do that for them. What advice would you offer to those wanting to build their profile in the landscape industry? I would definitely recommend getting involved with a show garden or building one yourself. You meet so many great people who have the same

What do you think will be the major challenges for the industry moving forward, and how can we tackle them? Employment. It would be good to see the industry come together and create a training hub for up-and-coming landscapers. One of my first insights was being involved with a show garden so this could be part of the process. When you’re not working, what do you like to do to relax? Spending time with Ruth and our children, Seb and Immie, and getting together with friends. Rugby is one of my passions, although it can be rather stressful at times! I enjoy watching films and listening to music – rather loudly when no one’s around. Pottering around in the workshop fixing and making things is also a great escape.

1 Natural swimming pool 2 BBC Gardeners’ World Live 3 Moongate 4 The Perfumer’s Garden 5 RAF 100 Garden 6 The Organ Donation Garden

CONTACT The Design Studio Alveston House 11 Broad Street, Pershore Worcestershire WR10 1BB Tel: 01386 462790 www.keyscapegardens.co.uk

Pro Landscaper / January 2019 29

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INFORM

COMPANY

PROFILE

Pro Landscaper talks to Helen Basson of Scape Design, a practice that puts sustainability at the forefront of everything they do

What is the history of Scape Design? My husband James and I established Scape Design in 1998 in the UK. It was just the two of us, and we stayed in the UK for two years before moving to France. We had always intended to make the move to France – we actually met there when James was on a work placement during his Garden Design degree. I studied French at university, so moving here was a natural choice! It was after we did Hampton Court in 2000 that we thought: ‘if we stay here, we’ll remain here and never go’. So, we left. The company is based in Monaco, but James and I live about an hour away in Grasse. We were away in the Ukraine recently where it was -9oc, so it’s been lovely to come back to the Provencal climate!

SCAPE DESIGN

in numbers

Established 1998 Employees 4 Awards RHS Chelsea 4 Golds, Singapore Garden Festival – 1 Silver; 1 Gold, GWC Japan – 1 Silver; 1 Gold, Philadelphia Flower Show – Governors Trophy, National French Landscape awards – 2 Gold, Russian National Landscape Awards – Gold, SGD Awards (several) Turnover c500 000

Helen Basson

what they want. We don’t do lawns, or anything that needs watering in this part of the world. We’re now in a very lucky position because the scale of the grounds and gardens here are quite big, with the average-size garden being around 3,000–5,000sq metres. This means a lot of our work is big-budget projects. Interestingly, although most of our clients are in France, not many of them are French. We work with a lot of expats from places like Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, America – all kinds of places. What are your company philosophies? We’re passionate about sustainability. It’s all about the classic ‘right plant, right place’ – planting schemes that are high in biodiversity, to try and make sure we haven’t got any block planting that’s open to diseases, so we’ve got

How is the company structured? We have four full-time employees (including ourselves) and three regular freelancers. One of our employees, Bruno, has been with us on-and-off since he was 15, when he first came to us to do his work experience at school. After that he returned as an apprentice and now, 13 years later, he is still with us working as our top technical drawer. Then there’s Christiane (who does everything to do with administration and accounting), James (who is the design brain) and myself (I deal with the clients and concepts). Our three freelancers do things like illustrating, maintenance consulting and graphic design. What are your usual projects and clients? Over the years we’ve worked really hard to get a reputation for doing dry, sustainable landscapes. Our ideal clients are ones that know that and come to us because that’s 30

Pro Landscaper / January 2019

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www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/12/2018 11:58

INFORM something that’s constantly adapting and evolving. We don’t use irrigation, we make everything as natural as possible. Looking at the natural landscape is our main inspiration, because if it works in nature, it’ll work in the garden. Can you tell me about any stand-out projects you’ve worked on? We’ve just completed a project in Saint-Rémyde-Provence which is shortlisted for the SGD awards this year. That project was great because the client really let us push the boundaries and be more creative. We’ve also been super lucky on the show garden circuit because in the last six years we’ve done something like 14 show gardens. I guess Chelsea 2017 (last year) was a stand-out project, as we won Best in Show. Internationally, we’ve

been to shows in Singapore, Japan, Philadelphia, Sicily, Moscow, and in 2019 we’re going to China. If anyone had said to me 10 years ago that as garden designers you’re going to be travelling around the world, I’d have thought they were mad! For overseas projects we try to use plants from the natural climate, but for example at Chelsea we always like to do a Mediterraneanfeel garden because we want to bring that message to a wider audience. What are you working on currently? We’re working towards China and we’ve also got a couple of projects in Russia, plus all the work here in France. However, what we’re really excited about is taking planting design into the next century. Garden design is the ultimate big data problem, so we’re working on using computer technology to push planting design a bit further. We would like to investigate how computer technology can help us make more dynamic and sustainable solutions for the physical constraints of a site, aesthetic requirements of the client and the natural properties of plants. For example, taking into account the evolution of plants over time. If we are able to estimate factors such as climate change and the effect it will have on the evolution of a garden, this could affect the plants used in our designs. What’s next for Scape Design? We made the conscious decision a few years ago not to get any bigger, partly because in France the taxes are ridiculously high, and also because we didn’t want to start taking on work just to ‘feed the machine’. We like to choose projects that we can get really excited about, and this is what we’ll continue to do. We’re also really excited to continue to push the technology.

1 Radicepura Garden Festival: Alpheus and Arethusa 2 Singapore Garden Festival: Where the lavender grows 3 Le Mas Vieux, St Remy de Provence 4 Singpore Garden Festival: Tartarus 5 RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2017: M&G Garden 6 The Scape Design team

CONTACT Scape Design 27 Boulevard des Moulins 98000 Monaco Tel: +33 97 97 15 36 Twitter: @basson_helen Email: helen@scapedesign.com Web: www.scapedesign.com

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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20/12/2018 11:59

INFORM

City of Glasgow College: City Campus

Performance space at Lamer Island Battery in Dunbar

Approach to the Lamer Island Battery in Dunbar

LANDSCAPE

ARCHITECT’S JOURNAL

Pro Landscaper talks to Chris Rankin of rankinfraser, a landscape architecture practice with simplicity of design at its core FOUNDING RANKINFRASER Chris Rankin, founder of rankinfraser landscape architecture, was initially declined a space to study landscape architecture at university. However, after working for a year, Chris gained a place at Edinburgh College of Art where he graduated with an undergraduate degree having spent time also studying in Canada and the US. Following on from this, Chris went on to complete a masters at The Berlage Institute in Amsterdam before returning to Scotland. The practice was founded by Chris Rankin and Kenny Fraser in 2008 when the pair were both teaching at the Edinburgh College of Art. At the time they felt 32

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that with a new practice they could offer something different from the established practices at the time. The company has since grown to a team of 10, and both Chris and Kenny continue to combine teaching and research with their practice work. A CULTURAL APPROACH The team seek to design landscapes that are deeply rooted in their cultural, social and spatial context regardless of scale. They believe in the timeless beauty of simplicity, adhering to Dieter Rams 10 Principles of Good Design, especially the maxim that: “good design is as little design as possible”. In the context of designing landscapes, rankinfraser translates this into an approach that prioritises the importance of site along with a detailed and thorough understanding of the components that constitute the character of the place.

Building upon this research and understanding they seek to combine a tectonic approach that focuses on careful material selection and detailing with a strategic understanding of the wider landscape character, married to the client’s aspirations and needs. rankinfraser endeavours to make landscape proposals that are: innovative and practical; contextual and memorable; honest and durable; unobtrusive and unique; sustainable and original; value for money; pure and simple. STAND-OUT PROJECTS In 2014 the practice completed a garden for the Maggie’s Centre at Monklands Hospital in Airdrie. The garden was designed as a holistic part of the overall centre. The landscape design reinforces the existing features with new tree planting, suggesting a dialogue between an entrance courtyard to the west, a shady woodland garden to the east, the building, the enclosed courtyards and the trees. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/12/2018 15:23

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Maggie’s Centre at Monklands Hospital

Temporary park at City Campus

City of Glasgow College: Riverside Campus

The practice has also designed a new public gathering and performance space within the Category B Listed Lamer Island Battery in Dunbar, Scotland. The project is inspired by the site’s history and focuses on four themes: improved access to and within the battery for all ages and abilities; the repair and conservation of the stonework and other historic elements; the creation of a destination within the harbour to promote tourism and economic regeneration and the creation of a multi-purpose performance and amphitheatre space. Moving forward to 2018, rankinfraser completed the twin campus further education

Coastal garden at Lamer Island Battery in Dunbar

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Architects journal.indd 33

college at the City of Glasgow College. From the outset this project was always about more than landscape design for a further education college. It was also about how this investment could contribute to Glasgow – socially, urbanistically and ecologically. The landscape design sought to create a unifying coherence between the two sites whilst responding to the topography, context and architecture of the two locations. This unity is expressed through the repetition of elements such as precast concrete and woodland gardens, whilst also using site-specific materials and plant species. UPCOMING PROJECTS As part of the Salvation Army’s development of a new training centre and visitor centre on the site, rankinfraser are looking at a partial restoration and redesign of the garden and grounds of Strawberry Fields (made famous through its association with The Beatles). Their proposals seek to recapture the magic that inspired the song as experienced by the

Team photo

young John as he played in the grounds as a child. The garden design reclaims the sunken lawn area that was left entirely overgrown and restores both its formal qualities and reimagines it as a public gathering and performance space. The garden also includes areas for growing food to service the cafe within the new centre and a series of newly commissioned artworks. Closer to home, the practice is also working on a masterplan for a new neighbourhood in the Leith area of Edinburgh, constructed on land reclaimed from the Leith Docks. The first phase comprises approximately 960 units, commercial space, and a new 4.7 ha public park. CONTACT rankinfraser 8 Darnaway Street Edinburgh EH3 6BG Tel: 0131 226 7071 Email: mail@rankinfraser.com www.rankinfraser.com

Pro Landscaper / January 2019 33

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20/12/2018 15:12

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TIME AND A HALF ANDREW WILSON Andrew Wilson explores the different time allotted for a student project in contrast to delivery in the real world The old cliché that if you can’t do you teach, has always fascinated me because I teach garden design but I also design gardens. The relationship between why and how one delivers a design compared to why and how one teaches design is compelling and I like to think that this is the reason our courses at LCGD are so successful. For students however, it is probably a different story. For most of our graduates their career change is a stressful enough time. The big question facing them is, can I make this transition between a previous career and a future in garden design? In order to make this possible in educational terms, we have to slow down the whole process moving through one project at a time – sometimes one process at a time. As the year progresses, we gradually build the skill base with each project concentrating on perhaps construction or planting design, visual communication or masterplanning, conceptual thinking or verbal presentation. Although the system works, students do become absorbed – perhaps even over absorbed – in these various disciplines, often becoming passionate

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Andrew Wilson.indd 35

about the finer points of visual delivery, fine detailing and plant specification. Gradually, as we move into professional practice, the concept of the price tag and the related fee takes hold and the inevitable sense that the dreamworld of education must give way to the reality of running an office – paying rent, dealing with the mortgage, coping with cash flow and paying for assistance. All of these aspects of life need cold, hard cash and a practice that has to earn not just enough to take a salary but enough to pay the bills. A typical student project may take between four to six weeks to complete (our final project takes 12 weeks) in a timeframe that is important to the learning process. The concentrated

AN OUTLINE DESIGN AT COLLEGE MAY TAKE FOUR WEEKS. IN REALITY THAT WOULD EQUATE TO A TWO-WEEK DELIVERY delivery of an outline design at college may take four weeks. In reality (in the workplace) that would equate to a two week delivery to outline design, but with an additional six to ten projects on the go simultaneously. Students would be exhausted if we required that amount of concentrated design effort on the course, but somehow between graduation and taking up a position either as employed or self-employed this allocation of time has to be mastered. Either our most successful designers are quite simply exhausted all the time, or they learn coping mechanisms that allow a more speedy delivery of well-considered ideas. Well, I can confirm both to be true. Designers are often worn out – generally in a good way – but the

hidden art of being creative is certainly not as easy as many like to think. Creative thinkers need time out to re-energise and revitalise. But they also need to deliver, problem solve and react to changing circumstances, often under time pressure. The only place to really learn these skills is in the workplace which can be highly unpredictable, time limited, pressurised and unforgiving. The realisation for many that decisions on a project might be made for financial rather than aesthetic reasons can be hard but it is generally the way of the world. It is here that most of my graduates have to reconnect with their former lives in commerce, banking, PR, marketing and management. Garden design is no different to these other disciplines in its structure. I am passionate about its connection to the natural world but I am also a realist about its ability to be both a fabulous career and actually just another job. ABOUT ANDREW WILSON Andrew Wilson is a landscape and garden design consultant, director of the London College of Garden Design, and an author, writer and lecturer.

www.lcgd.org.uk

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20/12/2018 11:33

D E

INFORM

ALL FOR SHOW

HOLLY YOUDE Industry shows are good for business says Holly Youde and the rewards are worth the expense of travel and time out of work Having this year attended more trade shows, garden shows and industry events than ever, it got me thinking about the impact and contribution this creates for the business. Depending where you are in the country, currently the most relevant trade shows to our industry are in London and Europe, so taking some time out and travelling has an impact on many of us – there is a big financial outlay with travel, hotels and time out of the office (or site depending where you’re working). But the opportunities you could miss if you don’t go and the relationships you build by face-to-face contact far outweigh these cons. There are some simply brilliant and supportive suppliers in the industry who make our jobs a whole lot easier with innovation, slick service and first class products. They are present at the shows to promote their wares and share information, and they put in huge amounts of effort. If you spend time with your suppliers it will consolidate your relationship and could lead to future opportunities. It’s also a good chance to speak to the trade associations, especially if you are not already a member. You’ll hear about the support they provide throughout the industry and how they support individual members to change, flourish and grow.

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Holly Youde.indd 36

ALL ARE SOURCES OF ENCOURAGEMENT AND MOTIVATION TO CONTINUE TO SUCCEED AND GROW It’s important to support industry charities and see how you can get involved. They are always present at shows and you never know when you or any team members may require access to their support. I particularly love the seminars which provide information and different perspectives on subjects – you can always read up on the subjects, but there is nothing better than seeing in person those willing to share their experience and asking any burning questions on the day. It can save you making the same mistakes they did and you can pick up tips and tricks to improve your business. There is so much inspiration surrounding you at any event, whether it is rising stars in the industry, new products, innovation, legends, companies to aspire to, or companies to help nurture and mentor. All are sources of encouragement and motivation to continue to succeed and grow.

