Pro Landscaper May 2012

Concept to Delivery May 2012

DESIGN, BUILD AND MAINTAIN

CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW

THE MAIN DRAW Plans and sketches for some of the inspirational gardens set to feature at this year’s RHS event

Let’s Hear it from...

Green roofs

Portfolios

Landscape and garden designer Jo Thompson

Big opportunities to install for landscape contractors

See how three companies implemented their projects

Contents

May 2012

REGULARS

PORTFOLIOS ??

4 News shed

A round-up of news from the industry.

8 Association news

Latest news from the industry’s associations.

28

12 Business Tips

Regular features, including the interview process and using costing packages.

Frogheath Landscapes

21 Let’s hear it from…

Jo Thompson of Jo Thompson Landscape and Garden Design.

46 Wildlife-friendly

25

bedding

32

The Garden Builders

Andy Boorman reports.

Arbour Design and Build

52 Latest kit

A look at pro mowers and general kit.

FEATURES RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2012 Preview of this year’s standout gardens.

Green roofs Now a landscape in their own

63 People

The Little Interview, Events Diary and Look Out For...

right rather than just another building layer.

65 Trending…

Pro Landscaper looks at what’s different in the industry.

39 EDITORIAL editor@pro-landscaper.co.uk Director – Lisa Wilkinson lisa.wilkinson@pro-landscaper.co.uk Tel: 01903 234077 Content Manager – Joe Wilkinson joe.wilkinson@pro-landscaper.co.uk joe.wilkinson@eljays44.com Tel: 01903 234077 EDITORIAL ADVISORY PANEL Mark Gregory Chairman APL and Landform Consultants Sam Hassall LandPRO Ltd Russell Eales Lawn Care expert Karl Harrison Decking expert Keith Sacre Tree expert

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

50 ADVERTISING Business Development Manager Jamie Wilkinson Jamie.wilkinson@pro-landscaper.co.uk Jamie.wilkinson@eljays44.com Tel: 01903 234077 Sales Executive – Luke Chaplin luke.chaplin@eljays44.com Tel: 01903 234077 Managing Director – Jim Wilkinson jim.wilkinson@pro-landscaper.co.uk jim.wilkinson@eljays44.com Tel: 01903 234077 GENERAL ENQUIRIES Tel: 01903 237779 CIRCULATION Subscription Enquiries: lisa.wilkinson@pro-landscaper.co.uk Tel: 01903 234077

MANAGEMENT Managing Director Jim Wilkinson Director Lisa Wilkinson

PRODUCTION Design and reproduction: Russell Cox Design & Production

Business Development Manager Jamie Wilkinson

Printed by Pensord Press Ltd, Gwent, UK

Marketing and Content Manager Joe Wilkinson Pro Landscaper is published 12 times per year

by Eljays44 Ltd. The 2012 subscription price is £75.00. Subscription records are maintained at Eljays44 Ltd, County House, 3 Shelley Road, Worthing, West Sussex BN11 1TT, UK. Articles and information contained in this publication are the copyright of Eljays44 Ltd and may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publishers. The publishers cannot accept responsibility for loss of, or damage to, uncommissioned photographs or manuscripts.

Published by © Eljays44 Ltd – Business Intelligence

Business intelligence

Eljays44 Ltd County House, 3 Shelley Road, Worthing, West Sussex BN11 1TT Tel: 01903 234077

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

3

4

Leader

Britain at its best Welcome all to the May edition of Pro Landscaper – it’s unbelievable that May is already here, the time where the industry really gets the chance to show the public the quality and professionalism of the UK landscape industry.

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which gets vast coverage on TV and throughout the media world can really help the industry. Contractors and designers work closely together to produce some outstanding gardens. Check out our coverage starting on page 41. We also have an interview with one of the leading women designers – Jo Thompson, who is showcasing a spectacular “The month of garden at this year’s event.

May is when our Now on to the hosepipe industry really ban, again this has shown the gets the chance to industry pulling together, though it show the public does look like a losing battle. The the professionalism HTA, BALI & TGA are working of our industry.” together on behalf of the industry and making sure the voice of the landscape industry is at least being heard. Let’s hope a long-term solution can be found and the industry doesn’t face the same problems over the coming years.

This issue also includes our first feature on Green Roofs, a packed Business Tips section and some awardwinning projects within our Portfolio section. Also don’t forget to check out the website www.prolandscaper magazine.com for your daily industry news.

Jim and Lisa Wilkinson editor@pro-landscaper.co.uk

Kew Gardens reveals Olympic Rings display One hundred days before the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games, a ‘spectacular’ installation of the Olympic Rings has been unveiled at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The Rings are 50m long, and are made up of 20,000 plants. The flowers planted around coloured

mulch consist of Pansy ‘Light Blue’, Viola ‘Clear Yellow’, Viola ‘Black Delight’, apple mint (Mentha suaveolens) and Viola ‘Red Blotch’ plants. Visitors can walk through the rings, which are also wheelchair-accessible via pathways that have been created using a sturdy resin-bonded surface.

Concept to Delivery

DESIGN, BUILD AND MAINT AIN

May 2012

In the June Issue of Pro Landscaper…

Let’s hear it from – a prominent lecturer and garden designer

Preview of the BALI 2012 Landscaping Show An in-depth feature on Topsoil Round up of the latest kit on the market

More amazing portfolios Regular Business Tips features

CHE LSEA FLOW ER THE MAI SHOW N DRAW

Plans and sketche s for the inspirat ional gardensome of feature at this s year’s RHSset to event

Let’s Hear

it

Have you signed up to the new Pro Landscaper Network? Log on to www.pro-landscaper. co.uk and click the network tab to get involved in the latest member discussion from...

Landscape designer Jo and garden Thompson

Green roofs

Big opportun for landscape ities to install contractors

Portfolios

See how three implemented companies their projects

See us on facebook, twitter @ProLandscaperJW and join our LinkedIn group to stay up-to-date with all that’s happening in landscaping

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

Extensive landscaping at Broadmoor redevelopment Provisional planning permission for the redevelopment of Broadmoor Hospital reveals plans include new gardens, recreation areas and extensive landscaping.

LDA Design consultancy led the environmental impact assessment and landscape design work for the redevelopment, where construction is expected to start in the autumn of 2013.

Broadmoor Hospital for the Criminally Insane, as it used to be

called, has housed some of Britain’s most notorious prisoners, including Moors murderer Ian Brady and Yorkshire ripper Peter Sutcliffe.

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

News Shed

Garden costs decrease year on year – ONS statistics reveal According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), inflation figures published recently suggest that in the recreation and culture sector, garden, plant and flower costs decreased by 2.6% in March,

compared to the same period last year. Although suppliers buying from overseas have possibly benefited from favourable exchange rates, the results are surprising as costs for materials

such as peat and fertilisers have increased in recent years, along with transport costs.

Open Garden Squares Weekend and National Trust join forces in the capital The Open Garden Squares Weekend, organised by the London Parks and Gardens Trust, takes place on 9 and10 June, in association with the National

Trust. Around 200 communal gardens will be taking part including HMP Wormwood Scrubs, The Regent’s Park Allotment Garden and The

Kensington Roof Gardens. One ticket will allow entry to all venues throughout the entire weekend.

Visit www.opensquares.org for information.

Edinburgh gardens rejuvenated with Rolawn Rolawn’s Medallion Turfmaster 1300 rolls have recently been used as part of a major restoration programme. Edinburgh City Council appointed Sportsmasters UK Ltd to undertake the project, which included returfing Princes Street Gardens, an extremely popular lunchtime refuge.

Gavin Brown, Managing Director, Sportsmasters UK Ltd

commented: “Extensive preparation work was involved in producing such a large job and 8,000m2 Rolawn’s Medallion turf was selected due to its enhanced performance, superior wear and disease resistance. The large format 13m2 rolls were used which reduced labour time and ensured rapid establishment in readiness for the main tourist season.”

5

NURSERY NEWS

CREATE A BUZZ WITH BUDDLEJA ‘BUZZ’ A recent introduction, this little dwarf Buddleja ‘Buzz’ packs a big punch. Throughout the summer months it is smothered with dense flower spikes of small, tubular, fragrant flowers which are attractive to bees, butterflies and wildlife. Unlike their larger cousins, Buddleja davidii, the new ‘Buzz’ are not invasive and do not self seed.

Growing to a height and spread of 120cm the ‘Buzz’ is perfect for planting in borders, pots and containers, and also for using in wildlife gardens. It enjoys a site in full sun with a free draining soil and can be pruned in early spring to maintain the shape.

Colours available include; ● Ivory (ivory-cream flowers) ● Lavender (violet-lilac flowers) ● Majenta (purple-magenta flowers) ● ‘Sky Blue’ (sky-blue flowers)

www.wyevale-east.co.uk

6

Contractors News

NEWS in brief Record visitors at Bute Park show Despite the rain, it is predicted that the visitor numbers at The RHS Cardiff show at Bute Park, which took place from 20-22 April could exceed the 2011 record of 22,000.

HTA research to help home owners The new HTA marketing strategy will include researching the landscaping market – enabling the industry to develop new services for home owners seeking professional help in their gardens.

JS enlists new General Manager Denise Hall has joined JS Agriculture as General Manager.

John Straka said: “With Denise’s experience in the Landscape industry she will be a real asset.”

Etesia’s green tech roadshow a success The recent Etesia UK ‘Green Technology’ roadshows “have been a great success”, says Etesia UK General Manager Les Malin. Further roadshows will follow later this year.

Poll: negative view of horticultural sector A recent poll by the RHS has found 70% of 18-year-olds think the horticultural sector is for people who have no skills and have failed academically.

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

ISS aids military wives’ cut flower project for bbc2 The Cut Flowers Community Gardening Project at Vauxhall Barracks, Didcot, Oxfordshire has been assisted by ISS Facility Services Landscaping. The project, being covered by BBC2 Gardeners’ World, will see the military wives and children grow and maintain a cut flower garden over the summer and ISS has helped construct the

raised beds to be planted. ISS has been delivering grounds maintenance solutions to Vauxhall Barracks since 2008 and Brian

Ackroyd, Operations Director South said: “it is hugely important to ISS that we invest in and help regenerate local communities”.

APL voices disapproval at ‘victimisation’ of landscape industry by water companies The APL is disappointed at the treatment of the landscape industry by water companies imposing hosepipe bans, following a meeting of The HTA, APL, BALI and the TGA with the water industry. The industry has been calling for an exemption for professional landscapers. APL Chairman Mark Gregory

commented: “The water restrictions are potentially crippling for the landscape industry, landscapers have been victimised. This has not been thought through at all.” The seven water companies affected won’t provide exemptions for professional landscapers but Thames Water will help find and

provide access to non-potable water for landscapers in their region. Landscape representatives noted that this, and the use of drip irrigation systems, are not practical options. The industry will now work alongside water companies to lobby government to incentivise investment in water-efficient schemes.

Gavin Jones launches staff GJ Diploma Gavin Jones Ltd is taking its training and development in house and has launched the GJ Diploma, which will aim to increase the staff’s horticultural knowledge and in turn benefit its customers. The core stage of the horticultural qualification is for all staff from

accounts to board and senior management with the intention that employees gain an increasing knowledge of horticulture. Staff will have 12 months to complete the individual units and thereafter the plan will be to add one core unit each year, with career paths

devised for all operational divisions – to commence with horticultural units and lead on to supervisory and management skills training.

There has been support from all divisions at all levels for this initiative – for some staff it’s a chance to revise their knowledge and act as “buddies” for their less experienced team-mates, for others it is a de-facto apprenticeship and for non-operational staff it’s focused learning and development in our industry. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

PREPARE FOR THE

LIKE NOTHING YOU'VE EVER SEEN BEFORE The Ransomes Meteor Floats like a cylinder, cuts like a rotary Call for a demonstration today 01473 270 000

Launching in May 2012 www.ransomesjacobsen.com PL/Meteor/05/2012

8

Association News – APL

2

1

1 Live Outdoors (£13k).

2 A Compromising Situation (£10k).

3 From left: Nilufer Danis (Landform Consultants), Roger Smith (Garden House Design), Richard Wanless (Twigs Gardens),

The Association of

Professional Landscapers

New category announced for this year’s RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

LOW COST, HIGH IMPACT

Mandy Almond (RHS Hampton Court Palace Show Manager) and Mark Winrow (Garden House Design).

4 Our First Home, Our First Garden (£7k).

5 Summer in the Garden (£13k).

T

he Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and the Association of Professional Landscapers (APL) have announced the entries that have been selected for the new ‘Low Cost, High Impact’ gardens category at this year’s RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show (3-8 July 2012).

The new category, which was exclusively open to members of the Association of Professional Landscapers (APL), aims to showcase a practical approach to gardens that also provide a wow factor where visitors will be able to recreate the garden design, based on a fixed budget for hard landscaping, plant material and labour.

A total of four gardens have been selected to showcase what can be achieved for a budget of £7k, £10k and £13k (x2), which are shown below: ● £7k Budget ‘OUR FIRST HOME, OUR FIRST GARDEN’ Designer Nilufer Danis, Landform Consultants This is designed for a young professional couple with little spare cash and little knowledge of gardens and plants.

A space to chill in with friends and entertain it is their first garden designed to engage them and inspire a love of gardening. ● £10k Budget ‘A COMPROMISING SITUATION’ Designer Richard Wanless, Twigs Gardens Lots of compromises here, a place to sit and chat to neighbours and May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

4

3

somewhere to sit quietly with some lawn, flower borders, a wildlife area and a pond.

Each worthy of 50m2 on their own but compromises have to be made.

Dealing with the sloping north facing garden of a Victorian terraced property where neighbours share an access immediately between the house and the garden. ● £13k Budget ‘SUMMER IN THE GARDEN’ Designer Mike Harvey, Arun Landscapes Summer living outdoors with a modern ‘Mediterranean’ theme. To promote small gardens which do not have a lawn. To

suggest plants that are suitable for a sunny dry garden with beautifully laid reclaimed Yorkshire ‘crazy paving’ – reclaimed York stone on a budget. ● £13k Budget ‘LIVE OUTDOORS’ Designer Roger Smith – Garden House Design To demonstrate how a great design, with professional landscaping does not need to be compromised by budget restrictions. An outdoor space to socialise and entertain with a feeling of seclusion and privacy. Inspired by a common brief.

