Pro Landscaper May 2017

Concept to Delivery

DESIGN, BUILD, AND MAINTAIN

May 2017

With this issue

UP IN THE AIR

RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW 2017 36 page guide

PLANTS FOR ROOF TERRACES

FAIR DEAL

WHY ETHICAL SOURCING BOOSTS PROFITS

HOW TO BUILD A BETTER

online portfolio

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WELCOME Concept to Delivery DESIGN, BUILD, AND MAINTAIN

UP IN THE AIR

May 2017 | Volume 7, Issue 5

Welcome to the May issue, and probably the busiest month of the horticultural calendar.

The RHS is preparing for the Malvern Spring Festival, and of course the Chelsea Flower Show, and hot on its heels will be the new Chatsworth Flower Show. All of these events are well worth a visit so although you’re no doubt flat out busy, it’s always great to visit a flower show as a member of the public and rediscover the wonder of horticulture.

Talking of the RHS, at a recent meeting with director general Sue Biggs, it was very exciting to find out the forthcoming plans for each sector of the

FAIR DEAL

charity, with the development of a new garden, RHS Bridgewater, the redevelopment of some of the existing gardens at Wisley and Hyde Hall, the new RHS Chatsworth show, and the charity’s aim to raise the profile of careers in horticulture – something very close to our own hearts at Pro Landscaper.

Watch this space for details of how we will be working together to achieve this.

As usual, this issue is packed full of the most inspiring and educational information available in the landscape industry. Our eyes were particularly drawn to Anji Connell’s feature on

HOW TO BUILD A

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garden furniture, as we’ll soon be enjoying time relaxing in the garden; plus it’s great to see Tom Hoblyn in LifeStyle, a feature which always delves into the background of our subjects and gives us an insight into their life and work.

Of course, along with this issue you will find our RHS Chelsea Flower Show supplement, put together by deputy editor Nina Mason, which covers all the show gardens and includes interviews with experienced and debut garden designers. We can’t wait to see everyone involved at the showground during build up and on press day, bring it on!

Have a great month.

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36 page guide

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RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW 2017

PLANTS FOR ROOF TERRACES

Welcome to May 2017

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Pro Landscaper / May 2017

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CONTENTS

May 2017 INFORM

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Agenda How well does the industry use technology in gardens and how could we improve this?

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10 News Our monthly roundup of industry news

14 News Extra: Mark Lane The garden designer becomes an ambassador for two horticultural charities

16 Pro Landscaper Live Manchester

Concept to Delivery

DESIGN, BUILD, AND MAINTAIN

UP IN THE AIR PLANTS FOR ROOF TERRACES

Our new event in the north west

19 Association News The latest updates from efig, SGD, BALI, RHS, APL and Parks Alliance

FAIR DEAL

xx

May 2017

With this issue

RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW 2017 36 page guide

xx

WHY ETHICAL SOURCING BOOSTS PROFITS

HOW TO BUILD A BETTER

online portfolio

24 RHS Chelsea Diaries Manoj Malde and Dan Riddleston continue their series as Chelsea nears

27 Let’s Hear it From Garden designer Tracy Foster

30 Company Profile Richard Curle, Landscape Associates

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41 Don’t Fence Me In Are we using too much fencing in playgrounds, asks Adam White

Corporate sponsors are pulling out of RHS Chelsea – David Dodd thinks this could be a good thing

PLACE Design + Planning

Tim Howell of Mitie on the notion of the ‘gig economy’ and how it relates to landscaping

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54 Rural Rapture The 2017 BALI Supreme Award winning project from Creative Landscape Co

45 Way Down South Pro Landscaper visits Southampton for our latest council feature

58 Doing the Rounds The Outdoor Room delivers a communal atmosphere in a London courtyard

37 Drawing Out Your Money Design drawing is a crucial part of making your business financially viable, says Andrew Wilson

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Creature Comforts A wildlife-friendly front garden for a Salisbury bungalow from Camilla Hiley Gardens

38 Safe and Secure Angus Lindsay suggests a revolutionary new security product

Sharp Focus Peter Reader Landscapes transforms a small Hampstead garden with clean lines and crisp styling

43 Back Down To Earth

32 Landscape Architect’s Journal 34 View from the Top

INSPIRE

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64 Whatever the Weather Anji Connell presents a selection of outdoor furniture that’s weather resistant without losing out on style www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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CONTENTS

93 Ethical Sourcing The benefits that an ethical supply chain can bring to your business, in the second of Steven Walley’s series

94 Up in the Air Paul Newman tells us what to consider when selecting plants for a roof terrace

97 Reach for the Stars Communication and commitment are vital in a working relationship, says Robert Webber

98 Knowing the Law Sean Butler clears up the confusion around several laws affecting landscapers

100 Professional Portfolios Tips on improving your online portfolio from Ben Shaw

102 Paving the Way Forward London Stone answers common queries concerning the use of porcelain paving

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105 Trading With Natural Paving

106 What I’m Reading

67 Latest Products Contemporary paving and high-end lighting

70 Life/Style Getting to know garden designer Tom Hoblyn NURTURE

75 Nurture News A roundup of news from the UK’s growing sector

76 Designer Plants Anne Jennings creates an aged ‘secret garden’ in Chelsea

78 The Long Game Suggestions for long-blooming plants from Andy McIndoe

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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Robert Barker reviews Derek Jarman’s Garden by Derek Jarman

81 Lust for Leaf Ian Drummond is delighted by the explosion of popularity in house plants

107 What’s Your Role?

Craig Potter, London Stone

82 Umbel Pie Jamie Butterworth on his favourite umbellifers

85 Branching Out The case for urban trees in the future, from Noel Kingsbury

86 Nursery Interview Johnsons of Whixley EDUCATE

90 Helping You Make a Profit: Part Two

111

Pedestrian Mowers A roundup of pedestrian mowers, plus expert advice on transportation and storage

112 Market Report: Mowers Pro Landscaper investigates the relationship between landscapers and mower manufacturers

122 Little Interview Quick-fire questions to the people who make up our industry

Sam Hassall breaks down the costs for bedding and jointing paving

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10/04/2017 15:23:58 20/04/2017 09:29

INFORM

SPOTLIGHT ON

CONTRIBUTORS

Tim Howell Managing director, Mitie Landscapes Ltd

Andy McIndoe

Ben Shaw

Sean Butler

Leading horticulturist

National account director, Adtrak

Director, Cube 1994

In this issue, Tim Howell, managing director of Mitie Landscapes Ltd, discusses the importance of providing your own specialist workforce for the customer. Not only does this enhance the service provided, it also ensures employees are guaranteed their legal rights to benefits, are able to develop within the company and feel valued – a better choice for workers in an increasingly ‘gig’ based economy.

This month’s column sees Andy McIndoe giving his recommendations for the best long-blooming shrubs and perennials to give your garden year-round interest. Some of the most popular landscape plants flower for a notably short season; Andy suggests a selection of plants that bloom for much longer and gives tips on the best environment to help them thrive.

In the second instalment of this series, Ben Shaw, national account director at Adtrak, tells us why an online portfolio is important, and advises on how to create one successfully. He discusses the different factors involved in constructing a portfolio that shows your business at its best, including high quality images and the power of videography.