There are times when it can be difficult to make the time to go to shows but you will never regret making the effort, even for a nugget of information. We would be complaining if there weren’t any shows so make use of them and make it worthwhile for the trade stands and the show organisers to go to the effort of being there. So get involved if you’re not already, support your inter-industry colleagues and it will be reciprocated, building a solid support network for your business On a final note to show organisers – please try again up North, we are ready! I promise to round up the troops and get everyone there for a great show. ABOUT HOLLY YOUDE Holly is joint director of north west based Urban Landscape Design Ltd, having a fundamental role in the growth and di ersi cation of the siness Recently they have won Best Commercial Garden at the APL awards, Employer Excellence Award in the wards and the igh heri of heshire ward for nterprise oll has also een listed this year as one of the Business Insiders 42 Under 42 entreprene rs in the north west www.urbanlandscapedesign.co.uk

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20/12/2018 12:33

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20/12/2018 14:25

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CELEBRATE TOGETHER ADAM WHITE

After six months in the role as President of the Landscape Institute, landscape architect, Adam White shares one of his highlights of 2018 Along with encouraging the next new generation to #Chooselandscape, one of my other key objectives as President has been to encourage collaboration within the landscape profession and industry. I was therefore delighted that for the first time in the history of the two leading landscape organisations, the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) and the Landscape Institute (LI), agreed to sponsor an award category at each other’s respective annual awards in 2018. The Landscape Institute was founded in 1929 and is the Royal Chartered body for landscape architects and landscape professionals within the UK. In 2019 it celebrates its 90th year. The British Association of Landscape Industries was established in 1972, and is the UK’s leading trade association for landscape contractors and suppliers. Both organisations’ members rely on each other to deliver their work, so to come together and celebrate both sides of the industry seemed sensible and long overdue. At the beginning of December, the LI sponsored the Design Excellence Award (£50 - £125K) category at the BALI Awards 2018, whilst BALI sponsored the Temporary Landscape Award category at the LI Awards 2018 at the end of November. I was invited to

Pro Landscaper / January 2019

Adam White.indd 38

THE REAL HIGHLIGHT FOR ME WAS REPRESENTING THE LANDSCAPE INSTITUTE AS SPONSORS OF THE DESIGN EXCELLENCE AWARD present the award for Design Excellence at the BALI Awards and BALI board member Richard Kay joined us at the LI Awards to present the Temporary Landscape Project Award. The LI Awards Temporary Landscape Project category responds to the growing nature of temporary landscape projects that can form meaningful and rewarding spaces that are transient and only in place for a season or a defined period. This year it was won by landscape architects, Grant Associates for their Forest of Imagination project. The project demonstrated the potential of landscape architecture to be a social catalyst and has had a high impact in the city in terms of increasing visitor numbers, collaborators and funding. Grant Associates collaborated with arts charity 5x5x5=creativity and together they transformed Bath into fantastical ‘forests’ and have done this annually for the last five years. The event uses playful sound installations, visual art trails and hands-on workshops to

encourage people of all ages to connect with nature and their own creativity. In December, I attended the annual BALI Landscape Awards and along with my business partner Andrée Davies, we too picked up two awards for our collaboration with BALI registered contractor, Lockwood Landscapes Ltd. However, the real highlight for me was representing the Landscape Institute as sponsors of the Design Excellence Award – this year it was won by Matt Nichols. Matt also went on to win a Special Award for Best First Time Entrant with his Tranquil Garden project. I am now looking forward to a busy and exciting 2019, where I hope to see more collaboration and joint industry working to promote the profession to the next generation. On 15 March I will be speaking at the Association of Professional Landscaper Awards (APL) where I will be joined on stage by Jamie Butterworth who will compere. I look forward to seeing many of you there. ABOUT ADAM WHITE FLI Adam White PLI is a director at Davies White Ltd, a double RHS Gold Medal, double People’s Choice and RHS Best in Show award-winning Chartered Landscape Architects practice. He is a Fellow and President of the Landscape Institute. Social media: @davies_white www.davieswhite.co.uk

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20/12/2018 13:32

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IMMUNE TO

the march of time Pro Landscaper travels to Knebworth House in Hertfordshire to visit one of the grandest and best-preserved gardens in the country

ne of the most compelling features of our stories on gardens tends to be the degree to which they have evolved with the passing of time, usually through changing use, transference of ownership and so on. This month, however we are doing the opposite by focusing on Knebworth House in Hertfordshire, a site that has changed very little over the course of its centuries-long history. Knebworth is probably best known to most people as the location for music – mega-gigs, stretching back to the mid-1970s and has played host to some of the biggest and most iconic concerts in British history, including when Pink Floyd played in front an audience of www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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thousands. Led Zeppelin perfromed there in 1979, prior to both Oasis and Robbie Williams breaking a variety of UK attendance records with their respective events in 1996 and 2003. What is probably less well known is that in addition to the impressive Tudor/Gothic-style stately home (itself dating back to the 1490s), the site also boasts the most extraordinary gardens, guided at various points by some of the biggest names in horticulture in the UK, including Sir Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll. Back in the day Kevin Hilditch is head gardener at Knebworth House, and as such is in a great position to discuss their design and maintenance over the years. He begins with some interesting information about the history of the location itself. “The details we possess about the gardens go back to around the mid-1800s, when Edward

Bulwer-Lytton created the plans for the site. He wanted to create a very ornamental, Italian feel,” says Kevin. “Naturally this called for lots of sculptures as well as parterres and an extensive programme of planting up – the essence of which you can still see to this day. Records from the time say that there were around 14 full-time gardeners putting in about 30,000 plants every year. “His son Robert Bulwer Lytton subsequently extended the garden around the 1880s, adding an eight-acre wilderness area, which is still very important to us in attracting visitors today. There really wasn’t much there when he started on that particular area of the site, and so he introduced lots of hawthorne, as well as beech trees and a water course. The site was originally intended purely for wildlife, although we’ve put it to a slightly different use now.” Kevin continues, moving the story on 30 years or so to when the aforementioned Sir Pro Landscaper / January 2019 41

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Edwin Lutyens became involved. Lutyens was brought in to simplify matters and reduce costs. “The area originally created by Bulwer-Lytton was completely overhauled between 1908 and 1911. This involved removing many of the more detailed gardens as well as many of the sculptures and fountains. “At the same time, he created features such as the sunken lawn at the back of the house, the two lime tree-lined paths and the ponds which we have now. He also created a rose garden, with each bed having a different variety, with a mirror image to the other side of the central path” says Kevin.

THE GARGENS AT KNEBWORTH HOUSE STRETCH BACK JUST UNDER 200 YEARS, AND IN ALL THAT TIME – BARRING THE INVOLVEMENT OF LUTYENS IN THE EARLY 1900s – VERY LITTLE HAS BEEN ALTERED

One particularly interesting detail in the Knebworth story is the on-off involvement of the great British horticulturist Gertrude Jekyll, who was commissioned at the beginning of the 20th century to provide a herb garden. This did not 42

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materialise at the time despite the designs being finished. Jekyll’s quincunx (five points arranged in a cross) vision only became a reality in 1982, when the previously lost plans were found and the garden was finally constructed. As Kevin goes on to explain, this has been the only major alteration to the site in the past one hundred years. A riot of colour The history of the garden at Knebworth House stretches back just under 200 years, and in all that time – barring the involvement of Lutyens in the early 1900s – very little has been altered or tampered with. With that in mind, Pro Landscaper asked Kevin what specific challenges are involved in keeping the site in what is, in essence, a state of complete stasis. What exactly is the layout, and – more to the point – is there any room for manoeuvre at all? “It’s amazing, but there really has been no evolution in style at all – everything has stayed exactly the same as it was since Lutyens,” Kevin says. “That said, there has been a certain amount of restoration work which has been carried out, primarily due to the garden being left to its own devices during World War Two.” He continues: “In terms of the layout as it is at the moment, working our way out from the back of the house, there’s the sunken lawn, which then goes into the rose garden. We have different types of roses in each bed, which are in

flower for at least six months of the year. Either side of the roses to the north and south are large herbaceous borders, featuring exactly the kind of herbaceous perennial planting which you would expect, such as Dahlias, Sedums, Phlox, Asters etc.” While Lutyens was brought in to lead what was ostensibly a cost-cutting exercise, there is no sense at Knebworth that things are the least bit austere, at least not according to our current use of the word. Quite the contrary however,

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there is the distinct feeling that if anything, he somehow made things even grander resulting in an extraordinary experience for the visitor. Following on from his involvement, landscaping features included – and still include – a large pergola, as well as the intriguingly titled Gold and Brick Garden rooms, both of which possess their own distinct style of design and planting. Kevin continues: “To one side of the pergola there are a number of ornamental yews, which we refer to as the petticoat yews. On the other side of these is an area of tree and parkland as well as a box-hedged maze which our visitors love. “We also still have the wilderness area, which contains more than 70 life-sized model dinosaurs, which we purchased with the procees of the 2003 Robbie Williams concerts. We’ve used them to construct our dinosaur trail, which attracts younger visitors en masse. “The Gold Garden needs to consist of hot colours such as golds and yellows, and as such

is planted with tulips, daffodils, Rudbeckia and so on. There are four beds containing these different varieties, situated around an ornate fountain in the middle. Beyond that, the Brick Garden is a red brick pathed formal space, planted with a silver and blue theme, including roses, hydrangeas, and hyacinths.” The gardens at Knebworth House cover around 28-acres of land and require an enormous amount of attention to keep them up to the standard that visitors expect. Just four gardeners manage the upkeep of the gardens, including Kevin and an assistant head gardener. Other people brought in on a casual basis when extra work is required. On the subject of the challenges presented by the garden, Kevin says: “Our biggest maintenance headaches are probably the three large mounds crafted from the soil left when the sunken lawns were created. Two of the mounds are planted up while the other is grass. They’re hugely popular with children – particularly the grass one – but they’ve been left for the best part of a decade, which means we’re now presented with the worst kind of weeds you can imagine in a garden. We’re a relatively new team, so that’s high on the priority list. “Alongside that is all the usual stuff which you would expect from any space of this size, such as keeping on top of the lawns, edging and so forth. We also have a lot of large deciduous trees, so in autumn in particular we have to deal with a lot of leaf litter across the site.

It’s a huge maintenance programme all year round, and we all do everything – and, frankly, we all need to be able to do everything. We also have individual designated areas, which members of the team are responsible for.” Speaking about the opportunity for the team to leave their own legacy on the garden, in terms of design and planting, Kevin says: “while the overall layout hasn’t changed, we do all have the opportunity to revamp particular areas and to re-plant if something isn’t working. We also have a relatively free hand in what goes in particular parts of the garden as long as we’re mindful of what Lutyens originally intended.” The gardens at Knebworth House are one of the jewels of UK horticulture. With the current ownership and maintenance staff on board, Pro Landscaper is certain that is how it will remain. 1 Entrance to the walled vegetable garden ©Cathy Benucci 2 Knebworth House from the gardens ©Chris Orange 3 Aerial shot of Knebworth House ©Casey Gutteridge 4 Garden gazebo ©Cathy Benucci 5 Chasmosaurus, dinosaur trail 6 Bee photo ©Katherine Dunstan 7 Gold Garden ©Matt Smith 8 Edwardian maze ©Rob Ryder All images ©Knebworth House

CONTACT The estate office Tel: 01438 812661 www.knebworthhouse.com

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BARNES WALKER LANDSCAPES LIMITED Transforming 2.5 acres of farmland

ECO ESTATE ELEPHANT PARK

Bringing biodiversity to central London

EASY LIVING

HABITAT LANDSCAPES LIMITED A modern renovation

A GARDEN FOR ALL SEASONS

INSPIRE

RURAL RETREAT

DEBS WINROW Year-round outdoor styling

59 PLUS...

LOVE HORTICULTURE (P59) RESIN BOND/BOUND (P60)

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RURAL RETREAT BARNES WALKER LANDSCAPES LIMITED Sumptuous planting and a sunken garden create designated areas for dining and entertaining in an expansive garden in rural Lancashire

PROJECT DETAILS Project value Undisclosed Build time 27 months Size of project 2.5 acres

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estled in the heart of rural Lancashire, this former farm was purchased by the client in 2009 to convert into a stunning family home. Adjacent to other working farms and surrounded by pasture and mature woodland, the 2.5 acre site originally featured several buildings including the stone built farm house, brick outbuildings and steel Dutch barns. Barnes Walker worked closely with architects PGB Architectural Services Ltd to interpret the client’s requirements. Their commission included an initial feasibility study to determine the site layout and planning constraints, the detailed design of all hard and soft elements and site supervision during the build process.

