Pro Landscaper: The Collection 2022

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Typically, we at Pro Landscaper spend our time looking ahead – to the next issue, to the next event, to the next step in taking the brand forward. It’s not often we take the time to reflect, but that’s what The Collection gives us the opportunity to do. Here, we are taking a look at what 2022 had to offer, which – as has been the case since the first COVID lockdown was announced mere weeks after Brexit came into effect – has been an unpredictable year.

Fortunately for the team at Pro Landscaper, it has been one of numerous celebrations. Sixteen awards were presented at the Pro Landscaper Business Awards in April, when we highlighted the excellent standards of companies within the landscaping industry across numerous sectors. We also asked our readers to help us find Pro Landscaper’s Most Influential, revealing the top 25 at a ceremony at FutureScape in November. On top of that, we awarded this year’s winners of Pro Landscaper’s 30 Under 30: The Next Generation, showcasing the impressive talent and ambition of those aged 30 or below. Nine category winners were then announced at Pro Landscaper’s small project BIG IMPACT Awards, as well as the highly soughtafter Supreme Winner.

Alongside all this, we have put to print 12 issues of Pro Landscaper, each showcasing remarkable projects through our popular Portfolios. Every single one of these can be found in the following pages as a source of inspiration, from transforming disused gardens into much-loved outdoor spaces, or creating entirely new landscapes for the public to enjoy.

We’ve also reviewed the results of our UK Landscape Barometer throughout the year, providing an overview of the industry over the last 12 months and exploring the rollercoaster of confidence as it has peaked and waned. You can also hear from suppliers of paving, composite decking, street furniture and trees as to the year they have had, the trends which have impacted them, and their expectations for the year ahead.

We hope you enjoy this year’s The Collection!

The Pro Landscaper team

prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 WELCOME 3
The Association of Professional Landscapers
THE Collection

Several factors have contributed to a shift in the results of Pro Landscaper’s UK Landscape Barometer over the last couple of years.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a ‘boom’ for domestic landscaping companies and garden designers. With people working from home, experiencing lockdowns and ultimately having a moment to evaluate their surroundings, it is perhaps no surprise that many chose 2021 as the perfect time to upgrade their gardens and completely home-based landscaping projects.

Unfortunately, it could be argued that 2021 has been somewhat less kind to the industry.

COVID-19 still impacted many businesses at the beginning of the year, which could explain the steady confidence in the early months of 2022. Within April, we saw a dramatic fall in confidence as a result of the rising fuel prices, with one respondent saying “production, utility

THE YEAR THE INDUSTRY lost its confidence

BUT CAN IT GET IT BACK?

and transport costs have increased by eye-watering amounts.” This unfortunately was the beginning of a slump this year. Uncertainty around Brexit and how it will influence businesses impacted confidence in the following months. In addition to this, a record-breaking heatwave across the UK also took its toll, as well as the more recent issue of the cost-of-living crisis and fears of an impending recession. This could explain why, in the most recent months of August to November, only 10% of respondents claimed to feel more confident than this time last year.

One respondent said: “I think clients are holding off with the uncertain times ahead and just planning for the future.” With this in mind, we could perhaps see a climb in confidence within the new year when clients are more certain of their own future and ready to make bookings again, echoed by the stability of the national staffing data of the year.

prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 LANDSCAPE BAROMETER 4
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Nov Dec Jan Feb MarApr May JunJul Aug SepOct PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS MORE CONFIDENT COMPARED TO LAST MONTH IN 2022 2022
We could perhaps see a climb in confidence within the new year when clients are more certain of their own future and ready to make bookings again

Despite the downward confidence trend within the industries, staffing is now seemingly remaining stable. What does that mean? For most industries, landscaping included, having a stable or increasing number of staff indicates a sense of security. With 67% of our respondents from our most recent Barometer (September 2022) claiming they have the same number of staff as they did last year (September 2021), and 33% of our respondents claiming they have a higher level of staff, it could be assumed that despite a lack of confidence there is a hope within the industry that a new level of normalcy will be found.

NATIONAL STAFFING STATISTICS FROM SEPTEMBER 2021 TO SEPTEMBER 2022

Enquires from May 2022 onward have been on a downward trend. This is possibly not unexpected. With the UK facing the cost-of-living crisis, many respondents have commented on their clients wishing to wait until the new year to book in their projects. There is still a hope that once clients are more secure within the new economic situation, they will be able to fund personal projects such as home-related landscaping and personal garden designs.

prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 LANDSCAPE BAROMETER 5
BY THE NUMBERS 100% REPORTED A DECLINE IN TURNOVER OF DESIGN AND BUILD COMPANIES IN SEPTEMBER 2022, 45% STAFF SAW A RISE IN IN AUGUST 2022, IN JULY 2022 TURNOVER 46% INCREASED FOR IN JANUARY 2022 ENQUIRIES 67% INCREASED FOR 67% IN JUNE 2022, ENQUIRIES DECREASED 50% REPORTED A DECREASE IN PROJECTS IN MAY 2022 OF GARDEN DESIGNERS 45% CONVERSION RATES ROSE IN APRIL 2022 IN MARCH 2022 THE AVERAGE LEAD TIME FOR DOMESTIC LANDSCAPERS FIVE MONTHS 22% SAW AN INCREASE IN TURNOVER OF NURSERIES FEBRUARY 2022 39% IN DECEMBER 2021, OF SOIL SUPPLIERS INCREASE IN QUOTES IN QUOTES 33% NOVEMBER 2021 SAW AN INCREASE OF NURSERIES Staffing Enquiries HigherEqual Lower 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 10% 0% Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Sept NATIONAL ENQUIRIES STATISTICS FROM SEPTEMBER 2021 TO SEPTEMBER 2022 HigherEqual Lower 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 10% 0% June Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March April May July Aug Sept Sept

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Has natural stone

BECOME THE MOST POPULAR CHOICE FOR PAVING?

Rising prices this year may have impacted its popularity against porcelain , but could this change? And what are the other materials vying for the top spot?

Porcelain has been the talk of the town for the last few years. Its emergence on the UK market as an outdoor option, rather than purely an indoor tile choice, brought a contemporary and ‘low maintenance’ product to gardens. However, there has been a strong increase in the demand for natural stone this year, says Harry Norman, sales and marketing director for Allgreen Group, who expects this to continue into next year.

“Our sales of natural stone have increased year on year; our offering has also increased from quarries in the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia and Africa.

“Our buff warm toned stones such as Darley Yorkstone, Luciano Sandstone & Zahra Beige Limestone have proved most popular this year.”

Nick Sharpe, managing director of Marshalls Domestic, adds that natural stone “remains a popular choice for customers who love the idea of a natural stone material with unique variation across slabs.” He says there is also a new trend emerging –“a shift towards using a mix of materials; it’s becoming more common to see people mix natural stone and concrete in a garden, for example.”

But it’s porcelain paving, it would seem, which continues to come out on top. “Porcelain paving has been growing in popularity over the past few

years and is showing no signs of stopping,” explains Sharpe, who says Marshalls’ sales of porcelain paving have increased in the last year. “More than ever before, indoor trends are reflecting on outdoor spaces – we’re seeing more demand for grey paving to complement grey interiors, and people are choosing porcelain as it is available in a range of trend-led finishes too. People looking for modern, stylish spaces are choosing to use products like patterned porcelain as

accents, step rises and edging, to give their gardens a unique and Mediterranean feel.”

Kebur business partner Jo Holtom agrees that porcelain paving sales have continued to grow, which she says is partly due to demand for low maintenance options, but also because shipping prices on natural stone have increased during the last two years.

Sharpe adds: “Post pandemic, the paving market experienced the price of natural stone rise, a direct result of global shipping challenges that hiked up the cost of transportation. This affected some demand for natural stone within the wider paving market, as customers began to look for cheaper alternatives, especially with the challenging economic climate. However, with the market now in a much more stable position, we’re anticipating demand to increase again.”

TRENDS prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 7
Porcelain paving has been growing in popularity over the past few years and is showing no signs of stopping
Nick Sharpe, managing director of Marshalls Domestic

Allgreen Group has also seen shipping costs “settling back to a ‘new normal’”, after the price of natural stone paving from Asia “increased up to 150% in cost,” says Norman. “Small increases in all other stones are in line with previous years due to increase fuel and transport costs. 2023 should see a stabilising of shipping costs and even a reduction for some countries whilst the

he says is primarily due to rising energy prices but also restrictions due to haulage capacity. So, Marshalls took action. “Whilst haulage capacity has improved significantly lately, we’ve made permanent changes to how we manage this both internally and with external suppliers to ensure availability. This includes growing our own fleet so that now the majority of our landscape product deliveries are carried out using our own vehicles.”

systems are in place to make sure their natural stone paving has been sourced responsibly with fair payment and treatment of everyone in the supply chain. We’re in the fortunate position to have done a lot of work in this area to give that confidence, alongside our Stone Standard which focuses on making sure we’re only selling stone that not only meets but exceeds technical standards.”

cost of fuel remains high and the demand for entry level stones and mid-range stones remaining strong. We anticipate a more settled period of costs and increases in line with previous years.”

Kebur has already seen a shift in demand as a result. “With shipping prices having fallen considerably, we are seeing a steady resurgence in demand for natural stone paving and accessories, with many customers preferring its natural character,” says Holtom.

It’s not as though porcelain hasn’t taken a hit either. “Throughout 2021 and this year, porcelain paving has proved very popular with customers, though year on year, porcelain – like all paving products – has seen a decline due to various external factors,” says Gary Ewing, division director (depots) at CED Stone Group. He adds that natural stone paving sales have actually decreased year on year, but says “this is consistent with sales in general rather than a statement on the performance of natural stone...The high container rates have been one of the many challenges. It would be fair to say that earlier in the season, as the world travel scene opened up more extensively in this 'post-pandemic' era, the market was already seeing definite signs of decline.

“This decline in sales as Britain headed abroad was soon overtaken by a reluctance to spend on anything, as world factors such as the ongoing war in Ukraine and the global energy crisis dominated the news.”

Raw material shortages have also presented a challenge, says Sharpe, which

As with other product categories, paving suppliers have had to juggle challenges in the market with a growing demand for sustainable products. “Within the horticulture industry, there has been much focus on sustainability in the past few years, which is reflected in an increase in customers specifying reclaimed paving materials,” says Ewing.

“Customers are definitely asking more about sustainability and the carbon footprint of materials more than ever before,” adds Norman. “Clients are increasingly wanting to be aware of where materials are sourced and the impacts of choosing a sustainable product than otherwise.”

Sharpe says this is particularly relevant when it comes to natural stone. “People want the reassurance that all the right checks and

With a shifting focus towards “British or locally made” paving, Marshalls is investing more than even in its British-made concrete ranges.

“With the advances in manufacturing, next year we’re looking to blend the beautiful with the sustainable, by using new techniques to create more British-made concrete paving ranges that are just as attractive as other materials,” says Sharpe.

Norman is expecting a surge in demand for ‘organic’ or ‘tessellated’ natural stone paving, which it says is often referred to as ‘crazy paving’, with its patterns of shapes which fit together. It is also anticipating a growing interest in its stacker paving, “narrow format single size pavers which are laid in patterns such as ‘Herringbone/ Parquet, Basket Weave and Stack Bond.”

Porcelain might remain on top for now, but it seemingly has some serious contenders rising up through the ranks.

prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 TRENDS 8
With shipping prices having fallen considerably, we are seeing a steady resurgence in demand for natural stone paving and accessories
Jo Holtom, Kebur business partner

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HOW HAS COMPOSITE DECKING FARED in a challenging year for suppliers?

Demand for composite decking is seemingly unwavering, and there are set to be a wider range of composite products hitting the market

Despite the headlines around supply chain issues, material price hikes and the cost-ofliving crisis, composite decking has fared well this year. In a survey in our November issue, 80% of suppliers said that their sales had increased over the last year – though there has been a downturn this season for both composite and timber decking products, says Jonathan Cooper, business manager for Trex at Arbor Forest Products.

“This year saw everybody enjoy their first foreign holidays since the outbreak of COVID-19 and then return to the current increases in the cost of living and energy bills. The previous two years we saw bumper sales of composite decking as many

homeowners wanted to invest in their outdoor space to make the most of it under COVID restrictions. However, the market overall remains positive, and composite decking is making significant inroads into the UK landscape sector, taking an everincreasing share of the sector.”

Neil Horton, sales director of BSW Timber – which supplies both timber and composite decking – echoes that composite decking is taking a bigger share.

“Sales of our Alchemy composite decking – in particular our Habitat+ range, which is designed for the domestic homeowner – have continued to grow. taking share from traditional timber decking and other hard landscaping solutions. In part, this has been driven by our desire for low maintenance solutions.”

Low maintenance is the number one reason for clients choosing composite decking over timber, according to 60% of suppliers who took part in our survey. Durability and rot resistance were also high on the list, but these benefits are only applicable with higher quality products, warn suppliers.

Composite Prime’s business development & marketing director Matthew Spedding says product quality has been one of the biggest challenges for composite decking this year. “We have noticed an increase in competitors changing the cake ingredients, resulting in low quality products driving the price down. Not all composite decking is manufactured equal, and we have had to adjust our messaging to re-educate the market and potential customers the added value selling points of our products and USPs.”

There is confusion about the differences between various products out in the marketplace, despite composite decking being around for several years, say Horton. “Most production sold in the UK is from China; however, at BSW Composites we manufacture all our composite decking here in the UK. Many of the imported products are not suited for the UK climate; customers require products that have a greater UV colour resistance, are harder wearing, more scratch resistant and are resistant to staining.”

Horton adds that he has seen a move towards ‘capped’ composite decking, which BSW achieves through the application of a series of hard-wearing polymers which completely encapsulate the deck. Cooper says he has also noticed clients and landscape contractors seeking out solid composite deck boards with a protective cap, such as the Trex ranges with a ‘Shell’, which offers a full manufacturer’s 25-year residential warranty for a ‘No Fade, No Stain’ guarantee.

“As customers begin to become more knowledgeable about the products on offer, it’s important for merchants and installers to stop offering low-quality, low performance

prolandscapermagazine .com TRENDS
The market overall remains positive, and composite decking is making significant inroads into the UK landscape sector
Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 10
Jonathan Cooper, business manager for Trex at Arbor Forest Products

inferior products. This is moving in the right direction, with the merchant sector becoming far more well-informed on product technology and quality, and this should continue to filter to installers too,” says Cooper.

Awareness is also growing around the sustainability credentials of composite decking and “its contribution to ensuring a demand for recycled plastic polymer content,” adds Cooper. “Within the landscape community, there is a misconceived perception that any plastic in outdoor spaces is automatically a bad thing. Although some products, such as artificial grass, can have a negative impact on the biodiversity of a garden, composite decking and other products such as plastic subframes like ArborJoist use fully recycled plastic polymers, alongside recycled wood content, such as from furniture production.

“Trex has a fully circular supply chain in the USA which includes the collection of waste plastic packaging from across the USA, which is reprocessed internally, and then pelletised to produce Trex composite decking. To put this into perspective, there are over 3,000 plastic shopping bags in each square metre of Trex.”

Composite Prime also has an “in-depth sustainability policy”, says Spedding. “Our boards are truly eco-friendly, containing 35% recycled materials and, so far as a brand, we have saved the equivalent of 178 million plastic milk bottles or 1.8 billion plastic bottle caps from landfill. Each square metre of our decking contains 280

recycled plastic bottles.”

The majority (60%) of BSW’s composite decking contains recycled timber with FSC certification and a proportion of its polyethylene, which comes from recycled sources, such as recycled milk bottles. Horton says sustainability “is still quite low down in the pecking order of the decision to buy for many consumers,” though more clients are now asking about the sustainability of composite decking than five years ago, according to all of the respondents to our composite decking survey. Our survey also revealed that 80% of suppliers who responded have increased the prices of their composite decking over the last year. “The impact of the weak [pound], alongside overall UK inflation across the economy, will likely have an impact on the prices of all imported landscape products – in particular from US dollarbased economies like the USA and the Far East/China,” says Cooper. “However, it’s important to note that prices have been

anticipate some minor price fluctuations in the composites sector, but these will not be significant.”

I

For BSW, Horton says “the price of composite decking has remained fairly stable this year and it appears that the market will carry through robust stocks into January.” There are challenges going into next year for global manufacturers, though. “COVID has begun to affect China once again and, closer to home, energy costs are increasing production costs. The impact of these is yet to be seen.”

The overall outlook, though, is positive. Spedding says Composite Prime is expecting “the product to be further accepted by the UK consumer as an alternative to traditional timber.”

“We are looking forward to a stronger market next year and believe that the current trends in composite decking will continue into 2023,” adds Horton. “One exciting development is the growth and launch of composite fencing – we have launched our Horizon brand which complements our Alchemy composite decking.”

Cooper says many of the “quality distributors are now offering a wide range of composite landscape product ranges –including composite fencing and cladding – alongside existing composite decking products. As a result of this, the sector has become very diverse and innovative.

“I anticipate that there will likely be some consolidation in the sector as some smaller suppliers fall away in the challenging financial climate, and as such I am hopeful that going forward, the industry will focus on product range, quality and service.”

prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 11
offset by reducing shipping costs and falling demand; so,
would
The price of composite decking has remained fairly stable this year and it appears that the market will carry through robust stocks into January
TRENDS
Neil Horton, sales director of BSW Timber
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The demand for British grown trees has never been stronger,” said amenity director Adam Dunnett when it was announced in November that Hillier Nurseries had bought a 200-acre farm for tree production. “This demand is only likely to increase with the government tree planting targets, our towns and cities seeking to increase their canopy cover, planners raising the bar on green infrastructure requirements with developers and the public demanding a greener environment to help combat climate change.”

ARE BRITISH GROWN TREES the must-have?

Government tree planting targets are ambitious – 30,000ha of new planting by the end of 2024. A recent blog by Defra called it a “stretching target” and one which is “not as simple as just putting trees in the ground – it is about getting the right tree in the right place and supporting their growth.”

Hillier’s new £4m purchase, just two miles from its main production site in Hampshire, brings its total land to nearly 1,000 acres and will allow it to plant around 30,000 trees this winter. It’s not the only nursery spotting demand growing for British grown trees. Head of horticulture Michael Buck says Creepers has noticed this change, adding the nursery will buy “from our friends in the UK” wherever possible. It took delivery in early December of an artic full of UK grown trees, for instance, to hold as stock at its Addlestone site. However, there are obstacles.

“Demand for larger specimens pushes us into Europe to source and procure, meaning we cannot always use UK grown,” says Buck. And 2022 “has been a decent year for larger specimens,” he adds. “Few trees at 70cm girth plus have been supplied; however, a vast amount of 20/25/30/35/40cm girth trees, multistems up to eight metres tall and heavy topiary pieces of two- to five-metres tall have been supplied for a number of projects over the course of 2022.

“We have plans to rearrange the Addlestone nursery to increase capacity of larger trees in various sizes and habits, to ensure we control the stock levels that we need to meet demand. The space will be created with a shift of our smaller shrub range predominately being sent to our New Forest nursery, whilst still holding a selection in Surrey.”

Demand for larger trees is somewhat being driven by a continuing demand for the ‘instant garden’, says Buck. “We all very much live in a society now where things are instant; Amazon can deliver next day on most things, for example. So, it is now almost a given that what is wanted can be delivered quickly.

prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 TRENDS 13
Nurseries are noticing a demand for trees which are grown in the UK, but what are the challenges? And what else is on clients’ wishlists?
Demand for larger specimens pushes us into Europe to source and procure, meaning we cannot always use UK grown
Michael Buck, Head of horticulture, Creepers

I believe the ‘instant garden’, where budgets allow of course, can be achieved, and therefore demand for these larger specimen trees is still very much there. People want instant gratification on their investment, so sourcing and supplying the best tree for their needs is still very much at the forefront of our large tree procurement operation.”

Buck says the most popular trees throughout the year have been Amelanchier lamarckii (snowy mespilus), Magnolia grandiflora (evergreen magnolia), Ilex x Mutchagara ‘Nellie R. Stevens’, Malus ‘Evereste’ (crab apple ‘Evereste’), Camellia sasanqua ‘Hinode-gumo’ and Thuja plicata ‘Atrovirens’ (western red cedar ‘Atrovirens’).

Procuring these trees is dictated by availability and quality at the time or ordering, and so the sourcing of these trees is “fairly spread out across Europe”, but the majority is likely Dutch and Italian, says Buck. And importing “in the grand scheme of things [has been good]” this year.

“The challenges lie in the logistics and arranging vehicles with the suppliers to ensure deadlines are met. With fuel surcharges, delays loading, and delays at crossing points all posing their own challenges, I am proud to say that the issues across the teams here, including our import agents, have been dealt with quickly.”

Dutch nursery Van den Berk Nurseries has overcome some of the obstacles created by Brexit by setting up Van den Berk UK Ltd in 2019 and opening its own UK nursery site in West Yorkshire. “In our opinion, the UK market has not changed drastically that much since

last year, with the setting up of the UK Ltd and UK nursery allowing us to seamlessly deliver through the new Brexit protocols. We organise for all our customers the custom clearance and all UK plant health regulations, so there are no problems or delays in our deliveries to the UK,” says Niels Van den Elzen, UK sales and advice for Van den Berk Nurseries.

“There has been a strong continuation of delivering big trees to projects into the UK and Ireland. But this year, we have particularly noticed we are supplying significantly more trees at an increase height, form and girth sizes across both commercial and private schemes.”

The species being requested have not changed much over the last few years, says Van den Elzen; but the nursery is seeing more questions regarding native trees, or trees that are similar to native varieties. Trees need to be delivered with a European passport, he adds. “This is a good development in combination with potential pest and diseases, so that clients are completely aware where their plants are originating from.”

Alongside British grown and larger trees, clients are also looking for species which are “more suitable for the changing climate and biodiversity,” says Van den Elzen. “We are therefore seeing more interaction with nursery visits to select the trees for their projects and use our knowledge base to make their schemes a long-term investment.”

Van den Berk Nurseries has developed a “calculation model” for projects “where we can measure the impact on trees on the living environment” as part of its ‘Treevolution’ campaign. “This model enables us to calculate the environmental benefits, generated by particular sizes of trees, after deducting the CO2 emitted during production and transportation to the customer. We can use this model as a tool to help customers achieve their targets.”

As Defra alluded to in its blog, and as nurseries are very much aware, it is not enough to plant more trees and reach bold targets; there are questions which need to be asked to ensure the futureproofing of these trees and nurseries are seemingly taking steps to meet demand.

prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 TRENDS 14
Amelanchier lamarckii (snowy mespilus) Magnolia grandiflora (evergreen magnolia)
Thuja plicata ‘Atrovirens’ (western red cedar ‘Atrovirens’)
Ilex
x Mutchagara ‘Nellie R. Stevens’ Malus ‘Evereste’ (crab apple ‘Evereste’)
Camellia sasanqua ‘Hinode-gumo’
We have particularly noticed we are supplying significantly more trees at an increase height, form and girth sizes across both commercial and private schemes
Niels Van den Elzen, UK sales and advice for Van den Berk Nurseries

STREET FURNITURE? Is timber still top of wish list for

To end the suspense sharpish, yes – timber continues to be the most popular material choice for street furniture, says Ian Stevenson, architecture project manager at Bailey Street Furniture Group (BSFG). This is down to the “high levels of comfort it offers all year round.”

The type of timber used, though, has changed over the years. “The current most popular choices of timber from BSFG are European Redwood as our softwood offering or Sapele as our hardwood offering. This is generally decided on the availability and cost of timber species, and we ensure that we are using timber that is ethically sourced.”

For mmcité, tropical hardwood remains the “preferred option in most of the projects, as it offers superior quality and longevity.” Senior business development manager Jozef Hupian, brand development manager Albert Harris, and sales co-ordinators Eva Hrózová and Jakub Frydecký explain that there is, more often than not, “a requirement for alternatives such as thermally modified woods and other options.”

Vestre’s commercial director Romy Rawlings echoes that timber is still the top choice – “it’s a great seating material, remaining warmer in winter and cooler in summer for maximum comfort” – but says tropical hardwood should not be used, whether FSC certified or not, agreeing that there are alternatives on the market. “There are great sustainable

options, including modified timbers, that can outperform highly durable hardwoods.”

Timber is a core material for Vestre, but also steel, and Rawlings adds that Vestre is seeing a greater demand for a galvanised finished “due to aesthetic reasons, lower price, or sometimes a requirement for vandal resistance.”

One of the key aspects for clients, though, will likely not come as a surprise. “Sustainability is becoming more and more at the forefront in design; new developments in materials are being incorporated into our industry to meet the demand. Recent developments such as bamboo or hemp wood which are highly sustainable could become more common and we are pushing our specification partners to consider these options,” explains Stevenson.

“The awareness of sustainable approaches has increased, and it has become a new standard,” adds mmcité. “The public sector is really motivated by environmental impacts; clients are interested in material options. However, we must clearly define the term sustainable before we speak of how it impacts our industry, how it impacts our business models, and the products we make. After all, the life of a piece of furniture is the primary characteristic to its sustainable value. If one bench needs replacing at five years and another lasts 25 years, the latter is the most sustainable.

prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 15 TRENDS
What is impacting material choices, and what could affect product development next year?
Recent developments such as bamboo or hemp wood which are highly sustainable could become more common and we are pushing our specification partners to consider these options
Ian Stevenson, architecture project manager at Bailey Street Furniture Group

No other characteristic can match the sustainable value of longevity.”

Rawlings agrees, adding that sustainability and maintenance are “intrinsically linked”. “Sustainable materials are durable, long-lasting materials that require minimal maintenance and don’t need to be replaced for many years, even decades. Whole life cost and whole life carbon cannot be separated, and we need to shift our focus to this thinking and away from the upfront cost and embodied carbon.”

BSFG has recently changed how it supplies its hardwood timber products to reduce the environmental impact; the products are now supplied untreated. “Any treatment on hardwood will degrade over time after being exposed to the elements and unless a regular maintenance programme is undertaken,” explains Stevenson. “This in itself can be costly and have a negative impact on the environment, but without it the timbers will eventually reach a natural patina grey. Sapele will maintain its structural integrity and resist rotting for many years without any kind of treatment.

“We’re asking our customers to embrace a more natural weathered look and incorporating this into our product design.”

Sustainability is likely to continue as an important focus going into next year, says mmcité. “Lots of developers are focusing on regeneration projects with respect and as little ecological impact on local areas by re-using and using eco-friendly materials and finding better solutions for creating places for future generations.”

There are a few other potential trends for next year, though. Stevenson suggests smart street furniture, such as integrating e-bike charging, may become more popular. He adds that public safety could also be high on the agenda, if Protect Duty is brought into law. This proposed legislation, previously referred to as ‘Martyn’s Law’, could make it mandatory for those who ‘own or operate at publicly accessible locations’ to protect and enhance the safety of visitors, which could lead to designing Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM) into products.

Mmcité adds that inclusivity

is gaining momentum too as a consideration and could therefore impact the street furniture market. “Inclusivity is providing all the features of traditional public spaces for every citizen – not just the traditional man, woman, and child. We see more need for accessibility for the disabled. We see more needs for the unhoused. We see public spaces inviting formerly ‘shunned’ groups such as skaters and skateboarders. These are complex issues that require complex solutions.”

mmcité

For street furniture suppliers, though, there is an element of uncertainty in the market which could continue into next year. “Working around the volatility in material costs has massively affected the industry and supply and demand has increased costs dramatically,” says Stevenson. “Douglas fir, for example, has been incredibly difficult to source and as a result prices have skyrocketed. Some of our suppliers were only holding their prices for a matter of days earlier this year, so quoting for jobs has become much more difficult; however, things have settled down as the year progressed.”

“It is hard to predict what will happen after the experience of the last couple of years when the unpredictable happened,” adds mmcité. “Two plus years of pandemic issues, political turmoil at every corner and a regional war devastating a dear neighbour are the headlines. We have no idea what to expect. But we always do our best to react flexibly to demand and the market conditions to remain competitive and fulfil the demand for our products.”

Vestre’s supply chain is short, with all materials and finishes sourced in Scandinavia, so it hasn’t been badly impacted by material supply challenges, but materials costs have still taken their toll. “Raw steel and powder coating increased by 100% this year, for example,” says Rawlings. “According to the Construction Products Association, average prices in the sector increased by some 31% this year and we’ve all seen the impact of that.