In this new series, Sean Butler takes a closer look at some of the basic laws within the industry, highlighting the effects on businesses and everyday working lives. In this issue, Sean focuses on the recent changes to driving licence categories, planning permission for driveways, and the transportation of goods for use on landscape projects, including from the clearance of a garden.

www.mitielandscapes.com @TimwHowell

www.andymcindoe.com @AndyMcIndoe

www.adtrak.co.uk @bendog90

www.cube1994.com @cube1994

Andrew Wilson Garden designer and lecturer Angus Lindsay Head of fleet, idverde

Anji Connell Interior architect and landscape designer Ian Drummond Creative director, Indoor Garden Design

Steve Walley Managing director, London Stone Sam Hassall Managing director, LandPro Ltd

Adam White Director, Davies White Ltd

Jamie Butterworth Plant manager at Hortus Loci

Paul Newman Owner, Paul Newman Landscapes

David Dodd Landscaper and lecturer

Noel Kingsbury Garden designer and writer

Robert Webber Founder, Scenic Lighting

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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INSPIRE

Other contributors

Pro Landscaper / May 2017

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INFORM

AGENDA

HOW WELL DOES THE INDUSTRY USE TECHNOLOGY IN GARDENS AND HOW COULD WE IMPROVE THIS?

doesn’t have to be complicated for them. To Technology is continually developing me, tech is about convenience, harnessing for gardens, from programmable the latest innovations to solve individual lighting and irrigation and lighting problems. Our tech changes daily, improvements in materials, right whereas clients want solutions with longevity. through to the machinery used to build It’s a fine balance between future upgrades the gardens and apps to help maintain and present needs. We have to have a foot in them. We asked some of the leading both camps to create our ‘dark art’. professionals in the industry whether they think technology is used to its Janine Pattison fullest extent in gardens – and if not, Director, how could we improve it?

pool covers, security systems, multi-media systems and lighting are becoming more affordable, and many clients enjoy playing with gadgets and new technology. It’s our job to keep up to date with technology so we can alert our clients to the options.

David Houghton Director, Kings Landscapes

Janine Pattison Studios

Robert Webber Founder, Scenic Lighting

When I first qualified as an electrician, garden lighting technology was based upon lighting that was designed in 1960 – plastic light fittings with lamps the size of your head. Lots has changed since then. High-tech lighting systems are now an everyday occurrence for us. Light fittings are smaller, more powerful, cheaper to run, safer, and more waterproof.

Switching systems are smarter, giving control from anywhere in the world, as well as on the terrace, offering choice after choice for our clients. However, most still choose simplicity: one switch, with four buttons, for four circuits – simple design using cutting edge tech. It 8

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The pace of change in garden-related technology is ever increasing. All the private gardens we design now have the benefit of a comprehensive outdoor lighting scheme using the latest LED technology. The lighting can be programmed to come on automatically to create various moods, and to give the homeowner control and flexibility. Wireless control systems and the latest software mean that these installations are controlled using apps on phones and tablets. Domestic irrigation systems can now be controlled by small computerised weather stations which measure humidity, rainfall and temperature, and calculate the right amount of watering needed. These systems are now reliable and cost-effective, and vital for high-end gardens where correct watering is critical. In my opinion, automation is the next big thing in gardens. App-controlled access systems, gates,

There are many areas in landscaping which can make good use of technology, right from the very beginning of a project – drones can be used for surveying, while software can build components off site, both of these examples reducing the amount of prelims and site meetings that are needed and making installation much quicker. New communication methods have also been revolutionary, connecting people from all over the world: UK landscapers, the best in the business, do not have to limit themselves to designing only local landscapes any longer. The world is getting smaller, while design pushes boundaries.

Innovations in machinery have helped enormously in terms of transporting components and materials – cranes can be used to lift things over houses, and we can even use conveyor belts to move things through buildings. The biggest development www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/04/2017 14:42

INFORM

over the last 10 years has been in materials, including glass, stone, plastic, recyclable materials and steel. The scope and practicality of materials gets bigger each year, with technology helping to save money on new products.

Technology in terms of electronic gadgets has improved as well – we are able to turn our gardens into real outdoor rooms, with cutting edge lights, outdoor TVs, light-up water features and living walls. The possibilities are endless.

Sam Cox Sales manager, Landscapeplus

Over the last few years, you’ll have seen how quickly technology such as remote controlled and LED lighting have been adopted in the industry, and we’re always testing new technology and products that can help garden professionals offer a better service to their clients. But technology can be utilised in other ways.

At Landscapeplus, for example, we’ve always encouraged garden designers and contractors to email their garden drawings to us at an early stage – using SketchUp or Vectorworks, we can help them develop their designs with overlays for conduits, cabling and drains, lighting designs, irrigation layouts and water features. By doing this, the garden www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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designer has the opportunity to communicate exactly what they want and need in their garden, and we can help them not just select the right products, but make sure the structure hangs together, that the details are taken care of and that they’re getting the best value for money.

Sean Butler Director, Cube 1994

When we think of technology it normally conjures up thoughts of computers, electronics or gizmos of some description. However, technology in gardens is also the process of creative design – using everyday products, but in a different way.

An example of this is powder-coated finishing, which more and more clients are requesting over a painted finish. A process called electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) is typically used to achieve the application of the powder coating to metal, plastics and MDF. ESD powder coating offers limitless colours in a high quality, durable finish whilst also being more environmentally friendly. It is also more cost effective for the client as the finish lasts a long, long time.

Using the latest technology in any industry is often more cost effective in the long run, and so exploring all the available technological advances with the designer is important.

Kit Powe Product manager, Collingwood

Use of technology in interior lighting designs has seen a huge increase in the past year.

Unfortunately, we’ve found that this technology hasn’t seen the same increased demand when it comes to garden lighting projects.

As an industry, we need to highlight the wide range of benefits that automation and control systems can bring to gardens. Not only can you use your phone or a remote control to, for example, match the lighting to the colour of your flowers, but these types of systems can also be used for a multitude of other things, such as saving energy by only lighting areas that are being used, discouraging intruders by creating the illusion that someone is home – and, of course, impressing guests.

NEXT MONTH How can we encourage seasonal workers to remain in the industry?

Have your say: editor@pro-landscaper.co.uk Pro Landscaper / May 2017

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20/04/2017 14:43

INFORM

NEWS New John O’Conner apprenticeship Publication of partnership launched Dame Margaret Hodge’s review Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer, into the Garden John O’Conner (Grounds Maintenance) Ltd, has established a Bridge new training partnership with Capel qualifications promise to provide Manor College for their 2017 Apprenticeship Programme, offering up to 10 Amenity Horticulture Apprentice opportunities in the Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire areas. Successful applicants will be invited to join their Apprentice Open Day in July, and will undertake a work experience week in August, with a view to joining the John O’Conner team in early September 2017.

Capel Manor College is London’s leading land-based college and is delighted to support the next generation of apprentices to be employed by John O’Conner.

They said: “Together we look forward to delivering new horticulture apprenticeship standards, which we see as an improvement on the frameworks they replace. These new

young entrants into the industry with all of the knowledge and skills that they will need to become first-rate horticulturalists.

“As a college, we know this aspiration can only be realised by working with employers who are equally committed to the wellbeing of the industry. John O’Conner is just such an employer.”

John O’Conner was the Regional Winner of the East of England National Apprenticeship Large Employer of the Year, and was a National finalist in the same category, earning the prestigious Highly Commended Award.

The 2017 Apprenticeship Programme is now live. Applicants should check the John O’Conner website for further information and details on how to apply. www.johnoconner.co.uk

The Mayor of London has published Dame Margaret Hodge MP’s report on the Garden Bridge. The Mayor, Sadiq Khan, commissioned the review in October 2016. It assessed whether value for money was being secured for the public sector’s contribution, and examined the policies and procedures adopted to implement the project and the conduct of those involved.

The report concluded that: • Decisions on the project were driven more by electoral cycles than value for taxpayers’ money.

• Costs have escalated from an early estimate of £60m to over £200m today.

• The risk to the taxpayer has intensified. The original ambition to fund the project through private finance has been abandoned. The Garden Bridge Trust has lost two major private donors, and has pledges of £69m, with no new pledges secured since August 2016. With a public sector contribution of £60m, there is a gap in capital funding of at least £70m. Little progress has been made on raising money to fund maintenance of a finished bridge.

• There was not an open, fair and competitive process around the two TfL procurements for the project. The two procurements revealed systemic failures on many levels.

• The Trust’s finances are precarious and many outstanding risks remain unresolved.

Dame Margaret said: “My report outlines some key lessons that can be learned from the Garden Bridge project, and makes a number of recommendations. I thank Sadiq Khan for giving me the opportunity to examine the project in detail.” www.london.gov.uk

Dover District Council launches in-house grounds maintenance team Dover District Council (DDC) has brought the maintenance of its parks and open spaces in house, with a new team of 25 directly

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Pro Landscaper / May 2017

employed staff. This follows the council’s decision in September 2016 to take the service back in-house when its contract with English Landscapes ended. Most of the English Landscapes staff are transferring to DDC. Roger Wragg, DDC’s head of parks and open spaces, said: “Taking maintenance back in-house gives us greater control over the

quality and consistency of the maintenance of our local parks and open spaces. We want everyone to take pride in these assets and to use them to their full potential.”