WINNER

• UK Property Awards, Best Residential Landscape Architecture UK 2014–2015 • UK Property Awards, Best Residential Landscape Architecture North West 2014–2015 • Northern Design Awards 2014 Winner, Residential Landscape Design

Client brief The client’s brief called for a contemporary garden which complemented the architecture, yet remained in keeping with the property’s rural setting. The owners envisaged a series of distinct spaces each fulfilling a different purpose, including a simple parkland setting to the front of the property, a large family lawn, a kitchen garden with greenhouse, colour themed borders, and an orchard. An expansive open view across the fields to the rear, and a variety of large entertainment spaces capturing the sun at different times of the day were also required. Practical elements included an in and out driveway arrangement and generous areas for parking, a separate family parking area with www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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convenient access to the house, a large service area for washing cars and storage, woodland to enclose and screen the workshop and service area, and planting to screen views from a public footpath. Dramatic ambient lighting, water features, attractive garden furniture and colourful pots also featured on the clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wish list. Design and build The existing rundown farm was replaced with a spacious, contemporary and sustainable home. The main gates were designed by Barnes Walker to complement the architecture of the property. These open to a gravel driveway, leading to a large arrival space close to the front door, flanked by two www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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imposing yew ‘bullets’. A high holly hedge was introduced along the road frontage, providing privacy and instant impact. Beech hedging extends along the main garden boundaries, while elsewhere mixed hawthorn and holly hedging have been planted to tie in with the existing hedgerows. A separate parking area was situated adjacent to the garage, conveniently located next to the back door and kitchen, so that views of the front of the house were less likely to be cluttered by parked cars. The garden to the front of the property was kept simple and stylish with lawns and individual trees, alongside mixed shrub and herbaceous borders which were introduced close to the house to create a dazzling plinth of colour. With planning policy limiting the size of the property’s intended footprint and restricting its height to two storeys, additional accommodation was achieved by means of a third floor at basement level, providing the client with a large entertainment space and spa. To maximise the usability of this space and increase the amount of natural light, a large sunken garden was proposed, offering an enclosed oasis in which to relax. The entertainment space in the basement now spills out into a sheltered outdoor area, featuring stepped hedging (box and yew), parasol plane trees and two bespoke water features. To the rear of the property, large terraces provide additional room for entertainment and relaxation, with bi-folding doors offering

and these will anchor the development into the landscape over time.

inside-outside living spaces leading from the kitchen, dining room and lounge. A large family lawn is enclosed by generous colour-themed borders with an orchard of fruit trees beyond. A ha-ha has also been constructed along the rear perimeter boundary, providing a seamless transition between the garden, fields and the surrounding woodland. Large areas of woodland planting have been introduced to screen a new maintenance and storage shed, comprising of native species which occur in the immediate vicinity

Sustainability, energy conservation and environmental strategies At the request of both Barnes Walker’s client and the local planning authority, the redevelopment of the farm house and its grounds encompass as many sustainable elements as were practical. Great efforts were made within the design to incorporate energy saving or energy reuse, and to enhance the biodiversity of the site as a whole. Prior to the project starting, ecological surveys were carried out to record the site’s flora, fauna and wildlife, and all mature trees and hedgerows were protected during the construction period. House and garden spaces were orientated to maximise the solar gain and the entire development, including the house and associated landscape, has achieved Level Four under the Code for Sustainable Homes. All spoil created during the construction period has been incorporated into the landscape design, with hardcore and waste soil used to create subtle mounding around part of the site perimeter, helping to screen and shelter the site. The raised ground was then planted with native woodland planting and edged with new native species hedgerows. Any excess crushed hardcore was used to construct the subbase of the drive areas, with wood, steel and masonry gleaned through the demolition separated for reuse or recycling. All hard materials used for walls and paths are natural stone, sourced from companies who are full members of the Ethical Trading Initiative and currently hold ‘achiever’ status. Hard materials were selected to harmonise with the surrounding landscape, thereby minimising the visual impact of the scheme. 1 The sunken garden 2 External lighting design by Barnes Walker Ltd 3 Grasses 4 A meandering garden path with blue themed herbaceous borders 5 Fire and water wall with colour change lighting 6 Main entrance gates 7 The sweeping loose gravel driveway 8 Al fresco dining 9 Tiered planting alongside the granite steps 10 Bespoke water feature within a grove of ferns All images ©Barnes Walker Ltd

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Most of the exterior lighting utilises LED lights, lowering the overall energy consumption of the garden, with 48 PV panels located on the roof of the house contributing to the energy balance of the site. The feature fire and water wall within the sunken garden incorporate LED lighting, grey water, and Bioethanol — a biological renewable energy source.

Rainwater is harvested and stored in underground water tanks for irrigation, using an automated ‘leaky pipe system’. Planting located further away from the dwelling was purposefully selected for its low maintenance properties so that irrigation would only be necessary during the first year as the plants established.

In addition to the ornamental planting scheme, the masterplan incorporated 380 linear metres of new native species hedgerows, 1500m² of new native species woodland and 76 semi-mature trees including both evergreen and deciduous species, all helping to successfully integrate this stunning development into its rural setting.

ABOUT BARNES WALKER LANDSCAPES LTD Barnes Walker Landscapes Ltd was established in 1995 to complement the landscape BARNES architecture and garden design WALKER services provided by Barnes alker td he two sinesses o er clients a one-stop service from initial concept designs through to construction of gardens of all sizes and styles, from contemporary urban spaces to traditional English gardens and country estates. www.barneswalker.co.uk

PLANS

REFERENCES

DURING

Feasibility study, design and site supervision Barnes Walker Ltd

www.barneswalker.co.uk Architects

Turf

www.pgb-arch.com

www.forrest.co.uk

Contractor/build

Stone paving

Forrest Construction

Hardscape

Irrigation

Gravel (driveway) Loose gravel

LS Systems

www.lssystems.co.uk

Laid by Forrest Construction

www.hardscape.co.uk

Cotswold Gravel

Lighting

Planters

Rowan Almond Ltd

Bright Green

www.thelightingsite.com

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www.specimentrees.net

PGB Architectural Services Ltd

www.forrest.co.uk

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Trees, hedges and topiary Supplied and planted by Specimen Trees of High Legh

www.brightgreen.co.uk

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ECO ESTATE ELEPHANT PARK Sustainability and biodiversity are at the core of a major residential redevelopment comprising three plots in central London

ompleted in 1974 the Heygate Estate provided 1,212 homes. The ground plane of the estate was dominated by vehicles and parking, lack of active frontage, monolithic blocks and intimidating aerial walkways. However, the estate boasted numerous mature trees, collectively dubbed the Elephant and Castle Urban Forest by the local community. South Gardens is the first and most family-oriented phase of Lendlease’s Elephant Park Masterplan, which is replacing the former Heygate Estate in Elephant and Castle. Elephant Park aims to achieve significant positive change in the landscape of an iconic part of Central London, providing around 3,000 homes, 50 new shops, a civic square and a two acre new park, the largest new park in central London for 70 years. The 2.3bn regeneration project is due for completion by 2025 and sustainability is at its heart. Elephant Park aspires to be the UK’s first Climate

Positive development, as part of the of C40 Cities Climate Positive Development Programme. The brief Churchman Landscape Architects’ brief was to deliver a livable, engaging, playful and beautiful residential landscape with intrinsic ecological value. Sustainability is central to the brief, expressed architecturally with passivhaus principles, the use of CLT, an on-site net-zero carbon energy centre and an ambitious biodiversity and green infrastructure brief. The project consists of three plots each containing mansion blocks and townhouses, with a single 16-storey point building adjoining a future shopping street. The brief for ecological services and green infrastructure was set out in a Biodiversity Ecology Nature (BEN) strategy devised by Lendlease in consultation with Chris Baines

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and Gary Grant of the Green Infrastructure Consultancy. This set out stringent targets for each of the three plots to include biodiverse green roofs, green walls, water sensitive components such as rain gardens, diverse ground and canopy flora and extensive habitat and forage for invertebrates, birds and bats. CLA carefully developed innovative plant communities that maximise biodiversity in an urban residential setting. The project achieved maximum Eco credits under Code for Sustainable Homes and the ecological performance of the scheme will be monitored by Greengage for 10 years. Design Churchman Landscape Architects’ design role included all the private and residential amenity areas including three courtyards, two communal roof gardens and 11 biodiverse green roofs.

Architecturally the scheme consists of conventional building typologies; three-storey townhouses, eight-storey mansion blocks and a 16-storey tower. The aspiration was therefore to provide a residential landscape that engages with the buildings at multiple levels – from ground up to tree canopies, in vertical surfaces as green walls and at roof level. The courtyards were envisaged as layered compositions that imitate the complexity of a woodland edge with multiple layers of vegetation from the ground herb layers, shrubs and climbers and into the tree canopy with fruiting canopy, mid and upper canopy trees. The courtyards were designed to form a matrix where routes through planting create multiple thoroughfares, via a hierarchy of paths, stepping stone trails and timber decks. Open glades offer balance and create a sense of liberty, contrast and enclosure. The lawns provide for communal gatherings and nearby

PORTFOLIO

AWARDS

Landscape Institute Awards 2018 –President’s Award & Design for Small Scale Development Award Housing Design Awards – Winner Horticulture Week Awards 2018 – Best Landscape Architecture Practice for Commercial Housing RIBA London Award – Winner New London Architecture Awards – commended for Sustainability Construction News Awards –‘Sustainable Project of the Year‘ Brick Awards 2017 Supreme Winner

PROJECT DETAILS Project value Courtyards and communal roof areas: £1.7m Green roofs: £250k Build time September 2016 to June 2017 Size of project 0.68 ha

1 Insect Hotel integrated in the courtyards 2 Timber playdeck with sand pit in background 3 The matrix of paths, planting and open glades create an urban forest 4 Doorstep play is combined with flexible seating 5 Insect Hotel hung from an existing plane tree 6 Timber Playdeck weaves around plane trees 7 Rooftop grow gardens are well used by residents

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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BEFORE

©SE1

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AFTER

DURING REFERENCES Clay paving Wienerberger (via Hardscape)

www.wienerberger.co.uk Trees Hilliers

www.hillier.co.uk Play boulders Cornish Landscaping Granite

www.cornishlandscapinggranite.co.uk Insect hotels/ playdeck Allan Haywood Joinery

www.alan-hayward.co.uk Play gravel and granite play tube CED

www.cedstone.co.uk Play equipment Timberplay

www.timberplay.com Spiel Art/Russel Play

www.russell-play.com Concrete sculptures Thorveton Stone

www.thorvertonstone.co.uk

doorstep play opportunities for the under-fives which manifest as conventional play equipment and natural play. Planting The planting design was based rigorously on native species and wildlife friendly plants that offer fruit, nectar, pollen and shelter. The palette was carefully composed to extend seasonality with a wide range of plant species ensuring that it offers good visual amenity throughout the year, but also provides resilience for the future pressures of climate change and the threat of new pests and diseases. The layered three-dimensional approach extends below the ground as the rhizosphere, soil and subsoil layers were carefully designed and managed as the most crucial resource to the landscape. High performance manufactured soils were used, that balance moisture retention and drainage, especially important in rain garden SUDS features, where rainwater flows into sunken areas planted with moisture tolerant species such as alder and birch and ground flora such as ferns, ramsons, dropwort and Iris. Nitrogen fixing trees and shrubs including honey

Growing mediums Freeland Horticulture

www.freelandhorticulture.co.uk Shire Green Roof Substrates

www.greenroofsubstrates.co.uk Blackdown Horticulture

www.blackdown.co.uk Climber rope system Jakob

www.jakob.com Seating Santa and Cole

www.santacole.com

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ABOUT CHURCHMAN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Churchman Landscape Architects aim to create sustainable, resilient and beautiful landscapes to meet the needs of the present and the future. Its holistic approach challenges traditional landscape thinking by staying true to the core traditions of its craft – that speak of the unique qualities of a site – while harnessing the latest technologies for greater e ect and eﬃciencies www.churchmanla.co.uk

locust and comfrey extract nitrogen from the atmosphere and fix it into root nodules to provide a natural fertiliser to nearby fruiting trees. A rain water harvesting system is employed with a dripline irrigation to sustain the planting in localised areas above the basement. Churchman Landscape Architects worked closely on-site with landscape contractors Gavin Jones in fine-tuning the arrangement of trees, shrubs and boulders. Roofscape and habitat design The roofscape covers an area of just under 0.5 hectares in total which is more than the ground landscape so Churchman Landscape Architects promoted its potential to be maximised as an amenity and ecological resource. Two accessible roof gardens are provided for residents – one joins the residents' room on the 16th floor of the tower and another offers 40 raised bed allotments, each with integral toolboxes. A mixture of climbing plants grows up into a large pergola which will attract insects to pollinate home-grown plants. The Biodiversity Ecology Nature brief requires biodiverse green roofs on all roof areas and Churchman Landscape Architects became guardians of this. Photovoltaic panels are integrated into the green roof as a ‘bio solar’ system combining energy creation with biodiversity. Invertebrate Habitat is distributed around the courtyards as free-standing features, hung from existing trees or placed on the green roofs. They are designed to host beneficial invertebrates such as butterflies, solitary bees, hoverflies, lacewings, moths and beetles, and for each a bespoke design was provided. Flowering species that attract moths and other flying insects should in turn encourage bats to forage. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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PORTFOLIO

WINNER

PROJECT VALUE £35–£60K

EASY LIVING HABITAT LANDSCAPES LIMITED Contrasting materials with lush planting creates a stylish garden complete with modern outdoor kitchen and a spacious entertainment area

anting to make more of their garden, the clients approached the Habitat Landscapes team to deliver a stylish new look. A very tired patio was impractical and uninviting, the rest of the garden was well maintained but effectively just laid grass. The clients wanted a modern garden that offered them an area to enjoy the sun. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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Design and build Working with Sue Gilbert Gardens by Design, the new garden would now offer two areas to relax and entertain. A patio that flowed into a decked area set around the conservatory framed by a sleek new raised water feature rill, that would also act as a wall for the level change into the lawn area. A bespoke outdoor kitchen was included, linked in style to the rest of the Pro Landscaper / January 2019 53

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PORTFOLIO hard landscaping with an integral gas BBQ, warming oven and fridge. In the sunniest corner the sunken seating area was built into an already lower point in the garden. Cushions would be used to soften the seating when in use, but its design meant year-round enjoyment without major maintenance. This area included a bespoke fire pit and behind it a single line pergola created height and privacy. The rest of the garden brought these key areas together, but simply using lawn, edged with setts, and plants, ensured it wasn’t a garden that required high maintenance. Carefully planned lighting added to the finished garden both in a practical and an atmospheric way. The planting was planned to be very simple and relatively low maintenance. There is an emphasis on evergreen planting that would keep its structure in plants such as Buxus, Pittosporum and Daphne and low clipped Buxus hedges. There are also foliage colour contrasts in plants such as Artemisia and Cotinus, and textural combinations too – wispy plants such as Miscanthus grasses and the lovely long flowering Verbena bonariensis.