HAMPTON COURT 2012

5

The 2012 RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show takes place from Tuesday 3 – Saturday 8 July at Hampton Court Palace, Surrey KT8 9AT. Tickets can be purchased at: www.rhs.org.uk or call 0844 338 7505. Ticket prices range from £14.50 to £32.50, each full paying adult may bring two children aged 16 and under free-of-charge to the show. Information about the RHS show can be found at: www.rhs.org.uk / 020 7649 1883. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Association News – SGD

9

1

VISITING GARDENS The society is backing the National Gardening Scheme

S

GD members are opening gardens again this year for the National Gardening Scheme (NGS), which is celebrating its 85th birthday.

Back in 1927 when the scheme was launched, some 609 gardens opened to the public and together raised £8,000. More than 85 years later, the fundraising model has not changed and now more than 3,800 gardens are opened for the NGS annually.

Among the SGD members opening gardens this year are John Brookes MBE (MSGD), Tom Stuart-Smith (MSGD) and the SGD Chairman Charles Rutherfoord (MSGD), all of whom are opening their own gardens. Other Registered SGD members opening gardens

include: Andrew Wilson (FSGD), Julie Toll (FSGD), Nigel Philips (FSGD), Chris Eves (MSGD), Ian Smith (MSGD), Debbie Roberts (MSGD) and Lizzie Tulip (MSGD).

To mark the 85th anniversary the NGS has arranged for 120 of the original gardens that opened in 1927 to re-open this year, a small number of which have stayed open since the very start. Last year the charity gave £2.6 million to nursing and caring charities such as MacMillan, Marie Curie and Help the Hospices, and this year, with 100 extra gardens opening many of them for the first time, they are determined to increase the donations they provide.

Many of the gardens that open as part of the scheme are privately owned and rarely

1 Garden by Tom Stuart-Smith (MSGD).

2 Garden by Ian Smith (MSGD) and Debbie Roberts (MSGD).

3 Garden by Lizzie Tulip (MSGD).

exposed to the public, so it’s a unique opportunity for garden lovers to visit some of the UK’s most spectacular gardens. Lots of gardens open as part of a group including street and village openings. There are now a huge variety of gardens incorporated in the scheme and the ever-growing list includes school gardens and allotments sitting alongside gardens of some of the great British houses.

For further information of all the SGD members taking part in the NGS 2012, please visit the website www.sgd.org.uk.

The full list of gardens open as part of the NGS are published in The Yellow Book (priced £9.99), listed online at www.ngs.org.uk and, for the first time, available as a free iOS app.

CALL FOR ENTRIES

2

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

3

The closing date for entries to the SGD Awards is Friday 18 May. The Awards are open to all members of the SGD and cover all aspects of garden design from private domestic gardens to engaging public spaces. For a full list of the award categories and to download the application form, please visit the SGD website: www.sgd.org.uk

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

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Association News – BALI

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1

BALI BRIEFING

S

tand FR/39 at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show will give visitors to the show the opportunity to see for themselves the work of BALI designers and contractors. The stand, designed by BALI-Registered designer Jill Crooks of Zebra Grass Garden Design, will be constructed by a team of BALI-Registered Contractors. It includes creative and distinctive design ideas and the opportunity for members to promote their individual businesses alongside BALI’s key messages of Quality, Expertise and Peace of Mind. Support from BALI Affiliate (supplier) members supplying all materials and plants for the stand will be fully acknowledged on stand literature. The show is open to the public from 22-26 May 2012.

Call for entries BALI is calling for entries to the 2012 BALI National Landscape Awards in association with Horticulture Week. This year two new categories reflect the breadth of BALI membership and niche sector expertise. These

BALI promotes design and contracting excellence at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2012

are: Affiliate Exceptional Service (for ‘supplier’ members) and Community and Schools Development (Full Contractors). In a change to the usual Awards application process there is now no pre-registration for entry. Simply go to the BALI Awards website at www.bali awards.co.uk and register your entry online.

Awards guidelines giving full instructions are available to download from the website. Print your completed entry form and send it in to BALI with all the required supporting material by the appropriate entry dates, as follows: ● Friday 25 May Full Contractor categories ● Friday 3 August Registered Designer categories Overseas Full Contractor categories Affiliate Exceptional Service Award Employer of the Year Award The awards’ headline sponsor is once again BALI Affiliate member Rigby Taylor and the ceremony takes place at the Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London on Friday 7 December.

Why not make this the year you compete with the industry’s premier practitioners?

Olympic Park MP’s visit BALI will be hosting a visit by MPs to the Olympic Park in Stratford. Members of the All Party Parliamentary Gardening and Horticulture Group (APPGHG) will be visiting the Olympic Park on Monday 21 May, ahead of the Park’s official lock-down at the end of the month, prior to the start of the 2012 Olympic Games on Friday 27 July. BALI contractors and suppliers have played a crucial part in delivering the green infrastructure of Stratford’s Olympic Park and at other Olympic venues nationwide.

The visit, organised by BALI, will hopefully comprise a site walkabout where MPs and group members will see at first hand the transformation of former industrial and contaminated land into what will become a landscaping legacy once the Games are over.

Dates for your diary ● Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 June – BALI Show, Stoneleigh Park, Nr Kenilworth, Warwickshire ● Tuesday 19 June – BALI 40th Anniversary Gala Dinner, Chesford Grange Hotel, Kenilworth. ● Friday 6 – Monday 9 July – BALI trip to Floriade 2012, departing from Landscape House, Stoneleigh Park.

For information on any event in this month’s BALI Briefing, contact BALI on 02476 690333 or email kirsty.wood@bali.org.uk.

1 2011 BALI Grand Award winners The Landscape Group.

2 BALI stand at

3

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

Chelsea Flower Show 2012.

3 Wildflower meadow at the Olympic Park.

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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12

Business Tips

00

THE COSTS OF

CLEARING A SITE It is not possible to make a profit until you fully understand your expenditure.

When your client asks you to submit a price for a job there are a number of cost issues which will need to be factored in. Sam Hassall reports.

This is the second part of the clearance cost investigation and readers should refer to the previous issue of Pro Landscaper for the costs of surfaces clearance. In this article we are looking at the remaining most common items requiring clearance on a typical soft landscape site – existing planting and structures.

SCOPE The site being addressed here is a typical small to medium-sized domestic site with existing features being removed to make way for new landscape and garden elements. An existing site may

typically have turf, shrubs and trees, hard paved areas, walls and footings, buildings and services – each of which must be safely broken out or cleared and in most cases disposed of off-site.

● Disposal method: Whether the removed material has to be removed to a stockpile; whether it’s being chipped before removal to save space; the quantity of loads to remove the material and the tip charges. ● Root removal: Grubbing out of the roots which will be assumed as necessary.

We will assume here that planting is being cut by chainsaw where possible.

EXISTING PLANTING CLEARANCE The issues of clearing planting are as follows: ● Height: This impacts on how long it takes to remove the plant and its removed volume. It also has an impact on how deep the roots are likely to be if being removed. ● Density: How many plants of this or other types there are per m2 or per area.

Table 1: Costs for removal of vegetation Multiply by density for m2 rates

NOTES ABOUT THE TABLES ● All items are shown at cost (allow for profit) ● The labour rate used is £19.50 per hour

Time each in minutes Remove roots

Removal only

Cart to stockpile

Total Costs

Type of Planting

Cut down (mins)

Machine

Hand

Machine

Hand

Machine

Low shrubs to 300mm (including roots)

4

1.30 0

0.02

1

2.6

0.33

2.57

Shrubs to 1m

7

2.28 15

4

5

5.1

6.50

4.18

Shrubs to 1.5m

15

4.88 25

4

8

8.5

10.73

4.18

Shrubs to 3m

25

8.13 40

10

12

12.8

16.90

10.45

Shrubs to 4m

35

11.38 50

15

20

25.5

22.75

15.68

Table 1 shows costs for removing both chipped and unchipped planting.

The items are shown for each type of shrub. Readers should apply the density

The costs on Table 2 must be added to the costs on Table 1 for disposal off-site.

Cost (£) Hand

for the planting to obtain m2 rates.

the price to cut down, remove roots and remove to stockpile and remove by skip unchipped is: 2 x (2.28 + 4.00 + 4.18 + 0.65) = £11.11 per m2.

Example If there are 2 x 1m plants per m2 then

Table 2: Costs for disposal off site

Unchipped

Chipped

Removal costs per plant Multiply X density for m2

Vol. each (m3)

Skip (£)

Dumped to tip (£)

Grab (£)

Skip (£)

Dumped to tip (£)

Grab (£)

Low shrubs to 300mm

0.0034

0.14

0.03

0.07

0.06

0.01

0.03

Shrubs to 1m

0.0156

0.65

0.13

0.34

0.29

0.06

0.15

Shrubs to 1.5m

0.1250

5.16

1.04

2.75

2.32

0.47

1.24

Shrubs to 3m

0.4219

17.43

3.52

9.28

7.84

1.58

4.18

Shrubs to 4m

1.0000

41.30

8.33

22.00

18.59

3.75

9.90

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Business Tips

Demolition of brickwork or structures (Paving slabs were addressed in the last issue of Pro Landscaper).

Generally demolition of free-standing walls

13

Health and safety issues apply and have not been taken into account here.

Table 3 below shows costs for demolitions and removals off site of different wall types.

or structures such as sheds, piers, water feature walls and so on may be carried out by hand (with mechanical breakers) or by using small excavators.

Table 3: Walls Type of wall

Demolition operations

Thickness in mm

By hand m2/hr

Move to Stockpile 25m

By Machine

By hand

Bulking

By Machine

Dispose off site

factor

Skip

Grab

£/m2

m2/hr

£/m2

m2/hr

£/m2

m2/hr

£/m2

%

Vol m2

£/m2

Vol m2

£/m2

BRICK WALLS 112.5

3

8.24

8

4.65

4

4.88

12

2.13

1.5

35.56

5.34

65.19

3.38

225

2

12.36

5

7.44

2

9.75

8

3.19

1.5

17.78

10.69

32.59

6.75

12.36

5

7.44

4

4.88

10

2.55

1.5

40

4.75

73.33

3.00

BLOCK WALLS 100

2

HOLLOW BLOCK 215

1

24.71

3

12.4

1.25

15.60

7

3.64

1.6

17.44

10.89

31.98

6.88

215

0.75

32.95

2

18.61

1

19.50

5

5.10

1.75

15.95

11.91

29.24

7.53

24.71

3

12.40

1.25

15.6

5

5.10

1.5

18.6

10.21

34.11

6.45

INSITU CONCRETE 215

1

BREAKING OUT BY HAND Table 4: Breakout footings Where small walls are removed it is often not Type of wall By hand

By Machine possible to use excavators and dumpers. We’ve used BreakCost BreakCost small electric or pneumatic breakers for hand work. out m3

MACHINERY We have examined the costs below using 3 or 5 tonne dumpers with breaker attachments where necessary.

£/m3 out m2/hr

Plain concrete

1

24.71 4

Reinforced concrete

0.5

49.42 2.5

*Add the volume of your footings as per Table 3 above

Nett Volumes and prices: Skip 6m3 = £31.67 per m3; Grab 11m3 = £22 per m3 inert

ABOUT SAM HASSALL Sam Hassall is the UK’s only dedicated specialist landscape cost consultant. As managing director of LandPro Ltd his range of services are to provide cost and implementation information to Landscape design professionals and Landscape contractors. Sam’s expertise is gained from his formal training and many years of

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

experience in the landscape industry. As part of his portfolio Sam also compiles the Spon’s External works and Landscape price book and developed the market leading LiberRATE Estimating system which is available as a 90-day trial.

For further information visit the website www.landpro.co.uk, or call LandPro Ltd directly on telephone: 01252 795030

All items listed at COST – allow for PROFIT! May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

£/m2

9.30 14.88

14

Business Tips

SSIP HELPS CUT

ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN Providing duplicate data on compliance with the various health and safety schemes to all potential clients can be frustrating and time-consuming, but the Safety Schemes in Procurement forum offers a way to simplify the process, explains Jodie Read.

Companies tendering for new contracts are often frustrated by the seemingly never ending number of safety schemes such as Construction Health and Safety (CHAS), Constructionline and SafeContractor to which they are required to demonstrate compliance before they can even be considered for the opportunity. It has long been said that there is no joined-up thinking, with a sense of frustration that companies are providing the same information to different organisations. Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) now goes some way towards addressing these issues.

SSIP Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) (www.ssip.org.uk) aims to act as an umbrella organisation “to facilitate mutual recognition between health and safety pre-qualification schemes”. This is surely good news for landscapers who are keen to spend time designing, installing and maintaining outdoor projects rather than filling in paperwork explaining how such work is delivered in a safe manner.

OHSAS18001 AS A ROUTE TO SSIP For readers of last month’s article on OHSAS18001, there is more good news.

Provided that your health and safety management system has been assessed as satisfactorily meeting the requirements of OHSAS18001 by one of the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) accredited Certification Bodies that are part of the SSIP Forum membership*, you will be issued with a May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

certificate that demonstrates that your system is SSIP approved. That in turn will enable you to explain to purchasers, such as local authorities, that you do not need to apply separately for certification to all of the other standards. (*The SSIP Forum membership is changing constantly, however, the current details can be found on http://www.ssip.org.uk/docs/SSIPForum Membership040412.pdf).

Arguably, being approved to SSIP via OHSAS18001 carries more credibility than some of the other schemes by virtue of the fact that the third party assessors actually visit your premises and sites. This has the benefit that they have actually observed that work is indeed being carried out safely and in accordance with the documented safe systems of work.

BENEFITS OF SSIP APPROVAL VIA OHSAS18001 Benefits of being able to demonstrate approval to SSIP via OHSAS18001 can be summarised as: ● Independent third party verification that the

safety management system which has been evaluated from a practical perspective, and not just looked at as a paperwork exercise. ● The OHSAS18001 certificate (with SSIP logo) can be included with Pre Qualification Questionnaires when tendering for new work. It provides evidence of meeting safety standards. ● Less administrative burden, because there should be no need to duplicate effort. There is even a template letter that can be used to help educate purchasers via Appendix 2 of The Supplier’s Guide to Registration: http:// www.ssip.org.uk/docs/SuppliersGuideToSSIP Registration050412.pdf. ● Less cost (both in terms of paying application fees for various schemes and in terms of the amount of management time taken to produce the necessary evidence of compliance).

For a full list of the schemes that are covered by SSIP, visit www.ssip.org.uk.