DDC owns 25 parks and open spaces, ranging from historic parkland to strips of coastal land.

There are no ‘Green Flag’ parks in the district, so one of the new team’s aims is to improve this.

Roger continued: “With a clear strategy for investment and maintenance, we’re committed to raising standards. By taking maintenance back in-house we’ll be able to deliver a more flexible and responsive service.

“We hope people will see the difference as our new team sets about their work.” www.dover.gov.uk www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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INFORM

Camden Borough Council awards idverde five-year grounds maintenance contract Greenspace management company idverde has been awarded the contract to supply grounds maintenance services to Camden Borough Council, following a competitive tendering process.

The five-year contract, started on 1 April 2017, will see idverde delivering services to 76 parks and over 300 open spaces across Camden, including large historic parks, small neighbourhood spaces, sports facilities, and formal squares. There is an option to extend the contract by a further three years after the initial term.

Clive Ivil, managing director of idverde’s Community Open Spaces division, said: “We are extremely pleased to have been awarded this

contract with Camden Council. We feel our bid speaks to the Council’s strategic objectives for the service, and the desire of local residents to have good quality clean parks and green spaces, with visible staff achieving a ‘right first time’ responsive service.

“We look forward to welcoming the transferring staff to the idverde family and beginning our

partnership with Camden Council, to ensure its residents continue to enjoy excellently maintained parks and green spaces.”

Councillor Meric Apak, Camden Council’s cabinet member for Sustainability and Environment, said: “With high resident satisfaction levels for our parks, we remain committed to maintaining the quality of our green spaces and increasing access for all.

“Our new contract with idverde will provide a flexible, adaptive and conservation-led grounds maintenance service which will ensure we continue to deliver quality green spaces that are even better for nature.” www.idverde.co.uk

Statement regarding RHS Garden Bridgewater

A spokesperson for the Royal Horticultural Society said: “We are delighted that Salford City Council has today granted planning permission in principle for RHS Garden Bridgewater. This means

that this project, which will provide huge benefits to the local area, has passed another key stage.”

The proposals include designs for a new Welcome Building by architects Hodder + Partners, as well as their designs for the reuse of existing buildings for catering, garden centre and retail purposes.

Other material featured in the planning submission includes

garden designs by landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith, who produced the site masterplan.

“The application will now be referred to the Secretary of State due to the green belt status of the site. There are still many stages involved in creating this garden but we look forward to updating everyone as our plans progress.” www.rhs.org.uk

NEWS IN BRIEF London Stone teams up with Turf Group

London Stone has teamed up with Turf Group to become the sole southern distributor/ stockist of the RevoTurf artificial grass range. London Stone’s managing director Steven Walley said: “It’s a first for the UK market” www.londonstone.co.uk

Capel Manor College wins gold at Ideal Home Show

Capel Manor College is celebrating a gold win for its ‘Garden Without a Boundary’, designed by Ollie Neaves, at the Young Gardeners of the Year competition. Ollie said: “I’m so proud to have been given the opportunity to produce a garden design for Capel.” www.capel.ac.uk

Programme announced for Chelsea Fringe 2017

A floating pocket park by garden designer Tony Woods will be the centrepiece of this year’s Chelsea Fringe. The alternative garden festival will run 20 May-4 June, and feature a variety of events across London, including exhibitions, installations, walks, talks, workshops and open days. www.chelseafringe.com

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echneat News.indd 11

20/04/2017 15:12

INFORM

Glendale to keep neighbourhoods green for Equity Glendale has been awarded a four-year contract to provide grounds maintenance services for social housing provider Equity Housing Group.

A team of operatives from the national green services provider will work across Yorkshire and the North West,

Simon Smith, regional manager at Glendale, said: “This contract fulfils two of Glendale’s key values: creating outdoor spaces, and providing jobs for locals.

“We’re relishing the opportunity to create local career opportunities and support Equity in delivering green spaces

managing and maintaining grass, hedges and shrubs, and ensuring that sites are presentable.

Several apprenticeship roles and work placements will be available to young members of the community, as well as greenthemed community initiatives.

Customers will also have access to information about their local services through an online portal, providing details on when work will take place.

that residents can be proud of. There are lots of benefits in enjoying time outdoors and we’re pleased to help Equity residents to do so.”

Kimberley Harrison, neighbourhood services manager at Equity Housing Group, said: “Our customers will benefit from living in a pleasant neighbourhood, and locals will benefit from the job opportunities that this work will provide in the area.” www.glendale-services.co.uk

Oldham Council and Oldham College launch horticultural apprenticeship scheme Oldham Council and Oldham College have launched a joint apprenticeship scheme. Seven intermediate apprentices signed up for a Level 2 Diploma in Horticulturein April, while a further 10 trainees and 13 advanced apprentices will enrol in May. The organisations decided to work together after the college approached the council regarding the grounds maintenance of its Rochdale Road campus. Councillor Shoab Akhtar, Oldham Council’s cabinet member for employment

and skills, said: “Previously we’ve engaged with out of town providers to deliver the training. Thanks to our partnership, we can deliver it in the borough. This is a superb educational opportunity and brings an economic benefit to the town.”

Debra Woodruff, Oldham College’s deputy principal, said: “The partnership will also offer traineeship opportunities for local people, and provide placements for our students. We believe this will help Oldham residents compete.”

Further developments are being planned – students on courses such as bricklaying and carpentry could gain experience at other council sites. A land-based skills centre linked to Alexandra Park could also be developed. www.oldham.ac.uk

Registration is open for the third EILO best project award The European Interior Landscaping Organisation (EILO) organises the bi-annual EILO Best Interior Landscaping Project Award. The Award comes in three categories, with the aim of encouraging smaller projects to participate.

The award ceremony will take place at the World Green

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Infrastructure Congress (WGIC) in Berlin on June 20 this year. EILO invites all long-term interior landscaping installations with natural greenery to participate. This year’s focus is ‘innovation in design and sustainability’. The competition has three categories: Standalone, Plant Walls, and Interior Landscaping

Projects. For each category, there is a chance to win a Gold, Silver or Bronze EILO Best Project of 2017 Award, as well as a prize voted for by the public.

The competition is open to all interior landscaping projects, including companies that are not members of EILO or situated in

Europe. Projects must have been finalised between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2016, and be an indoor, long-term project using 100% live plants. www.eilo.eu

Better than the real thing

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info@vistagreen.com

www.vistagreen.com 18/04/2017 11:38

INFORM

Recently revealed as an ambassador for the horticultural charities Thrive and Groundwork, Mark Lane spoke to Pro Landscaper about why he took on the roles

A WONDERFUL HORTICULTURAL THERAPIST TOLD ME I HAD TO GO FORWARD, AND TO CHAMPION BEING IN A WHEELCHAIR

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TWO NEW ROLES FOR

MARK LANE After meeting the charity’s business development manager, Sandy Fitzgerald, in September last year, Mark went on to visit its Trunkwell Garden Project in Reading. He realised both he and Thrive shared the same belief in changing the lives of people with disabilities through gardening and horticulture.

“The visit was a real eye-opener. I was shown around the ward garden, where people had their own plots that they could grow whatever they wanted in. The most beautiful part was seeing them interacting, as beforehand they had been quite introverted. Through Thrive, they really came out of their shells. It was a really touching moment, and I thought to myself then that I would love to be an ambassador for the charity.”

Groundwork also uses horticulture to improve lives, focusing on helping communities and assisting young people into further education and employment. It creates green jobs and carries out projects to improve local areas, as well as looking for ways to reduce water usage, landfill waste and energy bills.

Mark researched the charity after designing a garden for the Kent charity Pilgrims Hospices, funded by Groundwork’s partnership with Tesco.