PROJECT DETAILS Project value £35,000–£60,000 Build time Eight weeks Size of project 300m2

AFTER

ABOUT HABITAT LANDSCAPES LIMITED

BEFORE 54

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Craig Nester started Habitat Landscapes in 2011. He quickly established a good reputation for the quality and excellence they brought to every build. The company has grown steadily with Lee Goulding becoming joint director in 2016. They have won several regional and national awards and continue to broaden their horizons in terms of project and company size. www.habitatlandscapes.co.uk

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PORTFOLIO

AWARDS

Marshalls regional award: Best Patio Transformation over 35m2 Gold Winner of 2018 APL Awards: Hard Landscaping Category

REFERENCES Contractor Habitat Landscapes Limited

www.habitatlandscapes.co.uk Design Sue Gilbert Gardens By Design

www.suegilbert.co.uk Paving & Setts Marshalls

www.marshalls.co.uk Composite Decking

Materials The clients benefitted from Habitat Landscapes thoroughness in providing plenty of samples and guidance to their final choices. Marshalls Symphony Vitrified Blue external porcelain paving was used throughout in a 600mm grid pattern. The dense concrete block walling was also clad in this paving. To contrast with this paving material and add interest, some walling was clad in Marshalls Coursed Drystack in Slate Dusk. A change of pace in the decking also softened the hard-landscaped areas, with Millboard Composite Decking in Smoked Oak finish, blending into the patio. A single line pergola and trellis screening, along with carefully chosen gravel and pebble finishes all help to bring the final garden together. Lighting was planned to both make the space accessible at all times and also highlight areas such as the water feature cascade. Professional quality stainless steel fittings were used throughout – planned within the build to ensure a seamless finish. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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Special requirements The installation of a multi-level water rill with a pre-fabricated stainless steel section was one of the more challenging parts of the build. It required accurate block work and perfect levels for the tray to be accommodated. A bespoke firepit clad in porcelain and stone required fire proof cement and adhesives to ensure longevity. The finished garden has created a whole new extension to the client’s home in which they can relax and entertain at all times of the year, day or night. They are delighted and now enjoy the garden constantly – a space they previously rarely ventured into.

London Stone

www.londonstone.co.uk Metal Fabrication PSJ Fabrications Bedford

www.psjfabrications.com Timber Crowthornes

www.crowthornefencing.co.uk Aggregates S.C Bradshaws

www.scbradshawhaulage.co.uk Stone Warehouse

www.stonewarehouse.co.uk Turf George Davies Turf

www.georgedaviesturf.co.uk Lighting Lighting For Gardens

1 The main patio and social area

www.lightingforgardens.com

2 A cosy corner to enjoy the fire and socialise

Electrics

3 Planting softens edges without creating visual barriers

Alfa Electrical

4 Firepit with stone face cladding and porcelain

www.alfaelectricals.com

5 The cut granite kitchen area tones with the scheme

Plants

6 Shaped borders define the elegant new scheme

Acorn (MK) Nurseries

7 The bespoke water feature set on three levels

www.acorn-mk-nurseries.co.uk

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INSPIRE

A GARDEN FOR

Adezz outdoor fireplace

Is it possible to enjoy outdoor living for the most of the year without compromising on style? Pro Landscaper’s new contributor Debs Winrow ponders the question For as long as I can remember, I’ve always considered any outdoor space as important as indoors. Therefore, to not style with lovely accessories throughout the seasons just seems unthinkable. What would I purchase on holiday or at an RHS garden show if I didn’t have the excuse to buy something for the garden? I guess this comes from working in an industry I’m passionate about and never accepting a client’s view that they can only live outdoors for a couple of weeks. With robust and modern design and materials, outdoor spaces really can lend to year-round living and entertaining, if you adapt the space a little along the way. Whatever the budget or size of garden, here’s a couple of ideas to steal. 56

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ALL SEASONS Relaxing spaces Creating a cosy outdoor seating area is essential if you want to unwind and reclaim your time at a moment’s notice. If space is tight, consider a sofa area over a traditional outdoor dining set. For much of the time you may have opened doors onto the patio and walked past a lovely dining table and chairs, so consider not putting another one straight in this area. Mix up the sofa area with toppings throughout the season, by changing the fabrics on cushions and throws to complement your outdoor chairs and sofas. Think crisp cottons and soft floral prints for the summer months, then layer up with snuggly blankets and sheepskins for colder times. Keep a wicker basket filled with these just inside your main entrance to the garden, so it’s easy to grab and prepare your space whilst someone else has the hot chocolate brewing – or hot toddy! Coffee tables should also be a must. You don’t want to feel like you are camping in your own garden and having to place everything on the floor. Make use of logs, crates, metal stools and junk shop finds to create surfaces for cups,

candles and glasses within easy reach of the seating. For extra cosiness, you can put rugs on decks and patios – they look inviting and keep your toes toasty. When they are not in use, simply roll them up and store them in a basket or lay them on the floor indoors instead. Lighting Outdoor spaces are often used after dark so good garden lights are essential. These can be incorporated into the main garden design –

Mix candles and LED lamps to create atmosphere

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INSPIRE windproof hurricane lanterns and tealights, or even jam jars and candles – all work. Lighting also helps define spaces, adding an extra dimension and ambience. The fragrance of the candle can also be changed through the seasons with light fresh florals for spring and heady musky pines for the

Introduce coffee tables into outdoor settings

Try scented candles in your lamps

winter. Place them on decks and patios, on top of outdoor coffee tables, or hang them from trees. Lit candles on the front porch add a warm welcome for guests. There are now wonderful ranges of LED chargeable lamps and lights available – you can even add outdoor fairy lights to create magical evenings. Finally, consider putting on the lights or lighting the candles even if you are forced to stay indoors. It’s a really easy way to extend the size of your indoor space by taking the eye to the back or sides of the garden. Dine out To eat outside is one of our greatest pleasures, especially with overseas travel being so ingrained in our modern lives. Consider different recipes and cooking styles to continue dining alfresco throughout the year in your own garden. As a country we are pretty good at preparing salads

Use stem candle holders to add height

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and a barbecue, but when it comes to colder climates we retreat indoors. Try making simple outdoor picnics whatever the weather, even if you do the cooking indoors. Serve on large wooden chopping boards so everyone digs in. Investing in a wood-fired oven opens up new cooking possibilities while also creating a focal point for friends to gather around. From making homemade pizzas, roasting joints of meat or creating simple and delicious grilled fish. Where possible try to position the barbecue or oven to face the dining area to create a social space and keep the chef happy during cooking. And of course, don’t forget the drinks you serve! An outdoor bar means the party never has to move indoors. Pretty cocktails in vintage glass with crushed ice, or hot chocolates with a splash of something to warm the heart, will lull your guests into a memorable gathering whatever the temperature. Unwind in luxury So maybe the guests are invited, maybe they’ve gone and you’re winding down – stay outdoors a little longer to reflect over the day and wish upon a star by adding heat to the mix. From simple Corten fire bowls to glamorous gas firepits, the addition of fire and warmth adds the finishing touch. Consider your family needs when making the right choice of firepit. Wood burning is not ideal because you have young children playing close by, or you do not want to invest in taking on mains gas through the garden – there are fabulous innovative designs where patio gas bottles are hidden under the firepit design. Obviously the more sheltered the area, the more effective the heating will be. Once you’ve got delicious hot food for the soul, a warming drink in your hand and are wrapped in a cosy blanket, light another candle and drink in the outdoor atmosphere.

Create instant outdoor picnics

Delivita wood-fired oven and stand

Add candles, foliage and paper decorations to any table setting

ABOUT DEBS WINROW Debs Winrow, creative director of award-winning landscape company Garden House Design is an avid trend spotter, responsible for seeking out the latest and best outdoor living products and developing an expansive portfolio to o er to oth cons mers and fellow landscapers and designers.

www.gardenhousedesign.co.uk

Pro Landscaper / January 2019 57

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RUTH WILLMOTT RUTH WILLMOTT GARDEN DESIGN ASSOCIATES

have always been interested in horticulture, in part because my paternal grandfather involved me in his allotment and my mum has always been a very keen and capable gardener. I was lucky to be introduced to horticulture at a very young age, although this is not the only reason I love it. I believe people can develop a love of horticulture at any point in their lives. I am very grateful to my family for opening my eyes to the magic and enjoyment of horticulture at an early stage. This meant that later in life I was able to turn a passion into a career and leave my city job to retrain as a landscape designer. Having now spent over a decade as a designer I realise that the reason I love horticulture is that I am able to immerse myself in so many different ways for so many reasons. Nothing has been more accessible or flexible than horticulture in embracing me, whatever my circumstances. I can quietly lose myself for a short while at my allotment, which provides me with important respite from the demands of my other responsibilities. Sometimes I have much more noisy company as my children help me with planting, weeding or checking on the bug hotel we built together. I also really enjoy practicing horticulture in a team and love the buzz of working with talented colleagues to select new plants and push the boundaries of our plant knowledge to I AM VERY GRATEFUL TO MY FAMILY find the perfect plant FOR OPENING MY EYES TO THE MAGIC for a situation. The AND ENJOYMENT OF HORTICULTURE breadth of plants AT AN EARLY STAGE available from specialist nurseries provides so much inspiration as a designer. Sometimes Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m learning more about horticulture, reading books, attending courses or speaking with the many brilliant experts in our industry to improve my knowledge. What I love most however, is creating spaces that allow our clients to connect with nature and develop their own love of horticulture whatever their abilities.

Tweet us @ProLandscaperUK and tell us why you love horticulture using the hashtag #LoveHorticulture

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PLUS... NURTURE NEWS (P64) GREEN CONNECTIONS (P65) JAMIE BUTTERWORTH (P68) JEFF STEPHENSON (P70) IAN DRUMMOND (P72) BUTTERWORTH HORTICULTURE (P74)

20/12/2018 16:36

NURTURE

NURTURE NEWS Nurture Landscapes, acquires two new businesses with support from HSBC UK

HSBC refinanced Nurture Landscapes’ existing funding package to total £35m. The bank has supported the recent acquisitions of Grace Landscapes, and Essex firm, Enterprise Plants. These have seen the company’s turnover increase to £80m. Operating under the Nurture Landscapes brand from 2019, Grace Landscapes will help strengthen the company’s offering in the north of the country. Enterprise Plants will double the existing plant display business. It will also increase the Nurture group’s clientele across London and the home counties. The company’s recent growth has meant it now employs more than 1,100 people across the country. Peter Fane, managing director, and his team at Nurture Landscapes have plans to substantially increase their sales over the next five years. They have aspirations to grow organically and acquire two businesses with sales of between £8m and £10m each year. www.nurturelandscapes.co.uk 64

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Johnsons of Whixley teams up with Kingston Landscape Group to supply plants to inner-city redevelopment One of the UK’s largest commercial nurseries, Johnsons of Whixley, has been contracted by Kingston Landscape Group to supply thousands of plants to a substantial £1b inner-city redevelopment in North West London. The Yorkshire and London-based duo came together to work on Colindale Gardens, a huge luxury redevelopment in Barnet. It’s a project that has seen Kingston Landscape Group win a British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) 2018 award in the category

of Soft Landscaping Construction (Non-Domestic) – cost between £300k and £1.5m and be shortlisted for two Association of Professional Landscapers awards in the Soft Landscaping and Commercial Garden category. The Twickenham-based firm

contracted Johnsons to supply over £90,000 worth of plants including more than 5,000 herbaceous plants, nearly 7,000 shrubs (including 2L, 5L and 10L plants), over 900 hedging plants and some instant hedging. www.nurserymen.co.uk

Hampshire Manor celebrates ten years of wildflowers A Hampshire wildflower meadow, grown and supplied by Wildflower Turf Ltd in 2008, has recently reached the ripe old age of ten. A decade after it was installed at Grade II listed Ashley Manor in the Test Valley, the wildflower meadow continues to thrive and provide a safe haven for an abundance of wildlife. Improving long term biodiversity and ensuring a species rich habitat is now an important goal for landscape designers, and Ashley Manor is testament that a well-maintained wildflower meadow offers great longevity and can be relied upon to provide colour and interest year after year. At the commencement of the original landscaping

endeavour in September 2008, Wildflower Turf, a soil-less, pre-grown wildflower mat, was installed across two tiers of the steep south and west facing banks to the rear of Ashley Manor. In total, 655m² of Wildflower Turf was laid and, despite the challenging profile of the banks and only a thin layer of top soil to work with, the installation of the turf was achieved without the use of pegging. A late-summer installation also meant that the turf did not require any additional watering. www.wildflowerturf.co.uk

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20/12/2018 16:05

NURTURE

GREEN CONNECTIONS EMPOWERMENT THROUGH COLLABORATION

PALMSTEAD SOFT LANDSCAPE WORKSHOP, 23 JANUARY 2019 Pro Landscaper speaks with Nick Coslett about the Palmstead Soft Landscape Workshop which is now in its eleventh year. How did you come up with the concept of the workshops? I originally had the concept in the early Nineties. At that time nursery open days attracted few customers, but an event with notable industry speakers did. Thanks to the ongoing commitment from Palmstead the event has blossomed and I’m proud to say it has become a significant item on the industry’s calendar. We are now preparing our 11th annual event, something that I could not have envisaged in the early days. It’s thanks to the remarkable list of inspirational speakers we have had over the years, along with the rich array of exhibitors, that it has become such a popular event. What inspired this year’s concept? The workshop at Palmstead has always tried to balance inspiration about designing with plants alongside up-to-date technical and research dissemination, plus (on occasion) some politics. The awareness that green is good for us is a big part of this year’s topic. Also, what our industry achieves best is collaborative working and not confrontation, so the encouragement of this is worth exploring.

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Does the workshop benefit Palmstead? By putting on a great-value, high-calibre event we represent what Palmstead stands for: integrity, quality and a deep understanding of the landscape industry it supplies. Delegates leave at the end of the day and spread the word that Palmstead is committed to the landscape industry, and that benefits the company and the wider industry. How have the speakers been chosen this year? Dr Ken Thompson is great at debugging horticultural myths using science (if you haven’t done so, read The Sceptical Gardener). I’ve admired John Wyer for many years and his cerebral approach to restructuring his company and preparing it for the future. All of his staff know the company’s mission statement – how many companies in our industry can say that? Andrew Wilson last spoke in 2010, and we’ve since seen the rise of the garden designer as planting specialist to many master planning landscape architects. As an educator of garden designers, does he have something which landscape architect courses don’t provide? Plus, I really wanted to invite our industry bodies along (we’re thrilled to have Sarah Morgan from the Society of Garden Designers) to say how they are working with each other, defragging our £13b

industry so the policy makers can take notice. There will also be stimulating discussions and breakout sessions, all chaired by award-winning garden designer Helen Elks-Smith. Why is it important to gather the elements of the landscape industry together? Because it’s only when we all get together, we realise that we share the same goals and interests. It’s a massive industry employing close to 200,000 people and contributing £13b to our economy. By bringing the sectors together the policy makers can see us with greater clarity. Why should people attend? “It’s professional nourishment.” This is a quote from a delegate from a few years ago that has really stuck with me. It’s a great opportunity for networking and continuing our lifelong learning. Who should attend? Any landscape and garden professional who is involved in plants, be that design, planting or management. We attract landscape architects, garden designers, horticulturists, landscape contractors and greenspace managers. The workshop takes place at the Ashford International Hotel, Kent. To book your place for £36+VAT, visit www.palmstead.co.uk.