“Raw material prices, such as for steel, are now stabilising but obviously challenges remain in areas such as transportation and energy cost increases, so we have to remain aware and as agile as possible for some time to come. Unfortunately, quote validity periods are going to have to stay pretty short.”

But whilst prices may be somewhat uncertain, one thing it seems likely we can rely on is product innovation going forward, as new legislation and considerations for the environment and those using these public spaces come to the fore.

prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 16 TRENDS
©Richard M Lee / Shutterstock.com
It is hard to predict what will happen after the experience of the last couple of years when the unpredictable happened

POLYS

enquiry@mmcite.co.uk
We make cities smart and beautiful
Polys, the modular planter, brings greenery to our streets and our homes.
THE GRASS IS GREENER ON THIS SIDE
Design: David Karásek, Michael Tomalik

2022 winners

The fifth Pro Landscaper Business Awards took place in April with a room of 420 people in attendance. These are the only industry awards that are open to all and are 100% focused on running successful businesses within the UK landscaping sector.

When we launched these awards back in 2018, we wanted to highlight companies that were consistently outstanding; companies which ran the best businesses in the sector; those that focused on their staff, corporate social responsibility, commitment to the sector and of course are profitable and on a firm financial footing. And over the five years, the winners of these awards have truly delivered on all aspects of this.

The awards are independently judged, not only by some of the leading industry players but from successful business minded people from other sectors.

A big thank you goes to our judges, to all the companies who put the time and effort into entering the awards – this year we have seen the most entries to date – and to our partners, who not only support these awards but the industry as a whole; they understand the value of championing the sector and rewarding its best performers.

A special thank you to Caribbean Blinds for headlining the event too –it is highly appreciated.

And congratulations, of course, to all of the 2022 winners!

W Crowder & Sons Ltd

Having helped the industry, from supporting the BALI National Landscape Awards since the 1980s to being a member of the Worshipful Company of Gardeners, Crowders deserves to be Trade Nursery of the Year. It has grown exponentially and the future looks bright for the Lincolnshire-based nursery.

Employing

prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 BUSINESS AWARDS 18
Beechwood Trees and Landscapes Ltd Beechwood is developing ‘The Beechwood Academy’ in the hopes of training young people to become tree surgeons. Through its dedication to the industry, Beechwood has retained all its major clients for more than 20 years, and now expansion is in its sights. Tony Benger Landscaping Ltd
NURSERY
THE
ARBORICULTURE COMPANY GROUNDS MAINTENANCE COMPANY Category partner Category partner Category partner
a full-time trainer, a technical manager and three supervisors focused on upskilling, Tony Benger Landscaping has built and maintained an extensive training matrix, and it has built and nurtured great relationships with local colleges.
TRADE
OF
YEAR

Tony Benger Landscaping Ltd

Determined to grow through the development of its people and with a host of employee-forward incentives like career progression and social days, Tony Benger keeps care and quality at the heart of the company, and goes above and beyond for industry peers and clients alike.

Studio 31 Landscape Architects

Having team members assigned to several organisations like the Landscape Institute and ACAN, the team behind Studio 31 is striving for a stronger industry. It has the environment at its heart, running its office with an extremely low carbon footprint.

Harrington Porter Ltd

Creating flexibility and inclusive learning, facilitating subcontractor development, participating in charity events, nurturing local businesses and feats of sustainability – Harrington Porter is making industry strides with its host of purposeful concepts and quality of construction and processes.

The Garden Company Ltd

Founded just over 30 years ago, The Garden Company has become a leading design and build company. Situated in Hertfordshire, the business believes in looking after people and clients, working in partnership with suppliers, protecting the environment, engaging with the community and supporting charities.

DESIGN AND BUILD COMPANY Category partner

Adtrak

Having built bonds with a host of industry professionals, Adtrak has garnered brilliant staff retention by implementing training schemes and apprenticeship offerings. It has retained clients with its upbeat, positive team which is professional, responsive and finishes a project to excellent standards.

Land Technology Ltd

Founded just four years ago, Edinburghbased Land Technology is already an advocate for the industry. Its strong links to the local community showcase how landscaping can make a difference. Judges labelled the company “one to watch” after showing impressive growth in sales and profits in such a short space of time.

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Category
Category partner Category partner Category
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE STUDIO UNDER 10 EMPLOYEES LANDSCAPING COMPANY £1M - £5M TURNOVER SUPPLIER AND SERVICE PROVIDER LANDSCAPING COMPANY UNDER £1M TURNOVER GARDEN DESIGN COMPANY
Category partner
partner
partner

Ground Control

For the second year in row, Ground Control scooped the title of Sustainable Company of the Year. Its work towards becoming a more environmentally friendly business is continuous, with small and large steps being made each year to reduce its carbon footprint.

Bridgman and Bridgman LLP

Working with creative agency Pooleyville, Green roof specialist Bridgman & Bridgman formed The Green Roof Project to create local green job opportunities and training by utilising a roof in Milton Keynes, later planning to move the green roof elements to the YMCA rooftop as its legacy.

Groundwork London

Groundwork London is more than a design practice – it’s an environmental and social charity “that promotes people, prospect and place.” Its profits go straight back into its charitable objectives, which can help communities improve their local area.

EMPLOYER OF THE

supreme winner

Landform Consultants

The most medalled contractor at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, having built 104 show gardens and exhibits at the world-renowned event by the time of these awards last April, Landform Consultants is one of the most prolific companies in the industry.

Maylim

Maylim’s mission is “to create beautiful spaces, for the people and the future.” It ensures each project has a positive impact on the local community and businesses. Maylim places an emphasis on developing its staff, with many colleagues working their way up to management positions.

prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 BUSINESS AWARDS 20
YEAR
COLLABORATION
ARCHITECTURE STUDIO OVER 10 EMPLOYEES LANDSCAPING COMPANY OVER £5M TURNOVER COMMERCIAL LANDSCAPING COMPANY Category partner Category partner Category partner Category partner Category partner
SUSTAINABLE COMPANY OF THE YEAR INDUSTRY
LANDSCAPE
Elmtree Garden Contractors Ltd “Clearly a very people focused company” – our judges’ words summarise perfectly why Elmtree Garden Contractors Ltd is our Employer of the Year. Above all, the Bristol-based company not only listens to its employees but puts their thoughts and feedback into action.
partner
Category

Apretty plot, well chosen to build upon!” So commented a local playwright, and whilst it’s unlikely he was referring to this enviable plot just outside Stratford-upon-Avon, he may as well have been.

The patio and pergola, set under the boughs of a vast cedar, overlook an immaculate lawn sloping steeply down to the Avon (croquet must be fun). One can think of few better places to spend a long evening with friends, food and fire – than at this midsummer night’s dream.

@GrilloLiving grilloliving.com
Landscaping & photos: Bidford Landscapes Outdoor kitchen: Grillo Location: Stratford-upon-Avon

Talk of a skills gap continues, and we’re always discussing as an industry how to attract more young people. For us, the 30 Under 30: The Next Generation awards are a chance for us to recognise those who we have fortunately drawn towards to the sector.

Now in their eighth year, we have celebrated 240 people aged 30 or under – including this year’s alumni – who are achieving extraordinary things. But it’s not just the achievements of this year’s winners which make them stand out. We also want to celebrate their bold and ambitious goals, which don’t stop at their own personal development. This year's winners are vying to make a difference and have a wider impact on the industry. Their goals range from improving and increasing sustainable practices, raising awareness of mental health and making the industry more diverse.

I’d like to say thank you to our sponsor, Green-tech, which continues to see the importance of this initiative. Its support for the next generation, showcased through the development of its own team, continues to raise the bar.

Well done class of 2022!

From the sponsor

Congratulations to all winners of Pro Landscaper’s 30 Under 30: The Next Generation awards. It is a significant achievement and one which will help springboard careers. As the managing director of Green-tech, I am proud to sponsor these awards which recognise and celebrate the talent of the younger generation. By running these awards, Pro Landscaper provides the opportunity to raise the profile of these sectors; and those that enter demonstrate the opportunities available. The winners are great advocates for what can be achieved.”

2022 Winners

Director/principal

Key

Key

30 UNDER 30 prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 22
GEORGE ATACK JAMES FITTON ALEX LOWENHOFF AINSLEY BIRD GEORGIA GILBERT NICOLA MARTIN OLIVER BOND ARRON GRANGE LAURA MCARTHUR SAM BOTHAM UMUT GUZELLER AIMEE MORTON-CARR Supervisor, Harry Holding Garden Design Team leader, Glendale Countryside Ltd Landscape architect, Outerspace Ltd Managing director, Great Oaktree Land Services Ltd account manager, Green-tech Associate project landscape architect, WATG designer, Bond Landscape Design Ltd account manager, Green-tech Aftercare supervisor, Bowles & Wyer Sales executive, Creepers Nursery Senior engineer, Maylim Customer relations manager, Countrywide Grounds Maintenance Ltd (North & East Yorkshire)
Age 30 Age 27 Age 27 Age 24 Age 25 Age 25 Age 25 Age 27 Age 28 Age 30 Age 30 Age 30
Nina
30 UNDER 30 prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 23
ISAAC CATLING AILI HARDNER ELLIE PARKER AARON CROSS JAMES HONEY LOUIS DEW RUMEYSA KONUK LEO CHEUNG MOLLIE HIGGINSON RACHEL PLATT MARCUS DAY LUKE HUGGINS CESCA SUMMERS ANDREA ELLINAS GEORGINA LOWE Project leader, The Landscaping Consultants Landscape architect, WSP Sales manager, Stoneworld (Oxfordshire) Ltd Soil scientist, Tim O’Hare Associates Landscape architect, Guarda Landscape Ltd
Landscape
Owner/principal
Sales director, Happy Plants & Co-founder, Young People in Horticulture Association
Contracts
manager, Maydencroft Ltd
architect, Gillespies
designer, Rosie Wilkins Landscape Design
New
Garden
Owner,
Landscaper,
Contact
Client
Director/designer,
ND
Chartered landscape architect, The terra firma Consultancy Ltd Leaf Plants, and Co-founder, Young People in Horticulture Association designer, Rachel Platt Garden Design MD Landscaping
Ashworth Landscapes
manager & gardener, Creative Roots
relationship manager – Energy, Utilities & Inland Water, Ground Control Ltd
PACHAmama Design Ltd
Landscape Architects Ltd
Age 27 Age 29 Age 27 Age 26 Age 26 Age 30 Age 29 Age 23 Age 25 Age 27 Age 27 Age 31 Age 24 Age 25 Age 30 Age 26 Age 28 Age 30
NATALIE PORTER
ROSIE
WILKINS NIALL WILLIAMS

Five years ago, we revealed the 25 Most Influential people in the horticulture industry. But a lot can change in half a decade, and whilst some of the faces will be familiar from the list back in 2017, there are also a lot of new entries to Pro Landscaper’s Most Influential. Take rising star Tom Massey, who continues to make a name for himself at Chelsea, or Paul Lynch and Tony Benger whose companies have both received the title of Supreme Winner at the Pro

TV screens, and those who are striving for more sustainability, diversity and inclusivity in our industry.

We are delighted to sponsor Pro Landscaper’s Most Influential award at

2022
WINNERS
GARETH WILSON TONY BENGER Managing director, Tony Benger Landscaping NIGEL DUNNETT Professor of Planting Design and Urban Horticulture, University of Sheffield Expert witness ADRIAN WICKHAM Corporate director, Glendale MARK GREGORY Managing director, Landform Consultants
PEOPLE'S CHOICE TOP 3 PRO LANDSCAPER'S TOP 3 MOST INFLUENTIAL prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 24
SARAH EBERLE Garden designer MONTY DON WAYNE GRILLS TIM O’HARE ANN-MARIE POWELL ADAM WHITE MARK LANE THOMAS O’MAHONY ALAN SARGENT KEN WHITE PAUL LYNCH PIET OUDOLF JAMES SCOTT ANDREW WILSON TOM MASSEY JOHN PARKER STEVEN WALLEY PETER FANE JANE FINDLAY ANDREW GRANT CEO, British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) Principal consultant, Principal, Ann-Marie Director, Davies White TV presenter and garden designer Managing director,
Garden
consultant Managing director, Frosts Landscapes Managing director, Elmtree Garden Contractors Garden designer Managing director, The Garden Company Director, London College of Garden Design (LCGD) Owner, Tom Massey Studio Founder and director, Grant Associates Director, Fira & Immediate past Executive chairman, TV presenter
©RHS/Oliver Dixon
CEO, Arboricultural Association Managing director, London Stone ©Britt Willoughby Dyer
MOST INFLUENTIAL prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 25
©Peter Rhys Williams/Shutterstock.com

Inspiring beautiful landscapes for over 40 years!

CED Stone Group are one of the UK’s leading suppliers of natural stone and hard landscaping products. We keep extensive stocks across our six nationwide depots and can manufacture almost anything from stone. With over 40 years experience, we have the largest range of high-quality materials and offer expert advice to ensure you select the perfect product. Operating within all sectors of the industry, from major contractors to homeowners we work collaboratively with architects and designers and our experienced staff can help with any project, from concept to completion.

COMMERCIAL

Our team of experts can help with stone for any commercial or civil engineering project. Our main focus here within the CED Stone Commercial Division is Project Management. From original concept and design stage advice, material selection and technical support through to competitive pricing, order processing and project delivery. We have a very experienced and dedicated team to help you on each step of your journey. Whether your project is large or small, we will work closely with you to ensure successful project completion.

LANDSCAPE

With more choice than ever when it comes to hard landscaping products, selecting the right one will affect the finish and longevity of your project. Our customers come to our Landscape depots time and again, benefiting from the wide range of specialist stone paving, walling, boulders, aggregates and much more that we have available. Our six depots are based across the country, located at London East, London West, the Midlands, the North West, Ireland and Scotland -meaning that we are strategically placed to supply to the whole of the UK.

BESPOKE MASONRY CENTRE

Stone is a wonderfully diverse material to work with, and at CED Stone Group we are well equipped to craft anything from stone with our bespoke masonry services, tailormade to your requirements! We know that your imagination has no limits, so there shouldn’t be a limit on what you can achieve with natural stone either. Our expert team can turn your unique hard landscaping concepts into a reality. Provide us with an idea, a simple sketch or a finished technical drawing and we’ll take care of everything else.

Visit us!
Private Garden Designer: Simon Orchard Garden Design Contractor: Hortus Build Ltd Products: Porphyry Setts & Soest Dutch Clay Pavers Photographed by: Simon Orchard @CEDStoneGroup +44 (0)1708 867 237 enquiries@cedstone.co.uk www.cedstone.co.uk

It’s fair to say that the quality of entries increased again for this year, which is a testament echoed by the judges.

Each year, we showcase schemes located on the lower end of the cost scale. These projects show a skill and creativity that is often trickier to execute due to budget restrictions, time pressures and rising material costs; but the technical ability always comes to the fore.

And the pride in these projects is there for all to see – we received a record number of entries and the standard to reach the shortlist also increased. We had a record high in the judges’ scores too.

Congratulations, once again, to all our category winners; it’s a feat you can really be proud of, you’ve beaten some stiff competition.

And thank you to our headline partner Provender Nurseries for allowing us to be able to put on these awards, and thank you to all the category partners for your support.

2022 WINNERS

SUSTAINABLE GARDEN

UNDER £35,000

English Country Style Garden, Queens Park | Acacia Gardens Ltd

This sustainable renovation stood out for its environmental consideration. The garden was made to look new, all while using repurposed items and materials. The client has shared that more wildlife has appeared since the garden renovation.

BEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY

UNDER £20,000

Leah | Pride Landscape Design

Looking to use technology to push the limits of its creativity, Pride Landscape Design utilised virtual reality (VR) equipment to take its client within a new garden setting as a fully immersive visual experience.

CATEGORY PARTNER

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HARD LANDSCAPING

UNDER £35,000

Sunken Delights | Landtech Landscape Landtech Landscape produced a great example of how to change space without changing too much of the main structure. It was previously an emptier, somewhat neglected space which has now been transformed by adding in impressive features.

CATEGORY PARTNER

INTERNATIONAL GARDEN

UNDER £35,000

Family Garden | Lavender Landscapes With the garden visible from the home, Lavender Landscapes' team worked hard to merge the exterior design with the interior décor. When inside this garden now echoes the clients’ personal style.

BUILD

UNDER £35,000

Spa Green Garden | Quality Outside Living Ltd Quality Outside Living Ltd helped to create a flow within this sloped garden, adding in beautiful up-lit stairs that opened up the view to the whole space and allowed a seamless flow from top to bottom.

CATEGORY PARTNER

DESIGN

UNDER £35,000

The Secret Courtyard | Rosemary Coldstream Garden Design

This small courtyard was originally bare and unused, but Rosemary Coldstream Garden Design developed the space to become a place in which to relax, as well as a welcoming place for the client’s dogs, and a wonderful ‘picture’ from the kitchen too.

CATEGORY PARTNER

SPECIAL FEATURE

UNDER £25,000

The Floating Deck | Adam Vetere Landscape & Garden Design

This special feature not only created an impressive focal point within a unique – and somewhat challenging – setting, but also enabled the clients to be able to use and enjoy more of the garden.

CATEGORY PARTNER

PLANTING DESIGN

UNDER £25,000

Eternal Garden | Rae Wilkinson Design Ltd

“A wonderful place of sanctuary and healing for patients, family and staff,” the goal of the hospital courtyard was to transform the bare garden to a space full of lush green elements, soft structure and character, which Rae Wilkinson Design Ltd achieved.

CATEGORY PARTNER

DESIGN AND BUILD UNDER

£35,000

Taybridge Road | Tom Howard Garden Design & Landscaping Ltd

Tom Howard Garden Design & Landscaping Ltd converted this rear garden of a London terraced house from a small, derelict space to an aesthetically pleasing and abundant addition of the home.

CATEGORY PARTNER

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CATEGORY PARTNER
SUPREME
WINNER

THE ONLYisupWAY

It might come as a surprise to learn that the run up to Christmas is a busy time of year for external shade manufacturer Caribbean Blinds. Preorders are aplenty, with contractors eager to place their orders ahead of annual price increases in the new year – and this is exactly as managing director Stuart Dantzic has planned for these typically quieter periods to be.

Planning is what made the first year of the pandemic a stellar one for the company too. To prepare for the possible impact of Brexit, instead of reducing its stock holding in winter months when there was typically less demand, Caribbean Blinds took the decision to increase it to the same level of stock that it holds in the summer.

“We put in six 40ft containers in our yard so that we could hold certain levels of stock and not be affected if there were shipping delays when we left the European Union,” explains Dantzic. “Of course, when we came out of the EU we were then hit by the pandemic, and we fortunately had high levels of stock for that increased demand over the next year.”

On top of this, Caribbean Blinds has managed to reduce its lead times to a maximum of two weeks, says Dantzic. This is no mean feat – some competitors are warning of 12-week lead times.

PROMOTION prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 31
For versatile business Caribbean Blinds, there are seemingly endless opportunities
STUART DANTZIC, MANAGING DIRECTOR

“As we come out of the pandemic, this is probably our single biggest achievement. But we have only been able to do this by working with our team internally to see how we can increase output without sacrificing quality. Also, by investing in extending our existing building, we can buy more at once and have less price volatility, which our dealers appreciate. Our existing building is now purely for production which means we can turn out more products, faster.”

Dantzic is talking about the 10,000 sq ft extension to its factory in Sudbury, Suffolk, which opened in October that will allow Caribbean Blinds to produce more than 10,000 external shading systems each year and store £1.5m worth of stock at any one time – and means those placing orders now can have the product delivered at any point in 2023.

“We’ll make the product now and store it for them until they are ready for it on site. It allows us to make sure our factories stay busy during the quieter periods, and there’s a benefit to our trade partners and ultimately the end client in securing the best price possible.”

There’s still a wealth of opportunity in the market to tap into as well, says Dantzic. “We manufacture 300 pergolas a year and 2,000 awnings, so when you look at the UK population [of more than 24 million homes] across the UK, it’s a drop in the ocean; there’s plenty of business out there. It’s just making sure we’re proactive in obtaining that business and creating new awareness, and we have our partners doing the same.”

The fast-paced growth under Dantzic’s management is a slight step change from when his parents first founded the company in 1987. That’s not to say they did not lead impressive growth and build a successful

company – Dantzic’s parents Angela and Raymond were able to move the company from rented premises to purchasing the freehold for its own factory in 2001, with plans to expand Caribbean Blinds. It was this decision which sparked Stuart joining the family business full time. He’d grown up working for his parents in the summer holidays and had continued to work part-time while studying law; but the new premises and growth plans led to Dantzic joining Caribbean Blinds more permanently, splitting his time between working in the factory and in sales & marketing. “I got to know the products, the team and learn from those who were producing the products, from the fabrics to the hardware to the electronics. Working in the office, I was talking to trade partners, understanding

their needs and more about the marketplace. It was helping to build my knowledge base.”

At the time of Stuart joining, Caribbean Blinds’ products were being sold solely through interior blind companies which were adding external shading to their offering. When the smoking ban came into effect in 2007, though, there was an opportunity to expand its dealer network to include shop fitters and signage suppliers who were being approached by bars and restaurants to provide outdoor shelter. It was a “catalyst for growth”, says Stuart. Soon after, the recession hit, which impacted trade sales –not helped by retailer Thomas Sanderson pulling out of the awnings industry, reducing exposure to these products. Caribbean Blinds boosted its dealer network further, nearly tripling the number of trade partners. Something else was needed, though. “They were all selling smaller amounts and it was more work for us, with the volume of dealers. We were also losing out on commercial and large residential projects where dealers weren’t following through on the leads” –including a chance to supply Wimbledon.

“So, we set up our ‘projects division’, which is aimed at architects, specifiers and contractors working on those larger projects which are outside the comfort zone of our traditional dealer network. They will come directly to us; we will design the product with them; survey the site; and we have our own installation team. Very quickly, within the space of a few years, that side of the business

prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 PROMOTION 32
When we came out of the EU we were then hit by the pandemic, and we fortunately had high levels of stock for that increased demand over the next year

was generating as much revenue as our trade side.”

It helped to raise further awareness of the products too, generating more business for existing dealers, but also led to retailers and consumers wanting to directly purchase from Caribbean Blinds. This opened up a retail side of the business – but Stuart says it has been careful to not step on its dealers’ toes. “We’re primarily a trade supplier, so we couldn’t be competing with our trade partners for end user business. So, we have made sure our price point is a certain percentage above our retail recommended price so that our dealers will be more competitively priced. We also had an open conversation with our trade network about what we were doing and why it was important for us as a business, but also how having a retail arm would enable us to better understand more about the end customer base, in terms of what they want from products and what they need to see in terms of literature and sampling. Our current range of brochures that we provide to our dealers, for example, are based on the feedback from end consumers.”

To further engage with end users, Caribbean Blinds started exhibiting at events, starting with Grand Designs Live in 2012. When it became RIBA accredited, it started to provide CPD to architects on controlling solar radiation through dynamic exterior shading, creating awareness of the energy saving benefits of using external shading in their projects.

Dantzic and his brother Bradley then took over the business at the end of 2016. “My parents were in a comfortable position and were comfortable with what the company was producing, whereas I could see there was an opportunity to explore more potential. We invested in our internal processes but also heavily in marketing to create a snowball effect. So, we went from 10% year-on-year growth to 35% for the first couple of years that we took over, to 45-49% growth during the pandemic years, so quite significant growth that was driven a lot by marketing and the efforts that we made in terms of creating awareness of end users, particularly on outdoor living products. We’ve gone from launching a product in 2011 which no-one knew anything about to manufacturing

around 250-300 pergolas a year at an average retail value of £20-25,000.”

It was important to grow sustainably, though – “not just to go boom and bust.” For his first year as managing director, Dantzic’s biggest mission was focusing on the internal processes, ensuring production was as efficient as possible, upgrading equipment where necessary – changing cutting saws from single-headed to doubleheaded, for instance, led to an increase of 15 awnings being produce a week – and enhancing the customer experience through all stages of the purchasing process. At the end of 2017, Caribbean Blinds could go “full speed ahead” with its core marketing strategy, knowing it could fulfil demand having improved the processes.

As demand for its products has grown, so has its headcount, from 10 in 2016 to nearly 30 now, which is expected to increase again in March. Most of its employees are from Sudbury or one of the surrounding villages, with the company placing a strong emphasis on its hometown. It gives back to its community by raising money for local charities and sponsoring the local football team.

“The local community is really important. We’ve been based in Sudbury since 2001; it’s our home, our roots, and we’re not going anywhere. We’ve just invested half a million pounds into building an extension to our factory on our current site and we’re trying to procure more ground next to our factory so that we can stay in the same location. So, it’s important that we’re not just a business in Sudbury, but that we’re also part of the local community – give back where we can and do our bit as a local employer.”

Dantzic puts part of the company’s success down to it being a family-run business, where the goals are more long term –ensuring its five-year strategy helps it reaches its goals in 25 years’ time, for instance. One of its shorter term focuses, though, is product development for its

louvered roof. Caribbean Blinds will be exploring varying uses for its products, with complementary products.

“We have a version of our Outdoor Living Pod coming out where you have a section of the roof which opens, but you also have a fixed roof section which is designed to go above an outdoor kitchen, where a flume can go directly through it. You don’t need this part to open and close, but you do need the roof to open above your dining space or seating area. That’s one of our innovations that we’re launching next year.”

There are also plans to launch a “DIY range of products” through a new e-commerce website. End users will be able to install their own luxury awnings, which Dantzic says opens up a new market for the business without taking away from its dealers’ supply and install business, with the line including a limited range of sizes and colours.

Caribbean Blinds will also be returning to exhibitions in 2023, having taken a six-year hiatus (the latter three due to the pandemic).

So, needless to say, Caribbean Blinds will not be resting on its laurels; instead, it will continue to tap into new opportunities, and managing director Stuart Dantzic seemingly has plenty more up his sleeves.

prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 PROMOTION 33
It’s important that we’re not just a business in Sudbury, but that we’re also part of the local community
THE NEW 10,000 SQ FT FACTORY EXTENSION

Curving THE EDGE

REGENT’S CRESCENT

Finding a quiet and secluded area in central London can be a tall task, but not, it seems, for Bowles & Wyer. One of its latest projects forms part of a luxurious residential development in central London, Regent’s Crescent. The secluded retreat for the residents aims to create a calm and tranquil space which looks visually striking both at ground level, and from above.

Design and build

The scheme was based on original design intent sketches from Kim Wilkie. These had been used during the planning application, so Bowles & Wyer had to stick reasonably closely to these – which didn’t prove too difficult, as the design was very close to what the company would have chosen itself. But the site itself also influenced a lot of the decisions.

Due to the site levels, the lawn was terraced as the site needing to be level with the boundary footpaths that border the courtyard lawn area. There was a further challenge too with the entrance to the proposed underground parking, meaning that the finished slab levels pushed the landscaped areas up at the back of the site.

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JANUARY 2022

As most of the site was a podium structure, the walling that defines most of the gardens was built up from the basement roofs. This effectively created a series of containers that were then infilled with loose aggregates, void former or rootzones for soft landscaping or building aggregates/void formers for hard landscaping.

Yorkstone and Yorkstone setts make up most of the paving, although porcelain in the lightwells, and resin bound gravel was also used. “The setts were used to emphasise the sinuous nature of the path winding through the terraced lawn, while the slabs were used in the less ‘dynamic’ areas of the scheme where we wanted people to rest,” describes John Wyer, CEO of Bowles & Wyer.

The structure of the water feature was built up from the basement roof below, which was then edged in stone. The surface consists of paving loose laid onto crates below, allowing room for the water feature kit. The water feature is then serviced from the plant room in the basement, with the connecting pipes needing to be cored through the basement roof.

The final layer of the installation was the turf and the planting – the cherry on top. “The success of the lawn terracing was thanks to the use of a Grassfelt product from Lindum Turf,” John explains. “It’s mature soil-less grass, especially designed to retain moisture and give great strength and flexibility.”

1 Terraced beds are finished in Corten steel

2 Design includes more secluded seating areas

PROJECT DETAILS Build time 20 months Size of project 2.5 acres Contractor Modular Designer Bowles & Wyer JANUARY 2022 prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 35

Soil

None of the existing topsoil was retained, as the basement covers virtually the whole site – which amounts to over an acre, not including the building footprint and access road. Tim O’Hare was heavily involved in the specification of the growing medium, which consisted of a washed sand subsoil layer and a sand-rich rootzone layer.