He reached out to Sarah Reece-Mills, director of partnerships and programmes at Groundwork, who invited him to visit its Birmingham head office. “I thought it was incredible. Last year alone, Groundwork raised £62m, and either developed or maintained 19.3 million m² of land.

They also helped around 3,000 young people get into further education or employment. There’s the environmental aspect, but there’s also the

Images left and above © copyright Mark Lane Designs 2017

Mark Lane has been announced as an ambassador for the disability charity Thrive, and for the environmental community charity Groundwork. Mark became involved with both organisations last year and, having explored how they positively help people through horticulture, was keen to showcase the substantial work they carry out.

Through gardening, Thrive aims to help those with disabilities to improve their health and communication skills. As someone who used horticulture to bring about positive change in his own life, Mark feels a personal attachment to Thrive. “Following a car accident 17 years ago, I spent a long period at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore,” Mark tells us. “There was a wonderful horticultural therapist there, who told me that I had to go forward, and to champion being in a wheelchair.

“I’d always had an interest in gardening, and read about garden designers, their approaches and the ethos behind their work. So over a four-year rehabilitation period, I completed an open learning course in garden design. Ten years ago, Mark Lane Designs began.”

community aspect, which brings people together and makes them aware of their capabilities.”

Being an ambassador for both Thrive and Groundwork will entail promoting the charities’ work and the difference it makes, raising their profiles through the media, and helping with fundraising events where possible, as well as writing articles for both newsletters. “It’s about promoting the charities, what they do each year, how much they raise, how many spaces they improve, and how many individuals they help.

Both charities really change lives, and this is what makes me so passionate about them.” www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/04/2017 14:45

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Follow Makita UK 10/04/2017 20/04/2017 10:53 09:32

INFORM

Get ready for

PRO LANDSCAPER LIVE MANCHESTER

Eljays44, publishers and owners of Pro Landscaper and the FutureScape event, is pleased to announce the launch of Pro Landscaper Live – a new series of events to take place around the UK. The first of these events, sponsored by London Stone and Turf Group, will take place on Wednesday 31 May 2017, at The Mere Golf Resort and Spa in Knutsford, Manchester “At Pro Landscaper we are very keen to bring the whole of our industry together, and pop-up type events, such as Pro Landscaper Live, are a fundamental part of that,” says Jim Wilkinson, managing director of Eljays44. “We want to bring landscapers, garden designers, landscape architects and property developers of all business sizes together in one room, so that they can network, share knowledge, learn and build relationships. This is key to the industry’s ability to develop, move forward and enhance its reputation.

“For the Manchester event, we have compiled an excellent seminar programme, with some great headline sponsors and a venue that is perfect for this type of event. The plan is to roll Pro Landscaper Live out across different regions of the country. There will be more information to follow.”

Pro Landscaper Live will kick off on the day at 1pm with a buffet lunch. The event will take the form of the seminars and debates held at the hugely successful FutureScape event, followed by an evening dinner. There will be plenty of opportunity for networking in a relaxed, informal environment during coffee and tea breaks and at the evening dinner.

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The seminars will be 20-minute educational presentations on important products used in landscaping, with time for questions at the end.

There will also be a panel session, with garden designers and landscapers talking about the benefits of being involved in show gardens, and an industry debate with a range of influential people from different disciplines within the landscape sector.

Steve Walley, managing director of London Stone, said: “We’re very excited to be one of the sponsors of Pro Landscaper’s first Manchester event. The huge amount of talent in the north west has given the area a reputation for excellence in garden design and landscape construction. We’re looking forward to a stimulating day of debate on how we can all work together, not only to create greater understanding among us but also to see the part we can play in further enhancing the reputation of the landscape industry in this part of the UK.” Matt Spedding, managing director of Turf Group, said: “Turf Group is delighted to be a co-sponsor of Pro Landscaper’s Manchester event. A key landscaping event in the north west is long overdue, with the area housing many of the UK’s leading landscape material suppliers, landscape contractors and garden designers.

What an excellent opportunity to bring everyone together. We look forward to seeing industry friends, old and new, at the event.”

Join us for what promises to be an unmissable event. Contact Eljays44 on 01903 777 570 or email jim.wilkinson@eljays44.com www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/04/2017 14:47

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04/04/2017 20/04/2017 15:50 09:33

ASSOCIATION

INFORM

NEWS

APL update

APL Autumn Seminar Vertically Challenged Following on from the successful APL Stone Seminar held in January, the next APL Autumn Seminar – ‘Vertically Challenged’ – will take place on Tuesday 26 September at HTA, Horticulture House in Chilton, Oxfordshire.

APL Stone Seminar January 2017

This one day seminar will look at the challenges of vertical landscaping. Industry experts and practitioners will be providing information and technical knowledge on all aspects of wall construction.

Topics to be covered include the design process, the role

of the structural engineer, types of walls, a case study, dry stone walling, compacted earth walls, rendering systems, wall drainage, and specialist mortars. Places cost £75 + VAT per person. Book now at: www.hta.org.uk/aplseminar APL Avenue at BBC Gardeners’ World Live The APL Avenue features next month at BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2017, which will take place from 15-18 June at The NEC Birmingham.

Five gardens which are inspirational, aspirational and relatable will give visitors the opportunity to witness first-hand what can be achieved in a small space when engaging the skills of a professional designer and builder. For more information on the gardens visit: www.landscaper.org.uk

Eat and Shelter Garden from BBC GWL 2016

RHS Malvern Spring Festival, 11-14 May The Three Counties showground will host the RHS Malvern Spring Festival. Visitors can expect the world’s biggest Floral Marquee and 106 specialist nurseries showcasing their plants from across the UK. A strong food strand will complement the gardening content. New for 2017, a

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‘spa resort’ theme will take its inspiration from Malvern Spa’s heyday, highlighting how gardens and gardening improves people’s wellbeing.

For more information and to book tickets, please call 01684 584924, or visit: www.rhsmalvern.co.uk

will demonstrate the benefits of plants in even the smallest of areas, and provide a vision for future development. To buy tickets, visit: www.rhs.org.uk/ shows

RHS Chelsea Flower Show, 23-27 May Among the highlights this year will be the 2017 RHS Greening Grey Britain Garden, designed

by Professor Nigel Dunnett, who created the wildflower meadow for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Nigel

Bonsai Weekend, RHS Garden Rosemoor, 6-7 May Learn the art of growing bonsai trees from experts who are skilled at creating weathered trees and even miniature forests, all in the confines of a pot. www.rhs.org.uk/ gardens/rosemoor

©Hannah McKay

RHS report

Rhododendron Weekend, RHS Garden Harlow Carr 13-14 May RHS Garden Harlow Carr celebrates its rhododendron collections. The garden’s Rhododendron, Camellia and Magnolia group will be on site. www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/ harlow-carr

Pro Landscaper / May 2017 19

20/04/2017 16:32

INFORM

BALI briefing BALI set to bloom at Chelsea BALI is returning to RHS Chelsea in May, having secured a high profile stand on Eastern Avenue, metres from the Main Way entrance at location EA/491, opposite the

RHS. The stand will welcome visitors with a colourful floral garden, using products supplied by BALI Registered Affiliate members, including artificial grass from Pile Height, planters from WoodblocX, and an archway from Harrod UK. Mulberry Plants will provide high impact, exquisite seasonal planting, adding a flourish of colour.

RHS Chelsea Eastern Avenue

BALI’s GoLandscape seeks South Thames Ambassadors The association’s recentlylaunched

careers initiative, GoLandscape, which has gained universal praise across the wider BALI membership and from leading industry figures, is launching its first induction and training event this June. Join BALI at Merrist Wood College on Tuesday 13, from 5.30pm until 8.30pm, for a fun, informative and rewarding workshop. 14 BALI members have so far signed up to be Ambassadors for the scheme.

If you are from the South Thames area and would like to sign up as an Ambassador, please contact BALI at contact@bali.org.uk GoLandscape was set up to improve standards across our industry and bridge the current skills gap by targeting

school leavers, parents, career advisors and educators, and lobbying the government.