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NURTURE

Apricot hues of Geum ‘Mai Tai’

Asplenium scolopendrium with its coppery underside

Designer PLANTS VaRa Garden Design creates key focal points in a garden packed with colour, interesting texture and space to relax

The clients of this wide but shallow plot in Essex were about to embark on a kitchen extension which was going to encroach on the garden. The design brief was to ensure that the clients could continue to enjoy their outdoor space, without it feeling smaller, and that the views from their garden-facing rooms could be enhanced all year round with colour and texture. On the first visit, the client’s magnificent apple tree certainly took centre stage. VaRa Garden Design took inspiration from its beautiful canopy and created a hard landscaping area with soft edges and details to draw the eye away from the brick and fence boundaries. 66

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Curved planting beds cut into the lawn also serve to make the garden feel deeper by allowing a layering of plants from one bed to another. Bespoke arches now frame the view of the garden and provide a lovely walkway between seating perches, over which fragrant Rosa ‘New Dawn’ and jasmine grow. The arches, as well as the two newly-planted trees, help to balance the height of the established apple tree and the borrowed canopies of neighbouring trees. All the planting beds are linked with differing sizes of box balls, which again echo the curves in the ground plan and tree canopies. The clients wanted lots of places in which to sit, so VaRa Garden Design created small terraces for sun or shade close to key focal points such as the tree specimens Acer griseum and Prunus x subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’ or the bespoke water feature.

The shadier terrace’s shimmering feature wall of copper slate is reflected in the light shades of Heuchera ‘Marmalade’ and Dryopteris erythrosora which are planted in front of it. A soft apricot colour palette also runs through the rest of the planting, softening the evergreen structure, in the form of box balls, ferns, and Bergenia ‘Eroica’, whose repetition draws your eye around the garden. The clients spend a lot of the year travelling back and forth between their home in England and their Italian olive mill house, so installing Hydrangea irrigation was ‘Pink Annabelle’ essential to help www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/12/2018 12:29

Lofty Verbascum ‘Cotswold Queen’

NURTURE

Feature wall is reflected with Dryopteris and Heuchera

Acer griseum’s coppery bark catches the light in a shady corner

Plant list Trees • Acer griseum • Prunus x subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’ Shrubs • Buxus sempervirens balls • Choisya x dewitteana • Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’ • Hydrangea arborescens ‘Pink Annabelle’

the plants get established and to ensure they receive enough water when they are away. Each season has something to look forward to – lofty Allium sphaerocephalon, Verbascum ‘Cotswold Queen’ and Anemone x hybrida ‘Serenade’ provide height and movement, long-flowering perennials such as Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’ and Astrantia major ‘Lars’ bring further colour to the central beds, with flowers and seed heads poking through Deschampsia cespitosa long after summer flowering. VaRa Garden Design also chose plants with winter seed heads like Hydrangea arborescens ‘Pink Annabelle’. Spring fragrance is provided by Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’ and Helleborus orientalis ‘Pretty Ellen Pink’ offers its lovely faded bracts to extend the seasons and draw their clients out into the garden. It can be difficult to plant for the entire year’s interest in any one given month – especially in www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Designer plants.indd 67

the summer, so VaRa Garden Design has recently returned to the garden to plant bags of Tulipa ‘Spring Green’ to provide a pop of spring colour. This provided a happy excuse to see how the newly planted scheme was developing as the year progresses. Plants were sourced from Europlants, Rochford Nurseries and Premier Plants UK Ltd, while the garden was built by Rococo Landscapes ABOUT VARA GARDEN DESIGN VaRa Garden Design is an award-winning collaboration between garden designers Vanessa Hoch and Rachel Pocock – both members of the SGD and APL. They have created show gardens at Hampton Court and enjoy taking on projects in Hertfordshire, London and the surrounding areas. www.varagardendesign.co.uk

Herbaceous • Allium sphaerocephalon • Anemone x hybrida ‘Serenade’ • Astrantia major ‘Lars’ • Coreopsis verticillata ‘Moonbeam’ • Erysimum ‘Bowles’s Mauve’ • Euphorbia robbiae • Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Spessart’ • Geum ‘Mai Tai’ • Helleborus orientalis ‘Pretty Ellen Pink’ • Heuchera ‘Marmalade’ • Verbascum ‘Cotswold Queen’ Ferns • Asplenium scolopendrium • Dryopteris erythrosora Climbers • Clematis armandii • Clematis urophylla ‘Winter Beauty’ • Rosa ‘New Dawn’ • Trachelospermum jasminoides Grasses • Deschampsia cespitosa Ground cover • Bergenia ‘Eroica’ • Epimedium x versicolor ‘Sulphureum’

Pro Landscaper / January 2019 67

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NURTURE

The diverse flora and striking geometric design of the Babylonstoren garden in South Africa’s Cape leaves Jamie Butterworth lost for words

ne of my favourite things to do, as I’m sure it is for all keen horticulturists, is to visit other gardens. Whilst in South Africa, I had the enormous privilege to visit and explore some of Cape Town’s very best gardens, vineyards and landscapes. Indulging myself in the planting combinations, design styles and flora of the local area. One of the gardens I was lucky enough to visit was Babylonstoren. Set against the most scenic, picturesque mountain backdrop, this is by far one of the most beautiful gardens I have ever visited. Its superior design, layout and atmosphere left me speechless. The garden is the vision of French Architect Patrice Taravella, who has deliberately used a refined pallet of hard landscaping materials

THE GARDEN BOASTS OVER 300 DIFFERENT CULTIVARS OF PLANTS, ALL OF WHICH ARE EDIBLE, OR HAVE SOME MEDICINAL VALUE over a large area to create a simple and calming effect. Geometry is key and provides the true backbone and skeleton to the garden whilst thin, shallow water rills cut through the golden paths and lead your eye along. Translated to ‘tower of Babel’ in Dutch, the garden covers a total of eight acres, but sits within a much larger vineyard and Cape Dutch Farmstead. Designed into a perfect grid system, this is an edible and medicinal garden, where geometry is king. Designed into

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AFRICAN DREAM

fruits are even used on the walkways, with the dried nuts providing a crunchy path. It is a garden that you can take your time to explore, designed in a way which makes you want to keep on discovering.

Jamie Butterworth

quadrants, the maze-like layout provides an almost overwhelming number of viewpoints and vistas. Each intersection giving you a different

avenue to explore and leading to another part of this extraordinary garden. Just on the outskirts of Cape Town, it is a must visit for any keen horticulturists. As it happens, Babylonstoren is also an RHS partner garden and with such inspiring planting, it’s not difficult to see why. The garden boasts more than 300 different cultivars of plants, all of which are edible, or have some medicinal value. From camomile lawns to citrus hedging, plants that we know and love are used in a tantalising unique way that inspires and relaxes. Stone fruits are heavily used, with an abundance of well-placed structure throughout the garden – the stone

With it being situated within an extensive vineyard, you can’t help but enjoy it all whilst sampling the local produce – it would be rude not to, I’m told. I am almost compelled to go back to South Africa again, if only to see the garden transform and grow throughout the seasons. I may have just discovered my dream garden, and it’s not what I was expecting. If you ever want to find out more and discover the garden without having to take a 12 hour flight, you may be relieved to know that there is a book available on the garden’s journey, background and story – however nothing compares to experiencing it in person.

ABOUT JAMIE BUTTERWORTH Plantsman and horticulturist, Jamie is an RHS Ambassador with a passion for soft landscaping. He is Nurture editor for Pro Landscaper magazine and also director of Butterworth Horticulture.

www.butterworthhorticulture.co.uk jamie@butterworthhorticulture.co.uk

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20/12/2018 12:16

NURTURE

Often overlooked in favour of perennials, shrubs have a reputation for being dull and dated, but Noel Kingsbury argues the merits of this once popular group

he plant form that once dominated the landscape industry seems to be experiencing a bit of a decrease in popularity. Shrubs have been, and probably always will be at the core of the landscape industry’s planting design, providing screening and visual mass. The use of shrubs in the kind of design work which established itself as the norm in the 1960s and 1970s as a partner to modernist architecture relied heavily on a range of mostly moderately slow-growing, evergreen species. This plant range is now facing a kind of crisis, and it doesn’t look clear where we go from here. Maybe I am being overdramatic in using the word crisis but there is a serious lack of innovation at a time when we are looking more critically at the species we use. Perennials have become so fashionable that we are in danger of missing out on shrub innovation. The classic landscape shrub range was heavily orientated towards the evergreen and was, in theory, low maintenance. There has always been criticism that these species were boring, hence the expression ‘green cement’, but one of the mainstay genera, Cotoneaster, is now additionally out of favour as many of its species are naturalising in wild habitats – particularly on rock faces – and becoming an expensive-to-manage invasive alien. Yet, Cotoneaster species meet one of the other

DON’T SNUB THE SHRUB Noel Kingsbury

increasingly important criteria for plant selection. They are brilliant for pollinators – as anyone who has stood near one in spring and listened the buzz of insects can testify. The last twenty years has seen a growing tendency for maintenance crews to regularly trim evergreen shrubs, although this was never envisaged when this planting style was developed. The practice is unnecessarily expensive and incurs a carbon cost in fuel for the hedge trimmers. It is not in any way necessary for maintenance purposes and rarely adds any visual quality. So, why not choose more compact

shrubs in the first place that don’t need trimming? Well, we have plenty, except that many of them have short lifespans. Hebe species being a case in point – brilliant for five to ten years, then increasingly gawky after that. Crucially, these do not resprout so cannot be regenerated through hard pruning.

THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN CRITICISM THAT THESE SPECIES WERE BORING I have often wondered why we do not make more use of deciduous shrubs. The range of offerings from the British flora is quite limited but there are plenty of others. Amelanchier and Aronia are just examples of the genera we could be seeing more of. Many are good for biodiversity, and many members of the public appreciate plants that change with the seasons. Yet there is so little innovation happening here in producing new varieties. Unlike evergreens, they don’t look so good when trimmed annually, so the new, and in my opinion, quite pointless and unsustainable habit of waving hedge trimmers at everything does not favour their use. I would just like to flag up one shrub, once very widely planted and now hardly used at all. Spiraea douglasii is one of several Spiraea species which was once used specifically because it was so good for bees. Decorative, not too tall, but it runs which is why it is no longer used. Is that so terrible though? In conjunction with trees, or hemmed in by paving, its spread would be limited. There are so many other good deciduous shrubs like this which could be used. We need to pester the nurseries to cast their eyes a little further. ABOUT NOEL KINGSBURY

Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Moerloosei’. A good example of the older-type deciduous shrubs which are incredibly robust but rarely used in landscape planting. Why not?

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Noel Kingsbury has been involved in the horticulture industry since the mid Eighties as a nurseryman, garden designer and writer, with features appearing in The Garden, The Daily Telegraph and Gardens Illustrated. Since the mid Nineties he has played a major role in introducing the British gardening public and the horticulture profession to naturalistic planting with a series of books, four of which he has written with Dutch designer Piet Oudolf.

www.noelkingsbury.com

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NURTURE

Highly desirable aloes add a touch of the exotic; Jeff Stephenson lists the toughest contenders of this vast and varied genus

ost of this genus (comprised of approximately 575 species) are attractive, tender leaf succulents originating from Africa, Madagascar, the Arabian Peninsula and a range of Indian Ocean Islands. Currently, according to the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG IV - 2016), they are placed in the family Asphodelaceae. Aloe vera is perhaps the most widely known species due to its use in cosmetics, medicines and foodstuffs. As a group aloes are highly desired by plant collectors. This coupled with habitat loss and pressures from grazing has led to 22 of them being listed under the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) Appendix l (species threatened with extinction) with the remainder under Appendix ll (species where trade must be controlled to avoid utilisation incompatible with their survival), Aloe vera being the one unscheduled exception. If you’re looking for a touch of exotic interest for a UK garden, there’s a dozen or so which

ALLURING ALOES Jeff Stephenson

Aloe aristata (lace aloe) With an RHS Award of Garden Merit, this is probably the toughest of the aloes I’ve grown (found up to an altitude of over 2,250m in the wild in Lesotho and South Africa). It forms

AS A GROUP ALOES ARE HIGHLY DESIRED BY PLANT COLLECTORS

Coral-orange tubular flowers of Aloe aristata

are relatively tough and can be plunged into sunny free-draining positions from mid-spring to mid-autumn. They do require potting up and bringing into a glasshouse for winter protection though (these include Aloe striata, Aloe mutabilis, and Aloe brevifolia). Ensure they have adequate water during the growing season, but keep on the dry side over winter. There are only two species which I’d consider fully hardy (surviving down to -10°C), Aloe aristata and Aloe striatula. A third, Aloe polyphylla with its dense spiral of leaves (endemic to the Drakensberg mountains), is borderline hardy and much fussier. 70

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stemless compact rosettes of fleshy lanceshaped, toothed leaves with an acuminate soft white hair at each tip, which are also spotted with white tubercles. They offset freely – known as ‘pups’ by enthusiasts – and can form congested mounds over time. Offset divisions are the easiest way to propagate them. I’ve found it best to pot these up whilst actively growing. If divided too late in the year, they will sit dormant and begin to shrivel up until roots form and take up moisture during the following spring. Established plants produce tubular coral-orange flowers from mid-summer to autumn. Noted as being prone to scale insect and mealy bug (more likely if kept in a glasshouse), I’ve found vine weevil larvae to be more troublesome on occasion. I keep them planted outside all year in pots and troughs and as an underplanting in well drained xeriscape borders.

Aloe aristata forming congested mounds

Aloe striatula (striped-stemmed aloe) Surprisingly, this fleshy leaved, rambling, thicket forming, woody stemmed Aloe (which can grow up to 1m tall) only ever looks shabby in the coldest of winters, quickly improving its condition as temperatures rise again. You can easily propagate it from stem cuttings of varying length, which can simply be pushed into any suitably friable soil in well drained, bright conditions. The cut stems on the parent plant develop buds and eventually form branched specimens. More accurately, Aloe striatula has relatively recently been reclassified as Aloiampelos striatula (genus name derived from Aloe and ampelos, a Greek word for a vine). It flowers in late summer, producing yellow downturned tubular flowers. Being extremely drought tolerant, this plant would thrive on neglect, only requiring removal of its old shrivelled brown foliage and an occasional selective prune to keep it tidy.