ABOUT JODIE READ Jodie Read is the Managing Director of Penarth Management Limited; a company which specialises in the provision compliance consultancy and training for quality, environmental, health and safety management. She and her colleagues assist companies to implement and maintain management systems, such as ISO9001 (Quality), ISO14001 (Environmental) or

OHSAS18001 (Health and Safety).

The company is an affiliate member of the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) and Jodie is one of only a few approved ROLO health and safety trainers in the country.

If readers have any queries regarding SSIP, OHSAS18001, ROLO or any other aspect of health and safety they are welcome to contact Jodie via e-mail: jodie@penarth.co.uk or by telephone on 029 2070 3328.

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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16

Business Tips

cherry

picking

Yvette Etcell has some useful advice for conducting interviews, to help you identify the candidate that best suits your job vacancy.

With your person specification and job description ready, and assuming you have attracted a range of applications/CVs, we now turn our attention to the interview process.

Top tip number 1 Whenever possible, it is beneficial to involve the person/people with whom the new recruit will be working; this might include the initial sift of applications, identifying any gaps in the career history/information provided, and the first interview meeting – it is unlikely that a member of staff will engage a colleague with whom they feel they could not work; and, being part of the decision, they also have a sense of ownership for the success of the placement.

Top Tip number 2 If recruiting for a number of staff – for example, a team for a new contract or project – consider a group interview. This is an opportunity for you to present company/project information to a number of applicants and can save time; this can then be followed by a series of shorter one-toone interviews.

The key to using an interview as a successful selection tool is definitely in the planning: ● Gaps – read the CV and/or application letter

carefully. Identify any areas that you feel need further explanation. ● Attitude – to test for “characteristics”– develop a set of behavioural questions; these will uncover how well they have previously demonstrated the competency or characteristic you are looking for. So, to test problem-solving abilities you might ask “please can you describe to me an example when you have used your own skills to solve a specific problem?” or “If faced with such and such a problem, what would you do?” ● Skills – consider formulating standard questions that will demonstrate specific knowledge/skill – for example, when would you prune forsythia?

If an applicant is keen to secure the position they will feel nervous about how they will present theirself; your role is to put the interviewee at ease so that you can get a true picture of their personality, skills, experience and behaviours. There are a few things that will help: ● Room layout – there is nothing more distracting than having direct sunlight in your eyes or having nowhere to place your coffee cup . ● No distractions – mobiles off, calls held – give the candidate your undivided attention,

ABOUT YVETTE ETCELL Yvette Etcell is Director of Business Development and HR at Gavin Jones Ltd. With an early career in sales, advertising, marketing and assisting with personal injury litigation she then took a career break to spend time with her family.

Yvette spent five years with English

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

Landscapes as an Operational Contracts Manager (Coventry City GM/Cleansing contract), then as Area Manager with a portfolio of circa £5m/pa contracts. Yvette joined Gavin Jones Ltd in 2003 as Business Development Manager, was promoted to Company Secretary in 2008 and to the board 12 months later.

Contact: yvette.etcell@gavinjones.co.uk

or you may miss something. ● E ye contact, smiling and your tone of voice will have an impact at this “rapport building” stage as you describe how the interview will proceed.

Top tip number 3 The idea is to get your interviewee talking and for you to ask questions that encourage this – known as ‘open questions’, these often start with What, Where, When, How, Who and occasionally Why; “describe” is also a good one.

Don’t give your opinions, listen to theirs.

Open questions are those that cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” (which are “closed questions”).

Closed questions can however be useful to (a) control talkative people, (b) confirm specific information, or (c) test for commitment or agreement.

Top tip number 4 Be prepared to ask the awkward question; probe gaps in a career history, ask for reasons why a person left previous employments. If you are left with some doubt this may factor in your decision and you may make an incorrect judgment as a result; always give the candidate an adequate opportunity to fully explain.

Finally, to help ensure a balanced decisionmaking process, a two-stage interview procedure should be adopted; this would take the form of an initial interview conducted by a member of your team, followed by a second interview with you; alternatively interview as a pair – this will demonstrate objectivity and prevent selection on the basis of one’s own prejudices (and we all have them, even if they are buried deep in our subconscious). www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Business Tips

NUMBERSGAME

1 Benchmark’s Three Point Estimating report showing potential price variation for projects.

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2 Benchmark Estimating report showing won/lost/ pending projects, by region.

Producing fast, accurate estimates will greatly increase your chances of winning more business, more profitably. Tamsin Slatter takes a look at the various computer programs that will work out all the complicated calculations for you at the click of a mouse.

For any business, growth and profitability are vitally important. Without these key elements, invariably a business will shrink while more focused competitors reap the rewards.

For a design and landscaping firm, the scalability of the business is all about the number of projects that can be completed simultaneously. But it’s not just about volume – it’s also about making sure projects are manageable and profitable.

For many of the landscaping companies that we deal with daily, the business has started from small beginnings. With landscaping projects, it’s critical to ensure that all costs to the business are accounted for when tendering for a project.

The growth ceiling for professional landscaping firms can often be the number of estimates that they can turn around in a given period of time.

Without accurate control of costs and the ability to communicate this information, growth and profitability are impossible to maintain.

In last month’s article, I talked about designers using CAD systems which can provide key information about the project to assist in meeting budgets. With some CAD systems, a bill of quantities can be produced, providing a good starting point from which accurate estimates can be derived. However, to develop those accurate quotations what options are available?

SPREADSHEETS The simplest way may be to start using costing

mechanisms using a handbook such as Spons with basic spreadsheets such as Microsoft’s Excel or Apple’s Numbers to detail the quote.

However, spreadsheets can rapidly became so complex that they can only be used by the person who developed them. This can be a bottleneck to producing estimates quickly and can also be costly if used by someone who doesn’t fully understand them.

The next step that some have taken is to take all the knowledge from that spreadsheet and use it to build a bespoke application. This can be risky as that application, even if it is subsequently marketed as a product, requires the one person who built it to maintain it and remain interested in providing updates.

Some have chosen to outsource the estimating process by using a professional estimator. Someone who has experience of estimating brings a wealth of knowledge to the process. They will also be independent of your business and perhaps bring a different perspective to the project than you, as the business owner might. Again, the process will be dependent on the estimator, and that dependence brings in a potential point of weakness to the business.

Possibly the best route forward is to consider an estimating package – such as Liberate or Benchmark Estimating software.

Professional software includes libraries of elements for landscaping quotes and all related

ABOUT TAMSIN SLATTER After a 20-year career in IT, Tamsin trained as a garden designer.

Escape from the corporate world, the chance to work with nice people, learning about plants and how to draw was a dream come true and she

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

found Vectorworks invaluable. Tamsin now delivers courses and masterclasses to designers, helping them to work faster and more efficiently.

Call 01488 658580, email info@vectorworkstraining.co.uk. View the course schedule at www.vectorworks-training.co.uk.

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elements. For example, if you tell Benchmark that you need Xm2 of paving, an estimating system will include all of the elements required to construct that paving, including the subbase, equipment and labour to ensure that the job will be profitable. Applications such as these will enable you to build in sensible contingency sums.

LARGE BUSINESSES For larger landscaping firms, where there is a need to share information between offices and communicate information with managers and non-estimators alike, an estimating system is the ideal solution.

After the sale, having a detailed record of all estimates in the database is an excellent way to learn more about your business. Which bids are you winning and which are you losing? Which are your most profitable customers and where should you direct your marketing to win similar business in the future?

Accuracy with pricing and the ability to quickly produce competitive, profitable and winning estimates are key to growing a sustainable business.

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

18

Business Tips

THE RIGHT

1 Do you always know where your vehicles are and what they are doing?

2 What cost an overlap?

TRACK Angus Lindsay looks at vehicle tracking systems – which can deliver a boost to your business in both security and productivity.

Vehicle tracking systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated in terms of information, accuracy and timeliness. Initially, and like many people, I felt that fitting a tracker to a Transit van would be of little benefit – should it be stolen at the same time as a high value BMW, the police would chase after the BMW rather than the Transit tipper. This was evident from early episodes of Police, Camera, Action – a little cynical maybe, but in the early days trackers were seen as a luxury car accessory.

Today’s tracking systems not only tell us where our vehicles are, but how fast they have been travelling, the performance of the driver and idle times. They can be programmed to alert a manager to speeding or aggressive driving and can even immobilise the vehicle remotely. Like all monitoring systems, you have to act on the information if you want to increase operational efficiencies, reduce fuel use, improve environmental performance and work towards lower insurance premiums. Spot checks can reveal some interesting things about how and where vehicles are being used when your back’s turned, especially at weekends.

ACCURACY Machines fitted with hour clocks have traditionally been used as a way to work out mowing performance, but these are far from accurate. By contrast, tracking units fitted to mowing machines are highly accurate and improve performance monitoring and work programming. In some cases they have been used to identify machine abuse and ingenious methods of fooling the machine’s hour clock.

They can tell us how much work the machine has done, but not much about the area being mown.

Field mapping systems are growing May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

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ever-more popular within agricultural systems.

They allow farmers to use the information from soil sampling and harvest yield analysis to fine tune fertilizer, chemical and mineral application rates, saving money and reducing environmental impact. GPS is also now being used for field traffic management through automatic steering systems, where a satellite is used to guide the tractor across a field with minimum overlap and operator input. These systems are accurate down to centimetres.

Could our industry benefit from this type of system for mowing football pitches or large parks? Even the best tractor driver will struggle to mow without an overlap, but how big is the overlap? Probably somewhere between 5 and 10%. Do we really need this information?

Surely the maps supplied by our clients are accurate and up-to-date? Ask yourself when was the last time the verges, parks and playing fields

were measured, or even spot-checked to ensure measurements have been recently updated. With local authorities looking to save costs and get better value for money, an accurate method of measurement would benefit all parties. When you then link the potential to focus the application of fertiliser, chemicals and top dressing, even to the point of spot-aeration to alleviate compaction, the benefits really begin to add up.

TACKLING THE ISSUES In maintaining the amenity of a particular town or city suburb we face exactly the same type of issues as the farmer: compaction, poor drainage, disease and underperforming grass swards. If we just continue to do the same old tasks year after year we will never improve our playing surfaces or parkland. Just imagine how much time and money you could save if you could focus your fertiliser and pesticide application. Perhaps you could mow a playing field and aerate it in one pass? That’s not beyond the realms of possibility and it would promote a healthier sward, improve drainage, save fuel, and make more effective use of expensive assets and labour.

Maybe it’s time we all looked at our maintenance regimes. In today’s environment, perhaps less is more.

ABOUT ANGUS LINDSAY As an agriculturist, 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 as a contract instructor for Massey Ferguson in Yemen.

During this time he also spent a year at Silsoe, gaining an MSc in Agricultural Engineering and Mechanisation Management. Returning to the UK he joined Glendale as machinery manager in l994 – going on to become Company Engineer – before joining The Landscape Group in 2009 as Group Head of Assets and fleet. Contact: alindsay@thelandscapegroup.co.uk.

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Let’s Hear it From...

21

Jo Thompson JO THOMPSON LANDSCAPE AND GARDEN DESIGN

The busy, successful designer – who is currently heavily occupied with preparations for Chelsea Flower Show 2012 – tells Pro Landscaper about her career, Chelsea and what inspires her.

How did you get into garden design?

Around 15 years ago when I was a teacher of English and Drama in London I had a little roof terrace that I wanted to do something with. I asked local company Clifton Nurseries to help me; just talking to them sparked a real interest. I later moved to Kent and had a strange-shaped garden. Talking to garden designers who were coming to see my house cemented the fact that I could re-train as a garden designer myself.

Did you think you could completely give up teaching?

Yes. My children at this stage were toddlers and

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I’d realised that I was not a stay at home mother either. So it seemed like the perfect opportunity to get a childminder and train at the English Garden School. I did a year’s diploma.

Do you learn the technical side of garden design? You obviously need to have a creative nature to start with.

You learn the technical side and it’s something that one is still learning. At college you are suddenly provided with a library of all sorts of design that you never thought existed. Style-wise, you just develop your own. You find something that works for you and that clients like.

Do you think there is a Jo Thompson style? If someone saw a garden that you designed, would they know it was yours straight away?

I’d say my style is very bold lines softened by planting. I don’t do much in the way of minimal planting. I like to get people to look through things rather than see them straight away. I favour geometric lines, but whether they are round or straight is another matter.

Which other designers do you admire?

I like Vladimir Djurovic – his work isn’t like mine but I don’t think you can emulate his style, its best left to him. I really like Tony Smith’s work too, my favourite Chelsea garden was the one Tony did for Easigrass. It was a big pod with tree ferns in it with a kitchen at the side that had orchid’s growing out of the top of the cupboards.

There was a poem that was on a loop being recited. Even my daughter who was eight at the time thought it was amazing. It made you tingle.

I look forward to seeing his garden at Chelsea again this year in the new ‘fresh’ category.

What do you think about the new ‘fresh’ section?

I think it’s really interesting. Last year I didn’t do a garden and because I had the time I helped a sculptor – Helen Sinclair – to do her stand.

Placing products in show gardens you are on very shaky ground, the judges don’t like it, understandably, so this is a legitimate way of doing it.

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

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Let’s Hear it From...

commemorative garden, which it is opening next year. I’m working on the project now which is fabulous and something very different.

Marcus Harpur

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In terms of your day job then, does Chelsea take over and the rest sit in the background?

No, it just has to fit in. If you are already busy, being a bit busier makes no difference if that makes sense. Everything fits in and I also have three freelancers who work for me.

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With CAD, if you make it too photographically accurate, that is what your client expects as it looks so realistic.

How do you go about selecting contractors?

I use tried and tested contractors usually.

Newground Landscapes built the Thrive garden I designed in 2010 and we have had a lovely working relationship ever since. Outdoor Creations is another contractor I use. BALIregistered local contractors Kibblewhites did a garden that went into the SGD review last year.

David Dodd from The Outdoor Room is constructing your 2012 Chelsea Garden.

Yes. Although I have never worked with him before, I am now working with him on other projects too. I knew about the work he had done at Chelsea in the past. As a person I think he is great to get along with. He is very calm and a real troubleshooter which is what you need. I have always been really impressed with his work.

Where did the theme for Chelsea come from?

The Caravan Club approached me to build its garden with a brief of improving the image of caravanning. I’m not really a caravanner but a couple of years ago my children wanted to go so I Googled “luxury camping”. Up came this place in the Isle of Wight called Vintage Vacations, which is a field with a dozen Airstream caravans. Actually it was one of the most relaxing holidays I’ve had, so much so that we went back the next year.