A warm welcome to Daisy BALI has expanded its team at Landscape House by hiring marketing and communications officer Daisy Roberts. Daisy’s role will be to support Darren Taylor, BALI’s marketing and communications manager, with the delivery of BALI’s 2017/18 marketing plan. Daisy has a background in print management and has hit the ground running. www.bali.org.uk

SGD bulletin The SGD Awards 2017: Now open for entries The SGD Awards are back!

This annual awards scheme is designed to recognise and reward the best landscape and garden design, and is a fantastic opportunity for

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SGD members of all levels to promote their businesses, raise their profile, and get the widespread recognition they deserve by winning an important industry accolade.

There are 21 award categories, which are open to a variety of different membership levels – plus one awards category that is open to nonmembers. Categories range from planting and hardscape to international garden projects and roof gardens.

This year, having built the awards up to a viable position, the society is delighted to be able to offer significantly reduced entry fees across

several of the award categories.

There is also a discounted entry fee for the planting and hardscape categories, if they are entered in addition to a main award – making the 2017 awards more accessible than ever.

Entry forms and fees for main awards must be received by 2 June 2017, with discounted prices available if received before 28 April 2017.

International Garden by Tommaso de Buono MSGD

Entry forms and fees for student awards must be received by 18 August 2017, with discounted prices available if received before 21 July 2017.

To find out more about the awards, the judging panel, and the key dates for entry, visit: www.sgdawards.com

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/04/2017 14:33

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20/04/2017 19/11/2015 16:03 11:54

INFORM

efig outline

efig Awards Having made their final visits to award entry sites, judges Nicola Bristow, Greg Redwood and Rob Stirling have now selected this year’s winners.

Greg Redwood has a wealth of experience in horticulture, and is head of the Great Glasshouses and horticultural training section at Kew Royal Botanic Garden.

He is responsible for the Kew Diploma, Kew Apprenticeship and Traineeship, horticultural interns and all horticultural training, as well as the running

of the glasshouses. Greg is also an RHS show judge.

Nicola Bristow has over 30 years of horticultural experience, working in garden centres and interior and exterior planting maintenance. Nicola has worked in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and now works as a horticultural advisor.

Nicola believes that having worked in customer service roles for the majority of her career makes her highly aware of customer expectations.

Rob Stirling trained in garden design in 1998 and ran his own practice. He joined the RHS in 2003 and was responsible for the weekly purchasing of houseplants for the plant centre at RHS Wisley, as well as visual

merchandising of the houseplant and conservatory sections.

Since 2012 he has been a horticultural advisor with the RHS and helps to answer around 70,000 gardening enquiries a year. He writes for magazines, the national press and podcasts. His specialism is in tropical plants, particularly orchids and the genus Hoya.

By the time you read this, the judges will have made their decisions, announced the award winners and presented them with their awards – and it’s all over for another year. But is it? It’s a wasted opportunity if

efig members don’t use their accolades. The most obvious ways to use them include: • In your portfolio • Informing your clients, new and old • In local media to promote your company’s expertise and achievements • To motivate your staff and in staff training.

We look forward to hearing your continued success stories. www.efig.co.uk

Parks Alliance matters

Could the weather be about to turn for parks?

As parks prepare for the summer, The Parks Alliance increases its activity, representing and supporting parks in conversations with partners and government.

Recent meetings with officials at the Department for Communities and Local Government give us hope that the recommendations of the Parks Inquiry will

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be considered positively by a cross-departmental group – which will, in turn, be supported by The Parks Alliance and our partners. As previously reported, we hope this will lead to greater support, investment, capacity and leadership for parks.

Our activities also include developing discussions with other public bodies, including those for health and education.

Through helping to develop a an understanding of the health, education and social benefits that parks provide, we hope these discussions will result in a more joinedup approach to supporting parks and the organisations that manage them.

As with any member organisation, The Parks

Alliance must represent the views of its members.

With this in mind, we will be carrying out a survey to inform our future activities.

If you are not a member and you would like to participate, please contact us at communications@ theparksalliance.org Finally, we are delighted to be supporting Leeds University’s free-to-attend national conference, ‘The Future of Public Parks: Policy, Practice and Research’, to be held at 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, Westminster on Thursday 13 July 2017. www.theparksalliance.org

Pro Landscaper / May 2017 23

20/04/2017 15:46

THE CHELSEA DIARIES

INFORM

Designer Manoj Malde and contractor Dan Riddleston will be keeping Pro Landscaper in the loop as they each prepare for their Chelsea 2017 gardens

MANOJ MALDE COUTURE GARDENS Debut Designer at RHS Chelsea 2017 Garden Beneath a Mexican Sky Contractor Living Landscapes Sponsor Inland Homes & Living Landscapes

I am living and breathing this garden. Client work has been put to bed and meetings continue with suppliers and contractors – Tecwyn Evans and I have worked closely with Outdoor Design to make sure the steelworks are engineered down to the exact millimetre.

Topcret and Living Landscapes have created test panels for the large steps crossing the pool of water. The

challenge is to make the steps strong but lightweight so that the structural steels do not have to be over-engineered.

Some great companies are supporting the garden: Valspar Paints UK is supplying the paints, Gold Leaf Gloves the gloves for the planting team, Sneeboer the planting tools, Roberti the furniture, Indigenous Planters the pots, and CED Stone Group is supplying our gravel.

Visiting Kelways nursery to check on my plants gets the heart racing. It is the one aspect of creating the garden which gives me butterflies – will they be ready in time for the show?

The garden is one thing, marketing meetings with Inland Homes are another – designing the brochure, organising the planting team, requesting access passes from the RHS, and choosing the photographer and videographer. Max Horberry is filming my visits and meetings to create short videos.

Stress levels are huge. I have learnt how important it is to have a strong, supportive and trustworthy team around me. These are the people who help me find solutions to drive the project forward. www.couturegardens.co.uk

DAN RIDDLESTON BOWLES & WYER CONTRACTS Contractor at RHS Chelsea 2017 Garden Linklaters Garden for Maggie’s Designer Darren Hawkes Sponsor Linklaters

With just a few weeks to go, it was time for another check on the planting for the garden with Darren Hawkes. This year, Dave Root from Kelways is sourcing and growing the plants, while Deepdale is supplying the trees.

At each stop around the site there was a discussion of likely growth before we get to the site and whether foliage or flower is to be the key feature.

Already there has been plenty of movement of the stock around the nursery. One of the varieties of Iris was already looking a little advanced so

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there was talk of holding back half the batch in an attempt to get a flower for Chelsea, and forcing the other half to provide more interesting foliage.

Darren has potted up some of his own stock for Kelways to grow on. Spotting these specimens is easy: they are certainly not ‘nursery stock’, nor are they planted in the most traditional of containers – I

spotted a few cardoons doing nicely in a fish box sent up from Darren’s home town of Fowey. They’ll provide that extra something that Darren is looking for, and sometimes you have to be creative in your planting plan to get the best results.

Stars of the day included the Hosta ‘Green Mouse Ears’ that Darren will be planting en masse, some magnificent tree peonies, and the Echium webbii,

which are currently chilling in Dave’s garden. My favourite was the Chrysosplenium davidianum with its burst of almost luminous yellow flowers that could be seen from the other end of the polytunnel.

Next, we’re off to check progress on our hornbeam hedging and large Amelanchier at Deepdale, and to talk logistics with Matthias Anton. www.bowleswyercontracts.co.uk

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/04/2017 14:12

Luxigraze, a new luxurious, high quality range of artificial grass products to hit the UK market

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12/04/2017 10:32:59 20/04/2017 09:41

INFORM

Let’s Hear it From

TRACY FOSTER Garden designer Tracy Foster speaks to Pro Landscaper about getting young people into horticulture, why she teaches design courses for non-professionals looking to design their own gardens, and the run up to RHS Chelsea 2017

Tracy, tell us a little about how you got into garden design – is it something you’ve always done?

As a child I was fascinated by the natural world, and I went on to do a degree in plant biology at Newcastle University. When I left, I took a job as a trainee computer programmer and spent the next 17 years working in various roles ranging from systems analyst to project manager, with a more botanical occupation being a distant dream. In 2002 I decided to leave my job and spend my savings on training for a new career in garden design.