Young cutting of Aloiampelos striatula syn Aloe striatula

ABOUT JEFF STEPHENSON With more than 29 years’ experience in horticulture, e tephenson ip ort ew ons ort heads p the hortic lt re and aftercare di ision of owles er e oined in and has worked on small installations, soft landscaping and gardens maintenance for the ast ma orit of their schemes

www.bowleswyer.co.uk

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/12/2018 12:44

NURTURE

Flowering shrubs are reliable, affordable and easy to grow; Andy McIndoe recommends some star performers

eciduous flowering shrubs may not be the most attractive subjects in winter, however they never fail to please with a reliable show of flowers in the spring and summer months. Inexpensive plants, they offer great value and add those much desired flowers amongst evergreens and shrubs grown for their foliage interest. They mix easily with roses and perennials and perform even in situations where maintenance is lacking. Here are a few choices for poor, heavy soil and new-build gardens.

TOUGH SHRUBS Andy McIndoe

Weigela florida ‘Variegata’

large and easy to grow, it is a great choice to liven up a planting of plain evergreens. Rubus spectabilis ‘Olympic Double’ is a great shrub for a difficult site. The double rosette shaped cerise blooms appear from very early spring on shining tan coloured stems with fresh green blackcurrant scented foliage. It benefits from the removal of some of the older stems to leave room for new growth. A great choice for clay and light shade under trees.

Potentilla ‘Pink Beauty’ Rubus ‘Olympic Double’

Few shrubs have a longer flowering season than Potentillas, starting in early summer and continuing through to autumn. They are at their best on alkaline soils, but are extremely tolerant and even flower reliably in semi-shade. They also establish well in fairly dry situations. Potentilla ‘Pink Beauty’ is one of the softer shades which is easy to accommodate. Trim in winter to remove straggly growth and old flower heads. Most Spiraeas have a shorter flowering season, but many are also useful foliage shrubs. Spiraea nipponica ‘Snowmound’ makes a mound of aching stems and soft green foliage,

Spiraea nipponica ‘Snowmound’

smothered in clusters of pure white flowers in early summer. This is a great choice for clay and situations where pruning is unlikely. Old plants will regenerate if cut back hard after flowering. Deutzias grow on any soils, are extremely hardy and disease free. Deutzia x elegantissima ‘Rosealind’ is a great choice for small gardens. Arching stems carry narrow leaves which often colour well in autumn. The pretty pink blooms are abundant in late spring. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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Deutzia xelegantissima ‘Rosealind’

Philadelphus bloom for around three weeks in midsummer. Some can make quite large shrubs and these are ideal for the back of a wide border where their wonderful perfume can permeate the whole garden. Philadelphus ‘Belle Etoile’ has a strong orange fragrance and blooms freely once established. Regular pruning to remove some of the flowered stems maintains vigour. Many of the Weigelas have the benefit of repeat flowering. Weigela ‘Florida Variegata’ also has attractive variegated foliage making it a clear winner when it comes to a long season of interest. Flowers are produced in flushes from early summer. Excellent on chalk and clay, not too

The dwarf buddlejas are excellent plants for poor, dry soils. They also bloom later in summer when many other shrubs and perennials are past their best. The Buzz Series flower freely and for longer than many of the larger varieties. Cut back by half in late winter, they maintain a height of less than 1.5 metres. Buddleja davidii ‘Buzz Indigo’ is just one of a range of wonderful colours.

Buddleja ‘Buzz Indigo’

Pruning tip: Always prune flowering shrubs soon after flowering to allow new growth to develop and bloom the following year. As a general rule later trimming and tidying should be avoided – it robs shrubs of their natural habit. ABOUT ANDY MCINDOE Andy McIndoe is a practical horticulturist with more than 30 years’ experience in ornamental horticulture. He has designed and advised on gardens of all sizes and has been responsible for 25 Gold medal winning exhibits at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Twitter: @AndyMcIndoe

Philadelphus ‘Belle Etoile’

www.andymcindoe.com

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NURTURE

eturning to work after the Christmas break always feels like a gargantuan endeavour, not exactly Scot of the Antarctic I know, but it’s a challenge. This is because once the festivities stopped, essentially we hunkered down, virtually comatose inside centrally heated houses, while outside, the daylight hours were so short we may as well have been living in Iceland. Getting going again is hard. Sometimes looking at winter sun holidays is the way forward, if only because the anticipation of it provides an essential kind of jump start, but most of us just plough on. There are certain types of plants that valiantly soldier on through the winter months too, revealing nothing of the intemperate challenges they have faced. You can put them in conditions that would wipe out most, leave them unattended for days or even weeks, returning to find them more or less in the same shape as when they were left. These are the plant heroes because they are survivors. Low light Aglaonema or Chinese Evergreen If low light is a problem, then these large leaved plants could be the answer because they can survive very ably in a dimly-lit room. In fact, if the light levels in the room are so low, you can supplement sunlight with artificial light. The Aglaonema is a low maintenance dream, just be careful not to overwater. Draughts Clivia Draughts kill so many plants, but not this one. The Clivia actually prefer the cooler months, and show their delight by producing fantastic blooms in orange or golden yellow, which brighten any area. Watering is equally relaxed because they prefer to be kept on the dry side. Aglaonema 72

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TRUE SURVIVORS Ian Drummond

Terrariums These elegant miniature greenhouses are now available in an impressive array of sizes and shapes, and provide secure protection from draughts. There are any number of plants that work well inside them – mosses and ferns are a favourite.

Succulents These plants are happiest on a windowsill in a dry room. While colder Philodendron conditions are not ideal for them, they will survive very well providing that watering throughout the winter months is almost non-existent. Many will continue to grow, while others will remain dormant until the spring. Either way, their neat, compact and varied shapes make them ideal for grouping. Resume watering in the spring. Hot, centrally heated rooms Hoya A plant that thrives in overly heated rooms is the wax plant, otherwise known as Hoya. As a succulent, it endures hot (and dry) temperatures by storing water in its rope-like stems. These plants are an ideal choice for hanging planters – not only do they have gorgeous cascading leaves, but they won’t turn brown and shed if they are not watered for a few weeks.

THERE ARE CERTAIN TYPES OF PLANTS THAT VALIANTLY SOLDIER ON THROUGH THE WINTER MONTHS TOO

Dry rooms Philodendrons Central heating dries out the air and soil like nothing else but there are plants which thrive in this environment. Philodendrons don’t like a lot of water and only need to be checked every two weeks. As a bonus, their impressive scale also means they provide structure and effective air filtration.

Terrariuim

ABOUT INDOOR GARDEN DESIGN Established in 1975, Indoor Garden Design is a multi-award winning company at the forefront of contemporary interior and exterior horticultural design, transforming workspaces, oﬃces, hotels and restaurants, and bringing events to life. Ian Drummond is creative director.

www.indoorgardendesign.com

During the harsh dark winter months there are plants that soldier on against all odds; Ian Drummond names some of the reliable survivors of the plant world

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/12/2018 12:27

NURTURE

NURSERY FACTFILE

“

Practical Plants is always top of our potential suppliers list

ABOUT

MEET THE MANAGER

“

Phil Rusted andscape pro ect manager

I have been in the industry for 25 years – an ex Askham Bryan student. I have won a Gold at both RHS Chelsea and Sandringham and have been both a client, specifier, contractor and supplier, which gives me a unique experience and approach to the industry. I can’t think of any other industry that would give me as much enjoyment as I get from horticulture, or as much frustration or as many challenges, but that’s what makes it so compelling.

BESTSELLERS

Topiary (various)

Practical Plants was established in 2015 to offer something a little different to the nursery stock market. ounder hilip usted came to it with years experience in the industry and saw a need in the market to supply plant stock to clients with differing expectations and re uirements. y developing relationships with many growers throughout the K and urope there is no limit to the variety of plants or the specification that can be catered for. ow in its fourth year, the business is growing steadily with an increasing base of loyal and trusted customers. The nursery is able to supply plants to all areas of the K as well as further afield with recent contracts fulfilled in weden and orway.

Instant hedging (UK grown)

LOCATION Specimen trees (Magnolia)

Hebes (various)

TESTIMONIALS ractical lants are uick to turn around uotes and are always competitively priced. The nursery goes out of its way to sort out any issues and the plants are always very good uality. t is always top of our potential suppliers list. Ben West

had searched for more than two years to find a uantity of Camellia sinensis var. sinensis when met hil usted through Twitter. ithin weeks he had sourced and delivered the plants, all in top condition and at a good price. Jenny Tunley Price ractical lants always goes above and beyond for us, even with our unusual orders of plants

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Nursery Factfile.indd 73

Herbaceous (Echinacea)

and trees that you won t find in a standard commercial nursery. Corsican Associates any thanks to you and the team at for the excellent and e cient service provided to our teams out on the ground. The feedback ve had regarding the uality of the plants has been excellent. Commonwealth War Graves Commission

1, Tower Court Diss, Norfolk IP22 4QU

CONTACT Tel 01379 641 301 Email info practical plants.co.uk Web www.practical plants.co.uk Open am pm

onday riday

Pro Landscaper / January 2019 73

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NURTURE

BUTTERWORTH HORTICULTURE CURATORS OF PLANTS AND GARDENS

Jamie Butterworth introduces his new venture, Butterworth Horticulture – a soft-landscaping business offering a comprehensive design, install and aftercare service Jamie, can you tell us a bit about your new venture? I’ve set up a new soft-landscaping business called Butterworth Horticulture. We’ll be offering bespoke soft-landscaping design services, taking responsibility of every step, from soil testing and analysis, creating planting plans, project managing the delivery of all plants and installing irrigation to ensure the plant scheme survives.

WE ARE HORTICULTURISTS, LOVERS OF PLANTS AND CURATORS OF GARDENS We will take full responsibility for the health of the plants and end the age-old debate as to who is liable if any plants die. I have seen so many on-site disputes whilst working in horticulture about who takes responsibility for this element of a project, and I want to say confidently, that it’s us. Our planting schemes will be tailored to each site, and by managing the aftercare with remote-controlled irrigation, we know they’ll be looked after properly. Planting adapts and evolves over time, so with that in mind, we will offer to amend up to 20% of the planting depending on the client’s requirements. 74

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Where will your service fit into the existing landscape industry? A dedicated soft-landscaping business like this doesn’t currently exist. I want to coin the phrase ‘horticultural design’, because I think there’s a gap in the market for people who are not only knowledgeable about plants but can design and work with them. Now that the APL is offering accredited status to horticulturists, I think there should be a real push into this. It’s important to note we we aren’t designing gardens, or hard landscaping – we provide soft-landscaping services. There’s a void of specialist horticulturists with design expertise who can provide this service. At our core, we are horticulturists, lovers of plants and curators of gardens. We offer our services to domestic end-clients, but also work with landscaping and garden design practices to offer bespoke planting schemes.

Eventually, I’d like to create a brand of horticulture and make Butterworth Horticulture an iconic brand in itself – of course, I know that it’s going to take a lot of hard work to get there!

Will you be working with other companies? Yes, we will be collaborating with garden designers as a sub-contractor. The way we want to sell our services is that having a Butterworth Horticulture planting scheme will add value to their design. If, for example, we were asked to design, install and look after a planting scheme but not supply the plants, we would do it but without providing a guarantee for the life of the plants.

Where does this leave your relationship with London Stone? It’s been over a year since the big launch with London Stone and it’s brought the industry together more than a lot of people ever thought it would. But it was always the plan to keep that as a one-year project and then go off on my own exciting adventure. I’ll still be working closely with London Stone – physically close too, as our new studio is based inside their new Surrey Showroom in Farnham. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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NURTURE

Testimonials Humaira Ikram, Garden designer and lecturer, says: “Planting design is an art as well as a science. A successful planting scheme depends on your in-depth knowledge of plants as well as a good eye when combining them. Jamie has both of these and to add to that he has always been a pleasure to work with”. James Alexander-Sinclair, RHS judge and garden designer, says: “I worked with the indefatigable Jamie Butterworth on a garden I designed for the Moscow Flower Show. Having given him the vaguest of briefs and a couple of photographs of the mood I was after he set off into the wilds of Russia to find plants. The end result was exactly what I had in my head: the boy is either very talented or possessed by demons”.

THE WAY WE WANT TO SELL OUR SERVICES IS THAT HAVING A BUTTERWORTH HORTICULTURE PLANTING SCHEME WILL ADD VALUE TO THEIR DESIGN Will you be expanding your team? Yes, I already have one member of staff with me. Gaby Pill (pictured above) graduated from KLC School of Design in December 2018 and she’ll be there for me to bounce ideas off, and to help with Vectorworks. We’re also growing and expanding our dedicated team of skilled trained horticulturists and landscapers. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Butterworth horticulture.indd 75

Finally, what does the next year look like for you? In the next year, I’ll be careful to take things one project at a time. Hopefully we will get the opportunity to work on some fun and exciting planting projects, whilst collaborating with designers, architects and landscapers. We’re really looking forward to pushing horticulture to the forefront of our industry.

CONTACT Jamie Butterworth, director Tel: +44 (0) 1252 716 501 Email: jamie@butterworthhorticulture.co.uk

www.butterworthhorticulture.co.uk

Pro Landscaper In addition to Jamie’s new business venture, Jim and Lisa Wilkinson (owners of Pro Landscaper) are very excited to announce that Jamie has been appointed nurture editor of Pro Landscaper for 2019. This important section of the magazine will be expanded and built upon, with Jamie writing specialist pieces, conducting interviews and making garden visits, all with the aim of giving the reader more helpful and interesting content on all things soft landscape related. Jim says: “We are committed to providing professional in-depth content in Pro Landscaper and this is why we have engaged Jamie to head up our nurture section. His knowledge and skills will fit perfectly with the magazine and we look forward to seeing some great articles in 2019.”

Pro Landscaper / January 2019 75

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C U R ATO R S O F PLANTS AND GARDENS A revolutionary approach to soft landscaping. We are horticulturists, lovers of plants and curators of gardens. Get in touch to find out how we can help with your project. Image supplied by Lynn Keddie, RHS Malvern Spring Show 2018

+44 (0)1252 716 501 info@butterworthhorticulture.co.uk www.butterworthhorticulture.co.uk

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20/12/2018 13:34

ANGUS LINDSAY Plan to adapt

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20/12/2018 13:35

EDUCATE

WINNER PROFILE Pro Landscaper revisits Acre Landscapes to find out what makes them a Pro Landscaper Business Award-winning company.