Tim’s involvement was critical to the success of the project, as Bowles & Wyer was involved in detailed discussions with Westminster over a twelve-month period about the correct specification and depth of growing medium over the basement.

Planting

“This scheme features many elements of hard landscaping and is surrounded by buildings,” John tells us. “So the intention here was to soften the hard

Herbaceous perennial

Anemone x hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’

Anenome ‘Honorine jobert’

Asarum europaeum

Asplenium scolopendrium

Astelia banksii

Carex‘Silver Sceptre’

Deschampsia cespitosa

Erysimum ‘Bowles’s Mauve’

Euphorbia amygdaloides purpurea

Gaura ‘Whirling Butterflies’

Hosta ‘Blue Mouse Ears’

Hosta ‘Sum and Substance’

Liriopes muscari

Luzula nivea

Rodgersia ‘Bronze Peacock’

Sedum spectabile ‘Stardust’

Stipia gigantea

Tricyrtis formosana

Beauty’

Tricyrtis hirta

Verbena bonariensis

Shrubs

lines of the raised beds and let the planting ‘speak’.” And speak it did, with planting spilling onto paths, breaking up the hard landscaping.

Above the podium, tree depths vary –the further you go down the site, the more the basement roof slopes. “Generally, we worked to a planting build-up of 800mm topsoil and a minimum subsoil build-up of 450mm,” John explains.

Challenges

There were significant design challenges in accommodating all the services intrusions into the landscape, as well as some of the unusual shapes in the ‘curvy’ courtyard.

The trees in the main lawn were the most challenging aspect of the build. These were planted in four-metre square tree pits with a combination of washed sand and rootzone.

Bulbs

• Abelia x grandiflora

Buxus balls

Cistus alan fradd

Cornus canadensis

Cotinus ‘Ruby Glow’

Daphne laureola philippi

Euonymus alatus

Fatsia japonica

Hamamelis × intermedia ‘Pallida’

Hebe ‘Silver Queen’

Hedera helix‘Green Ripple’ • Hydrangea quercifolia • Hydrangea ‘Zebra’ • Lavandula munstead • Lonicera crassifolia ‘Little Honey’ • Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’ • Nandina domestica ‘Obsessed’ • Osmanthus × burkwoodii • Photinia × fraseri ‘Red Robin’ • Pittosporum Tenuifolium ‘Silver Sheen’ • Pittosporum tenuifolium x ‘Tom Thumb’ balls • Rhododendron ‘Cunningham’s White’ domes

• Santolina pinnata ‘Edward Bowles’ • Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis

• Allium hollandicum ‘Purple Sensation’

• Colchicum speciosum

• Cyclamen coum

• Cyclamen hederifolium

• Galanthus nivalis in the green

• T ulip ‘Queen of the Night’

Hedges

• Ilex aquifolium Elveden Instant

• Taxus baccata hedge

Climbers

• Holboellia latifolia • Trachelospermum jasminoides

Planting list

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‘Dark
JANUARY 2022

ABOUT

Bowles & Wyer designs, builds and tends landscapes for individuals, businesses and organisations in the UK and beyond. With a reputation for creating award-winning gardens and landscapes with a high-quality service, it believes landscapes have the power to enhance lives, and works hard to make that happen. bowleswyer.co.uk

REFERENCES

prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 37 3 Curving pathway
feature 4 Terraced
leads residents from water
lawn edged in Corten steel
“The intention here was to soften the hard lines of the raised beds and let the planting ‘speak’”
JOHN WYER
Design Bowles & Wyer bowleswyer.co.uk Turf Lindum Turf turf.co.uk Seating
Garden
in Zone 3
Trellis Company gardentrellis.co.uk
JANUARY 2022
prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 38 GREENSCAPE GARDENS LTD THE SECRET SENSORY GARDEN SENSORY space JANUARY 2022 Project value £41,694 Build Time 11 weeks Size of project 360m2 Awards • Shortlisted for Marshalls Register National Awards for “Best Collaboration With a Designer” • 2021 Winner APL Awards: £35k£50k Project Value PROJECT DETAILS

This garden may have resulted in Greenscape Gardens scooping two awards, including an APL Award, but the real success was in creating a safe and accessible sensory garden for the clients’ two children – one of whom has severe learning difficulties and cerebral palsy.

Brief

The garden needed to cater for this child’s very specific sensory and physical needs without looking like a children’s playground. The clients wanted to include a sunken trampoline, a nature path, outdoor musical instrument, a raised boardwalk and a water feature – all things that both children would enjoy exploring, whilst maintaining a sense f sophistication and ease within the garden. In essence, it needed to be a secret sensory garden.

Design

“From a design point of view this was quite a bit to fit into the designated space – the sunny aspect at the rear of the garden, whilst maintaining a good-sized lawn,” explains designer Dru Allan. “The challenge was to design an area that met the brief but didn’t look over cluttered or over designed. This was achieved by keeping the layout simple and creating a seamless flow between the areas.”

Dru worked closely with the clients on the design, using software which enabled him to make live amendments and adaptations to the design layout and materials during their meetings. This allowed the design process to be efficient and effective – giving the clients a clear understanding of the proposal to help ensure maximum confidence in the process and the build to follow.

Build

“Having worked for the clients a number of years ago, we were already invested in the project,” managing director Carl Chaney tells us. “Once we saw the design from Dru Allan we knew we wanted to bring it to fruition.”

The clients were heavily involved in the preparation for the project with Greenscape Gardens as well. Greenscape Gardens requested (and they accommodated) a number of meetings so that it could better understand their child’s specific requirements. The ability for her to be able to safely and independently explore the garden was paramount so it was vital that Greenscape Gardens was able to understand the details which would enable this to happen.

Work started on 3 February 2020 and was expected to take eight weeks. “Our client’s child was due to have a serious operation on 7 April and the plan was to be finished and ready so that she could recuperate and enjoy the garden during her long six-month recovery, Carl tells us. Greenscape Gardens decided to allow for an extra two weeks to work on the project due to the level of detail in the design and the February start date – you never can predict the weather.

Work began with a 200m uphill barrow run, which also ran through the house, with a huge volume of material to be

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Standout features

excavated. Once that was complete, Greenscape Gardens shifted gears dramatically, moving on to the mitre detail. Greenscape Gardens made a decision early on to mitre the edges of the slate paving riser profile to ensure that the edges of the pavers weren’t visible. It did this by hand on over 160 cuts on the timber sleeper beds to add an extra level of finishing detail to the project.

As Greenscape Gardens entered the third week of the project it was hit with three consecutive storms which slowed progress. Working practises had to be adjusted to ensure the safety of its team in the challenging conditions. But another bump in the road was about to hit, and Greenscape Gardens wasn’t so sure this could be as easily overcome – you probably guessed it, COVID-19.In its current state the garden was completely unusable; the turf had been completely stripped back and land drainage channels had been dug ahead of a new lawn being laid. Everybody involved was understandably concerned that if work were to cease it could be

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Trampoline by Capital Play capitalplay.co.uk Fire pit by Adezz adezz.com

REFERENCES

Contractor Greenscape Gardens Ltd greenscape-gardens.co.uk

Designer Dru Allan druallandesign.co.uk

Cassatra slate Marshalls marshalls.co.uk

Plants Johnsons of Whixley nurserymen.co.uk

Soil Bourne Amenity bourneamenity.co.uk

Cacoon swing Cacoon World

Musical instrument Acoustic Arts acousticarts.org.uk

months until the children were able to enjoy the garden.

It was decided that Greenscape Gardens would order as many materials as possible. Fortunately, Johnsons of Whixley and Bourne Amenity managed to get its plants and soil out at short notice despite their own challenges. The plan was to get them on site as social distancing and lockdown measures were introduced, and see how things progressed. The importance of good and communicative relationship with the client was abundantly clear as it negotiated the unclear obstacles on such an important and complex project.

It established and implemented a comprehensive list of changes to its working methods to ensure maximum safety and it was agreed that it would reduce the number of staff on site to a maximum of three, travel to and from the site in separate vehicles, not

enter the main house, maintain a safe two metre distance from each other at all times, have access to separate toilet and handwashing facilities, wash all door handles and key other points of contact on a daily basis, and, finally, notify the clients if anyone develops a fever or a new continuous cough.

As Greenscape Gardens entered it seventh week the site had drained and the digger had arrived. The team managed to get 90% of its materials ordered including 40 tonnes of soil, hundreds of plants, 170m of turf and a musical instrument. However, the effects of COVID-19 were becoming clear and by the ninth week of the project it still had some way to go to reach completion.

Despite this, Greenscape Gardens was able to handover the completed project only nine days after the projected deadline. Due to the client’s child’s vulnerable status, they

reschedule her operation and to home school from the start of the pandemic, so having the garden completed was more invaluable than they ever could have imagined.

ABOUT

Greenscape Gardens was founded in 2004 by Carl Chaney when he was just 20 years old. Since then, the company has grown organically with the help of best friend and manager James Gleghorn to become a multi-awardwinning company that continues to progress within the landscaping industry. greenscape-gardens.co.uk

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“The challenge was to design an area that met the brief but didn’t look over-cluttered or over-designed”
JANUARY 2022

BIRD'S

Show stopping was the name of the game when it came to this roof garden. At approximately 300m2, perched on the 56th floor – one of the highest roof gardens in the UK – in the heart of Canary Wharf, it already held striking possibilities. NAO Landscapes Ltd was awarded the contract for the hard and soft landscaping. Its specification? Simply to use the best quality materials and highest level of attention to detail possible.

1 Seating area with expanding views next to planting on roof garden

prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 42 FEBRUARY 2022
NAO LANDSCAPES LTD SOUTH QUAY PLAZA LEVEL 56 ROOF TERRACE
approximately 300m2, perched on the 56th floor – one of the highest roof gardens in the UK –
heart of Canary Wharf” Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 43 prolandscapermagazine .com FEBRUARY 2022 PROJECT DETAILS Project value £642,667 (excl. VAT) Build time 6 months Size of project 300m2 on the 56th floor Designer HTA Design LLP The HTA Design LLP scheme was designed by senior landscape architect Natalia Roussou Contractor Berkeley Homes Awards BALI 2021 Award Commercial Roof Garden or Podium Landscaping –Over £500K
“At
in the
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FEBRUARY 2022
“The space has been created to maximize the impressive views over London, giving residents of this new apartment building a relaxing communal space”

Design and build

Though it wasn’t part of the design process, NAO was heavily involved in the finally touches. Mostly, though, NAO was responsible for the installation of floor drains; insulation; granite planters; granite paving on pedestals; external lighting; green wall system; irrigation system; subsoil and topsoil; tree installation; and planting.

The space has been created to maximise the impressive views over London, giving residents of this new apartment building a communal relaxing space, designed to bring a touch of urban oasis, with lush seasonal planting and large areas of hard landscaping with granite paving to allow space for luxurious seating.

A large majority of the area was paved using Namaka Granite supplied by Marshalls, laid on

pedestals supplied by Buzon for a smooth and perfectly laid feature finish. Large planters were also built using the same granite with detailed lighting for a spectacular evening effect.

Soft landscaping

The main soft landscaping features are a green wall of around 26m2 and several large Namaka granite planters. Planted in these are established Amelanchier trees and soft multi seasonal plants including lavender, hebe, echinacea, agapanthus, geranium, alliums, salvias and strantia.

2 Large paved areas with stunning city views

3 LED strip lighting on granite planters

4 Cantilevered granite coping

5 Raised planters doubling as bar areas

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Installed by NAO Landscapes • Floor drain
Insulation
Granite planters
Granite Paving on pedestals
External lighting
Green wall system
Irrigation system
Subsoil and topsoil
Tree installation
Planting
NAO Landscapes installed the following elements within this scheme:

The large green wall, built by ANSGlobal using its green wall system, featured a mix of green wall appropriate textured plants and grasses. The end result for the planting is a palette that is both lush and vibrant.

Challenges

The biggest challenge for NAO is probably not too surprising – its incredible height. Not only was getting materials up to the 56th floor a hard task but managing a procurement of internationally sourced elements and complicated delivery schedule took significant organising.

All materials delivered to site were unloaded and lifted to the 56th level using the onsite crane and NAO trained slinger. On some occasions

NAO had to lift and store some materials/pallets of stone on the 68th roof (the top of the tower) to use as a storage area as there was no space available on the ground floor. When the material was required, NAO would lift from the 68th floor down to the 56th. This made the arrival of trees a real test to the determination and skill of its team.

Working at this kind of height also naturally meant wind restrictions – something which proved tricky in an already pretty windy and exposed spot.

6 Dining areas with a dramatic backdrop

7 Green walls and soft seasonal planting

8 Multi-stem Amelanchier trees

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NAO Landscapes LTD is a young landscaping construction firm growing rapidly. Starting just five years ago in September 2016, it has proudly won numerous landscaping contracts for commercial developers.

Founded by Nick Osman, who has over 15 years’ experience working for landscape construction firms in both London and his native Sydney, Australia. It has been a BALI registered contractor since April 2019 and won awards for the last three years. NAO Landscapes is particularly interested in hard landscaping challenges, roof gardens and terraces at height across London. naolandscapes.co.uk

ABOUT REFERENCES

Green wall ANS Global ansgroupglobal.com

Pedestal systems Buzon buzonuk.com

Granite paving and planters Marshalls marshalls.co.uk

Trees Van den Berk Trees vdberk.co.uk Plants Palmstead palmstead.co.uk

Topiary Smiths Nurseries smitsbv.nl

Lighting Orlight orlight.com

Lighting technician Wishbone Exteriro Lighting wishboneexteriorlighting.co.uk

Irrigation Waterwise Solutions waterwisesolutions.co.uk

Insulation and floor drainage IKO Group ikogroup.co.uk/ product-systems/roofing

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“The biggest challenge for NAO is probably not too surprising – its incredible height”
Photographs ©HTA Design and Nick Harrison, Saltwick Media: http://saltwickmedia.co.uk

NATUREBlending into

THE OLD SCHOOL HOUSE

Far from creating a ‘wow’ factor, the standout feature of the front and back garden of this 1820s property was actually the opposite – that instead of standing out, it blended into the age and character of the cottage as well as its rural location, as though it had always been there.

Design brief

For the clients, one existing problem to be addressed within the design was gaining privacy from houses opposite. There were also plenty of opportunities to add in more colour, interest, and planting too. A huge Leylandii hedge offered privacy but not much else, and the clients were keen to replace it with something more pleasing. Some form of boundary was also needed along front to prevent drivers mounting the verge as the cottage was set on a corner of a country lane. The cottage looks south-west across fields with beautiful views but the ground, particularly at the front, had been decimated following the extension and interior works. The cottage was set on a mound with unsightly steps from the drive and a little gravel/mud left to park on. Alongside the enormous Leylandii hedge, posts and gates were falling apart, as was the front entrance porch. It needed two means of access – one from the driveway and one from the road to the front door. An old garage was removed to create extra parking space below for up to four cars.

Build

Materials were chosen in order to fit in with the age of the Grade II listed cottage. The main part of the budget was spent on good quality reclaimed Yorkstone for the front and

1 Woven raised chestnut fence

2 Yorkstone terrace sunset view

3 Reclaimed retaining sleepers, Yorkstone front

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prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 49 “The cottage looks south-west across fields with beautiful views. Carol Bridges Garden Design wanted to make the most of this eyeline in the terrace positioning and planting” PROJECT DETAILS Project value £50k • Front: £29,437.50 • Rear: £25,000 Build time 8 weeks over a period of 4 months Size of project Front garden: 8 x 15m, Rear garden: 15 x 10m Contractor Legacy Property Solutions FEBRUARY 2022

rear terrace with an aged patina –which should never be jet washed. The driveway and front garden needed reconfiguring and retaining, and Carol Bridges Garden Design kept the costs down with an entrance of granite setts and a relatively inexpensive gravel surface.

The mound at the front of the house was disguised by shaping and stepping the area into various levels of paving and planting using reclaimed sleepers, especially requested by the client for their character.

The raised rectangular planter helped to soften the approach to the house from the road and is insect friendly which was important to the client.

The entrance porch was re-made by a carpenter using traditional techniques of mortise and tenon joints. Bespoke chestnut palisade fencing in varying heights along the front aims to prevent drivers from ruining the grass verge – fence panels were made of rustic woven chestnut too. Lighting was repaired and added to with more traditional shades where possible.

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" My client was quite opinionated in plants that she liked and disliked. Grasses were banned. She couldn’t bear them in any shape or form. She liked my own form of naturalistic planting”
FEBRUARY 2022
CAROL BRIDGES

Soft landscaping

The cottage looks south-west across fields with beautiful views. Carol Bridges Garden Design wanted to make the most of this eyeline in the terrace positioning and planting.

The soil was clay, and the ground was in poor condition with some compaction following the extension and interior works so this needed some TLC. The soil had to be rotovated, dug over well, with nutrients added in the form of improved topsoil, decent compost and a mulch added after planting. Sustainability was considered in groundworks

so that soil was not taken offsite but levelled within other elements of the design at the front.

When choosing the planting palette, Carol Bridges had a lot of input from the client: “My client was quite opinionated in plants that she liked and disliked. Grasses were

4 Alternative approach to house, old gate, new porch

5 Smaller container planting adds character

6 Primula auricula in stone trough

7 View over fields, tiny summerhouse for two 8 Glen working hard during build

9 Raised brimming planter, bespoke palisade fence

DURING CONSTRUCTION

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THE COMPLETED FRONT GARDEN

banned. She couldn’t bear them in any shape or form. She liked my own form of naturalistic planting.”

In the front garden, Allium ‘Summer Beauty’, Oenothera lindheimeri, Scabious, Chives, the pale pink Umbelliferae, Chaerophyllum hirsutum ‘Roseum’, and Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’ soften the space, alongside euphorbia, hellebores, brunnera and foxgloves for early spring, followed by Alchemilla mollis, salvias, Astrantia ‘Moulin Rouge’, Erigeron, lavender and Agastache

The planting at the rear had more height and form which included Eupatorium, fennel, Veronicastrum, Verbena, peonies and angelica towards the rear of the borders so that when on the terrace, the clients are enclosed by planting. This L-shaped bed made the view more colourful and interesting from the inside too, but allowed the clients to still appreciate the beautiful views and the sunset in the countryside beyond.

10 Surrounding taller terrace planting

11 Former approach from driveway

ABOUT

Carol Bridges has been designing gardens in the Surrey area (mostly) for the past 13 years, having re-trained at Merrist Wood after a career in television production. Every garden is unique in its circumstances and of the individual needs of those who live there. A more naturalistic planting approach is preferred by me where possible –nothing too neat and tidy. www.carolbridges.co.uk

REFERENCES

Contractor Legacy Property Solutions info@legacypropertysolutions.co.uk

Reclaimed Yorkstone Abacus Stone Sales www.abacusstonesales.co.uk

Sleepers/chestnut woven fencing Chart Fencing www.chartfencing.co.uk

Chestnut palisades/porch Bespoke Plants Jacksons Nurseries www.jacksonsnursery.co.uk

Lighting Jim Lawrence www.jim-lawrence.co.uk Garden Trading www.gardentrading.co.uk

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FEBRUARY 2022

Designed by Marian Boswall Landscape Architects, this impressive 33-acre property is situated within the Kent hills. Originally a Georgian property, the house has since had farm buildings and a cottage added to the grounds.

Sustainable approach

Living Landscapes embarked on this transformative project with clear goals for sustainable construction, which were supported and complemented by Marian’s

sustainable design approach. “There are many ways to make a landscape project sustainable, but it requires effort and thought,” says Living Landscapes’ managing director Tecwyn Evans.

“Given our world’s climate struggles it is important that we within the horticultural industry make every effort to adapt and change, so that we can continue creating wonderful landscapes for people to enjoy, with the knowledge that we have done so with care and consideration to the local environment and the international environment that materials can be supplied

through shipping and land transportation. The supply of internationally sourced materials also has its own associated damages to its local environment, which in turn may affect their own climate situation.”

Around the property itself was fairly level ground, and this was to be the main focus of the hard landscaping work. The surrounding fields and woodland were sloped, but this worked in their favour; it gave an opportunity for surface water to be collected and directed through filter gravel beds and into a newly built lake.

MARCH 2022
PROJECT DETAILS Project value (inclusive of VAT): >£500k Build time 16 months Size of project 33 acres Contractor Living Landscapes Landscape architect Marian Boswall Landscape Architects prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 53 RECLAMATION LIVING LANDSCAPES PRIVATE RESIDENCE, KENT Rural

Living Landscapes’ main goals are to conserve water and energy, reduce its waste and to decrease water run-off. To achieve this, it treats water as a valuable resource. It views the existing site soil as the foundation for all the growth within the garden project, taking great care to protect its qualities and helping reinstate it as a life supporting resource. On this project no soil or rubble was removed from site; soil in its various forms was carefully stored for re-use within the landscape. Where necessary soil was graded and reinstated with specialist equipment. Rubble collected from the project, both through the building works and the landscaping works, was crushed for re-use within the farm access roads, which in turn will prevent over compaction of the soil areas used for vehicle access.

Reusing materials

Crucially, no skip was used – Living Landscapes is a “no skip” company, meaning it actively looks at effective recycling of packaging.“We cannot rely on others to manage our waste disposal. It’s our responsibility; we create it, we deal with it,” says Tecwyn.

“The other way to reduce the waste is not to over order on your materials. Accurate sourcing of material quantities will always reduce what you must manage and what is potentially left over.”

Locally sourced

The majority of the materials used in this Kent-based project were reclaimed, and if not reclaimed then they were supplied from local UK sources. All aggregates for sub-base use were from local suppliers. Concrete was also used for foundation work and a small hard access area into a newly built barn, but Living Landscapes is actively looking at alternatives to using concrete.

A large 180m2 reclaimed yorkstone paved area was installed as a grand entrance to the property, flanked by large beds on either side and impressive dry-stone walls, supplied by a local quarry. The walls were constructed with a particularly rustic feel, in keeping with the environment.

The main forecourt area is gravel, edged with reclaimed gritstone sets. All the access roads and parking to the property are gravel, allowing for the water to free drain, or be captured by the land drain system to exit

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“There are many ways to make a landscapesustainable,project but it requires effort and thought”
TECWYN EVANS

further downhill into the filter beds before entering the newly built lake. This lake is a conservation lake and is used for water source heat for the house.

The boundary wall on one side is a reclaimed stock brick wall, running for 100m at nearly two metres in height, leading to the new pedestrian access into the forecourt area. The bricks were chosen specifically to complement the building and laid with lime mortar, in keeping with the property itself.

A large, sawn Yorkstone paved area was installed around the existing, refurbished swimming pool. Its outer retaining wall constructed with reclaimed bricks and local Kent ragstone, finished with lime morter and topped with reclaimed, site found, metal handrailing.

To add to the country grandeur of the entrance to the building a ‘no dig’ access road was installed to reinstate the old lime tree entrance to the property. Running for 150m, this access road is edged with Corten metal edging, pinned into place on top of a Cellweb system, which was filled with gravel and seeded down the centre, creating a structurally sound drive, with a very rustic feel which does not cause soil compaction on the tree roots.

Bringing in biodiversity

The surrounding ground works required careful management so that soil resources could be reused with minimal impact to the surrounding areas. From the building down to the lake

1 Grounds and lake as seen from above

Reclaimed Yorkstone paving

Plan view – new barn access

Lake house on the bank of the newly-built conservation lake

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construction, the land was formed to not only assist the transition of collected water into the lower lake but also to roll and undulate, emulating the wider surrounding countryside.

This created small, unique bio-habitats, as well as larger land habitats for insects, small mammals, and local wildlife to flourish. Large areas of land were seeded; trees planted to develop into wind breaks; fruit trees and edible hedging were planted to attract wildlife into the surrounding areas; and finally, ornamental planting around the house created a sustainably designed, sustainably constructed private garden for the clients to enjoy.

5 Cottages and the new barn

6 Gravel drive and gated entrance

ABOUT

Living Landscapes is committed to sustainable and environmental construction practices, which has supported its long history in becoming BALI and RHS multi-award winners. It collaborates with landscape architects and garden designers who also support its core values. Managing director Tecwyn Evans firmly believes that landscape construction should complement the natural location it’s within. If wildlife and local habitats are created or enhanced through land forming and planting this should be done with careful consideration and thorough site analysis, ensuring the final creation naturally compliments the surrounding environment. livinglandscapesuk.com

REFERENCES

Contractor Living Landscapes livinglandscapesuk.com

Landscape architects Marian Boswall Landscape Architects marianboswall.com

Reclaimed stone, gritstone and stock brick T Caudwell reclaimedbrick sandyorkstone.co.uk

Sub-base materials Brett Aggregates brett.co.uk

Sawn Yorkstone WS Crossley Gravel Breedon Aggregates breedongroup.com

Groundworks Performance Foundations performancefoundations.co.uk

Specialist groundworks McKie Construction

Dry stone walling Horsham Stone & Reclamation horshamstone.co.uk

Planting Palmstead Nurseries palmstead.co.uk

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Photographs ©John Campbell at Room of Light
prolandscapermagazine .com Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 57 PROJECT DETAILS Project value (inclusive of VAT): £55k Build time 6 weeks Size of project 360m2 Designer Simon Orchard Garden Design Landscaper Brian Hamilton, Hortus Landscaping ROOM WITH a view SIMON ORCHARD GARDEN DESIGN LONG NARROW GARDEN MARCH 2022

Simon Orchard was tasked with making the view from a new annexe one to behold, incorporating existing features and in keeping with a traditional style. The client had a long, narrow garden with an outbuilding that had been renovated and connected to the main house with a brand-new annexe. The annexe would become a home office and had full length glass doors, the view out of which was paramount.

Right outside of the annexe, the client hoped to have a seating area at the same level as the internal finished floor, incorporating the same porcelain plank tiles that were used indoors for a seamless transition from inside to out.

From there, the client wanted the garden to be a relaxing and calming space, with a traditional, formal and soft look that avoided the linear look. They also wanted

there to be multiple spots to sit and enjoy the sun. To fulfil this, Simon used curved Serpentine paths to connect the different parts of the garden, created with warm-toned clay pavers from CED Stone for a traditional feel. A third terrace was adding to the existing two, halfway along the serpentine paths to break up the space and act as a visual ‘comma’, encouraging people to pause before moving on.

An existing circular pond was kept towards the bottom of the garden, with upgrades being done to the electrics and lining, while existing boundary walls were given a new lease of life with the addition of square trellis panels.

1 A serpentine path links features within the garden

2 Agastache ‘Blackadder’ flowers are a bee magnet

3 Porcelain plank paving creates seamless transitions

4 Cerise-flowered Achillea ‘Summerwine’ is a great addition to any cottage garden

5 Topiary swirls and cones add a regal touch

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“Long, narrow plots are always a challenge, and you need to use tricks to make the space look wider”
SIMON ORCHARD
MARCH 2022
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One hit & miss fence was added parallel to the annexe, with an oak gravel board and trellis panel on top to add height.

Drawing the eye away from the length of the garden and making it appear wider was a key consideration for Simon. He explains that: “Long, narrow plots are always a challenge, and you need to use tricks to make the space look wider. Straight paths from one end to the other should be avoided. Instead, opt for curved paths or paths set at an angle to the boundaries.”

as a focal point and drawing the eye upwards.

“Use focal points at various points along the length of the garden so that the eye is drawn to these, rather than the long view. These could be trees, specimen shrubs, a bench, sculpture or a water feature, for example,” Simon adds.

Along the edges, Simon added Ilex creneta to line the pathways and planted borders with cottage garden plants such as Salvia, Verbena, Agastache, Fennel, Delphinium and Geranium to provide seasonal interest while maintaining the overall traditional theme.

6 Clay pavers give the paths and pond an aged feel

7 Tight radii achieved by using 100x100mm setts

ABOUT BEFORE WORKS

To soften the landscape, Simon added an array of traditional plants. The existing topiary in cone and spiral shapes, potted bay trees and olive trees were to be kept in the new design, along with low level box hedging which was replanted.