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

So you already had the idea in your mind really?

Yes. It kind of worked. Vintage Vacations has Doris, a British, aluminium 1950 caravan only 8x7ft and perfect for what we wanted. So Doris is coming over for the show garden. I have also included a hammock, a kennel and we may have a Corgi. The kennel is going to be timber, but rather than having a green roof, I’m going to sink a planter into the roof. Drainage is an issue here so we are going to put a steel drainpipe in, which will run straight into the dog bowl. The brilliant thing is the Corgi we may use will only drink dirty water.

As designers?

Mainly as draftsmen. They draw out the detail and they are doing the specs and sending things out to tender, ordering the plants and so on. I do all the design and they make sense of it.

Is it hand-drawn design?

I do the hand drawings and then they put them on to CAD. I’m finding more and more that clients prefer hand-drawn. I had quite a challenging client in London who was unsure about the CAD perspectives. I needed to make a slight alteration urgently so I drew it myself. I took it back to him the next day and he just said: “THAT’s my garden, that’s what I really want.” I was thinking what’s the difference? The other thing with CAD is that if you make it too photographically accurate, that is what your client expects because it looks so realistic.

You will get the Queen’s attention if you are allowed the Corgi.

Yes – and also Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, is the patron of the Caravan Club.

How did the Caravan Club find you? How did that relationship start?

I think a contact via LinkedIn pointed them in my direction. It’s one of those things where you almost don’t ask. Essentially that whole garden came through somebody on LinkedIn. When people ask me if social networking works, I say for me it does.

What are your plans after Chelsea?

Just to carry on. I was approached by Morden College which is a beautiful grand building on Blackheath. It has commissioned a jubilee

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Let’s Hear it From...

What do you do about the quoting and pricing?

I get the contractors to handle that. They quote and deal with the client directly. I’ll project manage, but as far as cost goes, that is the relationship between the contractor and the client.

1 (Previous page) Rill in limestone terrace, Cranbrook, Kent 2 The wine cooler.

3W ildlife garden and grasses, Smarden, Kent.

4R eflecting pool and pleached hornbeams, Smarden, Kent.

Marcus Harpur

So the client pays for your design and management?

Yes they pay for my design, management and anything afterwards, such as technical drawings, planting, and so on.

4 S ea Gem: a garden of sand dunes in Camber, East Sussex.

6 4

What about plants then? Which nurseries do you use?

I use a variety of nurseries. For herbaceous plants I use a nursery called How Green in Edenbridge. I use Palmstead who are incredibly flexible and Nick Coslett is great. I use Iris of Sissinghurst for Irises, David Austin Roses for Roses and I use Knoll Gardens for grasses. For trees I like to use Hillier Trees and Barcham.

On your initial visit to a prospective client, would you just sit down with them, ask them exactly what they want and what they want the end result to be?

Yes and I’ll also get a good idea about the way that they use their house and their garden, have a look at what they have done to their house, whether there are children and I’ll also get an idea of budget.

How do you find your work?

It tends to be word of mouth. I’ve received quite a lot of work from Chelsea last year. A fair amount of people have said they wanted that garden as it very much was a real garden. People could imagine it being theirs. Most of my work comes from recommendation and reputation.

What areas of the country do you cover?

Kent , London and Surrey I would say are the places I work the most. I also have a number of projects in East Sussex, Hampshire, Dorset, Essex and Cambridgeshire.

Do your ideas and inspirations come from just looking around you, looking in magazines?

Yes my inspiration is sort of beyond gardens and I think it always has been. A lot of inspiration has come from childhood holidays in Italy. Going back to the Chelsea Thrive garden, elements of that, such as the sun canopy, came from when I took my children to Marrakech, and the canopy outside the airport.

I was going to ask you how you switch off, but even when you are on holiday you are gaining inspiration.

I know – that’s the thing, it is all-consuming.

That’s why it’s nice to go away and look at other stuff; I don’t think about gardens all the time.

Andrew Fisher Tomlin has written a really interesting blog recently about garden designers which says that there is life outside of garden design, and he is absolutely right.

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Would you follow Andrew and go into teaching and lecturing?

I do a bit at the college. I really enjoy it as it mixes my first and second careers, and also makes me use my brain differently. What’s lovely about students is they challenge you; they don’t just sit there and take it. You have got to think quickly, deeply and professionally and address their needs. I’ve done some of the info bursts and some small talks on how a design happens.

You’re building up quite a bit of PR and a great reputation, you have done that extremely well.

Yes. Social media has been invaluable, I really disagree when people say otherwise. I have had direct coverage from Twitter that has then resulted in work and LinkedIn has led to the creation of a Chelsea Show Garden.

On that note, I feel a compulsion to tweet about our meeting with @gardendesigner1, but know that 140 characters wouldn’t be enough to tell everyone what a delightful lady she is.

We wish her all the best for Chelsea 2012 and if you see us at Chelsea with a bag of doggie treats you’ll know where we’re headed.

contact Jo Thompson Landcape and Garden Design Ashtree Cottage, Goudhurst Road, Marden, Kent TN12 9NF Tel: 01622 831536 Twitter: @gardendesigner1 Web: www.jothompson-garden-design.co.uk

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

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May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

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Portfolio

in full flow

The Garden Builders The architectural angles of this home in Hampstead extend out through the hard landscaping, seamlessly linking house with garden www.prolandscapermagazine.com

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

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Portfolio

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here were very strict guidelines regarding the development of this complex garden landscaping project as the property is located within the Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust. The proposed hard landscaping materials specified by the garden designer and The Garden Builders had to initially be approved by the client then further approved by the Suburb trust and the local authority.

A difficult aspect of the works was dealing with the depth of clay within the grounds.

Some excavations were as deep as 1.5m, down to the water table. This, combined with the very wet, cold weather conditions, resulted in a sticky, muddy site during the preparation process. In order to form the foundations and block-work walls for the dramatic long water rill in the rear garden we had to use a waterproof mortar and wrap the excavations and walls with a damp proof membrane in order that it could dry out prior to fibreglassing. Due to the season and the incredibly wet weather this drying-out process took almost two months. The fibre-glassing works were completed in March just as we entered a warm spring, which assisted the process.

PLANTING PREPARATION Preparing the planting areas required specific attention to detail, again due to the excessively clay-loaded soil. This we overcame by importing a granular horticultural grit mix, then screened and sterilised soil mixed with manure to the planting areas; this mix was well worked in by hand into the excavated planting borders, in some areas the old soil was removed as deeply as 750mm and replaced with our imported soil mix. For the lawns a comprehensive land-drainage system was designed and installed; with guidance from the local authority we created underground soakaways within the lawn areas for excess water to discharge into.

The selected stone to be set out was a high

Timescale Building works lasted for 4 to 5 months Cost Approx. £100,000 (excluding the planting)

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

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grade sawn York stone, again tying in with the requirements of the trust. All aspects of the hard landscaping angles matched those of the architecture of the house, creating a flow throughout the whole project. The bricks and even the pointing style had to be approved by the Trust and various samples of bricks/ pointing in the form of a sample-finished panel had to be presented for approval prior to works beginning.

A major feature of the garden is the somewhat quirky outdoor room situated by the water rill. This bespoke ‘gazebo’ was formed from a mild steel and timber framework and clad with a high grade of lead along the posts and the ring beam. Attention to detail on the corners, folds and joins within the lead work was paramount. An eco-friendly ‘green sedum roof’ adds a ‘softness’ to the overall structure and free-standing toughened glass partitions create the garden room and offer protection from wind and rain.

IRRIGATION SYSTEM An irrigation system was installed discretely within the whole soft-landscape element. The garden is beautifully illuminated in the evening with a variety of exterior stainless steel and powder-coated light fittings from the ever-popular Hunza range.

The planting scheme was fully designed and supplied by the designer. She previously obtained any approval from the Trust and of

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1 Early stages of paving and sub-base stage.

2 Front garden at dusk.

3 Bespoke timber and steel gazebo.

4 The final stages of the rill construction.

course the clients for all aspects of the planting.

Our remit on the planting was to fully and correctly prepare all existing and new planting areas. We were then charged with receiving, placing and planting all plants under the designer’s guidance. As with any large planting scheme, there was an element of ‘tweaking’ required. This aspect always takes slightly longer to complete, especially when on site design decisions needed to be investigated, trialled, approved and then implemented. Saying that, this process was well worth the extra time it took as the end result was very satisfying.

The finish speaks for itself, which is true for both the hard landscape and soft landscape elements of this project. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

More images at: www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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Stone, bricks and pointing had to be approved by the Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust and the local authority

APL AWARDS 2012 • Supreme Winner • Project value over £100,000, Winner

REFERENCES Contractor The Garden Builders 259 Munster Road, London SW6 6BW Tel: 020 7381 8002 Email: dawn@garden architecture.net Web: www.garden builders.co.uk Design and planting Lynne Marcus Web: www.lynnemarcus. com Stone Bingley Stone Cullingworth Mills,

THE GARDEN BUILDERS Cullingworth, West Yorkshire BD13 5AB Tel: 01535 273 813 Email: sales@ bingleystone.com Web: www.bingleystone. com

Bricks Travis Perkins (Head Office) Lodge Way House, Lodge Way, Harlestone Road, Northampton NN5 7UG Tel: 01604 752424 Web: www.travisperkins. co.uk

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Lawn Thompsons of Crews Hill Ltd Cattlegate Road, Crews Hill, Enfield EN2 9DP Tel: 020 8363 1383 Web: www.thompsons ofcrewshill.com Hunza lighting GA Lighting 259 Munster Road, Fulham London SW6 6BW Tel: 020 7385 1020 Web: www.galighting. co.uk

Water feature GA Water Features (Same details as GA Lighting) Web: www.gawater features.co.uk Bespoke gate The Garden Trellis Company Ltd Unit One, Brunel Road, Gorse Lane Industrial Estate, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex CO15 4LU Tel: 01255 688361 Web: www.gardentrellis. co.uk

Formed in 1998 and based in Fulham, south-west London, to date The Garden Builders has specialised in the design and construction of mainly private, domestic gardens. We also work for a variety of established and younger, up-and-coming landscape architects and garden designers, interpreting their designs and creating beautiful gardens for their clients. More recently the company has won several APL and BALI awards and has constructed Gold and Silver Gilt medal winning show gardens at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Visit www.gardenbuilders.co.uk May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

on the ball May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

Frogheath Landscapes The awardwinning design and build company solved its clients’ problem of an obscured view to their garden lake. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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To open up the view over the lake, the ground level in one section has been dropped and the entrance to the woodland marked with a large timber pergola and a stone ball water feature.

hree years ago, Frogheath Landscapes was asked to create a lake for the owners of this large garden in East Sussex. We had constructed the garden of their previous house and had built up an excellent relationship with the clients and were delighted to be asked back to their new project.

The house was being extensively remodelled and a large, contemporary kitchen was built on to the side of the house. The clients realised that the ground levels around the house blocked their view from the new kitchen over their new lake and asked us back again to come up with ideas to solve the problem.

They asked for a large paved terrace to provide an attractive, functional and interesting space for entertaining. The house had been added to over the years by various owners in different styles and so they were keen to soften the appearance of the house with planting and disguise some of its odd angles with a strong landscape design. They also wanted more water, particularly moving water to help mask the noise of a nearby main road, as well as ways to link the new garden to the surrounding woodland.

THE DESIGN PROCESS The initial challenge we faced was pitching our ideas against those of the architects working on the house. Steve Moody came up with the basic concept with the help of Henry Duck, a recently qualified landscape architect who had

FROGHEATH LANDSCAPES Frogheath Landscapes has been creating quality gardens since 1992. The company is based in Burwash Weald in rural Sussex and works predominantly within a 30-mile radius of its base. The company prides itself on delivering the best national standards while being able to live and work locally. Staff development has resulted in a fantastic team who work incredibly hard. Frogheath aims to live by its strong local ethos, ensuring customers receive the promised service of creative, practical design and build.

Visit www.frogheath.co.uk, for more information about the company’s range of services – or follow them on Twitter at #frogheath for up-to-date news and tips. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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worked for Frogheath from the age of 13.

Unusually, we decided against having detailed layout plans drawn up because we knew the clients well and thought they would understand our ideas better through a different approach.

Instead, we flew in our secret weapon, a friend from Hamburg, Martina Bรถnch who works for the German nursery Lorenz Von Ehren.

Martina has a great talent for creating fast, hand drawn 3D sketches of gardens and during our meeting with the clients and the

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

architects she was able to demonstrate the different views the clients could expect from our concept. As hoped, we were asked to proceed with the project.

The LAYOUT The layout consists of a series of large paved terraces and sharply defined rectangular lawns.

Two large connecting ponds on different levels provide the sound of running water and also act as reflecting pools, bringing the surrounding

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woodland closer to the house. In order to open up the view over the lake, the ground level in one section has been dropped and the entrance to the woodland marked with a suitably large timber pergola and a David Harber stone ball water feature.

The Build The clients were determined that all existing material should be recycled and re-used on site. The existing Indian sandstone was relaid on a lower level next to the lake and sawn Scoutmoor sandstone was used to pave the new terraces. The existing Purbeck retaining walls were in a poor condition and the client wanted them to look more like dry stone walls.

Frogheath built new block walls for structural strength and then re-used the Purbeck stone to create the effect that the client wanted. The walls now provide interesting texture against the smooth surfaces of the sandstone paving and water.

A structural engineer was brought in to specify the two ponds because we suspected that some of the ground had been made up by a previous owner. He advised us about ground conditions and specified the steel work for the pond structure. The pump and filter equipment for the ponds was hidden under the stepping stone walkway separating the two ponds and www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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1 View across the lake towards the house.

2 View from the kitchen.

3 Entertaining space

after construction.

4 Decking over lake.

5 View over the pond at night.

6 and 8 Planting against Purbeck walls.

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7 Pond reflecting surrounding woodland and sky.

9 Before construction. to 12 During Construction.

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the client uses the larger pond as a swimming pool in the summer.

The flow of water between the ponds was particularly important to get right. We wanted the water to have an attractive sound and for the flow to look unbroken across the 6m width of the waterfall. We solved this by chopping up and welding together six stainless steel letterbox waterfall sections so that they acted as one unit and building them into the stone wall. This successfully created the desired effect and sound.

The project took 18 months to complete, just in time for a large summer party.

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PLANTING DESIGN Tina Vallis MSGD, a registered member of the Society of Garden Designers, was asked to design the planting.