I LOVE LEARNING NEW THINGS AND THINKING IN NEW WAYS, SO I STRIVE TO GET AS MUCH VARIETY INTO MY WORK AS POSSIBLE What training did you undertake?

I studied from home to get a diploma in garden design, whilst working as a volunteer at Harewood House to bring my practical horticulture skills up to date. My business was up and running within a year.

Do you work with a team of designers, or is it just yourself?

It’s wonderful to work with other designers, artists and craftspeople, and I prefer jobs that involve collaboration, but like many designers I frequently work alone. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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20/04/2017 14:08

INFORM

THERE IS A PALPABLE BUZZ OF EXCITEMENT IN A SHOW GARDEN BUILD, AND THERE ARE SO MANY INTERESTING AND CREATIVE PEOPLE TO MEET

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www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/04/2017 14:08

INFORM

How do you choose the landscapers you work with?

Finding good landscapers can be really tricky, but I’ve been working with the same ones for several years now. We know, trust and respect each other, so communication is always good throughout each project, and that makes a massive difference in ensuring a high quality build.

What would a typical project look like for you?

The things I’ve worked on over the past year have been really varied, from designing a public space for an arts centre to reshaping a large walled country garden and creating a tiny outdoor room for a new build – and this is exactly how I like it. I love learning new things and thinking in new ways, so I strive to get as much variety into my work as possible.

Do you have a particular design ‘style’?

I do try to avoid being labelled as a designer with a particular style, and have worked on all kinds of projects, from the sleek and modern to the rustic and vintage – but I confess that there are particular materials and plants that I like to use, and I do love detail.

You’re designing the Welcome to Yorkshire show garden at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. How did this come about?

I worked with Welcome to Yorkshire back in 2012 when the Brontës’ Yorkshire Garden won a Gold medal, and we always said we would like to work together again. This time it’s a much larger garden.

Can you tell us a little about the garden?

It’s massively ambitious as it aims to capture the sensations of the Yorkshire coast with its sea, cliffs, and plant life. It’s not a fashionably tidy, restrained, linear design – it’s flowing, organic, and natural in style, and will have a sense of drama and fun. It’s strongly influenced by the coast at Flamborough where communities of plants thrive in challenging conditions, and where the whole ecology of the area – from the rocks to the wildlife – contributes to the natural beauty.

Landform will be constructing the garden.

Have you worked with them before?

This is the first time I’ve worked with Landform, and I feel hugely fortunate to have them building www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Let's Hear it From.indd 29

the garden. They have so much experience and no one could possibly know Chelsea better than them. Their co-founder Mark Gregory is also from Yorkshire and he has a genuine enthusiasm for the project.

What do you feel you get out of designing show gardens?

Every show garden opens new doors. Each sponsor has a message to convey, and I like to really get to know them and learn what they’re all about. Of course, there is also a palpable

I THINK EVERYONE HAS A RIGHT TO HAVE A GO AT DESIGNING THEIR OWN GARDEN IF THEY WANT TO buzz of excitement in a show garden build, and there are so many interesting and creative people to meet and learn from.

You also run design courses for people wanting to design their own garden. What made you decide to do this?

Let’s face it, the sort of people who can afford a garden designer are a minority group, and by teaching people how to design aspects of their own gardens I can reach into a totally different market sector. I enjoy it, too – it’s refreshing to meet people who are prepared to put in the hard work and make a garden their own, and it’s very rewarding to build up their confidence and hear about the transformations they achieve. We cover everything from basic

measuring up right through to planting, at a level of detail that is sufficient for a small and simple plot. I think everyone has a right to have a go at designing their own garden it they want to.

You also give talks on garden design. Do you feel this is a way of educating the public about garden design as a career?

Most of the people I talk to are already keen gardeners, and they do tend to be of a certain age. It would be great to get into schools and colleges to let young people know how thrilling and rewarding it can be to follow a career in horticulture, landscaping or garden design.

Encouraging people to value our profession is too big a subject to cover in a sentence, but I do think industry bodies like the SGD are vital in providing the public with information such as what a garden designer can do, and what their charges might be.

1 Back garden in Leeds; screening and interest were required on a modest budget 2 Hedgehog Street from Hampton Court 2014 – Gold medal and People’s Choice winner 3 Small private garden in Wakefield 4 2012 Chelsea garden for Welcome to Yorkshire (Brontës’ Yorkshire Garden) 5 Plan view of this year’s Welcome to Yorkshire garden at Chelsea

CONTACT Tracy Foster Garden Design Tel: 07711 888627 Office: 0113 2667828 info@tracyfostergardendesign.co.uk www.tracyfostergardendesign.co.uk

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20/04/2017 14:09

INFORM

COMPANY

PROFILE

Chertsey-based Landscape Associates is a multi-award-winning company, back for its fourth year at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2017. Managing director Richard Curle explains how Landscape Associates got to where it is today and where the company is headed in the future

Richard, can you tell us a little about how the company was founded?

My passion for horticulture and building gardens came about when I left school and started my first job for a garden maintenance company. I realised then this was the industry I wanted to work in, and took a City & Guilds course in decorative horticulture before moving on to study landscape construction and contract management full time at Writtle College. It was then that I moved into the construction side of the industry and never looked back.

During my placement year I started working for a landscaping company, and I had the opportunity to help them build an RHS Chelsea garden. This experience gave me the drive to set up on my own and after three years of becoming qualified, Landscape Associates was founded, initially as a partnership.

How has it developed since?

When Landscape Associates was founded just after the millennium, it was just myself, my

LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATES

in numbers

Established 2001 Employees 20 Turnover £2m Breakdown 20% maintenance, 80% construction business partner, and a couple of others who were passionate about gardens. It was this attitude that helped to develop the business more than any kind of marketing campaign or strategy – we really enjoyed what we were doing.

The rest was by word of mouth. We worked for garden designers who would recommend us, and before we knew it, we had more work than we knew what to do with, so we started employing people.

What services does the company offer and how are these managed?

We now offer landscape construction and garden maintenance, with two separate management teams. The garden maintenance team, headed up by Oliver Barlow and Yuri Buckeridge, has eight employees split into four core teams, each led by a team leader.

The construction team is slightly larger with 12 employees and is managed by myself and contracts manager Richard Pease. We invest heavily in training our people and developing existing skills, including workshops

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Richard Curle

at a variety of places such as Great Dixter. It’s a fun and informative day out, and it keeps the job interesting.

Which of the services takes the higher percentage in terms of work?

Construction – looking back at the last couple of years, it’s approximately 80% construction to 20% garden maintenance, so it’s quite substantial. As the construction side of the business can be more volatile, we’re looking to grow the maintenance aspect more in relation to the construction, up to at least 40%.

What geographical areas do you cover?

Mainly London and the home counties, though we have covered further in the past.

What size projects do you normally undertake?

Most of our projects are over £30k, all of which are residential. An average value project for us would be between £150-250k. The largest project we’ve done to date in terms of value is just under £700k.

Is the maintenance Landscape Associates offers also residential only?

It’s all residential, and the majority are follow-ups to our construction projects. These probably make up around 85% of the maintenance contracts.

We do tend to get referrals from neighbours of existing contracts, though, and from people who see our vehicles.

Where do you see the company in the next five years?

We have grown a huge amount over the last few years, and to keep it sustainable we have set a target for growth of 10% – this may seem quite low, but our focus is to keep it manageable and continue to provide a personable service. We’ve www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/04/2017 14:10

INFORM spent quite a few years building relationships with people, including designers. One of the worst things I’ve seen happen to other companies is too much emphasis being placed on growth and the quality of work slipping as a result – the reputation they spent years building doesn’t take long to ruin.

We’re also looking to continue developing skills, as well as improving our management systems. Richard Gardiner of NAG Solutions has been working on our compliance and health and safety and is helping to implement changes. He’s invaluable to us, and in terms of our plans over the next five years, we’re really keen to be top of the class with this aspect of the business. It’s not just about the quality of our work and the finished result on site, but how we manage our systems in the office, and making sure that our employees are empowered to deliver projects every time by having the right systems in place.