Specimen trees and shrubs including Amelanchier lamarckii, Cornus kousa and Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Jelena’ (Witch Hazel) were used to add height to the scheme, acting

Simon Orchard Garden Design is a boutique design studio creating tailormade gardens for clients in London, Surrey, Hampshire and Sussex. The studio has just been awarded ‘Best in Design’ and ‘Best in Service’ for the 5th year running by Houzz. Simon creates stunning gardens that clients can enjoy all year round –not just for 3 months of the year. simonorchardgardens.com

REFERENCES

Designer Simon Orchard Garden Design simonorchardgardens.com

Landscaper Brian Hamilton, Hortus Landscaping hortus-london.com

Clay pavers and porphyry setts CED Stone cedstone.co.uk

Porcelain tiles Client’s own

Hit & miss fence Jacksons jacksons-fencing.co.uk

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“Use focal points at various points along the length of the garden so that the eye is drawn to these, rather than the long view”
SIMON ORCHARD
MARCH 2022

Surrounded by trees and buzzing with biodiversity, Howbery Business Park is a far cry from typical sites of its kind. For a start, it’s the UK’s first solar-powered business park, with a solar farm completed in 2011 which generates around a quarter of the site’s annual energy needs. Fittingly, its first tenant more than 25 years ago was the Environment Agency, but there are now more than 50 businesses across the site, from SMEs to larger corporate tenants. A heritage manor house sits alongside BREEAM-excellence rated, state-of-theart facilities. There is even a modelling facility which includes wave basins and tsunami simulators.

Needless to say, Howbery Business Park stands out from the crowd. Situated on the banks of the River Thames near Wallingford in Oxfordshire, the site has always incorporated nature, with areas of woodland and for wildlife. But since 2015 when Nurture Landscapes

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PROJECT DETAILS Length of contract Ongoing Awards BALI Nature Conservation & Biodiversity Enhancement Award 2021 Wildlife WONDER HOWBERY BUSINESS PARK WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NURTURE LANDSCAPES APRIL 2022

was awarded the grounds maintenance contract, the park’s connection to nature and its biodiversity benefits have gone from strength-to-strength.

Sustainable switches

Contract manager Robin Sergi and his two-person grounds maintenance team have switched to battery powered kit where possible. Strimmers, hedge trimmers and blowers can now all be charged using the onsite solar power, which reduces carbon emissions and fossil fuel use by around 200L each year.

All of the green waste is recycled on site, with the material going to the composting areas made from recycled pallets. This is turned regularly before being used for the planting beds and to dress borders and the allotments, which were introduced for tenants and office staff in 2017 – it’s these initiatives which earned Howbery Business Park the Green Apple and Environmental Award.

Adding to the site’s green credentials, Nurture Landscapes is reducing its use of pesticides by 80L per year. This is partly down to decreasing the number of spray sessions across site, which seems to have been a success, but also by changing the maintenance regime. Formal areas are mown more often to keep weeds at bay, whilst some areas were turned from lawn to meadow grass, reducing the need for selective spraying.

Wildflower wins

To reduce surface root damage on mature trees –of which there are many at Howbery – Nurture Landscapes worked with the client’s onsite tree surgeons to identity areas which would benefit from mowing margins. These ‘no mow zones’ not only protect the surface roots from machinery causing damage, but also allow wildflowers to populate these areas.

There are large parts of undeveloped land on the site, which Robin says Nurture will not mow simply for the sake of it. In the initial stages of the contract, areas were mapped out which the client was happy to allow to grow, and this is where flowers such as bee orchids and pyramid orchids have appeared, as well as lots of low-level flora which would otherwise have been stripped away with a mower. Native species such as oxeye daisy, common vetch and viper’s bugloss all boost the aesthetic appeal of Howbery.

Throughout No Mow May, the wildflower areas increased from 400m2 to 920m2. Each wildflower area is cut once a year, in September/October, then raked to avoid nutrients going back into the soil. These areas are logged on ‘B-Lines’, a national map of ‘insect pathways’ created by conservation charity Buglife.

This forms part of Nurture’s Biodiversity Award, which the green service provider’s biodiversity

Manor House through speedwell

Wildflower area by Kestrel building

Honeybee on dandelion

Bird feeding station

‘Up Close and Personal’ bee event

Buff tailed bumblebee on field scabious

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ROBIN SERGI, CONTRACT MANAGER
APRIL 2022
"There are lots of amazing opportunities to support wildlife and biodiversity on most properties; it’s just identifying them and putting a working practice into place that suits the flora or fauna that you’re trying to support and situation it’s in"

manager Simon Blackley created to recognise the achievements of specific sites in benefitting wildlife, as well as to educate and engage stakeholders in appreciating the local wildlife. Its focus is on raising awareness of smaller charities, such as Buglife, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and the British Trust for Ornithology.

Robin has been working with Howbery’s estate manager Donna Bowles to introduce various initiatives which conserve nature and enhance biodiversity. Willow cuttings, for instance, are repurposed into wildlife protection for the herb garden, which is used by the restaurant on site. Four beehives were also introduced and are maintained by the team, who are all Lantra qualified beekeepers. The honey is used by the catering team but also sold as local produce.

Engaging others

Howbery and Nurture are keen to get the community involved in its activities, whether it’s by creating hanging baskets using pollinator-friendly plants, Christmas

wreath-making, or pumpkin carving competitions using pumpkins grown on Howbery’s allotments.

A recent focus has been on hedgehogs, which are in huge decline in Britain due to loss of habitats. Howbery is aiming to meet Nurture’s Biodiversity Awards criteria set out by Nurture and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. Interconnected hedgerows and planting are being added for the small mammals to travel under cover rather than across large, exposed spaces, and BHPS stickers are going on the strimmers to remind the team to check for hedgehogs before carrying out work. The team is also looking to include nesting boxes for hedgehogs, which are being built by the Men’s Shed charity.

Challenges

Each initiative takes careful consideration, with Nurture choosing to focus on areas where they can raise awareness and catch people’s attention. “There are lots of amazing opportunities to support wildlife and biodiversity on most properties; it’s just

identifying them and putting a working practice into place that suits the flora or fauna that you’re trying to support and situation it’s in,” explains Robin.

“There’s no point trying to support hedgehogs if there is a badger sett on site; they’ll just get decimated. You need to be realistic and take the opportunities that present themselves to help the local wildlife.

Observe what’s in your surroundings before you start, and then try to enhance it, rather than overwhelming it with something that is not really suited to the situation.”

Nurture was also recently rewarded with a BALI Nature Conservation & Biodiversity Enhancement Award 2021. But Robin says awards are not the end goal for Nurture –there is no completion date for the project at Howbery Business Park; it’s an ongoing development, with nature firmly at its heart.

7 Marmalade hoverfly on marsh orchid 8 Woodcrete bird boxes 9 Stables courtyard, in spring

ABOUT

Nurture is an award-winning national horticulture, landscape and national grounds maintenance and winter gritting business, enhancing asset value and enriching the environment.

www.nurturelandscapes.co.uk

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ROBIN SERGI, CONTRACT MANAGER
"Observe what’s in yourbeforesurroundings you start, and then try to enhance and help it, rather than overwhelming it"

Turning TIDE

Beijing Sunshine Landscape’s award-winning Tide Mansion is the meeting point of design, art, life and science as it resides next to Hangzhou’s Olympic centre which was designed by NBBJ to prioritise human experience and sustainability.

The resounding theme of the celestially silent Tide Mansion is intended to encompass "smart perception, smart exercise, smart life and smart aesthetics", and the imagery it has created stands as testament to Sunshine Landscape’s

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TIDE MANSION BEIJING SUNSHINE LANDSCAPES
APRIL 2022
"An exhibition of living art which can be felt and witnessed through every detail "

PROJECT DETAILS

other-and-inner-worldly expression of modernity, language, fashion and design.

The expansive yet safe garden is split into six subsections that reflect characteristics of the design and the inspiring notions, perceptions, wisdom and history that proceeded Tide Mansion

Starlight, sound, gravity, smell, nature, as well as space and time entitle each of the six divisions with constellations, galaxies and nebulas illuminating this

feat of design which perfectly encompasses the next-generation sports centre next door.

The garden is a forward-looking exploration of the concept of social community, while maximising the potential of the area to create a space that is filled with vivacity, artistry, and a sense of familiarity.

One of the imbedded aims of Sunshine Landscape’s Tide Mansion is to be an exhibition of living art which can be felt and witnessed through every detail.

The design uses this aspect of liveable art to create a space that is not only multidimensional in appearance but creates a community built on a harmonious ecology.

The magic and innovation of Tide Mansion extends into community service activities, spontaneous social interactions and an "essence of modern wisdom that provides residents with an interactive scene and experience if they so choose".

Beijing Sunshine Landscapes hoped to use Tide Mansion as a collaboration of professional manufacturers and artwork designers bringing together the likes of material details and floor installations. A point of reference for this partnership is in achieving a mirror reflection effect throughout, using stainless steel materials with a fine gloss finish that aims to present an "exquisite sense of sight".

Continuing this grand-garden, Beijing Sunshine wanted to implement a sense of technology coming together with landscape

design, by joining forces with an internet company to curate the "smart" exercising ground, a premise around tech and design coming together that is intended to increase the "pleasure of the landscape" which "adopts devices, for instance, that use music to interact with those using the space".

Design

The imagery within Tide Mansion is designed to resemble a "hall of themes" which has been alluded to aid in "a public appreciation of aestheticism". The collision of structure and outer-space is intertwined within the artistic scope that draws representation from "the stars, the moon and the Milky Way with pavements,

1 Stunning view of the 'arriving square'

2 Cosmically themed designs on show

3 Tide Mansion's waterscape area

4 One of the neighbourhood garden spots

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Landscape architect Beijing Sunshine Landscape Client Sunac China Holdings Limited

waterscapes and different facilities that resonate with something inside of us".

Tide Mansion’s creators intended the space to have a "welcome home" sentiment through social activities, sports, a children’s playground, and educational activities — with the added use of multi-textured plants and herbs in the science garden, melding nature and technology together as the plant can be "researched" via QR Code.

Sunshine Landscapes has aimed to utilise native environmental resources to ensure that not only cultural tradition and sentiment underpinned the design but that the local area informed Tide Mansion whilst sustaining the natural health of the area. For that reason, several Chinese tallow trees, original to the site, were used to present the theme of a "thousand island and tree reflections" with the help of numerous reflective surfaces.

The design uses the scenery in the garden to preserve nature to the greatest extent and form a beautiful background for the residents and their day-to-day lives. It is almost akin to creating an immersive vacation experience, which can be seen through certain aspects of the design, such as the sunken leisure bar.

When creating Tide Mansion, it was imperative to Beijing Sunshine Landscapes that the space was multifunctional and for this reason the entrance hall was built to ensure privacy of the design and an all-purpose garden space where residents can rest, children can be educated in scientific aspects from biology to astrophysics. Its continued aim is to draw people to the compound to use the outdoor space and help to improve the happiness of residents.

The design of Tide Mansion spans a plethora of ideas, histories, cultures, and technologies whilst still ensuring that the

fire-fighting loading area remained in line with current regulations, and this created unique but definite challenges for the build. With the regulation in mind, rigid pavements were needed in the large-area sites of the project which often affects the view of the landscape.

To combat this design complication, Beijing Sunshine Landscapes used movable pavilions, portable planting beds and outdoor furniture where needed to create a dynamic space with both aesthetic visuals and practical functions to incorporate the challenges without any negative consequences or taking away from the design features.

Beijing Sunshine Landscapes were also tasked with competing against and complementing the often-humid climate of south China, that is also frequented by seasonal weather like rain and snow. For this reason, Sunshine Landscapes designed the first floor of the building with an open stilt floor to allow residents access to the garden, design and technology through a host of different weathers.

The landscape design makes full use of the space to create further children’s activities, room for fitness exercises, communications among the neighbourhood, and other spaces for recreational use, that intends to form a unified whole with the public landscape system.

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A venture in sustainability

Beijing Sunshine Landscapes’ Tide Mansion is a project where design and stability are considered to be one – this began with using gravel that has been locally sourced to add to the aesthetic and sustainability of the project.

Water permeability was a concern for the designers of Tide Mansion who decided to aid the collection and reuse of rainwater within the design of the celestial project on Earth. The underground foundation adheres to a grass-roots method that is in line with local fire safety requirements.

By having the project seek sustainable modes of design, the aesthetic of Tide Mansion is in line with other notable and outstanding projects by Beijing Sunshine Landscapes such as Castle in The Sky, September Forest Residential and The Yu-Yuan Courtyard.

A vital note is that traditional Chinese culture is entrenched within modern landscape design for Beijing Sunshine Landscapes, which intends for the design

to establish significant links between human, community and nature by integrating nature into life and vice versa. Tide Mansion is there to create viewing pleasure for residents, and it appears to have done the job admirably.

5 Luscious, varied planting

6 Thoughtful links define transitions b etween the outside and indoors

7 Design that can be enjoyed by all

8 A play area in use – perfect for families

ABOUT

Beijing Sunshine Landscape Co Ltd focuses on sustainable development when creating their aesthetic and work driven landscapes. From landscape engineering construction, garden seedling development, landscape planning, design, and cultivation to landscape maintenance, the 2006 founded company strive to make high-quality works and become an model for the industry.

shunjingyuanlin.com

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"The design of Tide Mansion spans a plethora of ideas, histories, cultures, and technologies"
APRIL 2022

In terms of large-scale projects, there have been few as grand as the government-invested master plan for a residential and tourist community in Taghazout Bay with its flagship hotel operated by globally recognised brand, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.

The design of the hotel’s landscape was awarded to Philip Jaffa's Scape Design in 2015 following their work on the wider Bay Masterplan in 2010. Philip explained: "It’s been a long journey commencing with the creation of a working narrative that emerges from the natural world of this amazing location as well as from the way of life of the indigenous Imazighen Berbers who once inhabited the nearby foothills of the Atlas Mountains."

The overall design of the resort was heavily influenced by Scape Design’s research into the living patterns and architectural clusters formed by the semi-nomadic Berbers and inspired by their travels along ancient routes between mountains and sea, following wadis and riverbeds. Often dried-up in this arid region, the wadis are interspersed with astonishing oases where tumbled river pebbles come together with wildflowers and palm trees.

“We worked hard to give the hotel’s site plan the spirit of these places creating our own 'wadis and oases' to snake through the site from the entrance down to the beachfront providing circulation routes,

Moroccan MARVELS

SCAPE DESIGN FAIRMONT TAGHAZOUT BAY

numerous vantage points and areas of green planting and shade for recreational pursuits divided by habitational zones within the project,” says Philip.

The client and the project team were driven to create something that spoke of the location and its rich history. Mindful of the effects of climate change on Scape Design’s work, the guest experiences are intrinsically, yet subtly, linked to the cultural history and changing geography of the area with use of local stone and natural materials throughout, as well as indigenous low water demand planting, ensuring that the resort guests could touch and feel a strong visual connection with the wider Bay area.

Scape Design’s approach also encourages guests to wander around the wider Bay, to

connect with the local community in the markets or observe the renowned local goats which acrobatically climb the famous Argan trees that adorn the lower mountain slopes to eat their fruit and leaves. “A tree full of goats is an incredible sight,” says Philip. Berber goat herders lead their flocks through the Argan (Argania spinosa) forests, where the animals climb the trees and can strip them nearly bare.

Philip noted: "The typical luxury traveller is much more discerning these days, wanting more authentic experiences that allow them to connect with nature, the local community and most importantly, through these connections, to their deepest

1 Entry Courtyard ©Fairmont Tagazhout

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selves, thus ensuring lasting memories. This is something we always set out to achieve”.

“The Fairmont Tagazhout site planning is very different from the traditional hotel layouts in Morocco which gravitate towards courtyard style architecture of the Riad. The Riad is all about creating a sense of safety and security, keeping the outside away and building more internalised communities,” says Philip.

"The most famous Riads are in Marrakech, whilst many newer hotels along the coasts are still built around that Riad culture. Whereas we sought to embrace the wider world through the eyes of Nomadic Berbers and translate that into the Fairmont design language.”

As a result, the concept for much of the resort is based on the notion of dry riverbeds and rocky mountain ravines. However, key moments are filled with verdant gardens – ‘oases’ which occur around restaurant terraces, by the main pool decks and in the spa garden.

The design literally 'springs' from the flow of water and how, along with the wind, it has carved the mountain sides into ravines and plateau with expanses of grasses such as

Pennisetum, Nassella and Saccharum flowing aside as a softer, more vivid contrast. In more expansive areas, Scape Design incorporated large areas of low water demand Mediterranean plants such as rosemary, salvia, agarve, lavender and thyme, all commonly found in the nurseries of Morocco. Arrays of colour were added using species such as Rudbeckia, Hibiscus, Agapanthus and Bougainvillea.

"The overall experience is one of a highly contrasting juxtaposition of colour, scent and verdant forms against the fluid soft formed grass-like species, as they gently move in the coastal breeze,” says Philip.

One area that pays homage to the art of the Moroccan Courtyard is the spa which takes its language from the Berbers’ temporary mud brick homes that were built into the ground to create a cooling effect and protect them from the elements – not to forget the value of additional privacy.

"We created these little winding streets directing spa guests from courtyard to courtyard, from treatment rooms to vitality baths, plunge pools and Kniepp therapy foot tanks, all planted with scented plants and colourful displays to enrich the senses,” says Philip. “Wandering around the resort, you

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"We sought to embrace the wider world through the eyes of Nomadic Berbers and translate that into the Fairmont design language"

PROJECT DETAILS

come upon these 'moments', these different little 'settlements' – as we chose to call them. The spa settlement allows guests a very different opportunity to interact with and connect to the landscape in a way they are not able to in the wider resort."

For those who don’t know about Kniepp therapy, a major aspect of its wellness benefits occur in the form of hydrotherapy, where water held within different pools serves as a mediator of different temperature and textural stimuli. In the base of the pools, there can be different materials and textural experiences that stimulate the acupressure point in the base of the foot helping to increase blood circulation in the body. Typical aspects of the therapy include treading, cold and hot faucets, baths and herbal washes, promoting a healthier lifestyle.

The spa buildings and courtyards were created in a more traditional way than the wider resort and are built into the ground using mud brick and combining the natural elements of earth, water and sun. It is an ancient building material usually made with tightly compacted sand, clay and straw, or

grass, mixed with moisture, formed into bricks and naturally dried or baked in the sun without an oven or kiln.

In Morocco, the Berber people are celebrated for their artistic skills, from pottery to weaving, jewellery to henna art and, in particular, their renowned pattern designs. For many artists, however, their work is seen as an almost meditative process where they have the opportunity to incorporate ‘spiritual blessing’ into their work.

Philip’s team at Scape Design sought to weave together and embed this rich mix of creativity and tradition into their design for the Fairmont landscape, particularly in the unique floor patterns located within key guest areas, like in the floor scape of the Porte Cochere drop-off and on the floor of major pathway intersections, like “informal Berber carpets” creating moments of rest within the landscape.

Adopting a sustainable approach throughout all the project’s design stages involved thorough exploration of every aspect of the scheme. One key objective for the design team was to minimise the visual

impact of the buildings and balance the structural fill, while at the same time ensuring that each of the 146 guestrooms, suites and villas, as well as the restaurants, had picture-perfect views towards the Atlantic Ocean and the sunset to the West.

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Adult pool ©Fairmont Tagazhout Sunken dining pod ©Fairmont Tagazhout Illuminated landscape walls ©Fairmont Tagazhout
Landscape budget approx. $10M (US) Build time Three years
MAY 2022
Size of project 18ha

Working closely with the lead architect, hospitality specialists HKS, Scape Design sympathetically located each and every building to face the sea and encourage natural ventilation for cooling, as was the tradition of regional architectural designs. Synergy was also ensured in the selection and use of all building materials, all locally sourced to ensure a singular and holistic aesthetic across the project site.

With regards to materials selected for use within the project, Philip noted the importance of achieving the project’s sustainability goals as being of the utmost importance to the client, to Fairmont and of

the floating pavilions of the speciality restaurant overlooking the extensive grounds, or panoramic views from the all-day dining restaurant positioned atop a landscaped promontory at the very heart of the resort. The resort also offers a well-equipped conference centre and ballroom, with arrival through a series of walled, arid garden rooms that frame glimpsed views and create shaded break-out seating.

explained: "The project needed to have an identity with a true sense of place, thus setting the standards for the up and coming wider touristic community. As part of the Taconic Mountains and part of the Berber story, the project serves as modern interpretation of a developing story.”

course, to Scape Design and this translated to sourcing most of the materials from within the Northwest African region to avoid major transport costs and reduce carbon emissions.

Each of Fairmont Taghazout Bay’s restaurants offers a distinctive experience, whether that is relaxing on the arrival terraces taking tea, poolside family dining,

The process of designing a hotel like Fairmont Taghazout Bay normally takes about a year in production, and approximately three years in construction. Their success is built on the ability of the three main design disciples, architecture, interior design and landscape architecture jointly agreeing on a single, strong design narrative that all can hang their design hats on, often sharing details, patterns and materials. This creates what Philip calls "a design of blurred boundaries" – that is, when it is not easy to observe where one design discipline ends and another begins because there is a beautiful synergy of design language. The Fairmont Taghazout is, Philip believes, a great example of such collaboration working to create the successful end results observed.

By embracing the story of the Berber people, the local history, culture and of course the natural geography and geology of the local landscape, it was important that the Fairmont Taghazout Bay acted as an icon of the wider Tagazhout Bay project. Philip

In closing, Philip states: “The great thing about this project is that it’s a very simple and pure story to tell in some respects, and I think that’s what makes the project more stunning, aligning the design narrative with the bare bones of local history, culture and the stories of its people. The result is a very romantic feel, one which is contemporary and luxurious but, at the same time, uniquely anchored in sense of place connected to nature and the surrounding natural environment.”

5 Entry drop off ©Fairmont Tagazhout

6 Pool bar and grill ©Fairmont Tagazhout

ABOUT

Scape Design, an international landscape architectural and environmental design practice based in London, was conceived in 2000 by founder Philip Jaffa. Its creative process involves deep thinking, exploration, and innovation, always in collaboration with clients and fellow design team members. scapeda.co.uk

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This stunning greenhouse at a private residence in the Cotswolds – a BALI award winner – was created by the design team at Bespoke Landscape Design (BLD). They have a specialised team dedicated to traditional stonework, and when presented with the opportunity to create this special bespoke stone walling garden for a client, BLD jumped at the opportunity to showcase its expertise.

It worked closely with the head gardener and liaised with English Heritage for the entire project, with the hopes of creating a truly collaborative space and offered a harmonious space for the resident’s owners to enjoy all year round.

One of the minds behind the project is Nicholas Leitch, who created a segment of Bespoke Landscape Designs titled Bespoke Stone Walling in 2007. He joined the project early on and was able to harness his years of working alongside well-known industry

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PROJECT DETAILS Project value £150k-£250k Build time 12 months (over a two-year period) Honing HERITAGE BESPOKE LANDSCAPE DESIGN LARGE GREENHOUSE, PRIVATE RESIDENCE, THE COTSWOLDS MAY 2022

experts. Nicholas also drew upon his mentor, Caroline Tatham, from his time at the Cotswold School of Gardening.

Offering a wide range of dry stone walling, BLD services locations around the Cotswolds, Cirencester, Bath, Tetbury, Malmesbury, Stroud, Nailsworth, Wiltshire, and Gloucestershire with a host of traditional aspects to the otherwise modern designs that are created by the company,

The traditional greenhouse at the featured residence is BLD's largest to date, standing at 20m x 4m. It was constructed using reclaimed stone to match the existing walls on the project. Inside the greenhouse the walls were finished with a render and the flooring is reclaimed York flagstone.

Given BLD's extensive interest and a rejuvenation in greenhouse popularity over the past years, individuals seem keen to access the kind of flexibility that greenhouses offer, where gardeners can grow anything from vegetables to tropical plants all from the stone wall base that Nicholas’ team is known for.

The project began by repairing and reinstating the garden’s rear wall to prepare the area for the construction of the large greenhouse. Complex irrigation and rainwater harvesting systems were imbedded into the land before constructing the raised beds, using dry stone cladding and block work, meaning that the water could be utilised for the surrounding area and what would eventually grow there.

The overall lighting aesthetic was also a pre-planned and pre-implemented aspect of the build that had to take place before the large greenhouse was erected. Using a combination of copper uplighters and downlighters from light supplier LuxR, a New Zealand-based company, allowed BLD to achieve the magical atmosphere it had envisioned prior to the build of the raised beds and paths.

A challenge arose when it came to the planters and paths: "The whole site was on a slope which made for difficult laying out of the planters and paths. More time and skill was needed for setting out formers and lines.

The plot was not square and so every planting bed was a different size and different shape. It was down to us to make it look like this wasn't the case," says Nicholas.

It seems only natural that, with the use of dry stonewalling, the essence of longevity and environmentally conscious features were a must-have aspect for the build. For this reason, LuxR was the only way forward for the build and the ‘led by design’ mantra toting lighting company displayed a host of similar and desirable ethos led directives much akin to BLD.

LuxR LEDs, in its own words, have "been specifically developed to meet the challenge of delivering high quality practical lighting, with maximum energy efficiency, and long maintenance-free life". It’s these key points that harmoniously aligned LuxR with BLD.

The discreet size of the product enables an experience of creating the atmosphere around the client, from up lighting to low lighting and the design of the greenhouse adds another level of customisation to an otherwise traditional process.

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"Our goal is to showcase our skills within the industry, we love what we do"

The project demonstrates the practicality of repairing, replacing, restoring, or rebuilding walling to its traditional or contemporary feel to adhere to the everchanging fashions of the landscaping industry. Producing a high-level finish, BLD creates gardens or reimagines them into lovable and workable spaces as they ~had originally been intended. For this project, BLD re-opened the garden for use, through the greenhouse, stonewalling and planting.

Nick explains: "Using reclaimed stone helps to give a timeless look to the project. Also, being reclaimed means it's been in a wall for an inordinate amount of time, which makes it more durable to the elements. Careful selection, however, is still

important as some reclaimed stone will be too soft and have cracks in it; but this selection is down to the craftsman involved to select the correct stone."

The timeless look of this extensive project was achieved through this expert selection and use of reclaimed materials and stone recovered from the estate. An added bonus to using locally reclaimed materials is that the project saved time, money and avoided potential delivery delays that might have resulted as a product of the pandemic.

Not only this, Nicholas was able to complete the project during a lockdown having been able to work independently and safely completing the project to the client’s specification without fault.

The visual language of the project highlights what can be created or restored from original features and traditional foundations, reimagining the flora and fauna aspects of planting and dry stonewalling into the trend of modern finishes BLD has seen clients now searching for.

Stonewalling should last for many years without the need for extensive repairs or demolition and can be built using locally sourced materials. No cement is used during the build and CO2 emissions are considerably reduced if not removed from the building process. As the stone is naturally quarried, there’s a traditional nature of sustainability entrenched in stonewalling, a reason it has risen in popularity over recent years.

Not only this but stonewalling also encourages wildlife and allows for habitats for voles, toads, newts, mice, slow worms, insects, birds, lichens, and mosses; all while providing much needed respite from any windy conditions that might occur.

"Planting and fauna combined correctly with walling and hard landscaping within a design will make the space," says Nicholas. "For example, we use a lot of the planting ideas in our designs to soften the hard landscaping aspect. Walls are like giant radiators. They absorb heat in the day

1 View from the drystone circular beds

2 Autumn colours in the veggie patch

3 Pottings shed and cold frame

4 Stone trough for washing vegetables

Photographs ©Annaick Guitteny

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and keep this locked in the stone, meaning you can't plant things next to the wall that maybe won't thrive as much in other areas of the garden, as you are essentially creating a micro-climate. They also offer great spaces for insects and wildlife between the stones; a lot of focus is now on sustainability, so we are seeing a lot more green roofs on home offices, and recycling materials like hardcore which will then get reused on site. A traditional dry stone wall is a perfect example of this as when you take down and rebuild, you can use everything back in the wall again and any waste can be reused on the next wall."

Whilst being environmentally adaptive and increasingly fashionable in domestic landscaping, companies like BLD are keeping a 6,000-year tradition and craft alive during increasingly modernised times. Nick explains: "I think it's important for people to be trained correctly in these traditional skills; you can't master this craft by doing a bit of stonework here and there. It takes the correct training and dedication to work to a high standard. I think there is big room for improvement in the landscape industry to train young people correctly in these skills."

The project was conducted in a large private estate and to keep the true history of

the archaic space, BLD worked closely with English Heritage, a charity which oversees 400 historic sites. Its input on stonewalling and keeping the project within its historic footprint was of utmost importance to BLD and, in doing so, achieved the finished look with a nod to the Neolithic origins of the craft.

The aforementioned raised beds offered a unique aspect to the garden and harnessed another archaically traditional landscaping tool. The popularity and use of raised beds dates as far back as 300BC where the pre-Hispanic people of the Andes used them as erosion preventatives and the dedicated fan base for raised beds is still seen today for a host of reasons.