The client originally asked for soft pinks, blues and whites as a colour scheme and hundreds of English roses and ground cover perennials were planted in drifts around the lake. These are beautifully reflected in the water surface and draw the eye out to the views beyond the garden.

Towards the end of the build, however, the client became seriously ill and his taste in colour changed dramatically. He decided that he

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needed strong, hot colours to aid his recuperation, and for the area outside his study, Tina designed a stunning scheme of yellows, reds and oranges which continued to look good well into November.

A block of silver birch was planted in a contemporary grid pattern with tall grasses to connect the woodland with the new garden and to frame one of the important views from the new kitchen.

The clients were delighted with their new garden. The garden was entered into this year’s APL awards and achieved Highly Commended in the £100,000+ category.

REFERENCES Contractor Frogheath Landscapes Willingford Lane, Burwash Weald, East Sussex TN19 7HR Tel: 01435 883516 Email: enquiries@ frogheath.co.uk Web: www.frogheath.co.uk Planting design Tina Vallis MSGD Mayfield, East Sussex, Tel: 01435 872090 Email: tina@tinavallis. co.uk Web: www.tinavallis. co.uk

Land survey Acad Mapping Ltd Frenches Farm, Mark Cross, East Sussex TN6 3NS Tel: 01892 853663 Email: info@acadmapping. com Web: www.acadmapping. net Structural engineer Erigo Ltd Little Battenhurst, Battenhurst Road, Stonegate, East Sussex TN5 7DU

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Tel: 01435 884800 Web: www.erigolimited. co.uk

Plants supplier English Woodlands Burrow Nurseries, Cross in Hand, Heathfield, East Sussex TN21 0UG Tel: 01435 862992 Email: info@english woodlands.com Web: www.ewburrow nursery.co.uk Rumwood Nurseries Langley, Maidstone, Kent ME17 3ND

Tel: 01622 861477 Email: enquiries@ rumwoodnurseries.co.uk Web: www.rumwood nurseries.co.uk

Turf supplier Kwik Lawn Sandyfields Lane, Heathfield, East Sussex TN21 8TH Tel: 01435 868833 Rolawn Ltd Elvington, York YO41 4XR Tel: 0845 604 6050 Email: info@rolawn.co.uk

Web: www.rolawn.co.uk

Wild flower grass seed Agrifactor Streetfield Farm, Cade Street, Heathfield, East Sussex TN21 9BS Tel: 01435 863964

Hunza lighting supplier Little London Electrical Holly Hill House, Vines Cross, Heathfield East Sussex TN21 9HD Tel: 01435 812579

Water feature: David Harber Builders merchant Blewburton Barns, Parkers Building Supplies Hagbourne Road, Aston Bellbrook Bus. Pk, Uckfield, Upthorpe, Oxon OX11 9EE East Sussex TN22 1QL Tel: 01235 859300 Tel: 01825 761661 Email: sales@davidharber.

Email: uckfield@parkerbs. com Web: www.davidharber. com co.uk Web: www.parkerbs.com

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

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Arbour Design & Build After exploring various concepts a simple design scheme won the client over

DECKS APPEAL

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he Hertfordshire-based company was contacted by prospective clients from Stanmore, Middlesex and commissioned to design a funky, contemporary garden which was required to be great for entertaining a large family and friends as well as include all-yearround interest from plants.

We were asked to explore the possibility of a sunken area, fire pit, pergola, and pathways. When coming up with the design, all this was taken into consideration and we produced design concepts (see images 1 and 2, opposite page) which they fell in love with.

Sadly the clients could not afford the £100,000 price tag, so following several

amendments a very simple scheme was devised (see concept plan and the final plan, opposite page) which includes a large 8m-diameter deck, small paved areas, a large 240m2 lawn, seating area to house the pergola, and lots of planting to include evergreen and perennial plants to give all-year interest.

TIMESCALE The timescale of development for the work was five months from contact to completion, with the garden construction taking around seven weeks to complete. The final budget for the works was approximately £50,000.

There were the usual type of obstacles to overcome on this project – the property

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ARBOUR DESIGN & BUILD Arbour Design & Build is a garden design, landscaping and maintenance company based on the borders of Hertfordshire and London. The company has earned a reputation for excellent customer service and high-quality work. It is a member of a number of associations including the APL and TRUSTMARK and is approved contractor and installer for Marshalls, Natural Paving Co, COREgravel and Ecogrid. Arbour also subcontracts to Jacksons Fencing and is accredited to the Safe Contractor Scheme.

Visit www.arbourdesign.co.uk.

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Rear Garden: Concept plan www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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Rear Garden: Final plan

Timescale Five months from initial contact to completion (garden construction took  weeks) approximately seven        Cost  Approx. £50,000          May 2012 | Volume  2 | Issue     

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There were the usual type of obstacles to overcome – the property is situated in a cul-de-sac with limited access, side access is only 65cm wide, and there were telephone wires all around the building and road. is situated in a cul-de-sac road with limited access, side access is only 65cm wide, and there were telephone wires all around the building and road.

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TIMESCALE The garden boundaries hadn’t seen light for more than 20 years, so we had to hire a crane to bring a digger into the garden and lift over packs of new fence panels, materials and so on, and while the digger was on site we uncovered sunken ponds built with reinforced concrete and 90cm diameter tree stumps covered with soil – all of which we had to remove before reconstructing the garden.

After three weeks, the crane took the digger back out, along with bags of roots and other rubbish that had accumulated.

There was a huge oak tree in the neighbours’ garden that took four professional tree surgeons two days to get into shape as it cast a lot of shade over the site.

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REFERENCES Contractor Arbour Design & Build 8 Markham Close, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire WD6 4PQ Tel: 0208 953 6177 or 07702 011145 Email: richard@ arbourdesign.co.uk Web: www.arbourdesign. co.uk

1 Completed project.

Paving (Global Stone Castle Grey) H Butterfield Ltd Selbourne Road, Luton, Bedfordshire LU4 8QF Tel: 01582 491100 Email: enquiries@ hbutterfield.co.uk Web: www.hbutterfield. co.uk

Cumaru decking and Designer working with Arbour fencing Elaine Munro Garden Lawsons Design 1208 High Road, Whetstone, London Web: www.elainemunroN20 0LL garden design.com Tel: 020 8446 1321 Tel: 07983 382186

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

Email: info@lawsons.co.uk Web: www.lawsons.co.uk

Decking oil Owatrol UK Unit 12 Enterprise Centre, 25 Greenhill Crescent, Watford, Herts WD18 8XU Tel: 08450 618 899 or 01923 219 122 Email: sales@owatroluk. com Web: www.owatrol.uk.com Lawn George Davies Turf Ltd St Albans, Rear of the Water Garden Centre,

North Orbital Road, St Albans, Herts AL2 1DL Tel: 01727 821765 Email: info@george daviesturf.co.uk Web: www.georgedavies turf.co.uk

Perennials Lansen Nursery Ltd Holbeach Road, Spalding, Lincolnshire PE12 6JR Tel: 01775 713010 Email: info@lansen-nursery. co.uk Web: www.lansen-nursery. co.uk

Evergreens Joseph Rochford Gardens Pipers End, Letty Green, Hertford, Hertfordshire SG14 2PB Tel: 01707 261370 Email: sales@rochfords.net Web: www.rochfords.net Europlants UK Limited Great North Road, Bell Bar, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9 6DA Tel: 01707 649 996 Email: enquiries@ europlants.net Web: www.europlants.net

2 Lawn preparation works well underway.

3 Decking nearing completion, plants arriving on site.

4 Original garden layout and site survey in the rain.

5 Before work begins.

6 Lifting in materials.

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bringing plans to life, naturally...

Natural Paving Products is a leading supplier of ethically sourced, high quality natural stone landscaping products.

Our latest offering includes an exclusive range of Fired Earth Products.

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0845 072 1150 www.naturalpaving.co.uk Join us on facebook.com/natural.paving for latest updates

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36

Travis Perkins

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stepping out

for the summer’s biggest event A season full of national celebrations is just around the corner, making it the ideal time for the great British garden to take centre stage.

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he Great British Summer and that elusive UK sunshine are always cause for celebration, but this year is truly unique. As the countdown begins for the Olympics, European Football Championships and Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, there’s never been a better time to take the fun outside and make the most of an outdoor space. With the support and expert guidance of a ‘gold medal’ standard merchant, you can make sure the party season kicks off in style – whether you’re working with a modest balcony in the city, or an extravagant walled garden in the countryside.

Many urban gardens suffer from plain borders, uninspiring patios or tired-looking lawns. With a little inspiration these can be easily updated to create a multifunctional space, perfect for the social summer season.

Why not add a new decking area or patio to create an eye-catching alfresco dining space – perfect for homeowners to enjoy a cream tea during the Jubilee. Your local Travis Perkins can May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

advise on the best materials for the job, whether your project demands a hard-wearing or a child-friendly surface.

Adding an element of personal flair is important to any professional landscaper and can also earn brownie points with homeowners who want a unique design. From stylish, ethically sourced stone, through to sustainable and functional decking in a variety of styles and patterns, there’s a huge choice of environmentally friendly products on the market to suit modest and ambitious landscaping projects alike. Your local Travis Perkins will be able to guide you through the benefits and strengths of each material to find which is best suited for your project.

Paved areas are one way of making a real statement while creating an area that is ideal for cooking and eating. Travis Perkins offers the Marshalls Paving Planner Service in selected branches, which calculates exactly how much material you’ll need for any given project. This can save you time and avoid unnecessary www.prolandscapermagazine.com

feat

ment

Travis Perkins

feature

wastage, ensuring your customers don’t miss a minute of the summer season. This addedvalue service is a fantastic source of inspiration to make the creation of eye-catching paving patterns simple.

During a summer full of celebrations, boundary walls are likely to be particularly important for privacy and noise reduction.

What’s more, a brick, stone, or timber wall can revitalise a space, creating distinct and flexible areas for entertaining or relaxing. Low walls can also be effective, not just for developing different zones but to form affordable and attractive communal seating areas for spectators of those nail-biting Olympic events.

It’s often the finishing touches that really bring an outdoor space to life and make it practical for family life. Choose a space-saving shed to clear away any clutter and to provide all year shelter for that all important BBQ. With so many options to choose from, considering how best to approach a landscaping project can sometimes be daunting. Travis www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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Perkins is always on hand to offer support through its nationwide network of more than 600 branches. From guidance on materials to in-depth advice on measure quantities and building regulations, the branch team are on hand to help. There’s also a comprehensive tool and equipment hire service to ensure you have everything you need to create a space fit for a Royal Celebration.

What’s more, Travis Perkins will deliver materials and equipment direct to your door, leaving you to focus on completing a dream garden to your client’s all-important timescales.

So whether it’s a new patio for the footy, an Olympic-themed family barbecue on the lawn or a full-scale garden party to toast the Jubilee, Travis Perkins is on hand to make your landscaping project the main event this summer.

To discover the range of options and creative solutions available for your landscaping project, find your nearest Travis Perkins branch or request a landscaping brochure by visiting www.travisperkins.co.uk.

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

pro landscaper - may_Layout 1 17/04/2012 11:33 Page 1

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Growing through caring May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

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RHS Chelsea Flower Show

Chelsea

2012

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SPONSORED BY:

PREVIEW Pro Landscaper looks at some of the inspirational show gardens on display at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, taking place from 22 to 26 May The Arthritis Research UK Garden Designed by Thomas Hoblyn Built by Bowles and Wyer Sponsored by Arthritis Research UK STAND – MA17 For his fifth year at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Thomas Hoblyn will create a show garden which is inspired by the great Renaissance gardens of Italy for Arthritis Research UK. Inspired by the stunning gardens at Villa Lante and Villa d’Este, Hoblyn hopes to capture the

classical ideals of order associated with Renaissance gardens. The flamboyance and decadence will be transformed into a more minimal design, exploring the concept of man’s control over nature.

Water will form a central theme to the garden, incorporating three spectacular water features.

With his passion for creative planting, Hoblyn will focus on a formal Mediterranean style, with five majestic cypress trees providing a magnificent backdrop.

Exclusive to RHS Chelsea 2012, the nasturtium ‘Red Emperor’ will be launched for the first time.

The Brewin Dolphin Garden Designed by Cleve West Built by Steve Swatton Sponsored by Brewin Dolphin STAND – MA15 This garden celebrates the 250th anniversary of Brewin Dolphin and the continuing popularity of topiary in gardens of all sizes since the resurgence of this art during the 19th century.

Cleve West, who has six RHS Gold Medals to his credit and won Best in Show at Chelsea last year, has designed a garden that is

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contemporary yet reflects the heritage of British gardening.

The garden design can be described as ‘formal and timeless, contemporary yet traditional’ and uses controlled structure, including beech hedging and yew topiary forms that contrast with looser layers of herbaceous plants.

The yew forms represent the history, stability and creativity of Brewin Dolphin and stand like sentinels among a tapestry of herbaceous plants. This creates a sense of timelessness with a hint of mystery.

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

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RHS Chelsea Flower Show

Furzey Gardens Designed by Chris Beardshaw Built by Furzey Gardens Sponsored by Furzey Gardens STAND – RGB9 Chris Beardshaw returns to Chelsea in 2012 with a design to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Furzey Gardens in Hampshire and the achievements of its learning disability team.

Chris’s woodland design incorporates acid-loving species including rhododendrons, azaleas and primulas. Ericaceous plants and

shrubs have fallen out of favour with designers at Chelsea in recent years, but Chris is using them to spectacular effect in this design.

Furzey Gardens Charitable Trust operates in conjunction with its sister charity, the Minstead Training Project, to provide a wide range of services for students with learning disabilities. The students are helping to grow plants for the show garden and assisting Chris in the garden build. This is the first time students with learning difficulties have been involved directly with a Chelsea garden.

A Celebration of Caravanning Designed by Jo Thompson Built by The Outdoor Room Sponsored by The Caravan Club STAND – MA6 The starting point for this design is Doris, a mid-1950s aluminium caravan featuring in the garden which is inspired by the great British family holiday, where even the dog is catered for with a specially constructed kennel (there is rumour that a The Homebase Teenage Cancer Trust Garden Designed by Joe Swift Built by Willerby Landscapes Sponsored by Homebase STAND – MA16 The Teenage Cancer Trust Garden which is the first Joe Swift has designed for Chelsea Flower Show, draws cultural inspiration from his local area of Hackney in London and has been inspired by the power of plants and natural forms in an urban and suburban environment. It is a dry, May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

Corgi may even be modelling on press day). A beautiful birch Betula albosinensis ‘Fascination’ will tower over a palette of pink and cream planting that includes roses, salvias, irises and grasses.