Finally, what is the one thing you think the industry could and should do better?

The biggest challenge the industry is facing is a skills shortage. It’s been a problem for at least a decade, and it’s also what is limiting our growth. It affects our company personally, and when I speak to others in the industry, they’re facing the same issues. There are steps being made to address it, such as BALI’s GoLandscape, but it’s probably going to take another decade before we start seeing the fruits of this initiative.

We all need to play our part as well. We have two apprentices who have nearly finished their courses now – they’ve come such a long way since they started. It’s possible that there’s not enough companies giving young people the opportunity to be an apprentice, or not actually investing in them, giving them the time and support for them to go to college and learn the necessary skills. It’s a financial investment – they’re away for one day a week at college, and it’s an obligation for employers to pay them a full time salary, but that one day is priceless. It gives them the opportunity to do workshops, to be shown how to do things such as paving, and to learn additional skills from other qualified individuals, not just their foreman at work. It also builds their confidence, so that when they’re on site, there’s a higher chance of the foreman giving them further opportunities. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Company Profile Landscape Associates.indd 31

1 Royal Bank of Canada Waterscapes Garden, Gold medal – RHS Chelsea 2014 ©Simon Nobes, 2014 PanoScope Ltd 2 A Garden for First Touch St George’s, Silver-Gilt medal – RHS Chelsea 2014 ©Emma Durnford 3 A project in Kensington, London, designed, built and maintained by Landscape Associates

CONTACT

4 A Garden for First Touch at St George’s – relocated from RHS Chelsea 2014 ©Landscape Associates

Landscape Associates, Holloway Hill, Lyne, Chertsey KT16 0AE Tel: 020 8943 9461 Twitter: @LAlandscapes Email: info@landscapeassociates.co.uk Web: www.landscapeassociates.co.uk

5 A crane operation for a garden in central London designed by Hugo Bugg Landscapes moving trees from the road to the rear garden 6 The Near Future Garden, Gold medal – RHS Hampton Court 2016 ©Landscape Associates

Pro Landscaper / May 2017 31

20/04/2017 14:11

Green Park, Reading © Paul Grundy

Hobson’s Square

INFORM

WE ALWAYS TRY TO INCLUDE LEARNING FACILITIES OUTSIDE WHERE WE CAN

LANDSCAPE

ARCHITECT’S JOURNAL

Directors Tony Edwards, Gordon Bell and Giles Hopgood speak to Pro Landscaper about some of PLACE Design + Planning’s key projects

S

ince amalgamating with fellow awardwinning practice Bell Fischer Landscape Architects (BFLA) last November, PLACE Design + Planning has doubled in size and is planning to use its new scope to take advantage of what director Tony Edwards is calling a ‘big educational boom’.

“We’re currently undertaking a lot of school and academy projects – the private educational market seems to be quite buoyant. Following the publication of the government’s White Paper, the housing market is moving forward too. We’re well placed for these developments.”

Education and housing PLACE recently completed a project at Hampton Prep School, London, providing aesthetic areas of hard landscaping for pupils, as well as parents, to congregate. Tony explains: “As well as making it an attractive environment for the pupils and teachers, it had to be designed to bring teaching opportunities into the external landscape. There’s an organisation called 32

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Architects Journal PLACE Design and Planning.indd 32

Learning Through Landscapes which promotes this, and we always try to include learning facilities outside where we can.” At Hampton Prep School, this was incorporated into the design through the use of native plant species, with their associated wildlife, helping children to become more aware of nature. The practice was also part of the award-winning team which created the new learning facilities at Frensham Heights School in Surrey.

Although these projects are fairly close to where PLACE is based in Wimbledon, the company is not limited geographically by any means, as director Giles Hopgood explains: “Both companies, pre-amalgamation and currently, work nationally. There’s more of a focus in and around London and the south east, but we have a project starting up in Birmingham, and two large international projects as well – one in Finland, which has been completed, and the other in Holland, which will probably be finished in the summer.” BFLA, which was founded in 1981, has also been involved in a number of international projects in the past, predominantly in the Middle East, and more recently in Gibraltar.

The new combined practice is also involved in large residential projects. BFLA, and now PLACE, has been working for several years on

Frensham Heights School

Kidbrooke Village, part of a 20-year £1bn regeneration project led by Berkeley Homes to transform the site of the Ferrier Housing Estate in Greenwich. Director Gordon Bell, who joins PLACE from BFLA and is a member of the Mayor of London’s Major Schemes Design Review Panel, describes the scheme: “BFLA has worked on three large apartment blocks with podium gardens, including an Extra Care block as well as other housing types, and the central open space, Cator Park. The park contains a series of three large ponds connected by streams and cascades, which together provide an essential

WHEN YOU PLANT A SCHEME THERE SHOULD BE A BALANCE BETWEEN THE INITIAL EFFECT AND WHAT COULD HAPPEN OVER TIME flood attenuation function but also create an attractive and accessible landscape focus for the wider area. The scheme is evolving and more housing is being constructed at the moment.”

Ahead of the amalgamation, PLACE became the first independent landscape architecture practice in the UK to become an Employee www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/04/2017 14:00

INFORM

Kidbrooke

Seven Acres

Hampton School © Helen Booker

Owned Trust (EOT). Tony, who also sits on the panel for the Design Council: CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment), commented: “This enables the management structure to be more flexible, to take the company forward, and provides the directors with a solution to succession, as the trustees change over time.”

Being an EOT means PLACE has established a trust fund for its 13 full time employees to benefit from, for which Tony is currently a trustee. It can have a number of benefits, including increased staff retention through a sense of ownership, and efficiency on projects as the staff will be sharing the profits: “It’s a progressive change, not one that happens overnight,” says Giles. “There’s less hierarchy, so staff can take ownership of the day to day tasks – people are thinking differently now.”

Green Park Lengthy projects are not unusual to PLACE. Though the commercial scheme Green Park in Reading has gone through three owners since PLACE was originally involved, the practice has remained integral to the development. “We’re still responsible for the management of it,” says Tony. “We go to the site and make sure it’s not www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Architects Journal PLACE Design and Planning.indd 33

been colonised too much, sometimes taking out trees that are blocking views, but this is natural succession. We often find that when you plant a scheme there should be a balance between the initial effect and what could happen over time.”

Giles explains further: “We’re currently working with a number of different architects as we continue to get planning permission for the undeveloped plots. The client tends to choose a different architect to design each building to make every one individual.”

So, does this mean the landscape changes throughout the site to complement the individual buildings? “It’s based on a five-zone approach,” explains Tony. “We worked with Foster + Partners on the overall masterplan, and they designed the first building. I was on one of the early design panels alongside a representative of the client, a partner from Foster + Partners, and a commercial consultant from Knight Frank. We would agree the best proposal before it went for planning.

“There are no brick buildings, there’s a generic design code, and the landscape knits this together. Because of the robustness of the landscape, there’s a balance on the maintenance costs – it needs to be quite robust

and naturalistic where there are species such as poplar, willow and alder.”

Green Park has so far been an incredibly successful project for PLACE. Since being transformed from low-grade agricultural land into a well-established international business park, the scheme has won numerous awards, including a Civic Trust Award, a national BALI award, a Biodiversity Benchmark Award from the Wildlife Trust and a Wokingham Biodiversity Forum Award. Working closely with ecologists in 2007, the practice prepared a Green Park Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), which has now paid off with the landscape attracting various wildlife including over 50 bird species.

Tony describes Green Park as a good indication that, with responsible development, you can design a landscape scheme which is good for people, good for investment, and good for wildlife as well.

CONTACT PLACE Design + Planning 16 West Barnes Lane, London SW20 0BU Tel: 020 8944 1940 Email: info@placedp.com Twitter: @PLACEDP1 Website: www.placedp.com

Pro Landscaper / May 2017 33

20/04/2017 14:01

INFORM

VIEW FROM THE TOP TIM HOWELL

Tim Howell discusses why, in an increasingly gig-based economy, retaining your own workforce is still the best option Every year, it seems that new phrases, words or expressions enter the common language – Brexit, Uberisation and Trumpism are just a few recent additions. One that I have heard a lot of in recent months is ‘gig economy’. Put simply, it means people getting paid based on the number of ‘gigs’ that they do – another take on what I’ve always known as piecework. The main difference is that gig workers aren’t directly employed and have no workers’ rights – or do they?