The system known by the pre-Hispanics as ‘Waru Waru’, was used within BLD’s project because of these beneficial features. The no-tilling aspect of raised beds means that the private owners of the completed project aren’t required to undertake extensive up-keep to have blooming flowers or growing vegetables year on year.

By also utilising complex irrigation and rainwater harvesting systems, BLD offered the project a host of additional water conservation, environmental, water-energy nexus, economic and ancillary benefits.

This project is ultimately a testament to the unsung skill of mastering traditional

technique; BLD has redefined this remarkable place without ever abandoning its roots.

5 Whole project looking timeless Photographs ©Annaick Guitteny

ABOUT

Bespoke Landscape Design always strives to offer clients exactly what they are looking for, focusing on detail and quality. With professional experience across a range of projects, BLD understands clients’ needs and offers a service which is tailor-made from beginning to end. bespokelandscapedesign.co.uk

REFERENCES

LED

Landscape Design

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lighting products
MAY 2022
LuxR luxrled.com Stone and other materials Majority reclaimed by Bespoke
GftK Paving Joint Mortars Get the Right Jointing for Every Type of Paving & Paved Areas - Designed for narrow joints from 3mm wide in larger format natural paving, and absolutely ideal for external porcelain paving. Grout without delay - No waiting required. Supplied in smaller 10kg units for fast and residue-free, wet-slurry grouting of porcelain paving. Paving Joint Mortars Exclusively supplied in the UK by Visit: www.NCCStreetscape.co.uk | Email: sales@NCCinAction.co.uk | Call: 01257 266696 GftK vdw 840+ the best entry level, 1-part brush-in on the UK market GftK vdw 800 the original professional 2-part, epoxy paving joint mortar GftK vdw 850+ the unique & unrivalled “state-of-the-art” paving jointing GftK vdw 815+ the narrow joint version of 850+ with the same benefits - Designed specifically for domestic patio paving & pedestrian areas, supplied in a range of colours, ready to use, in handy 12.5 and 25kg vacuum-sealed ‘bag-in-pails’, for easy wet-slurry application by squeegee. Highest polymer content on the market. Ideal for DIY. - The original epoxy-coated sand + hardener, dust free paving jointing for trafficked domestic & public areas of small format natural stone paving. This type of product leaves a sheen, which is colour enhancing and disappears over time by normal weathering. - Unique, self-compacting, epoxy-coated sand + hardener, can be applied in wet weather with no shrinkage cracks, fast curing to a sheen-free finish, fully resistant to traffic, de-icing salts, and direct jet-washing – The way forward for ease of application with no delays or waiting, and for the highest durability in all types of domestic, commercial & public paving - State of the Art!

In keeping with the Council’s motto ‘urbs in rure’ – town in the country – Solihull’s natural environment is one of its greatest assets. Its council was eager to further enhance this, with a £16.8m project, part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The project, entitled ‘Wildlife Ways’, sought to not only make Solihull greener but also to improve existing paths and cycle routes, and – as the name would suggest – to introduce more wildlife-friendly areas.

The Metropolitan Borough of Solihull designed the masterplan and procured the work through two main contractors and a number of smaller specialised contractors. idverde liaised with other contractors, where its work overlapped, and made use of subcontractors on a limited scale where specific skills or equipment were required, such as for herbicide spraying or cultivating former tip areas.

Since work first started in 2018, 23km of new footways have been added to the borough alongside improved access for cyclists, ensuring there are more options for those looking to use their cars less and enjoy nature more. 1 Dense, luscious wildflower planting produces a stunning view 2 A sparser wildflower oasis creates fantastic visual diversity

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PROJECT DETAILS Length of build Two years Length of contract Two years + extension Size of project 73ha Awards BALI National Landscape Award 2021, Principal Winner, Nature Conservation & Biodiversity Enhancement category THE WILD, WILD WEST midlands IDVERDE WILDLIFE WAYS, SOLIHULL JUNE 2022

Preparing for striking spring displays of crocuses, snowdrops and native daffodils, idverde planted 2.5 million bulbs alongside roads and in parks in the autumn. In autumn 2020, a further one million bulbs were planted for an even more spectacular display. The bulbs were chosen to increase the displays of previously used species throughout the borough of Solihull, with native species where possible, and to create a flowering display for most of the season. A variety of bed planting, hedgerow planting and Hedera screening was also added across the borough.

Becoming a Tree City

More than 1,000 trees have been planted as part of the Wildlife Ways project, and these will go towards Solihull’s ambitious target of planting more than 250,000 trees over a decade to help it achieve net zero carbon. The council’s hard work so far has been rewarded too, with Solihull recently being awarded Tree City of the World status for its urban tree planting programme overseen by the Council's Planting Our Future team. Only 19 cities in the UK have been recognised with such a status, which acknowledges towns and cities committed to developing and sustainably maintaining urban forests and trees.

With the overall intention being to create or improve existing wildlife corridors – enabling invertebrates, small mammals and birds to use a great area of habitats throughout the borough – 60,000m2 of Pictorial Meadows and Wildflower Turf were installed and 115,000m2 of wildflower seeds were sown, using mixtures recommended by the client and based on the suitability of specific areas, such as whether it became waterlogged or was fast-draining. These three different types of wildflower installations were chosen for the overall effect they would provide through colours and height and depending on their location. For example, if they were being installed on roadside verges, motorist visibility needed to be taken into consideration.

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"The council’s hard work so far has been rewarded too, with Solihull recently being awarded Tree City of the World status for its urban tree planting programme"

Wildflower woes

A layer of sharp sand was used as a base layer for the Pictorial Meadow wildflower turf, as was recommended by the supplier, and the area for turfing was sprayed off a few weeks prior to placing the layers and laying the turf. The difficulty for roadside planting was traffic management being required, which limited the working time available to between 9am and 3pm only each day.

Managing the expectations and understanding of the public was a constant challenge, as a few residents were reluctant to see change or expected an instant result where wildflower seed was sown, as would be achieved with wildflower turf.

idverde has now come to the end of an extended maintenance plan for the project and is now embarking on a longterm maintenance contract for the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, which means it will continue to maintain the areas installed under the Wildlife Ways as part of the overall package.

With idverde continuing to care for the landscape it installed, Wildlife Ways

will undoubtedly continue to thrive and enhance the local areas. It has even brought the community together, with several volunteer groups and residents now getting involved in the regeneration of their neighbourhoods, showcasing Wildlife Ways as a project for place and people, as well as providing habitats for local wildlife.

3 Maintenance – attention to detail is key

4 Waterside views with creative seating

5 Young trees being prepared for the future

6 Landscaping breathes life into this passage

REFERENCES

Trees Wyevale Nurseries wyevalenurseries.co.uk

Plants and trees Hillier hillier.co.uk

Crowders Nurseries crowdersnurseries.co.uk

Plant bulbs Boston Bulbs bostonbulbswholesale.co.uk

idverde is one of the UK’s leading providers of grounds maintenance and landscape creation services, offering a holistic range of services including creation, maintenance, and nature based solutions. More than 200 public sector organisations and a large portfolio of private sector clients, from blue-chip corporations to smaller local businesses, trust idverde to look after their green spaces.

idverde.co.uk

Primroses British Flora grassandflower.co.uk/british-flora

Turf Pictorial Meadows pictorialmeadows.co.uk

Wildflower turf Wildflower Turf wildflowerturf.co.uk

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WILDFLOWER TURF
PLANTING
MAINTENANCE JUNE 2022
ABOUT PRIMULAS

THE CURVEAhead of

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The vibrant market town of Oswestry boasts beautiful, historic architecture, with a traditional feel to many of the houses situated here. With such character to these properties, it’s difficult to balance retaining this character whilst also allowing the buildings and the landscapes around them to evolve.

Fortunately, Butler Landscapes has more than 30 years’ experience transforming gardens such as this across Shropshire and further afield. So, when it was brought on board to design and build a garden for a large residence in Oswestry, the company was able to offer the clients exactly what they were looking for. The transformation of the garden was so impressive that it scooped a BALI National Landscape Award last year in the Domestic Garden Construction –Over £250k category.

Inspiration for this project came from the surrounding landscape, says Butler Landscapes. Its main aim was to provide a series of experiences through well connected spaces that will allow a family to enjoy for many years to come. To soften the transition between character areas and also offer a naturalistic feel, the team used curves and a planting scheme that offers all year round interest to give a sense of journey and encourage the family to explore the garden.

A circular sunken garden, for instance, softened with planting invites the user to relax with sweeping curved pathways to allow the user to explore other areas of the garden. Curved pathways link the property from the main patio to the Kitchen Garden, wildflower meadows and Naturalistic Wildlife Pond at the lower area of the garden.

To the frontage of the property, a more formal Parterre Garden was designed to give a 'wow' factor on arrival. Topiary offers structure while herbaceous planting brings colour and textural interest to be viewed on arrival and from the rooms within the house.

Separating the Parterre Garden to the orchard is a wall with a central entrance that frames a view down to a lawn area surrounded with hedging. This invites the user to explore the orchard where a stopping off point has been designed with a

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1 A view of the garden in full from above 2 The greenhouse as part of the Kitchen Garden 3 Parterre Garden seen from above 4 Sunken seating area PROJECT DETAILS Project value (inclusive of VAT) approx. £350k Size of project 10,478m2 Build time Two years (January 2019December 2020) Awards BALI National Landscape Award 2021, Domestic Garden Construction – Over £250k
bench

area looking back at the property to admire the views.

The family who owned the property were keen for existing elements of the garden to be enhanced, due to its beauty and existing character. As part of this, an existing apple tree was brought to the fore with the addition of wildflower meadows and the winding decorative gravel paths which naturally draw attention to the lower wildlife pond area too.

To achieve a traditional look, Indian sandstone paving slabs were used in various size, with the blended colours within these highlighted by the grey, earthy brown and red colour tones of Scottish beach pebbles. Rustic coloured paving frames the paths and patios and black estate railings softly define certain spaces within the garden.

Butler Landscapes also designed the landscape to have a naturalistic feel in order for it to blend into its surroundings. For the Naturalistic Wildlife Pond, Millboard composite decking was used, which offers the look of natural timber but with the longevity of using a composite material. The pond also features semi-aquatic planting, such as Caltha palustris and Thalia dealbata, for visual interest but also to improve the water quality, control algae and encourage wildlife. Perennial wildflower mixtures were also added for

longer interest throughout the year and to improve biodiversity.

Wildflower meadows have been a success due to appropriate soil preparation while also selecting a bespoke mix. Pro Annuals Cornfield Mix offers colour in the first year before the meadow mix for alkaline soil establishes in the following years, much to the client’s delight.

As with any residence of this size and character, there were a few challenges throughout the project. For example, to prevent the wildlife pond overflowing during rainier periods, a new land drain system was installed to provide improved drainage of runoff from the outlet. Butler Landscapes created the pond with a clay liner which for

a domestic garden is quite unique; this gave it the natural finish having a depth of soil all the way through allowing for marginal plants to be planted direct into soil.

Creating the air raid shelter allowed a space for their son to enjoy giving full visual access over the pond to watch the wildlife. The air raid shelter, which was a steel frame lined with oak sleepers to keep out wildlife, is located right near the pond. To ensure this sunken area was kept clear of water, a float switched pump within a chamber underneath the Millboard decking was added.

Within the Kitchen Garden, a Hartley Botanic greenhouse, raised oak planters and composting bays were used to allow the

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family to grow their own vegetables. The client required the Kitchen Garden to be located out of view from the property and therefore this area was designed to be located behind an existing outbuilding while in a space offering full sun for fruit and vegetable production to thrive.

Farmhouse Gardens truly embodies its Shropshire surroundings, whilst also offering a perfect family garden and allowing wildlife to thrive through habitat creation. Furthermore, the design has given its own unique character created through sweeping curves and diverse planting scheme. It’s little wonder it’s an award-winner, and no doubt the envy of Oswestry.

5 Naturalistic wildlife pond

ABOUT

Butler Landscapes is a multiple RHS Gold medal winner. Its ability to design and construct stunning soft and hard landscape projects in the private or commercial sectors is second to none. It is extremely confident in its ability to also add capital to the value of a property due to its build quality and competitiveness. With a joint effort from husband-and-wife team Paul and Sharon Butler, it can offer a one stop service for a garden project. butler-landscapes.co.uk

REFERENCES

Design and build Butler Landscapes butler-landscapes.co.uk

Walling stone Earl’s Stone Ltd earlsstone.co.uk

Composite decking Millboard millboard.co.uk

Abbey Setts tumbled paving Wyresdale Concrete Products Ltd wyresdaleltd.co.uk

Indian sandstone Paving Traders pavingtraders.co.uk

Black estate railing Paddock Fencing paddockfencing.com

Golden angular gravel Meadow View meadowviewstone.co.uk

Glasshouse Hartley Botanics hartley-botanic.co.uk

Outbuildings and summerhouse Morgans of Oswestry Builders Merchants morgansltd.com

Hedging and trees Practicality Brown pracbrown.co.uk

Wildflower and cornfield mixes John Chambers Wildflower Seed johnchamberswildflowers.co.uk

Plants

Hillier Nurseries Ltd hillier.co.uk

Aquatic plants Merebrook Pond Plants pondplants.co.uk

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"Farmhouse Gardens truly embodies its Shropshire surroundings...offering a perfect family garden and allowing wildlife to thrive"
www.deepdale-trees.co.uk 01767 26 26 36 mail@deepdale-trees.co.uk
UK’s finest semi-mature trees, shrubs and hedging A wide selection of both Air-Pot® & field grown trees Exceptional quality plants from over 100 acres of UK production
The

RIGHT TRACK On the

MAYLIM EXCHANGE SQUARE, CITY OF LONDON

London’s largest pedestrianised neighbourhood is undergoing a transformation. Broadgate – all 32 acres of it – is becoming a hub for city workers, residents and tourists alike, and its green space has just quadrupled with the addition of a major new public park.

Suspended across the bustling platforms of Liverpool Street Station, Exchange Square sits at the heart of Broadgate. It opened to the public at the start of this year, becoming one of the largest green public squares in the City of London.

Property developer British Land brought prolific commercial landscaping company Maylim on board as principal contractor for the 1.5-acre project. Maylim took on full design responsibility and production of RIBA Stage 4, 5 and 6 information, appointing architects DSDHA and multi-disciplinary practice Arup as consultants.

Unique undertakings

“The aim of the project was to transform the ageing, corporate and rectilinear former square into an accessible, naturalistic city park with sweeping curves and a four-fold increase in green space,” says Maylim’s operations director, Liam Hawkins. “The ambition was for a bespoke and unique pallet of materials to be used across the scheme – quite different to any other public realm in the UK.”

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To do this, Maylim used more than 3,000 unique pieces of CNC-cut terrazzo to form the sweeping amphitheatre, the cascading water feature and the raised planters – all standout features of the landscape, which unfolds across several levels. To complement this, Comblanchien limestone paving is used extensively and is tied together with a blackened steel ribbon. This runs through the park, framing the amphitheatre and then raising on top of the new retail unit, following the bespoke curved glazing –which makes up the retail unit alongside an experimental blackened steel mullion and cladding system and a green roof – and highlighting the considerable level changes across the site.

“The topography was sympathetically designed to tie in with numerous constraints of existing buildings, doors, the train shed of Liverpool Street Station and the 12 platforms directly below the square itself granting much greater accessibility for all throughout the space,” says Liam.

Sustainable solutions

Prior to construction, Maylim implemented a “dismantle not demolish strategy”. The original landscape, constructed in 1990, was to be cleared with sustainability at the forefront. “The basic premise was to take the square apart

in the reverse of the way it was built, rather than by extensive breaking out. This methodology allowed us to reclaim more than 14 lorry loads of natural stone steps, bleachers, cladding and paving for re-use in public realm schemes throughout the UK. Dismantling the scheme in this way also rapidly reduced the noise, dust, reprocessed energy and cost that a demolition strategy would have produced.”

Working closely with British Land, Stace LLP and Greengage Environmental, the predicted and actual carbon was tracked throughout the delivery of the

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PROJECT DETAILS Project value (inclusive of VAT) £16.1m Size of project 5,000m2 Build time August 2020 –December 2021 (includes the preconstruction) Awards JCT Major Project Construction Contract 2016 JULY 2022

project and was a key consideration at all points of the design and procurement process. It resulted in a 61% reduction in embodied carbon between Stage 2 and pre-construction. The hard landscaping, which formed the majority of the design carbon impact, also reduced it by 26% from Stage 4. The circular economy initiatives are equivalent to a 220t CO2e saving.

Overcoming obstacles

Reducing the project’s carbon footprint was just one of the challenges Maylim had to overcome. One of the biggest hurdles,

perhaps unsurprisingly, was the location of the park, which is suspended above the train tracks of Liverpool Street Station and is named after Exchange House, a 10-storey building designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill which neighbours the scheme.

The concrete bridge deck structure which forms the base of Exchange Square is an asset of Network Rail, and extensive approvals were needed from the railway company to allow the work to proceed. This included extensive live structural monitoring, which Maylim worked closed with Arup and Network Rail to achieve. There was also no direct access to the site. “The nearest road

was 70m away through the under croft of Exchange House. Maylim built a logistics tunnel with a public access stair across it and a large loading gantry which allowed for all materials to be raised and transported by crane ready to be moved towards the site,” explains Liam.

On top of all this, Exchange Square was built throughout the pandemic, so measures had to be introduced to monitor the workforce to ensure their safety. “This, alongside supplier delays, haulage difficulties and travel restrictions for visits to the continent to visit suppliers, created multiple challenges. In spite of these constants, the programme and budget never slipped, and the project was completed a week ahead of schedule.”

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Community engagement

From the start, placemaking was to be at the heart of the project, which led Maylim to interact with the communities and businesses surrounding Exchange Square throughout the construction.

Maylim also created a ‘forest school’ at a local primary school in Tower Hamlets as part of its social value proposition. The team turned a 150m2 overgrown, overlooked and poorly accessible space at Thomas Buxton Primary School into a functional, safe and exciting new space. It worked with the school to agree on a design, going on to install hazel hurdle to shield the garden from public view and surfaced pathways to improve accessibility. Raised planters were built using recycled materials, providing space for pupils to grow their own produce, and leftover materials allowed children to construct bug hotels and dens.

Working closely with Spitalfields City Farm, Thomas Buxton Primary School ensures that children have the opportunity to learn more about nature, and it is hoped that this new space will be beneficial in expanding their learning and connection with the great outdoors.

For the Exchange Square scheme, the hope is to encourage a more diverse group of people to use the public spaces, with more opportunities offered for temporary uses and events.

Exchange Square is more than just another green space to add to the National Park City of London. It is the culmination of the Broadgate Public Realm Framework plan for British Land and demonstrates the crucial role in which public realm plays in establishing a new identity for a site – from an office-led campus to a truly mixed-use, creative environment.

ABOUT

Maylim is a specialist in commercial external works, hard and soft landscaping, civil engineering and highways projects. Working across both public and private sectors, it works to improve outdoor space; helping to build new neighbourhoods as well as bringing together existing communities. Maylim’s integrated approach enables the team to adapt and deliver anything from small-scale developments to multi-million-pound projects. maylim.co.uk

DURING WORKS

REFERENCES

Principal contractor Maylim maylim.co.uk

Client Broadgate/British Land broadgate.co.uk britishland.com

Architect DSDHA dsdha.co.uk

Landscape architect FFLO fflo.co.uk

Decorative and architectural metalwork Kent Stainless kentstainless.com

Soft landscaping Willerby Landscapes willerby-landscapes.co.uk

Waterproofing Tilbury Contracts tilburycontracts.com

Water feature Fountains Direct fountains-direct.co.uk

Terrazzo In Opera Group inoperagroup.com Glazing Bellapart bellapart.com

Electrical MDN mdnuk.co.uk

Tree removal Tom Boswell Tree Services tomboswelltrees.com

Lightweight concrete Capital Concrete capitalconcrete.co.uk

Steel frame LG Kimber Bedding and jointing Steintec steintec.co.uk

Void former Jablite jablite.co.uk

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www.torcpots.com

Connect to

THE OUTDOORS

OAKMORE GREEN THE SMART HOME GARDEN

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Switching on the heating before you get home, asking Google for the weather forecast, and turning on the TV via an app on your phone have all become commonplace in the home – but what about in the garden? Smart technology for outdoor spaces is perhaps lesser known, but not non-existent, and The Smart Home Garden has set out to prove just how much is possible.

The garden has become a permanent fixture at Potters Home Digital’s showroom in Kent. The smart home expert has collaborated with award-winning garden designer Laura Anstiss, along with a wealth of other partners, to bring the smart home outdoors with the first show garden of its kind in the UK.

With an entertainment space, home cinema and outdoor kitchen, this half-a-million-pound garden is currently for high-end clients looking for a hi-tech, low maintenance space. But there are products which can be purchased individually, and whilst the cost might seem a little steep for now, it’s hoped that higher demand for these products will bring down the price and make the entire garden more achievable.

On the button

To highlight the variety of outdoor automation, The Smart Home Garden is divided into different 'rooms'. “The garden is a space that has many rooms which Laura has designed,” says Alex Jones, director of Potters Home Digital. “These different areas can be used in different ways and therefore the technology that we’ve put within the spaces is in keeping with those different areas.”

The first room is the main entertainment space, which transforms from a spot for al fresco dining to an outdoor cinema with the touch of a button. An app allows users to open the panels to reveal a waterproof TV behind them, with below-ground subwoofers offering surround sound. Speakers are also hidden amongst the planting, blending into the landscape. Better yet, whilst watching the latest series of whatever takes your fancy, users can also charge their phone and control the lighting.

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1 London Stone's DesignClad in cinema area 2 Bespoke seating area by Creative Ironworks
brought everything together into one system so that it’s easy for the client – the end user"
"We’ve
PROJECT DETAILS Project value (inclusive of VAT) £500k Size of project 300m2 Build time 2 years (extended due to COVID-19)
LAURA

Moving away from the entertainment room, there is also an office which is “completely smart”, with different tones of lighting suited to whether the user is beavering away during the day or burning the midnight oil. Automated blinds, heating and lighting allow the user to set up their office before they return home. The same goes for the irrigation, which has rain sensors to stop it coming on when there has been heavy rainfall.

In fact, the entire garden is controlled by one app, rather than a series of A/B systems, creating interoperability. From the start, it was important to have each element integrated into one app, so that the technology could be controlled easily on

a smartphone, via the touch of a button or through voice activation. “We’ve brought everything together into one system so that it’s easy for the client – the end user,” explains Laura.

Bringing technology together has been a key focus for the garden, as has bringing together companies and suppliers to make the garden a reality. For instance, at the end of the garden is a more tranquil area with a water feature, rock speakers and what has been named ‘the Smart Bench’.

“We worked with Allgreen Group and American speaker manufacturer James Loudspeaker to create this Smart Bench,” explains Alex. “The top has been hand polished, but we’ve cut out the front of the

stone and inset two speakers into the bench. We took a photo of the front of the rock before cutting a hole in it and hydrodipped the grill to match the rock. We then floated the bench and put an LED strip underneath. This Smart Bench could be a standalone item, but we also have audio, lighting and the water feature –which is the same type of stone – that can all be tied into the one app.

“The different areas and different zones are all designed to be in keeping with the landscape, but also to provide technology which is being asked for these days.”

The power of plants

To help the technology further blend into the landscape, plants were carefully selected from

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"The planting scheme is based on disguising the technology, softening the areas and complementing the hardscape"
OMNIDIRECTIONAL PLANTED SPEAKER WALL LIGHTING FOCUS SPIKE LIGHTS
JULY 2022
ROCK SPEAKERS

sponsor Howe Green. “The planting scheme is based on disguising the technology, softening the areas and complementing the hardscape, which is what I would do anyway as a designer,” says Laura.

“It needed to follow the colour scheme of the rest of the garden, working with the mocha and the DesignClad, for example, and the greys and oranges that we have in the garden. The planting blends through, so there’s lots of dark red leaves in the lower area as you come up the ramp and then, going into the kitchen area at the top, there is a lot of colour because that’s where people will be sitting; it needed to be vibrant and cheerful, with things like herbs.”

Collaboration is key

Before the space was transformed, it was an overgrown, disused plot of land outside the showroom. Together with his business partner Lance Hopley, Alex decided that they needed to do more with the space whilst linking it with what Potters Home Digital has become best known – home automation. They spotted an opportunity to create synergy between the home and garden.

“It was a collaboration of the initial idea of technology, and then Laura built upon that and blew up our small idea to a whole new level,” says Alex. They approached industry suppliers to become sponsors of the garden, and the likes of London Stone, Allgreen Group, How Green and Stark & Greensmith were keen to be involved.

They were also witnessing the growth of outdoor technology in the US, where more and more products were coming onto the market for outdoor living. So, they worked with manufacturers to showcase these products in the UK, the main company being Sonance, which Alex says invented the category of in-wall and in-ceiling speakers. The award-winning audio company launched Sonance Outdoor Series, a scalable outdoor speaker system which

delivers even coverage and exceptional sound quality, making it the perfect fit.

“The game changer was when Samsung, the global number one TV brand, released its own outdoor waterproof TV. That happened during the build process, and when it did, we knew we were onto something; the fact that a company as big as Samsung opened itself up to outdoor living and brought out an outdoor TV signed, sealed and delivered the fact that what we were doing was going to be huge in the years to come.”

Tough tasks

Each product was chosen to be completely resilient and enduring of the external elements, including the unpredictable British weather, says Alex. But there were other challenges to the project, the biggest of which was the cinema wall.

Contending with the typical challenges of working with cladding on walls and intricate cuts and incorporating these into the wall with the television and moving motors for the Corten screening, whilst making all the elements marine grade and IP grade, was the hardest part of the whole

4

5

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3 Smart controlled lighting and hidden audio Tranquil area with Smart Bench Art from expert sculptor Louise Giblin ORLUNA STEP LIGHTS LANDSCAPE SATELLITE SPEAKERS BESPOKE SEATING
JULY 2022
SMART GARDEN ROOM

garden, says Alex; it was the part which the team started first and finished last.

There were also, of course, the challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. The idea for the Smart Home Garden was conceived in 2018 and the build started the following year, but there were then numerous delays as a result of lockdowns.

What’s next?

Now that it is open to the public via private appointment, the Smart Home Garden will act as a one-stop-shop for outdoor smart technology, inspiring people and showing what they can achieve in their garden. It will also show how sustainable a smart garden can be, with automation allowing less energy to be wasted and less water. The technology itself is durable and long lasting, with most having a lifetime guarantee. Bookings for an immersive experience can be made via thesmarthomegarden.com.

As technology evolves and develops, so will the garden, as it continues to highlight the best in outdoor smart technology and show that the garden of the future may well be achievable now.

6 Stark & Greensmith screens with lighting

ABOUT

Potters Home Digital provides full integrated entertainment solutions and creates bespoke systems which both enhance lifestyles and are ready for the future. home-digital.com

ABOUT

Laura Anstiss, lead designer and director of Oakmore Green Ltd, started her career as a garden designer in 1996. The many years of experience she has means that she has an eye for hidden potential in any garden. Laura believes it is important to be able to view a garden from a designer’s perspective. It is imperative to understand the relationship between hard and soft landscape; there are many ingredients combined to meet the level of success and consider all aspects from beginning to end. Oakmore Green Design Studio offers a full landscape design service from concept to completion. oakmoregreen.co.uk

REFERENCES

In collaboration with Potters Home Digital home-digital.com

Garden design Oakmore Green oakmoregreen.co.uk

Paving London Stone londonstone.co.uk

Paving Allgreen Group allgreen.uk

Paving Vande Moortel vandemoortel.co.uk/en

Sculpture Louise Giblin louisegiblin.co.uk

Garden room Garden Getaways garden-getaways.co.uk

Decorative metalwork Stark & Greensmith starkandgreensmith.com

Water feature Watermatic watermaticltd.co.uk

Lighting Lutron lutron.com/europe

Speakers Sonance sonance.com

Waterproof TV Samsung samsung.com/uk

Lighting Orluna orluna.com

Display mount Future Automation futureautomation.co.uk

Metal fabricators Creative Ironworks creative-ironworks.co.uk

Entertainment technology controllers URC urc-automation.com

Plants How Green Nursery howgreennursery.co.uk

Construction materials MC Aggregates mcaggregate.com

Hedging Hopes Groves Nursery hopesgrovenurseries.co.uk

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Situated in the Somerset countryside, Villa Ventorum takes its visitors back to the fourth century. It has been seven years in the making, bringing to life an authentic reimagining of the Roman villa that once stood in its place on the impressive Hadspen estate. Hadspen Roman Villa was discovered in 1832, but excavations of the site didn’t take place until between 1968 and 1970. This revealed structural remains, pottery, coins and part of a mosaic floor which suggested a substantial villa. Further excavations in 2015 revealed its true extent and its outbuildings; it had been built, adapted and enlarged from the third to the fifth centuries AD. The Hadspen grounds now houses The Newt of Somerset, a luxury hotel, garden and supplier of fresh apple cyder which wanted to recreate the site’s history.