ACRE Landscapes

Winner: Landscape Company <£1M (sponsored by Turf Group)

cre Landscapes Ltd is an awardwinning commercial soft landscape construction and maintenance company providing services to a diverse range of clients across the south, south east and London. In 2018 they were the winners of the Landscape Company <£1M category at the Pro Landscape Business Awards, sponsored by Turf Group. The company was formed in 2008 by Nigel Bowcock and Louisa Gibb, following the acquisition of a modest existing grounds maintenance company. Nigel has been a key contributor to the landscape industry in his 30-plus years in the business. Prior to starting Acre Landscapes he was involved in delivering some of the UK’s largest landscape and most prestigious construction projects, winning many RHS, APL and BALI awards and securing the highly acclaimed BALI Grand Award in 2006 for Green Park. In 2018 Acre

Villers Bretonneus Australian National Memorial Sir John Monash Centre for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Landscapes won a BALI Award in the International Category for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission project. Nigel’s experience has subsequently helped Acre Landscapes to attract worldclass contracts and win both BALI and APL awards. A passionate advocate for the landscape industry, Nigel was appointed to the BALI Board in 2013 and has been a

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

PLBA winner Acre Landscapes.indd 79

IT’S A GREAT FEELING TO BE RECOGNISED, NOT JUST FOR THE WORK THAT WE DO BUT THE WAY THAT WE DO IT AND IT CERTAINLY GAVE US ALL AT ACRE A BOOST IN 2018

does on behalf of the landscape industry. We had no idea we were in with a chance of winning! It’s a great feeling to be recognised, not just for the work that we do but the way that we do it and it certainly gave us all at Acre a boost in 2018.”

LOUISA GIBB, BUSINESS MANAGER driving force in setting up the BALI GoLandscape careers outreach initiative, which was launched at FutureScape in 2016. Louisa has worked in both the corporate and voluntary sectors, bringing the best from both worlds to Acre Landscapes and creating a small business with a strong culture where people are at the very heart of the business, backed up by core processes that ensure staff, clients and suppliers are valued. Since winning the award, the company has moved on from a turnover of around £750,000-£1m over the past four to five years to a minimum of £1.5m this year. On winning the award, Louisa said: “We were very keen to take part in the inaugural Pro Landscaper Business Awards, primarily to support the great work that Pro Landscaper

St Edmonds Terrace

The judges commended Acre Landscapes for its strong retention of clients. They also noted Acre’s strong commitment to its staff, putting them at the heart of the business and additionally running an incentive scheme for all employees. Acre was also applauded for its strong commitment to corporate social responsibility, its significant commitment to the industry for a small business and role as a passionate advocate for the landscaping sector.

Pro Landscaper / January 2019 79

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EDUCATE

NEW YEAR’S

RESOLUTIONS Happy New Year folks! Let’s begin it as we mean to go on. Sean Butler suggests eight easy steps to keep your business on track all year long It’s that time of year, we are all hopefully returning from a restful Christmas holiday, ready to take on 2019 with a spring in our steps and a clear fresh mind. So what are your plans? Have you taken time to re-evaluate your business focus and direction? You have to take time to plan and not just fit planning time in. My own quote to my staff is: “take one step back to be able to take two steps forward”. Making new resolutions is a great way to set tasks with targets. So to get your year off to a positive start, here are eight easy resolutions to greatly benefit you and your company.

Start small Make resolutions that you think you can keep. For example, congratulate your team on a job well done.

15% of people want to learn a new skill or hobby If you’re stuck trying to think of a new skill to learn, how about imparting a skill you have by teaching a colleague. Change one behaviour at a time Unhealthy behaviours develop over the course of time. An easy change to make is smiling more. Talk about it Share your experiences with staff. For example, explain how you resolved a simple problem.

Pro Landscaper / January 2019

Sean Butler.indd 80

Don’t beat yourself up Perfection is unattainable. Ask for support Adopt an open policy, so everyone feels that they can ask for help. Try out a new sustainable eco-friendly product We’re going to work with Medite on the new timber product that’s going to revolutionise our landscape industry. Enter a competition to raise the profile of your company Try entering one of your gardens into the small project BIG IMPACT Awards. What’s stopping you, bring it on! ABOUT SEAN BUTLER Sean Butler is a landscape designer and director of Cube 1994. With a background in civil engineering, Sean has an in-depth understanding of the design, construction and maintenance of the physical and naturally built landscape. www.cube1994.com

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/12/2018 15:57

EDUCATE

FOCUS FOR THE FUTURE Reflecting on the past 30 years, Angus Lindsay looks to a future that needs to adapt to changes in climate and technology and the challenges of recruitment and succession planning Back in November I was invited to present at the Service Dealer conference on the occasion of their 30th anniversary. Whilst looking at the last 30 years of the industry through the eyes of the journalists, the conference concentrated on what the future held for agriculture, land-based industries and outdoor power products, and what challenges lay ahead in the next 30 years. As the name suggests, this event was attended by suppliers servicing both agriculture and groundscare. Presentations commenced with the futurist Ed Gillespie, who looked at how long it has taken to get where we are today and how quickly we are moving towards destroying it: “We have 12 years to limit climate change – the greatest risk management failure in history.” Sobering stuff indeed, but it does focus the mind when you consider what we do and how we operate. However, there is hope, and whilst much of this was aimed at agriculture, vertical cropping, use of drones for field mapping, robotic tractors and alternative weed control, many of the practices could be adapted to suit the landscaping and amenity market. Interestingly, both industries are facing similar challenges in terms of attracting the younger generation, succession planning, reliance on fossil fuels, and changing attitudes towards alternative power sources. One interesting concept was changing www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Angus Lindsay.indd 81

the role of farming from traditional farms and practices as we know them, to a service platform run by co-operatives in a sharing economy where smaller more intense units would share equipment across several production sites. Looking back over 30 years, it was interesting to note that the first driverless tractor was developed in the 1960s and the first radiocontrolled mower built in 1959, so not a lot has changed – we just seem to keep going round in circles. Now, more than ever, we have to dramatically change how we operate by adopting and applying new technology if we are to extinguish the spectre of global warming hanging over us all.

Radio-controlled mowing is not a new concept

The conference also gave a successful arable farmer, James Price, and myself the opportunity to feedback to the dealer network as to what we expect from a dealership in our respective industries. Unsurprisingly, our requirements were very similar and focussed on prompt service, good communication, understanding of customer pressures and an aversion to flashy showrooms. There was a thought provoking presentation on succession planning, especially within family businesses, given by consultant Sara Hey from

the States, where many dealerships are family owned. This raised many questions around engaging other members of staff in the running of the business and defining clear boundaries between family and work at an early stage, to avoid the future failure of the business. It was noted that this should also be a key component of a privately owned business where, without a robust succession plan in place, the loss of a key member of staff could have serious repercussions for the business. But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. On a lighter and significantly quicker note, Honda showed their Mean Mower V2, which in the capable hands of Jess Hawkins hopes to break the land speed record for a ride-on lawnmower, currently held by a Norwegian team using a Viking mower hitting 133mph. Powered by a 190hp Honda Fireblade engine and able to reach 90mph in first gear the team expect to break the 150mph barrier. It’s even fitted with carbon fibre blades and yes, it does cut grass! Maybe that’s the answer to getting everything done quicker – though braking on wet grass could be an issue. ABOUT ANGUS LINDSAY Angus spent several years working on arable farms in Scotland before joining VSO in Egypt, implementing a mechanisation programme, managing field operations for a commercial cotton plantation in Nigeria and working as a contract instructor for Massey Ferguson in Yemen. He gained an MSc in agricultural engineering and mechanisation management at Silsoe, joining Glendale as machinery manager in 1994, and then idverde UK in 2009 as group head of assets and fleet. Contact: angus.lindsay@idverde.co.uk

Pro Landscaper / January 2019 81

20/12/2018 11:46

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EDUCATE

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Book Review.indd 83

his is an easy-to-use reference book showcasing a wide variety of flowers, their colours, and the seasons in which they flourish. The book has 400 beautiful photographs of flowers, organised by colour, offering ideas to anyone looking for help inspiration for their planting scheme. Flower Colour Guide also features information on flower care, tools, suggested colour palettes and sustainability. It also includes space to write notes and small tear-out cards with pictures and details of the flowers. This is a truly handy book for anyone with an interest in flowers and plant design.

rban Arboreal: A Modern Glossary of City Trees takes the reader from city to city, exploring the trees that are commonly found in each one. The book features a wide variety of trees from all around the world – from the Persian silk tree in Barcelona to the Siberian crab apple in Moscow – giving a brief history and description of each tree. A highlight of the book is the beautifully illustrated pictures that complement the text. Rather like a travel guide, this book is essentially an ode to urban trees and their importance.

est Dean Gardens in West Sussex are among the greatest restored gardens open to the public today. In this book, Jim Buckland and Sarah Wain share their experience of renovating and maintaining this public garden. They explain every process that has made the garden what it is today, from the foundations and structure to the trees and fruit garden. Award-winning photographer Andrea Jones’ pictures illustrate the beauty of the gardens throughout all seasons and the labour that goes into maintaining this magnificent space.

n this book, leading garden designer Jinny Blom shares her wealth of knowledge and experience of designing gardens around the world. For Jinny, design is more a matter of intelligence and appropriateness which is highlighted throughout. In each chapter, Jinny takes the reader through the various stages of garden design – seeing, understanding, structuring, harmonising, rooting and liberating. Not only an inspiring and informative book, it is also an autobiographical journey of Jinny Blom’s illustrious career.

his book features more than 50 contemporary gardens, both private and public, from a mixture of renowned landscape architects and garden designers worldwide. It also catalogues the suppliers and products used. Included in this eclectic book is a collection of essays, such as Gardens in Transition – Garden Design: From Ancient Egypt throughout Antiquity to Today, as well as interviews with people such as Piet Oudolf and Gary Martin. Whilst a beautifully inspiring book, it isn’t the easiest read as German and French translations follow the English, making it very bulky.

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20/12/2018 11:56

PEOPLE

WHAT’S YOUR ROLE? SIMON MACKRELL Pro Landscaper speaks with Simon Mackrell, director of the Thomson Habitat team, about his role, route into the industry and future aspirations

roles I was offered the role of general manager at Thomson’s Habitats team in October 2017. In July 2018 I was invited to join the senior leadership team and was promoted to director.

Can you tell us about your role? What does a normal day look like for you? My role as director includes obligations with the senior leadership team but the majority of my time is spent overseeing bid and tender submissions, the project management team and directing resources in conjunction with our operations manager. I like to get out and touch base with the site teams and clients as often as possible, but my role does require that I attend many meetings that are important to the smooth running of the business.

What do you enjoy most about your job? Winning and delivering projects safely, cost effectively and to the programme is very enjoyable and gives me a sense of achievement. The variety and diversity of the work we do, often alongside our colleagues in other parts of the Thomson business, is fascinating and quite niche from a landscaping perspective. We could be creating a badger sett one week and the next installing dormouse boxes. I really enjoy helping to promote and progress individuals within the company and the industry whether through upskilling and training or directly mentoring and nurturing talent.

What was your route into the industry? I had four uncles involved in various elements of the building industry and during my teenage years I spent the school holidays on sites to earn extra pocket money. After many years working as a landscaper, interspersed with undertaking a degree in Environmental Science as a mature student in 1996, I had recurring back problems as a result of lugging heavy materials and aggregate. My operational days were over and I decided to take the plunge into management so I could stay within the industry. After taking on a variety of different managerial 84

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Whats your role.indd 84

What do you find most challenging about your role? This year, recruitment of suitably qualified people for a variety of positions within the business has been very challenging. All the roles within Habitats, be it project manager, bid manager or site supervisor are well aligned to anyone with a background in landscaping and to a certain degree arboriculture and horticulture.

What is a stand-out project you’ve worked on? We have just finished the largest project we have ever undertaken for a major rail construction project on seven mitigation sites around Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. We created and planted 37 ponds, and then artificially filled them with 17 million litres of water via water tankers. We planted many hectares of wild flower meadow, 42,000 trees, created hibernacula, reptile basking banks and installed fencing and bat boxes. The project has been an exceptional opportunity for the whole team and although it was a steep learning curve, it has helped take the whole business to another level.

What are your future aspirations? In the short term we need to address the seasonality of the work we do in habitat restoration and creation. As part of this, we have recently employed two more very experienced arborists and want to engage in further arboriculture works and vegetation clearance over the winter season. We have also invested in a large skid-steer with various attachments and would again like to get this deployed on some large scale vegetation clearance works. It’s an awesome piece of kit. In the medium to long term I would like to build on the success we have achieved over the last year as we continue to grow the business in a sustainable and realistic manner. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/12/2018 11:33

EDUCATE

u lite artificial turf has a luxurious feel and natural appearance, created by the multi colour fibres, the mm pile height and the natural texture of the thatch yarn. Great for general use indoor and out, particularly suitable for children and pets to play on and in bars, restaurants and on balconies.

1. Made in Britain Buzz Elite turf is designed and manufactured at BuzzGrass headquarters in Maryport UK. Opened over 35 years ago, the factory has undergone a £1.8m investment into new machinery, R&D and a brand new manufacturing facility.

PRODUCT

DNA BUZZGRASS

BUZZ ELITE

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

2. Pet and family friendly u rass artificial grass uses an extremely soft and high-quality yarn to ensure it is suitable for children and pets to play on. Combining this softness with incredible durability, the grass can last for up to 10 years.

3. Water resistant and quick draining A hard-wearing latex coating provides a stable grass backing. The pre-punched holes allow water to penetrate the surface, meaning you can be confident the grass will drain in all weathers.

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• 35mm pile-height hardwearing soft durable, state of the art non-inﬁll monoﬁlament grass surface • Dense natural look and feel • UV-stabilised – keeps colour all year round • Total weight approximately 2.60kg per square metre • Two-tone green pile along with a green and tan thatch and black backing • Available in roll widths of either 2m or 4m • Roll lengths: minimum 1m, maximum 25m – cut in 0.1m multiples

CONTACT BuzzGrass (SIS Manufacturing Co. Ltd), Glasson Industrial Estate, Maryport, CA15 8NT Tel 01900 811970 Email hello@buzzgrass.com Web www.buzzgrass.com/trade Twitter @Buzz_Grass Facebook BuzzGrassUK

4. 10-year guarantee The BuzzGrass 10-year fear free warranty gives you and your customers peace of mind that Buzz Elite artificial grass will look and perform well. In the highly unlikely event of a fault with the product, BuzzGrass promises to repair or replace the affected area with no fuss.