Tactile details such as timber decking and sandstone paths, and a water rill that doubles as a wine chiller, encourage barefoot exploration of the garden. There are plenty of places to pause and enjoy the view with undulating timber benches and a hammock, partially screened by reclaimed timber posts.

sustainable garden designed for exploration, revealing areas as you move through the space.

Four bold cedar wood frames create long views through the garden, dividing the space into distinct yet visually connected areas. Stone and wood are present in conventional garden features (stone paving, walling and seating), but are also used in more stylised features such as oversized horizontally sliced boulders, a water feature and bespoke wooden sculptures to decorate and energise the design. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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RHS Chelsea Flower Show

The Laurent Perrier Bicentenary Garden Designed by Arne Maynard Built by Crocus.co.uk Sponsored by Laurent Perrier STAND – MA19 The Laurent-Perrier Bicentenary Garden is a timeless, ornamental gardener’s garden. Created by award-winning garden designer Arne Maynard, all elements of the garden have been carefully handcrafted and are complemented by a soft planting scheme. Architectural The L’Occitane Imortelle Garden Designed by Peter Dowle Built by Peter Dowle Plants and Gardens Ltd Sponsored by L’Occitane En Provence STAND – RGB10 The L’Occitane Immortelle Garden recreates the Corsican maquis (Mediterranean vegetation) and brings it to life in the heart of Chelsea. L’Occitane

has chosen this magnificent island to inspire its garden, being the home of its award-winning skincare collection. To recreate the wild landscape of the maquis, designer Peter Dowle has constructed an uphill rocky terrain framed by typical Corsican trees and plants. The bright yellow Immortelle flowers Helichrysum orientale provide the main focus.

The design features an outdoor seating terrace, a small lagoon and a sandy beach footpath.

The M&G Garden Designed by Andy Sturgeon Built by Creative Landscape Company Sponsored by M&G Investments STAND – MA18 The M&G Garden, designed

by Andy Sturgeon celebrates traditional craftsmanship and the beauty of natural materials. Inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, the garden has a strong asymmetric quality and features natural, rustic materials including copper, oak and Purbeck stone, shown in May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

pleached copper beech trees give height and a sense of enclosure, topiary arrangements add character and shape to the planting and an antique pear tree provides a key focal point at the front corner. Flowing water will outline the garden adding movement and a cool elegance.

Inspired by Laurent-Perrier’s 200-year reputation for creating pioneering champagnes, the garden combines traditional and contemporary elements to exude elegance through its planting and landscaping.

their raw beauty. The focal point is the energy wave sculpture, crafted from copper rings, that weaves through the garden. The style of planting has a harmonious woodland-edge quality to it.

Domed umbellifers and clipped Ilex (Holly) will channel the eye through the garden, while clumps of billowing perennials in a palette of soft pink, white, lilac and yellow will soften the formal architectural edges of the garden. At opposite ends of the space, Cercidiphyllum trees (Candyfloss trees) will provide height and shade and anchor the garden to the site. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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RHS Chelsea Flower Show

Rooftop Workplace for Tomorrow Designed by Patricia Fox Built by Giles Landscapes Sponsored by RBS in association with Walworth Garden Farm STAND – RHW37 Rooftop Workplace of Tomorrow is an extension of

A Rural Muse Designed by Adam Frost Built by New Ground Landscapes Sponsored by Lands End Clothing STAND – MA3 This garden is designed for a Stamford couple who love their region’s landscape and environment, especially the walks

the working office which uses vacant urban rooftop space. The garden offers an innovative, thought-provoking environment that can be used by both individuals and groups.

Individuals can sit in contemporary hanging chairs and network using a smart phone or tablet. Conferences can be held within the lounge

area beneath the weatherproof canopy. This area has a 3m x 3m video/projection screen that projects sound and visuals, and is surrounded by beautiful planting (which includes a pick-your-own herbal tea bar).

This garden challenges our perception of workplaces, and offers inspirational ideas for the future.

of the well-known local peasant poet John Clare. Adam Frost has taken inspiration from the diverse countryside that shaped so much of Clare’s poetry to create a space for entertaining and relaxation, designed with biodiversity and wildlife in mind.

Many of the elements have multiple functions, such as the stone boulders that double up as stepping stones and seating.

The Telegraph Garden Designed by Sarah Price Built by Crocus.co.uk Sponsored by The Daily Telegraph STAND – MA20 The Telegraph Garden evokes the beauty and romance of wild areas of the British countryside. Perennials, rushes, grasses and meadow flowers grow around an intricate pattern of May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

pools in Chilmark limestone. The copper details draw inspiration from the mineral-rich upland streams and rills of North Wales and Dartmoor.

A stepping-stone walkway leads across water to a seating area on a group of boulders. The rear of the garden is framed by a glade of tall, graceful birch trees. The garden uses atmospheric planting and natural stone to create a beautiful, contemplative, private space. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

RHS Chelsea Flower Show

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Trailfinders Australian Garden presented by Fleming’s Nurseries Designed by Jason Hodges Built by Scott Wynd Sponsored by Trailfinders and Fleming’s Nurseries STAND – RHW33 This garden pays homage to Jason Hodges’ home town of Sydney with an unusual mix of native and sub-tropical plants co-existing with introduced trees and shrubs from Europe and beyond. The garden references Sydney’s iconic structures through the use of materials, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge which Jason saw each day as he grew up. Corrugated iron brings a sense of rusticity – this characteristic material is used widely throughout Australia.

The RBC Blue Water Garden Designed by Nigel Dunnett and The Landscape Agency Built by Landform Consultants STAND – MA21 London Olympic Park 2012 Gardens designer Nigel Dunnett will create a modern and environmentally positive interpretation of the traditional ‘paradise garden’. Instead of formal rills and canals, excess rainwater

will be channelled and stored in ‘Bioswales’, which will form the central feature. Planting will be dramatic, naturalistic and exuberant, and feature huge swathes of Turk’s cap lilies, growing as if in their natural habitat. A dramatic pavilion will be inspired by the architecture of Italy’s Puglia region. The garden will show how sustainable concepts and support for biodiversity can form the basis for the design of even the most formal of gardens.

The World Vision Garden Designed by John Warland and Sim Flemons Built by Hillier Landscapes Sponsored by World Vision STAND – RHW34 A ripple pool at the centre of The World Vision Garden represents the effect the children’s charity has in the world’s hardest places.

Circular ripples spread from the middle of the pool to its edge, symbolising how World Vision’s work with children also

Green with…

Designed by Tony Smith Built by Easigrass, Hortus Infinitus STAND – FR26 Designed by Tony Smith for the new Fresh category, ‘Green with…’ is a horticultural installation exploring the human emotions of envy and desire through colour, form and plant history. The cage structure represents the prison within which the deeply envious individual who desires what another owns will

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helps families, communities and, ultimately, entire countries.

A winding labyrinth path invites you to become part of the ripple where, at the centre, children are at the heart of everything World Vision does.

The verdant planting and sheltered canopy of the Australian tree ferns create a soothing atmosphere.

The trees, along with the walls enclosing the garden, provide shelter to the pool and highlight World Vision’s aim to protect the world’s most vulnerable children.

inevitably find himself trapped.

Trapped within the cage are white silk orchids, surrounded by densely planted white tulips and interspersed with ferns. The ferns and tulips emerge from a carpet of white Sutera. During recent centuries these plants have been the subject of envy and desire. In our modern suburban societies, lawn itself can be the subject of envy. The garden highlights the use of artificial grass where ‘real grass won’t grow’, in a modernday setting with a historical background.

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Wildlife-friendly bedding

£2bn

Extra money that would need to be spent on production in absence of pollinating insects 1

2

3

4

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ANIMAL MAGNETISM

Which plants are best at attracting pollinating wildlife to bedding? asks Andy Boorman t is often said that formal bedding is unfriendly to wildlife, providing little interest to pollinators such as butterflies, honey and bumble bees and hoverflies. But we will soon be planting large quantities of bedding in our parks and gardens. Not least because many people still expect to see it, in spite of more so-called pollinator-friendly alternatives, such as massed herbaceous perennials and wildflowerstyle plantings. Studies have shown that bedding is still the preferred option by many as it is flexible, adds colour and gives seasonal variety.

At 50p or less for a plug and less than £1 a pot it is not that expensive.

Let’s dispel one myth straight away – natives are not always the best for our butterflies and bees. These insects are after nectar and pollen and really don’t care where it comes from. I am not against native plants, but I am not aware of any that are suitable for bedding.

There is some conflicting advice – whether or not to plant in bold blocks of single species or use a diverse range, for example. Actually this May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

depends on the target pollinators. Hive bees work most effectively when they are able to work in groups on a single source of nectar or pollen. Butterflies will flit from flower to flower irrespective of species looking only for nectar, and bumble bees fall somewhere between.

TOP TEN BEDDING PLANTS Common bedding plants in the top ten when it comes to helping pollinators are single or semi-double flowered cultivars of Dahlia, French Marigolds, Zinnia, Verbena, Fuchsia and Alyssum. The first three are members of the daisy family, whose composite flowers are rich sources of both pollen and nectar. Any cultivar with visible central stamens will act as a bee and butterfly magnet. Fuchsias are not universally advocated, but the larger tougher flowered cultivars are fine. A good list; but what about some other common bedding, such as Pelargonium, 9

Petunia, Lobelia, Busy Lizzie and Begonia?

General advice is to avoid fully doubleflowered cultivars. This doubling of petals is very often at the expense of stamens and even nectaries, making flowers almost useless to pollinators. It is also stated that much bedding has been so hybridised it reduces their ability to attract insects and can make the flowers sterile.

There is some truth in this statement. Let’s take the bedding geranium, Pelargonium x hortorum.

They are derived from several closely related South African species and sub-species, particularly Pelargonium zonale and P. inquinans. The original crosses were accidental and facilitated by insects.

The different coloured splotches in the centre of the flower are guides to the nectaries.

Is nectar production always lost by hybridisation and are our modern cultivars sterile? Possible but unlikely, as F1 hybrid Pelargoniums can produce a viable F2 generation. Insects may be www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Wildlife-friendly bedding

1 Spring bedding.

2 Perfect for bees.

3 Canal bridge bedding in Birmingham.

4 Lobelia.

5 Sedum Dragon’s Blood (image © Sarah Curtis).

6

6 Angel Shade moth.

7 Begonia semperflorens.

8 Birmingham sets the standard.

9 Penstemon ‘Czar’ (image © Sarah Curtis).

7

8

deterred by the scent of the foliage as this can contain a natural insecticide quiscalic acid.

However, this is exploited by the attractive Angel Shade moths whose caterpillars exploit geraniums as a food and then become toxic to predators. Summing up, although bedding geraniums may not be the most wildlife-friendly they are certainly not useless.

Petunias are hybrids whose parents are so closely related they are probably not really different species. Petunia axillaris has large narrow-mouthed white flowers and is night scented, whereas P. integrifolia is more upright with open mauve lavender flowers. The former is pollinated in South America by night flying hawkmoths and the latter by bees that fly both in the day and night. Both species produce nectar. These pollination strategies prevent the two species from forming natural hybrids, but of course artificial hybridisation has produced fertile offspring that we use as bedding. flower structure Petunias’ ability to attract our native pollinators is probably down to flower structure. If the cultivar has the narrow flower opening and long tube derived from P. axillaris it is probably going to be less attractive to most daytime pollinators compared to a more open mouth. So wildlifewww.prolandscapermagazine.com

friendly Petunia will depend more on flower structure and hence cultivar choice. Lobelia and Busy Lizzies are not hybrids, but are bred from single species. Surely there should not be a problem with these? Lobelia being low growing with masses of blue, pink or white flowers will not be suitable for chubby bumble bees, but hoverflies and smaller bees find them attractive.

Busy Lizzie, or Impatiens wallerana, has the slightly curved nectar spur protruding down from the back of the flower. If the insect can reach, it is a rich source of energy and so can be of interest to butterflies and moths. I have even seen cheeky bumble bees nipping the spur to get a free drink without bothering to pollinate the flower. Again avoid double cultivars.

Begonias have a more deserved reputation as being less than friendly to wildlife. Common bedding or Wax Begonias are botanically cultivars of Begonia x semperflorens-cultorum and are hybrids mostly from crosses between Begonia cucullata and B. schmidtiana. They are

47

moths and butterflies are all equally under threat. It is good to see that this has been recognised and that there are now initiatives designed to help. Such as the urban beekeeping programme and landscaping activities designed to encourage this which will also directly benefit other insects. One piece of advice that needs reinforcing is to avoid insecticides, particularly neonicotinoids such as Imidacloprid. sustainable alternatives Of course there are seemingly more sustainable and wildlife-friendly alternatives to formal bedding for parks and gardens. At one extreme is the use of hardy annuals sown in mixes to give quick and long-lasting showy flowers. Many of you will have used or seen Pictorial Meadow mixes and Rigby Taylor’s Euroflor range. The latter is highlighted in an article in this issue by Steve Denton (see page 48). The contemporary use of hardy perennials planted formally in the same way as bedding is another alternative. The

Native honey bees are now extinct in the wild. Bumble bees, hoverflies, moths and butterflies are all under threat, but there are now initiatives designed to help. monoecious with separate numerous male and fewer smaller female flowers. Within the genus the female flowers do not reward pollinators with nectar or pollen, but mimic male flowers in order to attract pollinators. However, they are pale imitations of the more showy male flowers.

There is a final interesting point and that is flower colour. Butterflies and bees see the world differently to us. They see particularly well in blue and part of the ultra-violet wavelength. All flowers look very different when seen under ultra-violet light often revealing complex and surprising patterns. However, we do not really know how much breeding of colour for human vision has affected the perception of flowers by pollinators.

Pollinating insects are important to us, their activities are vital for fruit and seed crops and without them we would have to add at least an extra £2 billion on to the costs of production.

Unfortunately most species have suffered recent declines in population. Native honey bees are now extinct in the wild. Bumble bees, hoverflies,

newer species and cultivars used in these schemes are more floriferous, longer flowering and very often highly attractive to pollinators.

For example, Sedum ‘Dragon’s Blood’ is suitable for edging beds and for green roofs and Penstemon ‘Czar’ is a versatile bedding and border perennial.