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AUGUST 2022
Roman
& HUNT VILLA VENTORUM, THE NEWT OF SOMERSET PROJECT DETAILS Size of project 2,500m2 Build time Seven years
RESTORATION
URQUHART

A team of archaeologists, architects, engineers and craftsmen were brought on board to undertake the biggest reconstruction of a Roman villa in Britain, creating Villa Ventorum, or “Villa of the Winds’, which is now open to the public.

Glorious gardens

But what magnificent Roman villa would be complete without magnificent gardens to match? Somerset-based landscape design practice Urquhart & Hunt, which this year scooped Best in Show at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, was appointed to recreate the gardens. The design included a pergola ‘Moon Garden’ dedicated to Luna, goddess of the moon. There is also a pond, a ‘Roman style’ planted meadow and an orchard of ancient fruit varieties, beneath which are herb meadows sown for bees. Urquhart & Hunt also added a medicinal garden, a kitchen garden and a garden of lavender, yew and myrtle topiary. Closer to the villa, there’s sweet chestnut and hawthorn, with fig espaliered against a wall.

Period planting

Urquhart & Hunt worked with plant historian Maggie Campbell-Culver and archaeologists to research plant varieties which had either been found in British Roman villas which existed around the same time or were documented in paintings and writings from around 350AD.

Urquhart & Hunt say: “Seasonal change would have been palpable through a shifting colour palette: fresh greens and whites (such as anemone nemorosa and narcissus poeticus) celebrate the arrival of spring, followed by a broad mix of hot pinks, blues and deep purples in summer (Gladiolus byzantinus, Centaurea cyanus and Salvia pratensis), with autumn bringing a paler version of the summer tones (Aster tripolium).

“Evergreen shrubs and climbers hold the scents, form and presence of the borders through winter, along with some dry flower

1 View to Roman Villa across wildflower border

2 Wildflower border with Roman tool shed

3 Ornamental pond flanked by kitchen borders

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"Urquhart & Hunt worked with plant historian Maggie Campbell-Culver and archaeologists to research plant varieties which had either been found in British Roman villas which existed around the same time or were documented in paintings and writings from around 350AD"

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heads for seeds, such as alliums, reminders of the past seasons.”

Medicinal varieties

Everything from the plants used in the medicinal border to the number of trees chosen for the orchard has been carefully considered. The lucky number for the latter is eight, chosen as a symbol of infinity as well as representing the eight months of productivity in an orchard, from April through to November. The species chosen – apple, pear, cherry, damson, almond, mulberry, quince and mediar – are those that were imported to Britain during the Roman period.

Throughout the scheme, flowering plants have been sown into mixed informal beds in a nod to the cottage garden-theme planting at the time of the original villa. A more formal layout has been used in the kitchen garden, where plants are grown in clear blocks for ease of harvest.

Alongside the kitchen garden is the medicinal border, where the area closest to the steam room is themed around aromatherapy. For the area nearest the outdoor dining area, herbs such as rosemary, sage and calendula have been sown. Aromatic mint has been planted at the base of the

stibadium, the outdoor reclining seating where diners would lie to digest their food.

Rose petals were used in cookery and to make oils, so roses have been planted in wide, symmetrical borders within the garden to frame the central water feature. These have been underplanted with violas and saffron crocus.

To the east of the garden, Urquhart & Hunt is adding water-meadow planting around a larger body of water that would have been used as a vivarium to store live fish in place of refrigeration.

In the Night Garden

Within the Moon Garden, where a statue of the goddess Luna is positioned at the end of a pergola, a “nocturnally-themed border” has been added leading up to the statue. A silvery palette of Helichrysum italicum, Ruta graveolens and Echinops sphaerocephalus has been planted, alongside scented varieties such as Viola odorata 'Alba' and Lilium candidum These are interspersed with night-flowering plants, including Hesperis matronalis albiflora and Lonicera caprifolium

Urquhart & Hunt says: “For us, the journey has been a magical one – working with an incredible specialist team and bringing together all the plants that would have been

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either introduced from the continent for the first time, or grown at that period in Britain. The estate holds a historic importance for British horticulture and plantsmanship/ plantswomanship and this garden no less, as it will forever be an accurate historical reference for plants in Roman Britain.”

The villa is an impressive recreation, with a planting palette fit for the wealthy owners who would have once resided on the Hadspen estate – and now for visitors who can enjoy the Roman villa experience.

4 Wildflower and topiary borders

5 Moon Garden with statue of Goddess Luna

6 View of kitchen and medicinal garden

All photographs ©Dave Watts.

Courtesy of Urquhart & Hunt at the Roman Villa, at the Newt in Somerset

ABOUT

Urquhart & Hunt is a landscape design studio dedicated to nature, with an impeccable design and fulfilment process. The practice specialises in contemporary restorations of older gardens and their wider landscapes, bringing nature into gardens as part of ecological restoration. Focusing on organic principles, they use native plants wherever possible to increase biodiversity and natural habitat health, whilst their sensitivity to cultural history brings the much-needed human dimension into the landscape. urquharthunt.com

REFERENCES

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agapanthuslandscaping.co.uk
Architecture Stonewood Design stonewooddesign.co.uk Newt Estate Architect Department thenewtinsomerset.com Contractor Stonewood Builders stonewoodbuilders.co.uk Planting Agapanthus Landscaping
Arborista arborista.co.uk Soft landscaping Sourced from various nurseries
and on one delivery: Urban Tree Planting and Tree Irrigation Soils, Growing Media and Barks Rural Tree Planting Wildflower Seed and Conservation Ecology, Ponds and Bioengineering Ground, Wind, Weed and Erosion Control Grounds Maintenance Our landscaping roots run deep With over 27 years’ experience supplying the industry with everything from soil to stakes and tree shelters to topsoil, Green-tech is proud to work with landscape contractors, designers and architects to create beautiful, sustainable and biodiverse landscape projects. • Over 10,000 products with a robust supply chain • Nationwide, flexible and next day delivery options • A comprehensive programme of CPD seminars and training seminars • Renowned for our professional advice and excellent customer care Order today by calling 01423 332100 or order online at www.green-tech.co.uk sales@green-tech.co.uk @greentechltd @greentechuk green-tech-ltd Treeplanting materialsinstock ORDERTODAY

Anew swimming pool terrace was needed to make a splash at a home in Hampshire. The property was already undergoing extensive works, with BlueFish Landscaping Contractors as the principal contractor overseeing the day-to-day management of the wider 68-week project which included a new pool house and biomass building.

The swimming pool complex area was to be an entertaining space for the clients, with a newly designed pool and terrace featuring a statement fireplace.

PROJECT DETAILS Project value £230k (exc. VAT) Build time 32 weeks Awards BALI National Landscape Award, Domestic Garden Between £100k-£250k PLUNGE Take the BLUEFISH LANDSCAPING CONTRACTORS THE SWIMMING POOL TERRACE AUGUST 2022 Pro Landscaper | The Collection 2022 105 prolandscapermagazine .com

This part of the wider project needed to be easily accessible from the house whilst maintaining the great views from the garden from its elevated position, with a natural filtered pool to help it complement the greater landscape.

Adding al fresco

Liz Frost and Darren Lincoln, the lead designers from Nettles & Petals Design, were brought on board to create a design proposal for replacing the clients’ existing swimming pool terrace with a space where they could relax with family and friends, enjoying the fireplace and hot tub, as well as to cook and socialise.

Steps from the pool house now lead to a porcelain terrace. An oak-framed outdoor

kitchen has been created alongside it, with polished granite tops, a Belfast sink, and a raised worktop serving as a bar area too.

Featuring a more traditional aesthetic, the outdoor kitchen has main support posts formed out of chunky oak with exposed rafters within the roof. The roof covering and guttering were made from red pigmento zinc, and the units were constructed by a local carpenter out of brick with bespoke Iroko frames and doors fitted within.

Heating up

At the end of the swimming pool is a brick fireplace, which reflects off the dark tiles within the pool. The fireplace had been fabricated off site using a steel framework and clad in aluminium to form the correct

Contractors then supplied a variety of bricks being used in other brickwork across the rest of the project to specialist brick cutters, who cut these down to 30mm-thick slips. These were glued to the aluminium substructure which formed the finished face of the arch.

This arch had to be craned into position onto the brick piers which BlueFish had previously built. It was secured into position using steel threaded rods that were chemically fixed into the reinforced concrete within the centre of the brick piers. The arch was hand pointed on site by BlueFish using the same batched mortar that all of the brickwork had been laid with to ensure colour consistency.

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radius and detailing. BlueFish Landscaping
AUGUST 2022

For yet more consistency, the boundary wall of the terrace was constructed using bricks to match the newly created pool house. Four arrow slit windows were added to the wall to allow in light and glimpses to the landscape beyond for those in the sunken cedar hot tub which sits within its own Iroko deck, but also to break up the solid nature of the wall. The back of the slits has also been subtly lit to add interest in the evenings.

With the varying ground levels across the length of what would be the new pool, a subterranean plant room was formed at the end of the new swimming pool. This required considerable structural blockwork

and facing brickwork in view of the planned brickwork that came above the level of the swimming pool terrace to form the log store at the base of the fireplace and the rest of the brickwork that wraps around the end of the pool.

Easy access

Due to the location of the swimming pool terrace within the garden, it needed to be accessed from the main driveway of the property. So, the decision was made to

1 Reflecting pool

2 Brick arch fireplace from across the pool

3 Outdoor kitchen – cosy and convenient

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"The swimming pool complex area was to be an entertaining space for the clients, with a newly designed pool and terrace featuring a statement fireplace"

remove a post and rail fence adjacent to the driveway which then allowed access into the adjoining field.

BlueFish then had an aluminium floor matting laid to form the base of its compound that allowed it to set up the site with its storage container, office and canteen, and portaloos. This created a durable, hardstanding area to be used for parking, material storage and turning around lorries, ensuring the site could run efficiently no matter how many personnel were on site as well as through the winter periods with no issues with unstable ground conditions.

From the compound area, BlueFish was then able to set up a scaffolding platform and ramp that formed its access from the site compound over the top of the tree root protection area – which was put on and around the existing beech tree avenue that runs adjacent to the edge of the new swimming pool terrace – and into the main working zone of the swimming pool terrace.

Through careful planning and excavation, BlueFish was able to avoid damaging any of the roots to the established trees whilst the swimming pool terrace was constructed. All the trees were wrapped in hessian for the

entirety of the project and were fenced off to stop personnel and machinery being able to cross over the root systems or damage the bark of the trees. The entire working zone of the swimming pool terrace was fenced off with Heras fencing and a secured entrance gate at the opening of its access ramp.

Within 32 weeks, the swimming pool terrace had been completed, creating the perfect spot for a dip in the pool and al fresco dining.

4 Arrow slit wall with seating

ABOUT

BlueFish Landscaping Contractors is an award-winning company creating high quality gardens and landscapes throughout Surrey, Hampshire and the South East. It offers professional landscape construction and garden maintenance, working alongside some of the UK’s leading garden designers. bluefishlandscapes.co.uk

5 Sunken hot tub beside the pool BEFORE

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REFERENCES

Lighting

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Principal contractor BlueFish Landscaping Contractors Ltd bluefishlandscapes.co.uk
Construction – swimming pool and subterranean plant room Clear Water Revival clear-water-revival.com
Garden design Nettles & Petals Design nettlesandpetalsdesign.co.uk
Light Your Garden lightyourgarden.co.uk
AUGUST 2022
Brick arch fabrication AJ Brick Cutters Ltd ajbrickcutters.co.uk Zinc roof covering and guttering GSL Southern gslsouthern.com Porcelain London Stone londonstone.co.uk Hot tub Riviera Hot Tubs Ltd riviera-hottubs.co.uk
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Before Stefano Marinaz Landscape

Architecture got its hands on it, this garden in southwest London was mainly paved with Yorkstone and there was very little in the way of planting beds. A large catalpa tree stood tall over the garden, providing a lot of shade. This tree became a standout feature for the finished look of the space.

Split onto two levels, the garden corresponds with the ground floor and the basement of a Grade II listed

building in Chelsea’s Alexander Square. Stefano Marinaz decided to increase the planting beds, whilst retaining enough space for a small dining table for the clients to enjoy al fresco dining in the summer. Above the circular dining table, pendant lights were hung from simple stainless steel wire whilst also allowing for climbers to be grown on them. Spike lights light the rest of the garden, positioned to highlight pots, trees, paths and other features.

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PROJECT DETAILS Project value £101k Size of project 62m2 Awards Currently shortlisted for SGD Award 2022
the IN THE SHADE STEFANO MARINAZ LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE ALEXANDER SQUARE
CATALPA TREE of

For the fence, Stefano Marinaz used iroko, an African wood typically a warm golden colour with an interlocked grain, which can make it difficult to work with at times. It is an extremely durable wood which is rot-resistant.

The paving was partially from the existing site and partially reclaimed.

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On the lower level, a disused pond was transformed into a water feature, offering sound and visual interest to the client’s basement office, which faced out into the garden.

A rotting fence was also swapped out for a new, slatted fence using iroko vertical elements of different width and depth to avoid monotony and add drama to the garden boundary. Decorative bronze details were added which resemble a wooden pattern and appear in the spaces between the large pots aligned against the fence, creating a striking visual axis.

Shady successes

Opposite the fence sits a camellia hedge, with dark green leaves studded with white flowers in spring, to enclose the other side of the garden. Despite the garden being southwest facing, the shade from the large catalpa tree influenced the types of plants chosen. On the left-hand side of the tree, for instance, shadeloving perennial were planted.

The top of the steps to the basement are framed by a multi-stemmed , flowering tree, and

Two pots have been used to create a new water feature with gentle vertical jets that will be illuminated at night.

in the basement, an existing pool has been transformed and filled with the same shade-loving plants used at street level.

The entire planting palette portrays a woodland planting where ferns, helleborus, Viola labradorica, Anemone nemorosa, Gallium odoratum, Epimedium, Rodgersia pinnata, Holboelia latifolia and other shade loving perennials have found home.

In the details

Whilst the finish of the garden is seamless, Stefano Marinaz had to overcome a few obstacles throughout the project, such as the house being under renovation by

1 Gorgeous sights at the central seating area

2 Stairwell and seating area with iroko fencing

3 Water feature as seen from above

4 A sp ot to relax together amongst the greenery

Photographs ©Alister Thorpe

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The plant selection included some special and unusual plants such as: Cardiocrinum giganteum, Arisaema tortuosum, Disporum longistylum ‘Night Heron’, and Beesia calthiflora, as well as the climber Schisandra rubriflora the flower of which resembles the pendant lights over the dining table.

Smallwood Architects. While the refurbishment work was taking place, the team only had access from the front, and everything –including heavy pots – had to go through a limited route that required going through the house and out the rear via the garden door, which was only around 80cm wide.

It was also the first time Stefano Marinaz was testing the bronze inserts as part of the

REFERENCES

Landscape contractor Bamboo Landscaping bamboolandscaping.co.uk

Pots Atelier Vierkant ateliervierkant.com

Pendant lights and table Paola Lenti paolalenti.it/en

Chairs Tribú tribu.com/en

Bronze details Officina Coppola officinacoppola.com

Plants Hortus Loci hortusloci.co.uk

ABOUT

iroko fence, and so there was a bit of concern at the start as to how well it would work and last. But details such as this have given the garden an edge and have enabled the team to create a green, shaded oasis within Central London.

5 Atelier Vierkant pots provide luxurious colourways across the garden Photographs ©Alister Thorpe

Stefano Marinaz Landscape Architecture was set up 10 years ago, inspired by the vision of giving as many people as possible the opportunity to have a beautifully designed garden. Today, it can offer all the design, landscaping and installation services you need to transform your open space into a wonderful garden. It is a chartered member of the British Landscape Institute, members of the SGD and of the Dutch NVTL. With offices in both London and Utrecht, it manages projects all over Britain, Italy and the Netherlands. And thanks to the recommendations and referrals it receives from clients, its international portfolio is always expanding. stefanomarinaz.com

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Located in Winchelsea Beach not far from the sea, in a very rural location adjoining the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, Kristina was tasked with designing a garden for a two-storey eco home on the site of the cottage that was originally there.

The client had planning permission, but it came with the condition of submitting soft landscaping details for the areas of the garden affected by the building work. This was to ensure biodiverse planting and the reinstatement of a habitat for the resident bats which live on the property, following recommendations of an ecological bat survey.

For the rear garden, the design needed to incorporate existing features such as the greenhouse, pond and sculpture. The clients also wanted a seating area near the pond and some raised vegetable beds, and there were several sculptural sea timbers which could be used in

the design. Various inspection covers for the rainwater harvesting, Biocell sewage tank and manholes needed to be disguised, and a naturalistic feel was to be achieved, with lots of umbellifer plants that were good for wildlife.

For the front garden, the client wanted to be able to see the nature reserve but maintain privacy and have parking for two cars. The planting needed to be drought tolerant, relatively low maintenance and above all wildlife friendly, particularly for the bats which it was hoped would take up residence in the two new bat boxes attached to the eaves of the new house.

Most importantly, the client wanted as low a carbon footprint as possible for both the house build and the garden, using local materials to cut down on transportation. The garden also had to be as low cost as possible as most of the available funds were being spent on the house build.

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NATURE Back to KRISTINA CLODE GARDEN DESIGN ECO HOUSE WILDLIFE GARDEN PROJECT DETAILS Project value £25,800 Build time 6 months Size of project 637m2 Awards Currently shortlisted for an SGD Award 2022

Local materials

It was essential the materials used in the garden looked natural to fit in with the surroundings of the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve that was situated opposite the house. The ethos of ‘Eco’ build needed to be met by the build being sustainable.

Local shingle forms the driveway, and clay pavers were used consistently throughout the project for various elements such as paths, ramps and edge restraints. One of the paths in the rear garden leads into an orchard and wildflower meadow towards a new ‘studio’ shed. The vegetable beds here are made of pressure treated sleepers alongside the moved greenhouse, and tables and chairs create a seating area at the widening of the path.

Local sea timbers rescued and stored for years by the client were used to create a beautiful vertical sculpture in groups of three in the gravel garden planting both in the front and rear gardens. These appear among grasses and the tall gauzy perennials to make the garden feel natural and coastal.

Naturalistic planting

For the soft landscaping to abide by the ecological bat survey, a lot of the plants needed to be native, attractive to wildlife and increase biodiversity. The garden also had to be in keeping with the natural and coastal feel the area, thanks to its location opposite the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve.

Kristina incorporated a perennial wildflower meadow to hide the various manholes and inspection covers for the Biocell sewage system and rainwater harvesting tank. It improves the garden’s biodiversity and provides a habitat for wildlife, as well as being in keeping with natural feel of the garden. The low maintenance meadow only needs cutting once a year.

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The clay paver path continues in 90° herringbone into a gravel garden area, widening to accommodate a table and chairs, and ending at a shed at the bottom of the garden.

The client wanted a loose and natural feel to the garden, so a gravel garden was chosen for the front planted areas, with shrubs and climbers to screen the fence on the north-east boundary and lower growing shrubs and grasses on the boundary by the road.

The planting is a mix of Mediterranean shrubs, native and cultivated perennials such as sea kale, thrift, Achillea 'Moonshine', bronze fennel and feverfew, grasses include Stipa gigantea and Briza media, and biennials and annuals such as Verbascum and poppies.It’s a dynamic scheme, changing in height through the year and gives a long season of colour and interest, with perennials and grasses left standing into winter so their seedheads and stems provide habitat for wildlife.

In the rear garden there is a perennial wildflower meadow under the orchard trees with an area of flowering lawn around it which can be mown or left longer to flower. At the end of the rear garden the ground is heavy clay where Kristina planted moisture loving bog plants around the pond such as Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Alba', Euphorbia palustris 'Walenburg's Glorie', Angelica archangelica and Molinia caerulea

garden with drought-tolerant, coastal plants

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Rear garden with mixed border
Gravel
Mixed border and perennial wildflower meadow
A central perennial native wildflower meadow
Autumn flowering plants in the rear garden

A natural dredged shingle mix sourced from a local quarry pit in Lydd was used for the front drive; it is the same shingle that forms the beach not far to the south of the house. An eco-grid beneath keeps it in position and type 3 MOT ensures SuDS compliant drainage.

REFERENCES

Eco-house construction and landscaping Mitchells Construction mitchellsconstruction.co.uk

Landscaping S. R. Avard sravard.com

Brick pavers Bexhill Brickworks

Brick pavers – clay Ibstock Ashdown Quarry ibstockbrick.co.uk

Low carbon footprint

Sustainability was a crucial consideration for the garden. Various path materials were considered during the development of the design and at one stage Indian sandstone paving was a possibility as the client did not want a loose path material and due to the quantity of paving required it was the most cost-effective option. However, the local and sustainable ethos won out in the end as Mitchell's managed to source locally an attractive mixed blend of clay stock pavers using clay from Ibstock Ashdown Quarry with the pavers made at a brickworks in Bexhill, for an acceptable price.

A local quarried shingle forms the front driveway, and a 10mm pea gravel also from the Lydd quarry was used to mulch all the planting beds in the front and rear garden. Not only does the gravel help to discourage weeds in the early years, but it also helps to keep moisture in the soil and acts as a soil conditioner to aid drainage for the Mediterranean plants selected for the gravel garden which hate winter wet.

Flexible design

One of the main challenges was that it wasn’t just a new garden but a new eco-house was being installed at the same time, with associated groundworks including a Biocell sewage treatment tank, and rainwater harvesting tank and an air-source heat pump. The location of the Biocell tank was altered when it was discovered that the water table was too high at the bottom of the garden, which required a re-design of the garden as a result.

The existing pond needed a facelift for the new garden, as the original edging stones were unattractive uneven concrete slabs. Sam Avard had some reclaimed York slabs left over from another job and he cut them down to use as edging for the pond. The liner around the edge was then hidden by using rockery stones inside the pond among the existing pond plants.

Deep excavations had already been made for the tank and the heavy clay ground compacted by the diggers before the decision to move them was made, leaving behind cleggy, made-up ground for the garden construction.

The rainwater tank was also moved from its intended location under the deck, into the garden due to building regulations, requiring more adjustments. For border preparations and pond work, Kristina brought in landscaper S. R. Avard Ltd. as Mitchells needed to focus on the interior.

Metal edging Kinley kinley.co.uk Shingle Brett Aggregates’ Lydd Quarry brett.co.uk

Wildflower meadow turf and lawn turf Wild Flower Lawns and Meadows wildflowerlawns andmeadows.com

ABOUT

As a nectar source and general habitat for all sorts of insects, reptiles and small mammals the wildflower meadow is invaluable and is constantly changing. Around the edge of the meadow is a flowering lawn as the client wanted some shorter grass that could be mown a little more regularly.

At the heart of the project was the aim to provide habitat for the resident bats and hope they would return to the bat box on the eco house; which did happen. The garden is now an attractive, naturalistic space, with a low carbon footprint and perfectly in keeping with its surroundings.

6 Mixed planting and shingle driveway at the front

Kristina originally trained at Capel Manor College in 2001/2 and completed an MA in Garden History at Birkbeck University in 2007. After moving to East Sussex, she set up Kristina Clode Garden Design in 2010, with a particular emphasis on wildlife friendly, biodiverse gardens, which are in tune with their surroundings. In 2021 she won the Judges' and Design for the Environment SGD Awards for Sedlescombe School Sensory Garden. kristinaclode gardendesign.co.uk

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Amongst a row of houses on a south east London street, a small two-tiered garden needed a revamp to match the renovation of the 1970s property to which it belonged. Before Greencube Design was brought on board, it was a scruffy space with a retaining wall and a small path, from which steps led down to a lawn and a trampoline.

The clients, both of whom worked from home either full or part-time, wanted different zones to be created for them and their two children. They wanted areas to dine, to relax and socialise, each featuring different textures of green. The existing Acer palmatum needed to be kept, but the trampoline was to be removed and play integrated instead into the new design.

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GREENCUBE DESIGN TRIPLE TEXTURE COURTYARD PROJECT DETAILS Build time 6 weeks Size of project 78m2 Awards Shortlisted for SGD Awards 2022 GREEN OASIS G reenwich’s
1 Ofyr fire pit and BBQ 2 Rudbeckia adding a pop of seasonal colour

At an angle

Quirky angles had been added to the house by the architects, and Greencube Design was keen for this to continue into the garden, with three decked terraces at unusual angles and adjoined by a wooden bridge. Rather than digging out the garden and sending a large amount of soil to landfill, Greencube worked with the different levels, using them to benefit the overall finish.

Standout features such as large, junglelike plants were added rather than small plants, to make the best use of the small city garden and to fit Greencube’s approach of using planting to soften and surround hard landscaped areas.

Three materials were also repeated and interweaved into the design to create a rhythm throughout the garden. One of these is Corten steel, after the clients took a liking to it. It has been used for the steps, chimney flues, oversized pots and a gate which includes a hole for the clients’ cat to venture in and out at its own leisure.

Another repeated material is charred black timber, used for the decking. Blonde wood was considered, but as this had been used for the house cladding, Greencube Design wanted to use a different coloured wood but one that would still fit in with the contemporary architecture. Seasoned oak was selected for the bridges between the levels and the bespoke benches at the edge of the garden.

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The timber has been charred using an ancient Japanese technique called shou sugi ban. Despite being put under a hot flame, the process enhances the durability of the wood and helps to preserve it.

Planting

Green foliage surrounds each of the terraces. As it is notably shady towards the bottom of the garden, Fatsia and Dicksonia were used, proving to be a natural fit and visually pleasing inclusion for the space. Seasonal surprises were mixed in amongst the sculptural clipped balls of Pittosporum, bay and Teucrium fruticans.

The maintenance of the garden is now carried out six times a year by a professional maintenance service which carries out the basics such as pruning, feeding, mulching, trimming and tidying the garden, checking the irrigation and adding more bark beneath the swings.

By working with the existing site, and with the architects renovating the house, Greencube has created a modern, stylish, green oasis, with something for all the family.

3 Relaxed dining terrace framed by Osmanthus and Myrtus

4 Dicksonia antartica

5 Textural layers of green planting surround the lower terrace

6 Corten steps lead to lower area with Hunza step lights and framed with clipped balls of Laurus nobilus (Bay)

7 Planters, seating and a sculpture

8 Charred timber provides unique comfort

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DESIGN VISUALISATION

REFERENCES

Construction

Built solely by Clayton of Quest Landscape questlandscapeskent.co.uk

Plants

Provender provendernurseries.co.uk Palmstead palmstead.co.uk How Green howgreennursery.co.uk

Fabricated steps and pots Adezz adezz.com/en

Burner/BBQ Ofyr ofyr.com Fabricated Corten gate Stark & Greensmith starkandgreensmith.com

ABOUT

Greencube Design is an award-winning garden and landscape design practice designing gardens across the south of the UK since 2007. Led by founder and designer Mandy Buckland, it is now based in North Norfolk but continues to work across the UK. greencubedesign.co.uk

For integrated play, Greencube added two wooden swings, painting the frames black to match the decking and treated softwood timber for the seats.

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IN BRENTBoosting biodiversity

PROJECT DETAILS

Anew neighbourhood is being created in north west London, and with it comes the creation of a seven-acre park on what was once a large asphalt car park. Those behind the project are touting Union Park as the first new local park in more than 100 years, saying it emphasises the importance of horticulture in the overall transformation of the 85-acre Wembley Park, which 5,000 residents will call home.

Property developer Quintain is delivering the scheme which, when complete, will cover the equivalent of nearly five Wembley Stadium football pitches in the London Borough of Brent. Union Park will be taking up more than a tenth of this, boasting a new playground, pond

and children’s paddling pool, freshly planted trees and expansive lawns, as well as outdoor training equipment. It’s not just Union Park which will provide greenery to the residents; half of Wembley Park will be open space, residents’ gardens or rooftop terraces.