5. The BuzzGrass factory The factory is also home to SIS Pitches, an award-winning global sports surface construction company. SIS Pitches provide synthetic turf pitches that meet FIFA, World Rugby and FIH re uirements, so you can be confident that your landscaping grass is of the highest quality, made in the same factory as some of the best surfaces in the sports industry. The grass has been used at Newcastle Falcons, Saracens and Loughborough University.

6. Fully recycled Performance Pad Installing a foam underlay beneath the turf adds a springy cushion to your grass to soften the surface. ome people worry their artificial turf may not be as comfortable as traditional grass, but with Buzz Elite supported by a 5mm or 10mm Performance Pad, this is not the case. Performance Pads are especially recommended for lawns used by children or pets.

Pro Landscaper / January 2019 85

20/12/2018 11:37

EDUCATE

BOWLAND STONE

EVEREDGE

EDGING

Cathedral Radius Bowland Stone’s Cathedral Radius looks great as an edging. It creates a unique stylish design, perfect for adding character to your garden. The edging not only keeps walkways defined, but can also help keep beds, gravel and other aggregates in place, forming neat and striking borders. Available in the colours Weathered Moss, Weathered York and Barley. Price: From £3.75 each

EverEdge Halestem EverEdge Halestem is an L-shaped steel landscape edging system designed for use alongside tarmac, paving and resinboded surfaces. Quick and simple to install, Halestem is manufactured in robust yet flexible galvanised steel, and features a rolled safety top edge for added strength and no exposed sharp edges. Price: £24.00–£36.50 per 2.5m piece (ex VAT)

Country Kerb Country Kerb emulates traditional granite kerbs in appearance, with all the benefits of a Tobermore product including strength, durability and advanced colour retention capabilities. Choose from granite aggregate, standard aggregate and graphite. Country Kerb will fulfil both aesthetic and design aspirations while exceeding technical requirements. Price: POA

EG Plastic Garden Edge A new product by EcoGrid Ltd, this Flexible Edge is ideal for gravel retention in patios, driveways and general walking areas. EG Plastic Garden Edge can also be used for garden border edging, lawn edging and plant/flowerbed borders, particularly when the natural green colour is chosen. This edging can also be used to create effective curves, circles or straight runs. Price: From £3.90 per 800mm length

WWW.TOBERMORE.CO.UK

WWW.ECOGRID.CO.UK

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WWW.EVEREDGE.CO.UK

ECOGRID

TOBERMORE

WWW.BOWLANDSTONE.COM

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/12/2018 12:31

PEOPLE

TRADING WITH

HARDSCAPE RESOURCING LTD

CONTACT

Company name Hardscape Resourcing Limited Address Westleigh Hall, Wakefield Road, Denby Dale, Huddersfield HD8 8QJ

HRL Landscape Tel 01484 860044 Web www.hrlonline.co.uk

Pro Landscaper talks to Craig Woolley about Hardscape Resourcing Limited – a provider of specialist landscaping materials

HRL Colchem Tel 01484 863 880 Web www.colchem.co.uk

show activity. Our web presence and high quality technical data form an integral part of what we offer.

Can you tell us a little more about Hardscape Resourcing Limited? We are a provider of specialist landscaping materials with particular emphasis on Craig Woolley, ground control director and naturally permeable paving surfaces for pedestrian and vehicular applications. What are the main products you supply? We operate through two divisions, HRL Landscape and HRL Colchem. HRL Landscape have a proprietary range of gravel grids and grass reinforcement systems, supplemented with our StableEDGE aluminium landscape edgings. HRL Colchem produce the Whispercast system for in situ exposed aggregate pavement, which includes integral colour and decorative stains for the creation of unique concrete surfaces. What are the key selling points of your products? The aim of our product range is to offer flexibility and bespoke solutions to the landscape design and construction community. Sustainability features throughout, both in the production of www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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materials and their applications. We believe we can make a difference in helping reduce the clients’ carbon footprint wherever we are involved. Underpinning all the above is market leading technical and customer support. How do you ensure the quality of your products? By strict control of raw material specification through a supply chain of well-established producers of international repute and unimpeachable quality credentials. How do you market your company? HRL is a deliberately small-to-medium sized company, consciously keeping our activities to a manageable scale where dedicated personal and effective service can be maintained. For our size we do operate quite a sophisticated project intelligence system, together with selective industry relevant advertising, plus regionally focused trade

Are you releasing any new products in the coming months? In 2019 we will be launching StablePATH Italia and StablePATH Celtica, extending our StablePATH reinforced gravel pathway system, by the inclusion of a range of Italian marble and Scottish granite aggregates. HRL Colchem will be launching a new MicroETCH slip resistant finish for decorative in situ concrete pavements and hard-standings. What’s the next step for the company? Our focus is to continue the drive towards ever more ecologically beneficial options for our client base. Research and testing are currently underway on resourcing and developing carbon sequestration aggregates and minerals, as a contribution to cleaner air and reduced toxic particle contamination. Much academic work has been carried out in this area and we hope to be at the forefront of bringing these potential environmental improvements to the market. Pro Landscaper / January 2019 87

20/12/2018 11:35

JOBS

For full details on all jobs, please goFor to full details on all jobs, please go to www.horticulturecareers.co.uk. www.horticulturecareers.co.uk Call 01903 777 587 or email ellie.downes@eljays44.com vacancy. Call 01903 777with 584your or email liam.colclough@eljays44.com with your vacancy

CONTRACTS AND PROCUREMENT ADMINISTRATOR

ASSISTANT DESIGNER/LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT

We have an unique opportunity for a contracts and procurement administrator to join our growing, successful company based in Chobham. The successful candidate will be part of a small but busy projects team, helping with the day-to-day running of the ofﬁce/contract administration. Tasks include but are not limited to: raising purchase orders using accounts software (Sage and Eque2); negotiating best price before ordering; general administration; assisting the contracts director and foremen by helping with completion of valuations at the end of each month as well as seeking quotation for extra works; assisting with the completion and compilation of client O&M manuals; excellent communication to all levels of staff, management, suppliers and clients; keeping ﬁles up to date (both on server and hard copy.)

We have an exciting opportunity for a talented and enthusiastic assistant garden designer/ landscape architect to join our award-winning design team. This full-time position would particularly suit someone with approximately two to three years’ experience working in a landscape/design studio. We are looking for someone who is dedicated, self-motivated and keen to secure a long-term position with the opportunity to grow within the company. The ability to work effectively alone or as part of a team and to deliver completed work to a high standard even under pressure for project deadlines is essential. Candidates must have excellent communication and organisational skills, a degree or equivalent qualification in the field of landscape architecture/garden design, very good horticultural knowledge and strong skills in Vectorworks, Sketchup and Microsoft Office. An ability to hand sketch/design on paper as well as digitally would be desired.

LANDFORM CONSULTANTS LTD Location: Chobham, Surrey

For more details please go to www.horticulturecareers.co.uk

LANDFORM CONSULTANTS LTD Location: Chobham, Surrey

For more details please go to www.horticulturecareers.co.uk

SOFT LANDSCAPE SITE MANAGER NT KILLINGLEY LTD Location: Derbyshire

This is a site-based role to complete projects to the contract manager’s plan, ensuring health and safety, proﬁt, productivity and quality targets are achieved.The successful candidate will: effectively manage and discipline site behaviour and timekeeping of employees under their control; maintain good relationships with clients and maximise efﬁciency of all resources. Please apply with a copy of your CV or application form. For more details please go to www.horticulturecareers.co.uk

GROUND MAINTENANCE SITE MANAGER NT KILLINGLEY LTD Location: Derbyshire

Due to continued growth we are seeking a committed site manager to help manage an already successful and proﬁtable department. The grounds maintenance department is currently managed by an experienced contract manager and we are looking to expand further into both existing and new markets. Working within a well organised, managed and supportive environment, you will be an important part of the future management team. Please apply with a copy of your CV or application form. For more details please go to www.horticulturecareers.co.uk

BID MANAGER

THOMSON ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANTS Location: Guildford, Surrey We are currently seeking an experienced Bid Manager to join our growing ecological contracting business. We work for tier-one contractors, multi-disciplinaries, local and national government and ecology and planning consultancies. You will be responsible for the preparation of tenders, quotations, and associated documentation required in bidding for new contracts. For more details please go to www.horticulturecareers.co.uk

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Pro Landscaper / January 2019

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/12/2018 16:04

CLASSIFIED Diesel Bowser

Diesel Diesel Bowser Bowser

• Manufactured in the UK • 12 month warranty • 12v 40L/min pump • 440l & 220L options • AdBlue option available

For all your golf, sportsturf and landscape irrigation needs.

Buy online at www.lws.uk.com

01353 862044

• Manufactured in the UK • 12 month warranty • Manufactured in the UK • 12v 40L/min pump • 12 month warranty • 440l & 220L options • AdBlue option available pump • 12v 40L/min

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Tel 0345 230 9697 • www.lws.uk.com

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FOR ALL YOUR IRRIGATION NEEDS

Design and Advice • Irrigation Parts Catalogue 24/7 Online Parts Ordering www.access-irrigation.co.uk • sales@access-irrigation.co.uk

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PEOPLE

HEATHER MARTIN Owner and designer, Heather Martin Garden Design www.heathermartin.co.uk Garden shows/show gardens - inspirational or not? Yes, I was inspired to become a designer myself by Niki Palmer’s ‘Enchanting Escape’ show garden at Hampton Court – I still remember the planting combinations, which I just loved. Other than the UK, which country’s landscape inspires you the most? I like the formal gardens of many French châteaux.

What would you blow your budget on? I’d love to design a series of automatons into a client’s garden or public park.

Best piece of trivia you know? We live closer in time to T.Rex than the T.Rex lived to Stegosaurus. Role model as a child? Judith Resnik. Couldn’t get through the week without... A smile. Your favourite joke? Why did the toilet roll down the hill? Because it wanted to get to the bottom. Best invention in recent years? Jelly Drops which are designed to hydrate dementia patients - still in the development/production phase I believe, but I think could be a great use of technological advances in helping many, many people.

The one person in the industry you’d love to meet? I would have liked to meet Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe. One thing that you think would make the industry better? Bringing back natural history as part of the school curriculum.

Pro Landscaper / January 2019

Little Interview.indd 90

Pro Landscaper asks quick-fire questions to gain a small insight into the people who make up our industry. To take part email rachael.forsyth@eljays44.com

INEZ WILLIAMS Consultant landscape manager, LUC (Land Use Consultants) www.landuse.co.uk

Other than the UK, which country’s landscape inspires you the most? Studying garden history I’ve always found the historic gardens of Spain of the Alhambra and the Alcazar as just two examples hugely inspiring. What would you blow your budget on? Traveling books and art, though I’m not sure which first? The one person in the industry you’d love to meet? David Lambert or Dominic Cole.

One thing that you think would make the industry better? I hope over the course of my

career to see the industry opening its doors more to young people and their ideas.

Best piece of trivia you know? Williams Lobb, a Cornish plant collector, was partly responsible for the commercial introduction of the Monkey Puzzle tree from Chile in the 19th Century. Couldn’t get through the week without... Tea! I love it – it gives me strength. Best invention in recent years? Contactless card payments.

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/12/2018 16:08

PEOPLE

ZEYNA SOBOH Senior landscape and urban design consultant, WSP www.wsp.com/en-GB Garden shows/show gardens – inspirational or not? Very inspirational, just as visiting an art gallery or a new city or country brings a source of inspiration which enriches our skills and creativity. Other than the UK, which country’s landscape inspires you the most? I lived in New Zealand 20042012 (where I studied) which

is a truly magical landscape, it’s so varied and untouched by man. The one person in the industry you’d love to meet? Piet Ouldolf, Adriaan Gueze or Monty Don would be fun to meet!

One thing that you think would make the industry better? The collaboration and equality between the Landscape Architecture and engineering worlds, I feel they do not always understand our value. Best piece of trivia you know? Red flowers are the least attractive to bees, as they see into the ultra-violet spectrum.

Role model as a child? Hermione Granger. She made nerdy cool. Couldn’t get through the week without... Proper coffee, oat milk flat whites. Best invention in recent years? Google maps, my sense of direction is terrible.

PETER ROBINSON

TAMARA BRIDGE

Director / landscape architect , GRDN

Garden designer , Tamara Bridge Garden Designs

www.grdndesign.co.uk Garden shows/show gardens – inspirational or not? I could write a whole article on this! They are inspirational from a construction perspective in terms of their craftsmanship, innovation and attention to detail. Other than the UK, which country’s landscape inspires you the most? New Zealand.

www.tamarabridge.co.uk The one person in the industry you’d love to meet? Matt Keightley – Rosebank Landscaping One thing that you think would make the industry better? Perhaps more accurate garden design related TV Programmes, to improve the perception of the industry to the public. Role model as a child? Pete Sampras.

What would you blow your budget on? Planting / Specimen Trees. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Little Interview.indd 91

Garden shows/show gardens – inspirational or not? Yes, absolutely. Especially if they are using new plants or materials. Other than the UK, which country’s landscape inspires you the most? Well I would love to take time to see more of the Mediterranean, especially as this style of planting works so well near the coast and on Norfolk’s sandy soils.

Couldn’t get through the week without… Harrbio Supermix!

The one person in the industry you’d love to meet? Jinny Blom.

Best invention in recent years? Virtual Reality.

One thing that you think would make the industry better?

Getting horticulture into schools as part of the curriculum! Role model as a child? Lucinda Green without a doubt. Couldn’t get through the week without... Copious cups of tea. Your favourite joke? So we will be finished by the end of the week, it’s always hilarious. Best invention in recent years? Silicone spatulas Pro Landscaper / January 2019 91

20/12/2018 16:09

MDF? Outside? In the Rain? For 50 years? Are you MAD?

MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME is a revolutionary product that will take the construction, landscaping and exterior design worlds by storm. Guaranteed for up to 50 years in the face of the elements, this naturally modified MDF is incredibly versatile and can be used for planters, garden rooms, sculptures, playgrounds, building faรงades, furniture; you name it, MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME can do it!

For more information on MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME, contact us on 01322 424900, email info@mdfosb.com or visit www.mdfosb.com

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20/12/2018 13:35