These approaches are loved by urban beekeepers, but can we make bedding just as acceptable? Of course we can and as usual it’s largely about plant selection.

ABOUT andy boorman Andy Boorman is a lecturer and consultant in landscape management based in Essex.

An experienced Green Flag Judge, Andy has worked on a variety of projects with landscape companies, local authorities and community groups. He has been interested in researching and building wildflower meadows for more than 10 years. andrew.boorman1@btinternet.com May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

48

Plants and Seeds

45

URBAN FLOWER POWER

Euroflor urban flower mixtures provide a new approach to the management of green spaces, says Steve Denton, Rigby Taylor Seed Development Manager ocal authorities, architects, designers and landscapers are being challenged in these times of austerity to provide cheaper but sustainable solutions for floral displays within the urban environment.

Alongside the traditional planting of flowers in formal beds an alternative flowering option has been developed through the use of cultivated species, which are directly sown into selected areas. This type of flower planting creates a wilder more natural look with a prolonged display period allowing greater choice and creativity.

Through the use of these flower mixtures we can contribute to the respect of the environment and help biodiversity; without plant biodiversity, animal biodiversity would be limited.

Pollinating insects, birds and other wildlife benefit from shelter offered by plant cover, from water present on the plants and the food supplied either as nectar and pollen for the insects or seeds and fruit for birds and so on.

In towns and cities all forms of vegetation play an important role in regulating temperature by creating cooler zones. Plants can cool the air by absorbing solar radiation and also through the processes of transpiration.

An area of vegetation can be as much as 10° cooler than a pavement or hard surface area under similar conditions.

An area of flowers can also have a filtering effect, specifically with regard to fine particles of common pollutants. As an alternative to an impermeable surface these flower mixtures create areas of water absorption reducing run-off. Euroflor flower mixtures can be considered in reducing our carbon footprint –

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

because these mixtures are directly sown into their final position there is not the requirement for greenhouses, ferti – irrigation or chemical treatments associated with plant production and the carbon emissions created.

All plants capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and contribute to the sequestration of carbon, notably by the development and decomposition of their root systems. Current research shows that one meadow 10m x 10m has the potential to sequestrate 11kg of carbon dioxide per year.

Euroflor urban flower mixtures supplied by UK seed agent Rigby Taylor provide a new approach to the management of green spaces and amenity areas and complements traditional horticultural practices. These flower mixtures provide benefits in three key areas: ECONOMIC ● Reduced installation and maintenance costs ● Optimises labour use ● Reduces water consumption ● Encourages eco-responsible purchasing ENVIRONMENTAL ● Preserves and increases biodiversity ● Limits risk of pollution ● Optimises management of natural resources ● Introduces more ecological practices ● Improves water management CULTURAL ● Brings added value to the landscape and natural surfaces ● Creates respect for open spaces ● Creates engagement and communication with the general public

A spokesman for the British Beekeepers Association says: “Flowers are absolutely vital for bees to thrive and this is a wonderful opportunity for local authorities and landscapers to develop urban flower plantings.

An urban hive actually produces more honey than a rural hive due to the variety of plant material available.”

As the urban sprawl extends into the countryside it is important that we try to link and enhance the habitats in order to create flower-rich oases which can support large populations of pollinators. More important is the commitment to an ecoresponsible position using practices that respect the environment and shows that more than one approach is possible with regard to the planting of flowers and a new vision is possible with the management of amenity areas.

For further information regarding Euroflor selected urban flower mixtures, contact Steve Denton, Seed Development Manager at Rigby Taylor Ltd at s.denton@rigby taylor.com.

ABOUT STEVE DENTON Steve has worked in the horticultural and sports turf industry for 30 years, developing his knowledge of this diverse subject. Since leaving college he has worked in many areas and is currently working with plant breeders bringing new grass varieties and flower mixtures to market and providing technical support and advice to clients.

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Green roofs

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Green roofs are now a landscape in their own right, therefore installation will increasingly be done by landscaping contractors rather than the waterproofing industry, says Dusty Gedge reen roofs are becoming increasingly mainstream. While they hold a wide range of benefits to the environment and specifically the urban realm, they have all too often been seen as merely an additional layer above the waterproofing of a building. As the market has grown so have the approaches and in the UK and we are at the point where the green roof element is more than merely another layer but a landscape in its own right. Therefore installation will increasingly become the preserve of the landscape contracting world rather than the waterproofing industry.

For many years simple sedum blanket systems were the main ‘solutions’ in the green roof market in the UK. Local authorities, cities and clients are now increasingly looking for more interesting green roof solutions where substrates and plants and ecological design are an inherent part. This means that landscape contractors and designers need to fully engage in this growing market. Traditionally on the continent in the main green roof markets of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, they have

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

always been installed by specialist landscape contracting firms. These firms select the appropriate system and materials to install and fulfil a given contract, and often have a long-term agreement to maintain the installation.

While many green roofs are still being fitted by waterproofing contractors, this will change.

But landscape contractors and waterproofing contractors need to be aware of each other’s processes. Good waterproofing is a prerequisite for a green roof. Any roof that leaks is a failed roof.

TRADE PARTNERSHIPS Ensuring the integrity of the waterproof layers is an integral part of any green roof installer’s approach to the job in hand. This can be achieved through partnership with a recognised waterproofing contractor and undertaking leak detection tests before the completion of the green roof. I know of many instances where a leaking roof has been assumed to be ‘because’ of the green roof and not because of the poor installation of the waterproofing layer.

Being a relatively new process it is easy for the

green roof element to be blamed.

Furthermore green roofs need to be considered as a roof landscape. Drainage and water-holding capacity needs are specific to green roofs. Planting and specification is slightly different than at ground level. Extensive green roofs in particular are not highly ‘productive’ environments. Increasing nutrient levels and irrigation can have a very negative effect in the long run as once a ‘system’ gets used to drugs it is going to carry on needing its fix. Therefore most extensive green roofs are designed to be both drought tolerant and with minimal nutrient levels to allow them to become, in the main, self-sustaining environments.

Although there are no formal qualifications at present for landscaping contractors in the UK in terms of green roofs, by September 2013 there will be a pan-European Qualification – currently being worked on by South Nottingham College, The Swiss, Swedish, Hungarian, Greek and Austrian Green Roof Associations. This qualification, which I am advising on in my role as president of the European Green Roof Association, will allow landscaping contractors to be trained in the best practices that have been current on the continent for more than 20 years.

In the meantime the main suppliers provide training, as does Construction Skills through the NFRC and The Green Roof Organisation, which is an umbrella trade association.

ABOUT dusty gedge Director of Livingroofs.org and the current President of the European Federation of Green Roof Associations, Dusty has been invloved in green roofs for more than 15 years. He is a policy advisor, consultant and designer. He has also installed more than 50 green roofs across the country. www.livingroofs.org www.efb-greenroofs.eu

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May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5 24/4/12 15:35:24

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Latest Kit

GREEN ROOFS The Optigreen Meander Board has been developed for combined discharge delay and drainage applications. Excess water from the Green Roof system collects in the chambers of the Optigreen Meander Panel and moves in curves or loops, extending the flow length and causing a discharge delay. Its design, quick-and-easy installation and prevention of water-logging on roofs make it suitable for virtually every Optigreen green roof variant. A 3D computer animation showing easy installation can be viewed at – WWW.OPTIGREEN. CO.UK.

Enviromat sedum matting is perfect for creating a relatively lightweight green roof which can be installed on to almost any sturdy building with a roof pitch of less than 20 degrees.

As sedum plants are drought tolerant and frost hardy they’re ideal; they only need a thin layer of growing medium to survive, and feeding every spring. Enviromat offers a printed installation guide for sedum roofs and a free CD ROM with advice and maintenance tips. For a copy, e-mail angelal@qlawns.co.uk or phone 01842 828266.

Recticel has developed a new solution for urban greening: Polygrow. It is hydrophilic, inert and very light. As a green roof solution Polygrow is available as one single slab that works as water buffer, substrate and drainage. Polygrow is easy and fast to install and can create almost every shape and size. For typical extensive roof gardens, Polygrow can be combined with sedum, grass and flowers. Great vertical walls can also be designed. Due to its good capillarity, rigid shape and great rewetting properties it’s perfect for this application.

Scotscape has installed an ANS Living Wall system and green roof for a flagship Marks & Spencer store in Sheffield. The 17m x 5m green wall and sedum-planted green roof are part of the building’s sustainable design, delivering additional insulation and improved energy efficiency and natural wildlife habitats. The company worked closely with BBS and ANS to deliver the project and will also be responsible for the ongoing maintenance of both the roof and wall.

WWW.POLYGROW.NL

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Green roof and turf specialist Lindum is at the forefront of green roof technology.

Managing Director Stephen Fell says, “With the current drought situation, now is a good time to install our Wildflower and Sedum Green Roof mat. Grown with drought tolerant wildflowers, perennials, herbs and sedums, it encourages biodiversity and attracts pollinators.” Lindum’s green roof mats are lightweight and easy to install on flat, sloping or curved roofs, with plants ready-established and growing in a mat made from recycled British textiles.

WWW.LINDUMGREENROOFS.CO.UK

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

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May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

54

Latest Kit

PRO MOWERS Viking’s 7 Series lawn mowers have low vibration levels (just 1.8m/s2) promoting comfort in use. A centralised control panel sets drive controls in easy reach; the handlebars swivel left or right enabling close-cutting. Cut widths of 49cm and 53cm are available, and both are driven by a Kawasaki FJ 180 V OHV engine. Cutting height is simply adjusted, and the 7 series also features a high capacity 80-litre grass catcher bag.

For further information and details of approved dealers visit the website WWW.VIKINGMOWERS.CO.UK. The Toro Timecutter ZS3200 with its 82cm 1-blade Recycler uses zero turn technology to trim close to trees, flowerbeds and other obstacles. Two easy-to-use levers replace the hand and foot controls commonly used on a tractor.

The patented Toro Recyler cutting system chops clippings repeatedly into tiny bits and forces them back into the turf, returning valuable nutrients and moisture to the soil. For more information on this and other Toro products, call 01279 723444 or visit WWW.TORO.CO.UK.

John Deere’s new Z645 zero-turn mower has a V-twin engine developing 15.4kW at 3,350rpm, providing high torque levels, and low vibration and noise levels. The Z645 has a 122cm (48in) high-capacity mower deck, which has been

The Wessex ProLine HTC-18 is a sweeper, a scarifier and a flail mower all in one. As a sweeper, polypropylene bristles sweep the debris into the large hopper. When you want a flail mower just replace the scarifying knives with the flail kit or use it in conjunction with the flails to do two jobs at once. The Wessex ProLine HTC-18 has a working width of 1.8m and a starting price of around £12,000 plus VAT. Visit the website WWW.BROADWOODINTL.CO.UK.

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

designed to handle larger volumes of grass and challenging mowing conditions.

The operator station features a high-back seat and a conveniently located control panel. Priced from £5,134.

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Lightweight and compact, the Toro CT2140 triple mower distributed

by Lely UK has a narrow transport width of 130cm/52in and is nimble enough to navigate restrictive access and areas. The size, together with the light weight of 1,200kg, allow it to be easily transported under a standard Category B driving licence, ruling out the need for additional driver training. Contact local Toro dealers or call Lely UK on 01480 226849, email toro.info.uk@lely.com or visit WWW.TORO.COM/EN-GB.

The Etesia Pro 46 is lightweight and easy to transport, has adjustable handlebars for operator comfort and fold for storage and transportation. The cutting height adjustment can suit most applications. The single blade Etesia Pro 46 has a 5hp 160cc Honda petrol engine. Cutting width is 46cm and the detachable grass box has a capacity of 52 litres. The overall weight is just 37kg. Low vibration and noise levels meet EU legislation. There are six models in the range, with options that include a mulching facility. For more information visit WWW.ETESIA.CO.UK or email sales@etesia.co.uk. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

GREEN TECHNOLOGY 100% electric Bahia ride-on mower with grass collection.

Compact, tenacious and versatile, Bahia mowers adapt to any grass-cutting situation.

ETMOWERS – they mow, you don’t

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A range of clean engines, combined with an innovative product range, make our mowers as fuel efficient and environmentally friendly as possible.

Our mowers are complemented by the Pellenc range of groundcare equipment, which use lithium-ion technology, providing unrivalled power for professional electric products.

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Seeing is believing Etesia UK Ltd, Greenway House, Sugarswell Business Park, Shenington, Oxon OX15 6HW Tel: 01295 680120 email: sales@etesia.co.uk

www.etesia.co.uk

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

56

Latest Kit

CHELSEA 2012

Macmillan Hunter is exhibiting in the new ‘Fresh’ area (Stand FR/20) at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2012 with a strikingly different range of contemporary sundials. Designer Alastair Hunter has created a range of beautiful precision sundials and believes the new ‘Fresh’ area provides the ideal platform to showcase his works of art. Stand exhibits will include ‘Solar Time’, a 2m-high awardwinning design on sale for £2,500; ‘Orbit,’ a stunning limited edition of just 15 stainless steel and brass numbered sculptures each costing £3,750; and ‘Noondial,’ a scaled down version of ‘Solar Time.’ A newcomer to the collection is ‘Hourdial’, a beautiful horizontal dial transforming the visual idea of what a typical garden sundial looks like and is available in a choice of mountings on ceramic, stainless steel or stone.

WWW.MACMILLANHUNTER.CO.UK

The clean, uncluttered lines of Hartley Botanics’ new Horizon glasshouse – unveiled on stand MA13 at the 2012 RHS Chelsea Flower Show (May 22-26) – reflect a new age of modernism in the domestic landscape, giving garden owners the option to project contemporary house styles and increasingly popular rectilinear garden designs into their outdoor structures.

Benefiting from Hartley’s concealed engineering technology, the seamless form of the Horizon

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

At Chelsea Flower Show, German born sculptor Michael Scheuermann will be exhibiting hand-carved stone sculptures and luxurious outdoor seating that combines stone with stainless steel and a modern Chaise Longue carved from a single block of sandstone. As a professional sculptor with more than 20 years’ experience Michael has worked on projects in the UK and across the world.