Southern section

Whilst the northern section of the park is not due to open until 2024, the three-acre southern section of the park has already opened to the public. Visitors can now enjoy an outdoor gym and a multi-use games

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Project value £11.5m Build time 2 years Size of project 3.5 acres approx.
QUINTAIN UNION PARK IN WEMBLEY PARK 1 Union Park, Wembley Park – the first new park in area from Quintain

court. For biodiversity benefits, an urban meadow has been introduced, as has a wildlife pond and a bug hotel, which was built by one of the construction apprentices working on the Wembley Park site.

For children aged 0-8, there is a wooden playground too. “The theme was ‘Wemba Lea’, the original name for Wembley – a clearing in the forest in Anglo-Saxon. So, timber was the natural choice and promoted play with a natural material complete with the knots and fissures associated with bark stripped timber,” explains Kirk Nelson of LDA Design, the landscape architecture firm appointed by Wembley Park.

“The brief included the need for a canopy –we spent a long time coordinating the location of the posts to avoid the utilities and ensuring views between the park, the residences and Olympic Way were not impeded.”

Water play has also been included, which Nelson says was a “bold choice” by Quintain. “We knew the story of the park needed a source pool and ideally a waterfall or fountain to celebrate the gateway to the south entrances. We looked at natural pool systems but realised with the fall in levels we needed a series of linked pools. The opportunity to create winter condition – a pool with a fountain that can transition to a play pool on warmer days and throughout the summer with fountain jets, nozzles and a running stream – has proved immensely popular during the recent hot summer.

“The idea of interactive water also subtly references the introduced boating lakes that formed part of the 1924 British Empire Exhibition. Brent, one of London’s largest and most diverse boroughs, needs more places like Union Park; distinctive, invested-in places where people can socialise, relax, or get active.”

Choosing trees

It’s not the only nod to the history of the area. Key views have been accentuated by carefully placed trees in the style of Humphrey Repton, who designed the original landscapes at Wembley Park in the 1790s. Single trees surround the central lawn and, at the corner of Wembley Stadium, a collection of conifers and

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EPIMEDIUM VERSICOLOR 'SULPHUREUM' CALTHA PALUSTRIS ORIGANUM 'NORTON GOLD' CEANOTHUS THYRSIFLORUS

winter/spring foliage planting forms a pinetum, adding colour and seasonal interest.

Amongst the many plants included in the scheme, many are natives and pollinators as well as sensory planting, including redwood, salvia, snowball, snakebark, maple, euphorbia, aster and brunnera. An impressive 985 trees have been planted across the entire Wembley Park state so far, including waterside tree species such as alnus and taxodium.

“The original site was a sea of tarmac – with no trees or vegetation – with just a tiny strip of loose gravel slope along the road edge,” says Nelson. “Our starting point was procuring and planting native trees and biodiversity planting including echinacea, encouraging bugs with the early works, attracting birds to the site, cabin bug hotels, and green roofs during the construction period. We noticed starlings first, followed by sparrows and house martins and swifts swooping down to drink from the pool. Now the park is full of pollinators for most of the year, allowing a greater number of bird species.

“The surrounding apartment buildings all have podium gardens and green roofs ensuring that wildlife links are created between, through and over the buildings into the wider

2 Water features are distinctive elements

3 Views accentuated by carefully placed trees in style of Humphrey Repton (1790s landscape designer)

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The southern section of the park is now open, whilst the northern part is set for completion in 2024. It will feature a more naturalistic design to bring even more biodiversity and will include a bandstand and community centre.

New multi-use Atlantic Court offers a bookable space for sports such as tennis and netball. Outdoor training equipment nearby offers an alternative way for residents to keep fit.

masterplan, and importantly to connect to the Wealdstone Brook directly – one of the capital’s Blue Ribbon designated wildlife zones with the vegetation of the railway to the south. Within the masterplan concept, this was known as the ‘green lasso’, an arc of nature connecting wildlife and nature around the stadium that had become a barrier.”

Increasing the area’s biodiversity is just one of the ways Union Park is aiming for a positive environmental impact. Its ponds form part of its SuDS, with rainwater running off the surrounding buildings and into the main pond with a fountain. When it overflows, water is slowly released into the surface water drainage system.

Handover hurdles

"As with any scheme this size, one of the biggest challenges was the construction and the handover sequencing," explains Nelson, with nine apartment buildings residing on Wembley Park, including the Canada Gardens and The Robinson – for which John Sisk & Son is the main contractor, with site cabins on Union Park – and The Madison, managed by main contractor Wates along the south boundary. A hoarding line separates these different contracts within the park.

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“This required a design that could respond to the handover sequence, with the first part of the park opening with the first apartments and the last part two years later upon removal for the site cabins,” says Nelson.

“Working with the client and construction team, we were also able to install the below ground utilities, attenuation cells and foundations for the play park tent to enable the site cabins to be erected. This included early planting of trees within the construction site along Engineer’s Way, which was then subsequently planted heavily to create a ‘leasing walk’, screening the site cabins and allowing the incorporation of bug hotels.

4 Fountain in the largest pool celebrates the gateway to the south entrances

5 A space for residents & community to enjoy, including the Atlantic Court

6 Union Park features a wooden playground for children aged 0 to 8 years

7 Pets are also welcome with dedicated, secure dog runs available

REFERENCES

Landscape architect LDA Design lda-design.co.uk

Lighting design Equation equationlighting.co.uk Consultant Buro Happold burohappold.com Stace stace.co.uk Foreman Roberts foremanroberts.com Faithful and Gould fgould.com Gleeds gb.gleeds.com

Principle designer PRP prp-co.uk

Masterplan architects Flanagan Lawrence flanaganlawrence.com

Management contractor Sisk johnsiskandson.com/uk

Hard landscaper Harringtons harringtonsplc.co.uk

Soft landscaping Goddards Landscape Contractors goddards-landscape.co.uk

Trees Lorenz von Ehren Nursery lve-baumschule.com

Water feature Fountains Direct fountains-direct.co.uk

Precast concrete elements Evans evansconcrete.co.uk

Play equipment Timberplay timberplay.com Jupiter Play jupiterplay.co.uk

Tensile canopy Architen Landrell architen.com

Bollards/HVM furniture, Mistral paving/ conservation kerbs Marshalls marshalls.co.uk

Bespoke coloured concrete to playable splash pad Lazenby Concrete lazenby.co.uk

Timber plantroom cladding, seating tops to PCC Doug Phillips dougphillips.co.uk

Fencing General Metal Constructions Limited gmcgroup.co.uk

Stormwater treatment Hydro International hydro-int.com/en

Stone boulders CED Stone Group cedstone.co.uk

Pop up power Lucy Zodion lucyzodion.com

Bespoke Multiminium bins mmcité mmcite.com/en

Rough and Ready benches Streetlife streetlife.nl/en

Outdoor gym Proludic proludic.co.uk

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“The other challenge was dealing with below ground services, including an existing sewer, gas, HV, LV, District Heating Network, Envac, water services, and BT services – some of which set underneath our raised water wall. There are more than one hundred access covers in the park, with nearly 50 in the lawns that we are seeking to reduce the visual impact via a variety of means following a ‘lessons learnt’ session. We are hopeful that we can find a way of integrating them with the park over the coming months.”

Lasting legacy

There may still be two years until the entire Union Park is open to the public, but it is already

REFERENCES

Soil cells DeepRoot Silva deeproot.com Drainage ACO aco.co.uk

Resin bound gravel SureSet sureset.co.uk

Drinking fountain Halsey Taylor halseytaylor.com/us/en

having an impact, from boosting biodiversity to providing facilities for visitors to play, relax and exercise. The southern section of the park, which has been designed as a more formal space, will host small performances and public art, while the larger, more rugged northern section will host larger-scale performances once complete, and the park is managed by the Wembley Team Park to ensure its longevity.

A bug hotel was designed and built by one of the construction apprentices, reusing waste materials to create the habitat. 8 Bug hotel to boost biodiversity in Union Park

Pool and fountain, or a play pool on warmer days

Water features attract a variety of bird species Photographs ©Chris Winter/Wembley Park

Lighting Simes simes.com/en LED Linear: Architectural FX afx.lighting Debbas debbas.com/en Rosco emea.rosco.com/en Targetti targetti.com/en LightGraphix lightgraphix.co.uk Tokistar via Light Projects lightprojects.co.uk/ tokistar LiniLED via Design Intent

ABOUT

Quintain is the team behind Wembley Park, one of London's most exciting mixed-use neighbourhoods and the largest single site of Build to Rent in the UK, with homes operated by rental management team, Quintain Living. Quintain is also the third largest residential developer in Ireland, with 9,000 homes in the pipeline. quintain.co.uk

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reating a garden which is as sustainable as possible whilst also being aesthetically pleasing is not easy, but jarmanmurphy worked with the clients and the architects of this project to achieve exactly that. The design studio was brought on board to redesign both the front and back garden of a converted barn for a couple who run a contemporary art consultancy. The property, where the couple lives with their teenage daughter and two dogs, was being renovated by Brooks Murray Architects, which recommended jarmanmurphy.

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PROJECT DETAILS Project value £150k Build time 11 months Size of project 1,030m2 Awards Shortlisted for SGD Award 2022 JARMANMURPHY REWILDING NORTH BARN RENOVATE, REDESIGN REWILD

The front courtyard reused a screen from Tom Raffield’s stand at RHS Chelsea Flower Show to create a dramatic entrance to the home and to define the parking and garden areas.

Environmental considerations were to be key to the design of the gardens, as were the client’s own inspirations. A parking space for multiple cars need to be added to the front courtyard, as well as an entrance to the property by foot and vehicles. The existing brick walled courtyard was to have a contemporary design, whilst the rear garden needed to be made more inviting and become a place where the clients could go and explore, with different plants, trees and textures.

Both gardens were to offer a sense of sanctuary, whilst the enclosed courtyard was to be updated to match the new modern interiors and exterior renovations to the architecture.

Reuse and rewild

As many existing materials on the site were reused as possible. Old tarmac from the original car park, for instance, was broken up and used to raise the levels under the decking in the back garden. Chippings from tree work were saved and used for informal trodden paths in the back, and jarmanmurphy created piles of brush and foliage to encourage wildlife to feed and nest. jarmanmurphy intentionally kept the hard landscaping minimal to allow the surrounding countryside to merge visually

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Made from Corten steel, the water table from The Pot Company blends seamlessly into the naturalistic landscape and requires little maintenance.

with the garden and to lessen the impact of landfill and transport on the roads. It collaborated with Brooks Murray Architects to ensure key views from the house were enhanced by the planting.

Choosing natives

For the soft landscaping, the plants were sourced from various UK nurseries and included Euphorbia x pasteurii ‘John Phillips’, Rosa spinosissima, Melica altissima ‘Alba’, Cephalaria alpina, Sanguisorba ‘Chocolate Tip’, Trifolium rubens and native plug plants. A number of native species were used, in fact, and the trees were all native apart from the Gingko in the courtyard, which jarmanmurphy used to provide a focal point to the space.

1 Gingko biloba ‘Chi-chi’ in planting pocket and thyme varieties 2 Amelanchier lamarckii, Calamagrostis ‘Waldenbuch’ and bulbs 3 Acer campestres link back garden with the countryside beyond 4 Filipendula vulgaris ‘Multiplex’ and Roseraie de l’Hay 5 Seating area, fire bowl, Calamagrostis brachytricha and Buxus

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The Teasel features a chocolatecoloured, oval-shaped seed head. This is really good for greenfinches to feed on during the autumn and winter. Seed heads are left for winter structural interest, cutting them back in early spring. Grass below is Deschampsia cespitosa ‘Goldtau’.

Lockdown challenges

The gardens were built during the first lockdown, so jarmanmurphy had to tackle the new challenges caused by COVID-19, such as being careful as to how many times they visited the site. There was also a very large and thick pad of concrete in the back garden which hadn’t been identified on the survey. It had been left over from when the property was part of a farm and had to be removed. This caused an extra week on top of the schedule and large machinery had to be brought in to remove it before the build could progress.

After 11 months, though, the front and back gardens of the property had been transformed and the new design encourages the clients to venture into the back garden, which they had previously avoided. Jarmanmurphy designed a space for them to explore and enjoy, whilst also creating a relaxing space to entertain and potentially exhibit artworks in future.

6 Boundary holly hedge is trimmed to echo the forms of landscape beyond Photographs ©Anna Murphy

ABOUT

Inspired by nature and the landscape, jarmanmurphy observes and develops elegant and subtle solutions that capture the spirit of the place. It creates beautiful gardens for clients and nature with sensitive planting sitting alongside subtle, bold designs. It has a deep consideration for environmental impact now and in the future. jarmanmurphy.co.uk

REFERENCES

Contractor The Garden Co. thegardenco.co.uk

Steel edging and railings T Brown and Sons Ltd tbrownandsons.co.uk

Screens Tom Raffield tomraffield.com

Stone CED Stone Group cedstone.co.uk

Wall lights Lampsy lampsy.com

Ground lights Lighting for Gardens lightingforgardens.com

Decking Millboard millboard.co.uk

Water bowl and trough The Pot Company thepotco.com

Plants

New Wood Trees newwoodtrees.co.uk

Deepdale Trees deepdale-trees.co.uk

Hopes Grove Nurseries hopesgrovenurseries.co.uk

How Green Nursery howgreennursery.co.uk Rochfords rochfords.net Tendercare tendercare.co.uk

Daisy Roots daisyroots.com Babylon Plants babylonplants.com

W Godfrey & Sons wgodfrey.co.uk

Arvensis Perennials arvensisperennials.co.uk

Sunnyside Rural Trust sunnysideruraltrust.org.uk

Naturescape naturescape.co.uk

Avondale Nursery avondalenursery.co.uk

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EDIBLE EDEN An

RHS Wisley has undergone an impressive transformation in recent years, the pinnacle of which is its new RHS Hilltop – The Home of Gardening Science, the UK’s first dedicated gardening science hub. Surrounding the new centre are three inspirational gardens, one of two designed by Ann-Marie Powell is the World Food Garden.

It needed to combine and consolidate the fruit, vegetable and herb gardens at Wisley for the first time, to create a cohesive landscape with separate experimental compartments to welcome and encourage exploration by the visitor. The garden would provide an educational, aesthetically pleasing garden beside RHS Hilltop, but also to link with the wider landscape at Wisley. An attractive pest protection solution was requested to enclose the whole garden.

The aim of the new garden was to support the RHS in encouraging horticultural experimentation and education, whilst promoting the benefits of horticulture. Ann-Marie, along with the team at Wisley, wanted to create a new way of growing edibles to engage productive food growers no matter the size of their garden or maybe if they had no garden at all.

“We wanted the garden to inspire conversation, future food stories and diversity in what we all ultimately eat,” explains Ann-Marie. “From my

PROJECT DETAILS

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Project value Confidential Build 7 months Size of project 3,700m2 (nearly 1 acre) Awards
• SGD Award 2022: The People’s Choice Award
• SGD Award 2022: UK Commercial or Community Landscapes & Gardens Award

A strong connection to the café also needed to be established, so seating areas have been immersed amongst edible flowers and herbs to explore the relationship between plants and food and to show those who are new to productive growing that many familiar blooms are, in fact, edible.

perspective, the food garden had to be a creative and energetic, inspiring outdoor space which not only pleased aesthetically, but informed visitors in an approachable, accessible way - no matter their culture, age, horticultural interest or experience.”

From the initial concept ideas, it was hoped the garden would provide a valuable tool for allowing the RHS to share its expert knowledge in preserving and progressing the science, art and practice of horticulture, and for the garden to be enjoyed by future generations both urban and rural, to enhance our shared global environment.

Tasty trio

Broadly split into three sections, the garden was inspired by the unusual oval site – which Ann-Marie says moved her thinking away from the neatly aligned beds of the traditional walled kitchen garden – and it had to connect to the new RHS Hilltop.

“Having spent my evenings reading scientific textbooks, my layout design was influenced by the science by the vascular bundles in a monocot stem, allowing the beds to be small and free form, emulating how many of us garden today whilst creating intimate spaces surrounded by plants where visitors felt comfortable enough to take time to study the plants.

“Regarding the presentation of the plants, we wanted the garden to present edibles in a united fashion where fruit, vegetables, and

companion plantings could be enjoyed in a harmonious, celebratory, contemporary environment.”

The Edible Flower & Herb Garden was designed to ease visitors into edible planting. Tables are surrounded by mixed borders of culinary herbs and edible flowers, which are grown for taste but also their ornamental properties.

The central Good to Grow beds comprise the champions of the RHS vegetable trials, AGM selections and favourites of the RHS Edibles Team, highlighting not only what to grow but how to grow it. Finished simply with steel edging strips, “exciting” communities of vegetables are grown at ground level in experimental ‘dig’ vs ‘no dig’ beds. The garden can be enjoyed as a whole, but the small beds with mixed plantings can individually be copied once back home. A mix of steel and pea stick plant supports provide structure and height, against the backdrop of a new glasshouse filled with tender produce.

In a series of raised beds, more ‘exotic’ and tender edibles that are increasingly viable to grow in the UKs increasingly warm climate encourages the more adventurous grower to experiment with what they grow.

“The World Food Maze Garden is a space where one can literally get lost in the diversity and beauty of food with overflowing beds of edibles and pergolas of climbing produce linking all together. A labyrinth of mixed height raised beds (steel not timber, to minimise

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slugs) allows visitors to get lost within a world of flavour. Contemporary overhead steel arch plant supports link the kitchen garden compartments to create a cohesive whole, symbolising the linking of culinary communities worldwide, whilst framing the decorative nature of more unusual vegetable and fruit varieties.

"Plant selections relate to global cuisines to help encourage inclusivity through ethnically diverse ingredients. These areas begin new food conversations and the community groups are continuing the learning culture by advising the RHS on what they grow in their own gardens or allotments so they can be included within this ever-developing space.”

The main avenue of the World Food Garden provides an exuberant welcome to visitors. Contemporary Corten pergolas overflow with edible climbers, leading to a central water feature which is encircled by pleached fruit trees and paths to glasshouses filled with fruit, vegetables and herbs. Flanked by beds filled with edible annuals and perennials, the avenue provides a colourful and pollinator filled

habitat which allows for greater pollination of all the crops and also natural pest control.

“This garden will celebrate the diversity of food and people who grow. It will share inspiration and expertise, and demonstrate the benefits of growing, cooking and eating, emphasising their importance in physical and mental health.”

Edible planting scheme

In the Flower and Herb Garden, burgeoning beds of herbs and edible flowers include hemerocallis, Salvia elegans 'Scarlet Pineapple' and 'Tangerine', hostas, lavender, mallow and mint. The Good to Grow area is filled with recommendations and growing tips, highlighting easy-to-grow crops to inspire beginners. It includes AGM blight resistant tomatoes 'Crimson Crush', and 'Mountain Magic'.

1 The Edible Flower and Herb garden allows visitors to eat lunch surrounded by plants

2 The curving design allows seating compartments amongst inspiring edible blooms

3 Weeks after opening in June 2021, the World Food Garden was brimming with new ideas ©RHS/Oliver Dixon

The rabbit, deer and badger proof fencing that encloses the oval shaped whole was a new opportunity to showcase the RHS gardeners skills. Designed as a backdrop and support to trained fruit, alternating ‘open’ sections with timber clad panels to provide protection for more tender fruit whilst linking back to the materials of the Hilltop building.

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The World Maze features exotic crops that are staples of multicultural Britain, spilling from beds and clambering over arches. Look out for minutina (Plantago coronopus from Italy), ahocha (Cyclanthera pedata, enjoyed in South America) and ajmud (Carum roxburghianum from India).

There’s also the oyster plant (Mertensia maritima) from Greenland and northern Canada which is a coastal plant, as its name suggests. It is growing amongst the sweet tea vine (Gynostemma pentaphyllum), known as Jiaogulan in China.

The boundary panels support 75 selections of trained fruit, including apples, pears, gages, nectarines and peaches. Here, the team can display their creative skills in the spirit of friendly competition, inspired by intricate forms found in the Potager du Roi near the Palace of Versailles and the ‘Encyclopedie des forms fruitieres’ by Jacques Beccaletto (2010).

That’s not forgetting that many edible crops can be decorative.“We considered the structure of plants to create a texturally pleasing plantscape and made sure that winter wouldn’t be a barren season within the garden – the growth may be slower but the garden is still full, and ready to go when spring arrives.”

The edible plantings are layered with pollinator attracting companion plants to encourage better crop pollination and so greater yields as insects gather nectar and pollinating as they go.

“The planting is all about global cuisine and the plant selections will constantly evolve and become a collaboration with community groups from different cultures. It's beyond exciting to think that new introductions will be added each year as community gardeners, allotmenteers, chefs and writers inform future seed selections.”

Sustainable site

Before construction began, much of the existing soil was harvested from the site and then reused within the world food planting beds with very little imported soil brough to site. “As Sheila Das, the garden manager, once said to me: ‘Better the soil you know.’”

“Though the whole site is no dig, there are no dig with two comparison beds, the garden is chemical free, and the RHS team are very thoughtful about choices of sundries and materials to leave as little mark as we can on our wider environment.

“Planting for beauty and function in the same space makes sense. As Charles Dowding says: ‘It is

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During the build, Landform was meticulous regarding soil, devising a method to avoid compaction and contamination of the soils as they built. Firstly, the builders’ hardcore and site access were removed; they then put back subsoils to the lower levels of the metal edging. Services were then first fixed, followed by metal edging and minimal concrete haunching. Following the tarmac-first base coats allowed them to carefully dig out the placed sub soils to the specified depths, mostly 450mm but stepped to a reduced dig of -600mm for the larger fruit cordons/ espaliers etc.

good to mix things up. It creates different beneficial associations with mycorrhizal fungi at root level in ways we don’t yet fully understand.’ Monocultures tend to be susceptible to pest and disease problems. ‘Even farmers find growing different varieties of wheat together has a positive effect on yield as long as they all mature at the same time,’ says Dowding.”

Plantings of both trees and beds were mixed to avoid a monoculture which might be susceptible to pests and disease, and mixed plantings confuses crop-damaging creatures away from the produce.

Many of the sites existing materials were recused within RHS Hilltop’s Learning Garden, designed by Ben Brace, as a teaching space for visiting school groups and other communities.

4 Good-to-grow plants such as courgette, sweet corn and climbing beans surround garden scale glasshouses from Gabriel Ash

5 The World Food Garden offers an array of food opportunities, including from their food truck!

6 Curved beds with mixed plantings offers the opportunity to grow vegetables, fruit and herbs in a contemporary way ©RHS/Oliver Dixon

7 The skill of the RHS gardeners ensures an array of deliciously enticing produce all year round

8 Large Corten pergolas allow hops and passionfruit to flex and climb to their full extent

9 A circular water feature at the heart of the garden surrounded by benches is a perfect meeting point

Low maintenance Jura Beige Limestone from London Stone was used for the water feature and paving.

• From £84.64 including VAT when bought online.

• 900x600x25mm, 600x600x25mm, 600x400x25mm

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The pergolas down the central main path were installed using 300mm diameter plastic sleeves carefully marked out so that the soil will not be disturbed when the pergola arrived later that spring.

Speedy delivery

Ann-Marie Powell Gardens was awarded the project after a competitive selection programme in December 2017, after undergoing several rounds of pitching to various committees and stakeholders. "Working for the greatest horticultural charity in the world is an honour and a privilege and myself and my team were proud to work through feasibilities, design reviews, cost plans, project strategies and procurement.”

Landform was appointed as the landscape contractor and the team broke ground in March 2020 on the Wildlife and Wellbeing Gardens –the other gardens outside RHS Hilltop - first, working in tandem with the main building contractors who were using the World Food Garden site as a materials store. After a few delays – from COVID-19 to inclement weather, and material delays to price hikes – the site was handed over to Mark Gregory and his team at Landform in November 2020, just over six months before the site opened to the public on 24 June 2021.

“Mark and his team worked like forces of nature building an acre garden from the ground up through lockdowns, a global pandemic, and often speaking to project stakeholders and myself, the designer, via video call on any challenges and to give key updates when many had to isolate.

“Plants which were planned to be in the ground were stored until they were at bursting point within the RHS polytunnels by the edible and propagation teams who were given just a two-week window to plant. Landform passed the baton of unfeasibly long hours and breakneck speed to the RHS gardeners, who were still planting the day before the opening. But they, and we made it. I couldn’t be prouder to be part of a team of such committed individuals who created the World Food Garden over the four years my studio was involved in designing and delivering this project. To see people enjoying the garden today is one of my professional life’s greatest joys.”

The World Food Garden will now act as a key learning tool and a source of inspiration for gardeners becoming more self-sufficient, showcasing a range of methods for growing your own food at home, regardless of garden size.

10 The scale of the pergolas was purposefully large, strong enough to support climbers, with visual weight to compete with the Hilltop building, and framing the orchards beyond

Ann-Marie Powell's multi-award-winning garden design practice has seen outdoor spaces as places with exciting possibilities for more than 20 years. The studio can’t get enough of plants, bold colours and textural contrasts, creating garden habitats that invite an evolving ecology instead of the traditionally decorated garden. Sustainability is a fundamental value of our approach; the team strives to design naturally energetic and bold landscapes to become havens for an abundance of insects and wildlife where its clients live in harmony, up close and personal with the natural world. ann-mariepowell.com

ABOUT REFERENCES

Landscape contractor Landform Consultants landformconsultants.co.uk

Glasshouses Gabriel Ash gabrielash.com

Steelwork – including Corten pergolas and raised beds Hot Metal Engineering hmeng.co.uk

World food maze arches and pest protection Harrod Horticultural harrodhorticultural.com

Pest protection fences and gates McVeigh Parker mcveighparker.com

Resin bound gravel Addagrip addagrip.co.uk

Water feature and paving London Stone londonstone.co.uk

Trees Frank P Matthews frankpmatthews.com

Many plants grown by RHS gardeners at Wisley.

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University by Dr Geoff Whiteley. It is made from wheat straw, is an earthy brown colour has a neutral pH and lasts on the surface for up to two years.

Strulch stops weeds germinating by blocking light, retains moisture in the soil and the added minerals and texture deters slugs and snails.

13.5kg bags of Strulch are available on pallets of 12, 25 or 48 bags. Delivered within 4 working days. Trade discounts available www.strulch.co.uk

01943 863610 info@strulch.co.uk
www.stonequarries.co.uk Limestone - Sandstone Building Stone - Flooring Masonry - Landscaping 01386 584384 www.stonequarries.co.uk Limestone - Sandstone Building Stone - Flooring - Walling Masonry - Landscaping - Restoration 01386 584384 Walling Rockery Monolith Feature Stones Building & Masonry stone Sandstone & Limestone Restoration www.stonequarries.co.uk 01594 808716 01386 584384

OUTDOOR

For the redesign of the gardens at Fifield Farm, it was essential to open up views from the house and garden to the rural landscape of this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Berkshire. A better flow from within the house into and through the garden was needed to create unity and cohesiveness.

The adjacent large shubbery garden was to be redesigned as a woodland garden around a new games room and gym to include a seating area and water feature. Vehicles entering the property were to be directed to parking in front of and within the garage, rather than in front of the house.

A revamp was also required of the existing 1970s planting style. The clients wanted a naturalistic, contemporary style, in keeping with the rural location, but it was not to impede the views from the house.

Seamless spaces

The existing outdoor space comprised several disjointed, dated gardens, with obsolete walls, parking areas and enclosed spaces, as the house had previously been three separate dwellings. The challenge was to open up the garden to the rural views beyond and connect the different spaces with a better flow from within the house into the garden and through the garden. To achieve this, a large amount of demolition was necessary with removal of several substantial dividing and view blocking walls and spoil, to create larger level spaces.

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PROJECT DETAILS Project value £165k Build time 7 months Size of project 883m2 1 Sunken dining terrace with Sabbia porcelain paving and slate coping stone Photographs ©Carole Drake
ROOM
a
FIFIELD FARM ANDREA NEWILL
with
view

Key to the success of the design is the new seating, dining and entertaining area located at the heart of the house, near to the living room/snug. A porcelain paved, sunken dining and entertaining terrace is located close to the house, with a barbeque area and space for a hot tub. New brick built retaining walls tie in with the brick of the house and the partial black timber cladding of the house is echoed by black slate coping and anthracite charcoal paver detail, steps and paths, as well as black basalt gravel.

The design connects the new games room and gym via a brick paved path framed by an oak pergola, with a small shade tolerant wildflower meadow softening the new building. A curved black basalt gravel path edged with mild steel leads to

a Millboard composite deck in Ember, providing a seating area in front of the games room and to the woodland garden, with a feature existing copper beech tree, slate water bowl and a bespoke oak bench with recycled Yorkstone stepping stones marking a hidden path through the lush planting.

Naturalistic planting

Planting is a focal feature of the design with a naturalistic style around the sunken terrace and a matrix of low growing species chosen so as not to impede views from the house, including Lavandula ‘Richard Gray’, Erigeron ‘Sea Breeze’, Sesleria heufleriana, Nepeta ‘Kit Kat’ and Kalimeris incisa ‘Blue Star’, with clipped Ligustrum jonandrum half standards and Taxus cubes for structure.

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Phlomis russeliana, Stipa calamagrostis, Sesleria autumnalis and Stachys byzantina 'Silver Carpet' create a standout island bed

Planting against the house is selected to contrast with the black cladding, using predominantly blue flowers such as Viola ‘Boughton Blue’ and the golden foliage of Hakonochloa macra ‘Aureola’. In the woodland garden, planting is a mixture of shrubs and perennials with ferns, grasses and multi stemmed Amelanchier working well with the existing Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea’. Planting was selected to suit the conditions and, generally, long-lived varieties were prioritised. P9 pots were used for the majority of the herbaceous plants with a lower carbon footprint and faster establishment.

Yorkstone paving on site was recycled for a stepping stone path and existing concrete paving was crushed by a mobile concrete crusher to be used as backfill. Existing soil on the site was also retained and recycled topsoil was used, whilst the compost chosen was shredded green waste.

2 A deck seating area in the woodland garden, edged with Carex oshimensis 'Everillo'

3 Charcoal pavers echo the black cladding of the house

4 An island bed was replanted with drought-tolerant planting suited to free-draining soil

5 A sunken seat is positioned to catch the views and setting sun

CED Stone’s Black Basalt Aggregate was used for the sunken entertainment area.

• £132.20 including VAT/bulk bag

• 14mm and 6mm options are available

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REFERENCES

Landscape contractor

Simply Green Landscapes simplygreenlandscapes.co.uk

Sabbia porcelain paving

Nigel Belcher Turf & Paving nigelbelcherturf.co.uk

Lucca clay pavers Chelmer Valley chelmervalley.co.uk

Black slate coping London Stone londonstone.co.uk

Bricks Ibstock Brick ibstockbrick.co.uk

Sleepers

Barlows Woodyard barlowswoodyard.co.uk

Sunken seat John Cook & Sons johncookandsons.co.uk

Cast iron drainage grid Lateral Design Studio lateraldesignstudio.co.uk

Steel edging ParkerSteel parkersteel.co.uk

Black basalt aggregate CED Stone cedstone.co.uk

Irrigation

Argo Irrigation argo-irrigation.co.uk

Electrics/lighting Scenic Lighting sceniclighting.com

Decking Millboard millboard.co.uk

Water feature Foras foras.co.uk

Fencing Quercus quercusfencing.co.uk

Plants

Arvensis Perennials arvensisperennials.co.uk North Hill Nurseries northhillnurseries.co.uk Griffin Nurseries griffinnurseries.co.uk Penwood Nurseries penwoodnurseries.co.uk

Unforeseen issues

The soil conditions were challenging, with pockets of pure sand, clay and free draining loam. This was mitigated by the addition of plenty of organic matter and the importing of topsoil to some areas. The site had been a builder’s yard, which was unknown prior to build commencing, with large quantities of buried rubble discovered which had to be disposed of.

It was an extremely wet winter which meant that the project had to be stopped and started and care had to be taken to ensure existing soil structure wasn’t damaged.

Builders were on site erecting a new games room at the same time and extreme diplomacy was needed to ensure the two teams could work together.

Despite changes and challenges Andrea Newill, working in close collaboration with the landscaper, Simply Green Landscapes created a landscape which blends seamlessly into its surroundings and showcases naturalistic planting at its best.

The garden was judged Supreme Winner at the 2022 APL (Association of Professional Landscapers) Awards, as well as Best in Category in the £150k and Collaboration categories. It was also a finalist in the 2022 SGD (Society of Garden Designers) Awards.

6 An oak pergola frames a charcoal paver path

Photographs ©Carole Drake

ABOUT

Andrea Newill is an awardwinning garden designer with more than 20 years’ experience in designing beautiful, practical gardens. Andrea’s designs ensure that each new garden is in accord with its house and surroundings, whilst maintaining core principals of sustainability, ecology and value for money. andreanewill.co.uk

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At this private residence in the West Midlands, the garden was a relatively blank canvas, with a sloping lawn and oddly shaped paved areas. To replace the somewhat dull and uninviting space, the clients were looking for a new, contemporary design that was functional for the whole family, with various areas to entertain, relax and dine. An outdoor kitchen, hot tub, firepit seating and lighting were also on the wishlist.

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PROJECT DETAILS Project value £85k+ Build time 7 weeks Size of project 330m2 LUCY BRAVINGTON DESIGN AND LANDSCAPIA LTD PRIVATE RESIDENCE, HARBORNE, BIRMINGHAM RETREAT Tranquil

Lucy Bravington split the garden into zones and terraced the lawn, a request which was a key part of the brief. She explored making the garden more useable for the clients whilst being easy to maintain, with planting focused around the house and the seating areas.

Porcelain perfection

Various porcelain paving was used for different areas, including modern patterned tiles from Mandarin Stone for two of the seating areas. From Landscapia’s point of view, it made for an “enjoyable build which was completed on time and on budget. Our favourite parts of the garden have to be the detail porcelain we chose for the feature areas and the amazing tree ferns that frame the paths.”

Landscapia has since assisted with the furnishing and lighting, which it says has really completed the garden. “Being such a crisp design, it was important that the precision of the build was perfect. The transition between all the different materials had to be seamless and we pride ourselves on being able to deliver this level of attention to detail.”

There were areas of deep, dry shade under neighbouring mature trees and also pockets of full sun, so Lucy designed the planting scheme accordingly. Tree ferns were chosen to add drama

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The contemporary paving used throughout the project:

• Porcelain paving in Florence Storm and Urban Grey, London Stone, londonstone.co.uk

• Porcelain paving Casa Grande Decor 1, Mandarin Stone, mandarinstone.com

• Split face tiles in Silver Grey Quartz, Mrs Stone Store, mrs-stone-store.com

against the house and soften the brickwork, with ferns, hostas and hellebores beneath. Climbers to soften the fencing with Trachelospermum jasminoides were used for evergreen cover and fragrance. Long flowering perennials and grasses were specified for areas in the sun, with Stipa gigantea positioned as a focal point to draw the eye and to provide soft screening by the hot tub.

Reconfiguring

The only design challenge, says Lucy, was working out where to position key elements. “We explored several positions for the Green Retreat studio, hot tub and kitchen. There was also to be another pod style seating area at one point, but this was removed to suit budget and refine the design. The end result

and chosen configuration works really well. Sometimes it’s worth exploring several options to put minds at ease and it’s essential to iron out any concerns before the garden build starts,” says Lucy.

There were a few surprises with the build, though. Tweaks were made to the design due to hidden manhole covers and the location of the garden room meant two of these covers needed to be relocated. “When marking out the ground ready for building the hardstanding areas we invited the customer to see the space in a real sense.

1 Casual seating area

2 View of casual seating, framed by tree ferns

3 Split level garden, with tree ferns and hedging

4 All three seating areas and family lawn

Photographs ©Bair Visuals

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There were a few concerns over whether the space would accommodate the proposed furniture and hot tub. We were able to tweak the layout to ensure the space was adequate before we committed to building walls. It is extremely important that the designer, the contractor and the client have regular catch ups to discuss the design during the process and for everyone to be open to slight changes to ensure the end product is perfect.

“Like most people, the client found it hard to visualise the space initially but we

offer a 3D visualisation service so we were able to take Lucy’s design and turn it into a realistic walkthrough which gave the client the confidence to visualise how the garden will ultimately look.”

The clients now have a new outdoor space which meets all of their needs thanks to the collaborative effort from those who created it.

5 View towards garden room and three seating areas

6 Fire pit cover and comfy sofas

Photographs ©Bair Visuals

REFERENCES

Porcelain paving London Stone londonstone.co.uk

Porcelain paving Madarin Stone mandarinstone.com

Split face tiles

Mrs Stone Store mrs-stone-store.com

Garden room Garden Retreats greenretreats.co.uk

ABOUT

Lucy Bravington is an award-winning garden and landscape designer with more than 15 years’ experience designing gardens. Her designs are elegant, contemporary spaces with strong lines created through the hard landscaping and enhanced with planting. Lucy enjoys using evergreen hedging to frame areas and adds perennials to soften, provide pops of colour and interest.

lucybravington.com

Landscapia Ltd is a multi-award-winning garden design and build company specialising in creating beautiful gardens and contemporary outdoor spaces in the West Midlands. It has a passionate team which is experienced, dedicated and prides itself on its professionalism and attention to detail. landscapia.co.uk

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TERRACED Transformation

Privacy can be difficult when you’re living in central London, but the clients for this impressive property were looking to create a home for the family to enjoy and the key areas were to be screened from view.

Standing within the Holland Park Conservation Area in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the client’s listed building was undergoing an extensive refurbishment by Guy Stansfield Architects, and the garden needed to flow seamlessly from this.

A greater sense of arrival to the front of the property was requested, with a driveway and planted areas. The rear garden was to be designed

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MCWILLIAM STUDIO WEST LONDON FAMILY GARDEN
DECEMBER 2022

with different spaces for the family to relax and socialise, with dining spaces seating up to 12 people, a BBQ area and an outdoor fire. The clients also wanted more private spaces for their older daughter to enjoy the garden, as well as a lawn which could be used for informal play but also with the possibility of adding a marquee in the future.

Access needed to be improved from the higher main terrace and lower basement level into the main garden, and the clients wanted water to be explored in the design. Overall, the garden was to be turned into a more immersive experience for the family.

Adding privacy

To create more privacy in the front garden, McWilliam Studio added pleaching to the boundary, and perennials and ornamental grasses were planted to replace the existing lawn. Light, spacious paving was used for the path and steps leading up to the front door, with roses for structure and scent, and planted lower beds to soften the retaining wall.

Before, the lower terrace used to look out onto a large circular lawn, with a steep bank heading down towards the basement, leaving a narrow path alongside the house. As part of the architectural refurbishment, the basement was developed to create more space, and the lawn turned into a series of planted and paved levels with a shallow rill running throughout the levels. Planting surrounds the lower terraces for privacy.

Where the lawn took centre stage previously with planting tucked around the edges, McWilliam Studio introduced deep borders, multi-stemmed trees and hedging for a more diverse planting scheme. Smaller terraces were created on the retained bank, replacing the monoculture of Lonicera nitida

A brick wall-lined path with an old wooden bench to the east end of the garden looked more like a park than a private garden, so it was transformed into a more modern area with a series of spaces for the family to relax by the fire, host barbecues and engage with productive planting with nuts and fruit for foraging.

In the central garden, multi-stemmed hawthorns (Crataegus monogyna) add character to the border, and lower ornamental meadow planting features a mix of perennials, grasses and roses.

Diverse planting

The majority of existing mature trees were retained, including a large Quercus ilex in the front garden, and a further 15 trees were planted within the garden. A liriodendron adjacent to the boundary wall alongside the public pavement needed to be removed, though, as it was in a dangerous condition and was affecting the structural integrity of the wall.

Plenty of new planted areas were added, with a diverse range of perennials, grasses and shrubs, as well as a foraging area. Around 60m2 of planted area across the flat roof spaces will help with water attenuation and species diversity.

Without a doubt, the biggest challenge in delivering the garden was

1 Aerial view over new garden

2 Outdoor fireplace with relaxed seating and charred larch screens

3 View across new terracing and steps combined with luxuriant planting

At the end of the garden, decorative screens in charred timber and brass create contemporary focal points as well as privacy beside a large outdoor fire and seating area.

A water rill runs down the series of terraces and stairs, with Allgreen hard paving used for terrace, steps and driveway

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doing so during a global pandemic. Aside from COVID-19, the site access was very restrictive, which made removing spoil from the site and bringing in new materials very difficult for the contractors. They were able to negotiate the dismantling and then rebuilding of the rear boundary wall which enabled the 12 specimen Crataegus monogyna to be brought in and positioned on site without the use of a crane. A mix of planting and light, modern hard landscaping has turned the outdoor areas of this listed property into seamless contemporary spaces for the family to both relax and entertain.

5 View through Crataegus monogyna with underplanting 6 View through planting to pleached Carpinus betulus Photographs ©Alister Thorpe

ABOUT REFERENCES

McWilliam Studio is a multi-award winning and leading landscape architecture and garden design practice, based in Buckinghamshire and working across London and the South East. The practice is led by award winning designer Gavin McWilliam in collaboration with Andrew Wilson and a team of talented Associates. Over the past 10 years it has won more than 30 national and international awards for its work, including Gold at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and Gold and Best in Show at the Singapore Garden Festival. mcwilliamstudio.com

Garden designers Gavin McWilliam and Andrew Wilson, McWilliam Studio mcwilliamstudio.com Architects 23 + GS/318 318.studio Landscape contractor Landscape Associates landscapeassociates.co.uk Main contractor RAI Developments raidevelopmentsltd.co.uk Trees Deepdale deepdale-trees.co.uk

Paving Allgreen Group allgreen.uk

Water feature Water Artisans waterartisans.com

Metalwork Surrey Ironcraft surreyironcraft.com

Trellis The Garden Trellis Company gardentrellis.co.uk

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Recycled waste plastic furniture • Maintenance free • Environmentally friendly • Robust and durable 01269 826740 sales@slpw.co.uk www.slpw.co.uk @WCrowder&SonsLtd @crowdersnurseries @CrowdersNursery

DIRECTORY

ANS Global ansgroupglobal.com

AAbacus Stone Sales abacusstonesales.co.uk

Architen Landrell architen.com

ACO aco.co.uk

Arvensis Perennials arvensisperennials.co.uk

Breedon Aggregates breedongroup.com

Brett Aggregates brett.co.uk

British Flora britishflora.co.uk

Acoustic Arts acousticarts.org.uk Adezz adezz.com

Atelier Vierkant ateliervierkant.com

Buzon buzonuk.com

Addagrip

Addagrip Terraco Ltd manufactures high quality resin bound and bonded external surfacing systems developed to meet individual project needs, including no-dig patented Terrabase Rustic and energy harnessing Addagrip Ecoheat surfacing. From domestic paths and driveways to large commercial schemes, it offers high performing, decorative, low maintenance, porous surfacing for pedestrian and vehicle use. It is BBA approved, EPD certified, SuDS compliant and has up to 25 years product guarantee on its resin bound systems. Telephone number: 01825 761333 Email: sales@addagrip.co.uk addagrip.co.uk

Avondale Nursery avondalenursery.co.uk

CCacoonworld vivereoutdoor.co.uk

BBabylon Plants babylonplants.com

Capital Concrete capitalconcrete.co.uk

Bellapart bellapart.com

Bexhill Brickworks

AFX afx.lighting

AJ Brick Cutters Ltd ajbrickcutters.co.uk

Allgreen Group allgreen.uk

Caribbean Blinds

Bourne

Amenity Bourne Amenity Ltd

is a specialist in the production of growing media for sports turf, soft landscaping and SuDS projects across the UK. It offers a wealth of product knowledge to support architects, contractors and civil engineers. It works closely with organisations such as BALI and the Landscape Institute to ensure its materials and services are in line with the demands of its customers.

Telephone number: 01797 252299 Email: sales@bourneamenity.co.uk bourneamenity.co.uk

Established in 1987, Caribbean Blinds is the leading family-owned designer, manufacturer and installer of luxury external shading systems in the UK. Products include stylish patio awnings providing instant shade and shelter, innovative external blinds offering unbeatable solar heat and light control, and award-winning louvered roofs (Outdoor Living PodTM) offering all weather protection, enabling the use of outdoor spaces all year round. The company is run by brothers Stuart and Brad Dantzic.

Telephone number: 01787 882582 Email: stuart@cbsolarshading.co.uk cbsolarshading.co.uk

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CED Stone Group

CED Stone Group is one of the UK's leading suppliers of natural stone and hard landscaping products. It keeps extensive stocks across six nationwide depots and provides bespoke masonry services. With more than 40 years’ experience, it offers expert advice to ensure its customers select the perfect product. Telephone number: 01708 867237 Email: sales@cedstone.co.uk cedstone.co.uk

Chart Fencing & Sheds chartfencing.co.uk

EEarl’s Stone Ltd earlsstone.co.uk

Evans Concrete evansconcrete.co.uk

EverEdge

Chelmer Valley chelmervalley.co.uk

Creative Ironworks creative-ironworks.co.uk

Crowders Nurseries crowdersnurseries.co.uk

DDaisy Roots daisyroots.com

Debbas debbas.com

Deepdale Trees deepdale-trees.co.uk

Deeproot deeproot.com

Doug Phillips dougphillips.co.uk

Garden Getaways garden-getaways.co.uk

Garden Retreats greenretreats.co.uk

Garden Trading gardentrading.co.uk

EverEdge is a manufacturer and supplier of steel landscape edging materials and planters. With more than 25 years of experience and knowledge, EverEdge has developed an original and comprehensive range of products based on the needs of the industry, suiting virtually all aspects of landscaping requirements. It frequently carries out bespoke work, especially on raised beds, planters and podiums. Telephone number: 01630 417120 Email: enquiries@everedge.co.uk everedge.co.uk/shop

General Metal Constructions Ltd gmcgroup.co.uk

GreenBlue Urban Working alongside planners and contractors, the renowned ArborSystem® from GreenBlue Urban brings together the key elements of successful tree pit design, combining SuDS, root management, structural soil components, aeration, irrigation and above ground protection in a single package. Discover how GreenBlue Urban’s Smart Space and Air solutions can suit your infrastructure needs. Telephone number: 01580 830800 Email: hello@greenblue.com greenblue.com

FForas foras.co.uk

Fountains Direct fountains-direct.co.uk

Frank P Matthews frankpmatthews.com

Future Automation futureautomation.co.uk

Grillo Grillo Vantage is a design-led, British-built outdoor kitchen, blending iroko hardwood with beautifully finished carbon steel. Choose from pre-designed layouts or configure your own design on the website with industry leading GrilloEYE 3D configurator. Incorporating AR technology, GrilloEYE has proved immensely popular with designers and landscapers, making it super easy to sell the dream to the end client. A Grillo kitchen is almost infinitely scalable, and its timeless design complements any property or project.

Telephone number: 01223 866130 Email: design@grilloliving.com grilloliving.com

GSL Southern gslsouthern.com

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Creating healthier spaces in harmony with natur
GGabriel Ash gabrielash.com

I

HHahn Plastics Ltd

HAHN Plastics Ltd, part of the HAHN Group, is a leader in the development and manufacture of recycled plastic products in Europe. It has been manufacturing over 2,000 quality 100% recycled plastic product ranges for over 25 years. The product range comprises of items for garden, park, landscaping designs and ground reinforcement as well as a raft of custom-made products for special applications.

Telephone: 0161 850 1965

Email: info@hahnplastics.com hahnplastics.com

Halsey Taylor halseytaylor.com

Harrod Horticultural harrodhorticultural.com

Hartley Botanic hartley-botanic.co.uk

Hillier hillier.co.uk

Hopes Grove Nurseries hopesgrovenurseries.co.uk

Ibstock Ashdown Quarry ibstockbrick.co.uk

IKO Group ikogroup.co.uk

In Opera Group inoperagroup.com

Horsham Stone & Reclamation horshamstone.co.uk

JJablite jablite.co.uk

Jacksons Fencing jacksons-fencing.co.uk

Jacksons Nurseries jacksonsnurseries.co.uk

Jim Lawrence jim-lawrence.co.uk

John Chambers Wildflower Seed johnchamberswildflowers.co.uk

John Cook & Sons johncookandsons.co.uk

Hortus Loci hortusloci.co.uk

How Green Nursery howgreennursery.co.uk

Johnsons of Whixley Johnsons of Whixley is a third-generation family business, located in Yorkshire. Spread across five production sites, it is one of the longest-established and largest commercial nursery businesses in the UK, with over 100 years of experience in growing and supplying trees, shrubs and plants to national landscaping schemes. It offers a vast portfolio of stock to suit all horticultural needs.

Telephone number: 01423 330234 Email: info@nurserymen.co.uk nurserymen.co.uk

Jupiter Play jupiterplay.co.uk

KKent Stainless kentstainless.com

Kinley kinley.co.uk

LLampsy lampsy.com

Lateral Design Studio lateraldesignstudio.co.uk

Lazenby lazenby.co.uk

Light Your Garden lightyourgarden.co.uk

Lightgraphix lightgraphix.co.uk

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Lighting for Gardens lightingforgardens.com

Lindum Turf turf.co.uk

London Stone

London Stone offers a market-leading range of quality natural stone and porcelain paving products, in-house fabricated bespoke stone and porcelain products, composite decking, and complementary hard landscaping materials such as pergolas and planters. London Stone has six showrooms situated around the UK, with two new showrooms opening in Bristol and Hampshire in the near future, as well as four partner showrooms also located throughout the UK.

Telephone number: 01753 212 950 Email: info@londonstone.co.uk londonstone.co.uk

Lorenz von Ehren lve-baumschule.com

Louise Giblin louisegiblin.co.uk

Lutron lutron.com

Lux Unique

Lux Unique offer bespoke, high-quality steel garden products in Corten steel. The team has many years of experience in steel fabrication, and it works with many garden designers in the industry to enable designers to bring their ideas to life. Its superior quality products are made in the UK, designed in-house and fabricated on site in Cheshire, giving the client complete control over all aspects of the product.

Telephone number: 03333 661130 Email: hello@luxunique.co.uk luxunique.co.uk

LuxR luxrled.com

MMandarin Stone mandarinstone.com

Marshalls marshalls.co.uk

MC Aggregates mcaggregate.com

Meadow View Stone meadowviewstone.co.uk

Medite Smartply MEDITE SMARTPLY defines the standards of engineered wood panels. Its manufacturing sites in Clonmel (MEDITE) and Waterford (SMARTPLY) in Ireland feature the latest production technology to deliver straighter, flatter and more consistent boards than ever before. As part of the Coillte Group, it prides itself on its sustainable supply chain and manufacturing processes, meaning its products are as environmentally conscious in their make up as they are in their application.

Telephone number: 01322 424900 Email: info@mdfosb.com mdfosb.com/en

Merebrook Pond Plants pondplants.co.uk

Millboard millboard.co.uk

mmcité mmcité is a leading Czech street furniture brand. Its own design studio, led by David Karásek, focuses on innovative design and the combination of highly functional materials with an aesthetic style. mmcité has 10 branches and 32 distributors around the world.

Telephone number: 07591 214612 (Jozef Hupian) Email: enquiry@mmcite.co.uk mmcite.co.uk

Morgans morgansltd.com

Mrs Stone Store mrs-stone-store.com

NNaturescape naturescape.co.uk

New Wood Trees newwoodtrees.co.uk

Nigel Belcher Turf & Paving nigelbelcherturf.co.uk

North Hill Nurseries northhillnurseries.co.uk

OOfficina Coppola officinacoppola.com

Ofyr ofyr.com

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Orlight orlight.com

Orluna orluna.com

PPaddock Fencing paddockfencing.com

Palmstead

Recently declared HTA Best Inspirational Business Award winners for 2022, Palmstead Nurseries Ltd produces over a million shrubs and perennials, and 200,000 trees per annum for the professional market. Palmstead offers a multitude of ways for you to become part of its community. It invites you to visit linktr.ee/Palmstead and discover what it is all about.

Telephone number: 01233 813340 Email: sales@palmstead.co.uk palmstead.co.uk

Paola Lenti paolalenti.it/en

ParkerSteel parkersteel.co.uk

Paving Traders pavingtraders.co.uk

Petzl

Petzl’s mission for more than 40 years has been to create innovative tools and services that allow you to progress, position and protect yourself and others in vertical environments, as well as to light your way in the dark. It continually looks for the best solutions in performance, ergonomics, comfort and reliability while maintaining a constant contact with professionals. The demands and the commitment of both professional and sport users are what guide its approach to supporting you in your pursuit of the inaccessible.

Telephone number: 015396 24040 Email: info@petzl.co.uk petzl.com

Pictorial Meadows pictorialmeadows.co.uk

Practicality Brown pracbrown.co.uk

Proludic proludic.co.uk

Provender Nurseries provendernurseries.co.uk

QQuercus Fencing quercusfencing.co.uk

RRiviera Hot Tubs riviera-hottubs.co.uk

Rochfords rochfords.net

Rolawn

The Rolawn Group is the UK’s leading supplier of turf and natural landscaping products, trusted by landscapers and horticultural professionals for 48 years. The Rolawn brand is about supporting professionals with premium products backed by first class services to help projects run smoothly. Rolawn’s sister brand Hallstone is being repositioned as a trade-only brand. Focused on landscapers’ needs, it offers dependable, premium quality products at great prices.

Telephone number: 01904 757300 Email: info@rolawn.co.uk rolawn.co.uk

Rosco emea.rosco.com/en

SSamsung samsung.com/uk

Simes simes.it/en

Sonance sonance.com

Stark & Greensmith starkandgreensmith.com

Steintec steintec.co.uk

Streetlife streetlife.nl/en

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Strulch

Strulch was developed at Leeds University by Dr Geoff Whiteley. It is made from wheat straw, is an earthy brown colour, has a neutral pH and lasts on the surface for up to two years. Strulch stops weeds germinating by blocking light, retains moisture in the soil and the added minerals and texture deters slugs and snails. 13.5 kg bags of Strulch are available on pallets of 12, 25, 40 or 48 bags. Delivered within four working days. Trade discounts available.

Telephone number: 01943 863610 Email: info@strulch.co.uk strulch.co.uk

Sunnyside Rural Trust sunnysideruraltrust.org.uk

SureSet sureset.co.uk

Surrey Ironcraft surreyironcraft.com

T Brown and Sons Ltd tbrownandsons.co.uk

The Pot Company thepotco.com

Watermatic watermaticltd.co.uk

Tokistar via Light Projects lightprojects.co.uk/tokistar

Tom Raffield tomraffield.com

Torc Pots

Torc makes everything from its studio in the British Isles creating beautiful pots and planters to enhance any outdoor (or indoor) space. Working alongside a talented team of artisans, this family-run business really specialises in textures, scale and especially bespoke design. Its green credentials are pretty impressive too. Telephone number: 01534 717104 Email: nicole@torcpots.com torcpots.com

Tribù tribu.com

T Caudwell reclaimedbricksandyorkstone.co.uk

Tendercare tendercare.co.uk

The Boston Bulb Company bostonbulbswholesale.co.uk

T VVan den Berk Nurseries vdberk.co.uk

Vande Moortel vandemoortel.co.uk/en

Waterwise Solutions waterwisesolutions.co.uk

Wild Flower Lawns and Meadows wildflowerlawnsandmeadows.com

Wildflower Turf wildflowerturf.co.uk

Wishbone Exterior Lighting wishboneexteriorlighting.co.uk

Wyevale Nurseries wyevalenurseries.co.uk

Wykeham Mature Plants

Grower of large trees, instant hedging, screening plants and specimen shrubs for instant results. Supplying the trade for more than 45 years from a 150-acre nursery in North Yorkshire – quality stock guaranteed to be hardy and free from imported diseases. Nationwide delivery. Planting service available (within 150 miles of nursery, T&Cs apply). Advisory services available to help ensure the long-term success of your planting scheme.

Telephone number: 01723862406 Email: enquiries@wykeham.co.uk wykehammatureplants.co.uk

Wyresdale Concrete Products Ltd wyresdaleltd.co.uk

WW Godfrey & Sons wgodfrey.co.uk

The Garden Trellis Company gardentrellis.co.uk

Water Artisans waterartisans.com

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Designers and artists with broad imaginations, architects and specifiers across all of the nations, from wardrobes to beds our quality can’t be denied, one of our innovative products can even be used outside. Outdoor kitchens and games, a summerhouse withstands all kinds of weather all the year round.

Visit meditemakesitreal.com for more information. Dreamers welcome!

Through the heat of the summer into cold winter chill, still a half century later MEDITE makes it real.

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