One of his highest accolades was being commissioned to produce the stone carvings for the exclusive five star Sandy Lane Hotel in Barbados. See Michael’s work on Stand RHW6 (Royal Hospital Way). WWW.MICHAELSCHEUERMANN.COM

English Musk Roses are notable for the perfection of their flowers and ‘Tranquillity’ lives up to this reputation. The flowers are beautifully rounded with neatly placed petals, making up a perfect rosette. The opening buds are lightly tinged with yellow but as the flowers open they become pure white. There is a light apple fragrance. The growth is upright, gradually curving outwards at the top to provide a good garden shrub which could, if desired, work equally well as a bedding rose. It has excellent vigour and is very healthy. It has typical light green Musk Rose foliage and is almost thornless. With its pure white flowers this rose will live up to its name. Available as bare root from November 2012 from David Austin Roses.

WWW.DAVIDAUSTINROSES.COM

has no visible fixings to distract the eye. The projecting pent roof and uninterrupted full-height glazing panels on all sides supported in a frame of smooth, coated aluminium seem more redolent of Hof Haus than greenhouse. But notwithstanding its minimalist form, this is a very practical and spacious plant house to satisfy the most green-fingered of modern gardeners as well as those simply looking for an elegant outdoor retreat.

WWW.HARTLEY-BOTANIC.CO.UK

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May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

58

Latest Kit

LATEST KIT Wildflower Turf Ltd supplied 1,250m² of its Wildflower Roof Turf to the ‘Peppa Pig World’ themed area at Paultons Park in Hampshire. HPW Partnership architects specified the turf as Paultons Park had used its turf in the past and was keen to go with this bio-diverse system. The Wildflower Roof Turf allowed the building to blend into the surrounding landscape, thus reducing its visual impact on the area. The turf instantly provided a mature meadow, and since its installation in 2011 a noticeable variety of wildlife has been seen. Gary Wilburn, Creative Director of HPW commented, “The wildflower roof had its first season in full bloom in 2011 and we are looking forward to this spring to watch as the eco-system continues to develop.” For more information go to WWW.WILDFLOWERTURF.CO.UK

The new Husqvarna P 525D is perfect for narrow spaces, and the transmission gives uncompromised traction and slope stability; so this, together with the machine’s compact size and high transport speed makes it suitable for councils, contractors and housing agencies. The ‘dog-bone’ articulated steering function has a dynamic weight transfer which instantly affects the machine’s centre of gravity, increasing traction on the front inner wheel and improving handling. Attachments such as a utility bucket, broom, folding plough and cabin give increased productivity.

The GreenMech CS100 wood chipper, powered by a 14hp manual start or 18hp electric start Briggs and Stratton engine, uses just 2-3 litres of petrol per hour. The machine can chip branches up to 10cm in diameter and will discharge chips to a distance in excess of 5m. It features a wide in-feed throat (315 x 162mm) and shrub prunings can be broken down to mulch, as a natural fertilizer. The GreenMech CS100 is a compact machine, weighing 195kg. A purpose-built transport trailer is available, and the machine is also available in a 3 point linkage mounting version suitable for tractors.

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

Belgium has boosted Stem Injection Systems’ expanding export sales with the government placing significant equipment orders as it develops its treatment programmes countrywide. Their interest was prompted by research by the University of Liege which spent two years investigating the escalating problem of Japanese Knotweed. Management tests concluded that stem injection, using glyphosate-based herbicide, was the most effective, achieving a stem volume reduction of 99% within two years of the original treatment. Stem Injection Systems’ joint managing director, David Layland said: “This research and the Belgian Government’s positive response suggests that continental Europe is increasingly ready to recognise the treatment benefits of stem injection.”

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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The natural choice for landscape professionals Following the great success of the launch show, BALI, The 2012 Landscaping Show returns bigger and better for the next instalment on 19th – 20th June 2012.

• Free learning - Two days of free education designed to keep you up to date with the latest designs, techniques, legislation and policies affecting landscaping today.

• Discover what’s new - Over 80 leading providers showcasing the very latest the industry has to offer.

• Meet the experts – Network and exchange ideas with professionals from leading associations.

• Live demos – See equipment and tools in action in the live demonstration area.

• Free advice – Speak to specialist business advisors in the dedicated Business Zone and find out how best to manage and improve your business.

Find out more at www.balishow.co.uk

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

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Pro Landscaper takes a look at what’s different this month.

Timberwolf has announced that all of its new Road Tow machines and vehicles are fully homologated and compliant with the new European Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA) legislation. This will reduce trade barriers and create a level playing field for companies selling their vehicles in Europe.

Timberwolf has invested considerable resource, time and money into the procedure, with numerous tests and adaptations being made to the machines to ensure they are still of the optimum performance and quality, while improving safety on the road. For more information call 01449 765800 or visit the website www.timberwolf-uk.com.

Green-tech has recently taken delivery of a new 40ft, branded arctic lorry. For more than 18 years Green-tech has delivered products that help protect, enhance and improve plants and their environment whether it is Green-tree topsoil or tree tubes and stakes. To celebrate the maiden journey of the lorry the team is asking customers and contacts to ‘Spot the Green-tech Lorry’ and send in a picture to win a bottle of champagne by 1 June. To enter the ‘Spot the Green-tech Lorry’ competition simply email a picture of yourself with the lorry to sales@green-tech.co.uk. For more details about the competition log on to www.green-tech.co.uk.

New RHS catalogue lists 70,000 plants The latest edition of the RHS Plant Finder 2012–2103 is available by mail order and from bookstores for £15.99. This encyclopaedia of around 70,000 cultivated plants provides the most up-to-date information on where plants can be bought and supplier details, with information such as websites, how best to contact and procedures for ordering by mail. “Getting together all the information is a massive task for the team,” says Janet Cubey, Editor-in-Chief. Because of bad weather conditions, some nurseries have had to decline being included in this year’s edition due to some growers losing their entire stock as a result of snow damage. Visit www.rhsshop.co.uk.

The winners of Jacksons Fencing’s third annual show gardens design competition have been announced. The two new designs are Natural Reflections by Alison Coxhead (pictured) and Within the Weave by Kari Beardsell. The other gardens will also be refurbished and all can be viewed from 19 May onwards. The gardens have been very popular over the past two years; in the first year the project was hailed as a “mini Chelsea Flower Show” as people in the Kent area were treated to a display usually associated with the big RHS flower shows. Visit www.jacksons-fencing.co.uk. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

The versatility of Carlow Irish Blue Limestone and its range of eyecatching finishes and effects make it an ideal contemporary alternative paving material. By using Irish Blue Limestone you are buying into traditional skills that go back to the earliest history of Ireland. The material is durable, attractive and chemically inert. It looks rich and can complement any design or style from gothic to ultra-modern. It has subtle variations of colour and texture that no synthetic material can match. More details at www.stockscape.co.uk.

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

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May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

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People

63

LOOK OUT FOR ...

Perspective View

Now entering it’s third year, Wyevale East Nurseries, in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural Society, launched the Student Design & Build Award in 2010 aimed at students undertaking horticultural design courses from level 3 or equivalent through to Masters Degrees.

The criteria for the Awards application are very similar to those for the RHS Hampton Court Palace Show in that applicants must show a holistic and applied knowledge of all the design stages from the paper plan to the planning and project management of its implementation, with plant selection and association alongside good design. The Judges are: ● Chris Young – Editor of RHS Media and The Garden Magazine. ● Richard McKenna – Nursery Director, Wyevale East Nurseries. ● Christine Parsons – Hallam Garden Design.

The Award provides the opportunity for students to design and build a garden in the Summer Garden category at The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. Wyevale East Nurseries funds hard materials and applicants are expected to work to a budget of £5,000 for the materials and labour. Wyevale East supplies all required plants for the project with no budget restriction on plants chosen for the design.

The 2011 Award gained 16 entries and was won by Adele Ford (top right) and Susan Willmott (bottom right), who have both

ADELE FORD AND SUSAN WILLMOTT Winners of the Student Design & Build Award 2011 – also exhibiting at this year’s Hampton Court Palace Flower Show undertaken a three-year BA in Garden Design at the University of Greenwich – two years spent at Hadlow College and the final at Avery Hall campus in London. Susan is currently studying for the Masters degree. Both are gaining work from their announcement as winners of the Award and building their experience towards becoming fully fledged designers, either together or separately.

The RHS said ‘the design had a very positive idea – the garden is nicely balanced and will be a good addition to the show’.

This competition is not to be taken lightly as there is a large amount of work involved and skills to be used – but this in turn prepares students for the real world of garden design and build, and bridges the gap between education and the reality of working within the industry.

As we meet, Adele and Susan are getting to grips with sourcing materials for their winning entry – a 7m x 5m garden called Coastal Drift.

They work on each other’s strengths and weaknesses and have a solid working relationship due to having worked together on projects at college and previous competition entries. They have the full support of the Wyevale East

Nurseries team, but they are challenged to make it happen themselves. The pair have regular catch-ups with Richard McKenna and Liz Hughes on the progress of the project who offer guidance if required.

Adele and Susan followed the brief for creating a garden that would be 6-7 miles from the coast and part of a larger garden. It is somewhere to go that is a sanctuary, and will concentrate heavily on coastal plants and plants that can mimic water in their shape, colour and movement. The rear wall is planted in the top and the deck constructed to provide a relaxing seating space. Construction of the garden and the planting will be carried out with the help of friends and family.

All that is left now is to ensure the budget is adhered to, and everything comes together at the right time – we will definitely seek out the garden at Hampton Court and wish the girls all the best for a gold. Follow the blog at www.willmottford.co.uk. ● Applications for the Student Design & Build Award 2012 can still be found online at www.gardendesignaward.co.uk. Also see the Facebook page Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2012 with Wyevale East Nurseries.

DIARY MAY 5 Young Horticulturalist of the Year Grand Final, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh www.horticulture.org.uk 10–13 RHS Malvern Spring Gardening Show, Malvern Showground, Worcs WR13 6NW www.rhs.org.uk 16–17 Institute of Chartered Foresters National Conference,

Future Forestry, CBI Conference Centre, London www.charteredforesters.org 22–26 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Chelsea Hospital, London www.rhs.org.uk JUNE 13–17 BBC Gardeners’ World Live, NEC, Birmingham www.bbcgardenersworldlive.com

19–20 BALI 2012 – The Landscaping Show, Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth www.bali.org.uk 26–27 HTA National Plant Show, Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth www.nationalplantshow.co.uk 15–16 The Arb Show, Bathurst Estate, Cirencester www.trees.org.uk

JULY 3–8 RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, Hampton Court www.rhs.org.uk 11 APL Summer Networking Seminar Greenline Plants, Solihull www.landscaper.org.uk 18–22 RHS Tatton Flower Show, Tatton Park www.rhs.org.uk

YOUR EVENT If you have a diary event you wish to publicise, email details to the editor: lisa.wilkinson@pro-landscaper.co.uk www.prolandscapermagazine.com

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

People

THE

LITTLE INTERVIEW

ROSIE NOTTAGE

Rosie Nottage Garden Design www.rosienottage.com What would you say is the best thing about your job?

Problem solving – I get quite excited when I find something unexpected under the ground.

What made you want to get into the industry?

Wanting to make the most of having both a botany degree and a brain that likes thinking in 3D. Plus a drive to start my own business .

Challenges ahead in your work?

Winning jobs on quality of finish rather than price – customers don’t want to reduce the spec but are increasingly asking me to reduce my margin.

How is the bulk of your work made up?

Mid-range domestic: child friendly gardens which work for adults as well as small people.

Current trends in the market?

Outdoor kitchens are very popular, and ornamental edible gardens.

What are your company’s plans for the next five years?

To employ more designers and have three separate build, design and maintenance streams that work together.

How do you remain competitive?

Make sure that every one of my customers will gush praise about my team and my work at a dinner party – most of my work is by recommendation.

Who are you inspired by?

Nigel Dunnett and Mark Gregory.

One thing you want to do before you’re too old?

Go on an orchid collecting expedition in Nepal.

Favourite song?

This Is Britain by Dreadzone. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

A small insight into the world of other professionals in our wide and varied industry. If you would like to appear in a future issue please email lisa.wilkinson@pro-landscaper.co.uk LUCY SUMMERS The Open Garden Company www.theopengardencompany. co.uk www.lovelucysummers.com What would you say is the best thing about your job?

Being outside – I love the outdoors and can’t stand being cooped up in front of a computer writing books, but it’s a necessary evil. I need a weather-proof computer.

What made you want to get into the industry?

The love of plants.

Challenges ahead in your work?

Establishing the Greenfingers brand.

How is the bulk of your work made up?

The last five years has been dedicated to writing the gardening books. This year it’s back to landscaping, which is lovely.

Current trends in the market?

I predict a return to cottage garden plants.

What are your company’s plans for the next five years?

Oh my goodness, where do I start. We have a design for a major show garden at Chelsea approved and ready to go for 2013/14, however, we need a serious sponsor. If you could recommend one…

Who are you inspired by?

The late Christopher Lloyd, Russell Paige, Dirk Bogarde; he’s such a natural writer.

Favourite film and TV shows…

Arthur, My Favourite Year.

Your proudest achievement?

My daughter, without a doubt.

Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter?

Spring.

JAMES GARDNER with quite a few pure design jobs.

GardnersGardens www.gardnersgardens.co.uk What would you say is the best thing about your job?

Designing and building gardens that bring a great deal of pleasure to my customers and their families is extremely rewarding.

What made you want to get into the industry?

I received a lot of very positive comments about my own garden, which included suggestions that I should take it up professionally. So as it was something that I enjoyed doing, I decided to enrol at Capel Manor Horticultural College.

Challenges ahead in your work?

Gaining market share in a depressed ecomony.

How is the bulk of your work made up?

Design and build of domestic gardens along

Current trends in the market?

Crisp lines and simplicity.

What are your company’s plans for the next five years?

There are no plans to grow, just to be able to be more selective about the projects that we take on.

How do you remain competitive?

By offering very high standards and good value for money.

Your proudest achievement?

The World Garden at Downham Market in Norfolk.

Favourite song?

Times Like These by Foo Fighters.

Where’s your favourite holiday destination?

Seville.

May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

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May 2012 | Volume 2 | Issue 5

Strength and Versatility for your Fleet

Model Shown: Toro Mid Size Hydro Mower 30069 with Flail 02720

In a business like yours, productivity is key.

This is where Toro can help.

Not only is our landscape contractor equipment engineered to be extraordinarily tough, it’s also flexible and versatile, so you always have the right tool for the job.

Check out the Toro Mid Size Mower: Tackles rough and overgrown areas with ease Rugged, reliable power unit with interchangeable attachments Choice of high output flail or 32” / 36” / 48” rear discharge decks Take a look at revenue-generating Toro.

For more info see www.toro.com/midsizerange or call 01279 723444 to locate your nearest dealer