It appears it’s not that simple. Recent widely publicised cases relating to a well known plumbing company, an online transportation network, and an online food delivery company have changed that. These cases have centred around the workers’

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status, and whether they are classified as self employed or employees of the company. The legal rights to benefits such as sick pay and paid annual leave are different for employees and for the self employed, and some companies have been clever, classifying their workforce as self employed contractors.

YOU CAN DELIVER A MORE CONSISTENT AND SAFE LANDSCAPING SERVICE, WHILE CONTROLLING YOUR VALUES, IF YOU EMPLOY YOUR OWN SPECIALIST WORKFORCE The paradigm shift towards the Uberisation of the labour force, enabled largely by technology, appears fraught with HR challenges – but this is not something I want to delve into now. Business owners should check their arrangements with their workforce carefully and, with many factors to consider (including employee status and tax implications), seek professional advice to support their approach in this fast-changing environment.

I started to think about how this could affect the landscaping industry (who hasn’t thought about Uberising their business?). My thoughts are clear: you can deliver a more consistent and safe landscaping service, while controlling your values and giving something

back to your people, if you employ your own specialist workforce.

At Mitie, we’ve proven this model to be efficient and effective. I don’t see the benefit to our workforce, to the industry or to our customers in subcontracting the specialist services that our customers have asked us to provide. (There are, of course, exceptions for the selective and niche services that we don’t have the skillset to provide in house.)

Additionally, I’m committed to developing the people that work for our business. We provide secure roles, career development, opportunities to increase earnings, and a safe working environment with ongoing investment. I don’t believe this is possible in a fully subcontracted (or Uberised) environment, and recent news stories have highlighted the discontent it can produce among those providing the services.

The employment landscape has changed enormously over recent years, and our industry needs to move with the times. We cannot afford to be left behind as others move forward. History shows that businesses or industries who fail to adapt to change can fall into decline. We simply have to innovate.

But here’s the dilemma. For our industry to thrive, we need people. New people, with new ideas. People with talent, ambition, enthusiasm and a passion for what we stand for. People who feel that they belong to something, are valued, developed, and have security. In short, we need to ensure that our industry is a career choice, and not just ‘another gig’.

ABOUT TIM HOWELL Tim Howell has worked in the landscape industry for over 30 years. He is the managing director of Mitie Landscapes Ltd, where he has worked for the last 15 years. Mitie Landscapes employ over 800 people across the UK.

www.mitielandscapes.com

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/04/2017 14:35

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20/04/2017 16:11

DRAWING OUT YOUR MONEY

INFORM

ANDREW WILSON Andrew Wilson explores the connection between design drawing and fees. Many fail to see the link, and sell themselves short I have always drawn, and have taught drawing throughout my teaching career. The attitude of people who have never really worked in this visual way is always interesting, and sometimes surprising, but few see drawing as a way of earning or protecting their fees.

As pointed out in a recent article, I still teach hand drawing for designers, despite the fact that computer aided design (CAD) is now firmly entrenched. Some see hand drawn and rendered work as frivolous, a painful necessity that somehow comes with the territory of being a designer, but designers who draw willingly know otherwise. In many ways it’s a language, and all drawing is a form of communication.

Loose developmental drawings allow us to download complex ideas and communicate them to ourselves and others. Outline design plans allow us to unify complex or large scale spaces in order to create coherent gardens and landscapes, and communicate to our clients. Often, we add supporting visuals – perspectives or elevations – to help explain in a more tangible way. Detailed construction and planting drawings enable us to

WITHOUT THESE VISUAL AND ILLUSTRATIVE AIDS, WE WOULD ALL BE LOST IN THE PRODUCTION OF COMPLEX AND LENGTHY DOCUMENTS quantify, cost, build and set out with our landscapers. Without these visual and illustrative aids, we would all be lost in the production of complex and lengthy documents that would raise more questions than answers.

Where many designers go wrong is in the slavish production of drawings because they think they are required. My mantra for all students is to www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Andrew Wilson.indd 37

ask themselves: “What is the point of the drawing I am producing, and who is it for?”

Loose, developmental work is for the designer’s own use, effectively talking to themselves and aiming to understand how their ideas might work. The outline design drawing or masterplan that surfaces from this design soup is primarily for the client, a means of explaining and selling an idea. Colour rendering becomes important here as this creates atmosphere and three-dimensional character. The outline drawing is not a layout or setting out plan, but a sales document. The landscaper should have access to this drawing, but not for building purposes, as edges and areas are not clearly defined.

The layout plan will already have been drawn, as it immediately predates the outline plan. This can be converted easily into a setting out plan once the client has approved the design. By trying to put all of this information into one drawing (in order to save time) no one party gets a clear picture. In addition, clients with all levels and setting out information on their outline design will

have sufficient detail to talk to builders or other landscapers of their choice, thus excluding the designer from the rest of the project.

Typically, only 40% of the overall design fees relate to the work up to an agreed masterplan, so designers who fail to get their drawings in order are losing out on the other 60% of the fee.

Too many designers see the drawing as an unnecessary financial drain. By charging a sufficient rate they should see it as a necessity and a safeguard, improving understanding, costing, quality control and, perhaps more to the point, the all important client sale.

Pictured: Outline proposal drawing for a garden in Wimbledon, Wilson McWilliam Studio

ABOUT ANDREW WILSON Andrew Wilson is a landscape and garden designer and a director of Wilson McWilliam Studio. He is also a director of the London College of Garden Design, an author, writer and lecturer.

www.wmstudio.co.uk

Pro Landscaper / May 2017 37

20/04/2017 14:22

INFORM

SAFE AND SECURE

ANGUS LINDSAY With vandalism and burglary a frequent problem in the landscaping industry, Angus Lindsay recommends a product that could help keep your sites secure Unfortunately, in our industry, vandalism and theft is all too common during our day to day operations: from kids smashing windows and ripping up plants to the organised theft of plant and materials. All have a financial impact, result in time lost, and cause unnecessary stress and frustration. Sure, we can track, tag, lock down and immobilise equipment, but when frustration gets the better of the intruder, the result can be wanton destruction – which can be worse than losing the equipment.

You could employ a security guard to cover the site when it’s not occupied, which is surely the best deterrent, but think of the requirements associated with manned security: shelter, heating, a toilet, access to food preparation facilities – not to mention the hazards associated with lone working. The Health and Safety Executive is currently reviewing the hazards associated with this type of role on construction sites, where there is a significant risk of injury either as a result of patrolling in dark and unfamiliar surroundings or, worse still, from violence sustained during a theft. You could employ a guard with a dog, but that, too, needs

WHEN FRUSTRATION GETS THE BETTER OF THE INTRUDER, THE RESULT CAN BE WANTON DESTRUCTION – WHICH CAN BE WORSE THAN LOSING THE EQUIPMENT to be looked after. The deterrent of a barking dog could be sufficient, but if it attacks someone – even a trespasser who’s up to no good – you could end up in trouble, even though you’re just trying to protect your property.

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The Armadillo provides security for unmanned sites

In these articles, I try to keep my opinions to myself and stop short of making recommendations, trusting readers to make their own judgements – but this month I’m breaking with tradition and sharing the details of a portable security product which I think has great potential for our industry.

The appropriately named Armadillo provides out of hours cover for any type of unmanned site, whether it’s a remote quarry or a play area construction site in the middle of a housing estate. About the size of a small wheelie bin, it is fully portable and can easily fit in the boot of a saloon car. The robust police box-style exterior conceals long life batteries, SIM cards and a myriad of electronic gadgetry, and there are no

external wires or cables. At the end of each day you simply set it up in the yard, switch it on, and leave it to keep an eye on things. If, during its lonely vigil, it detects an intruder, a cacophony of alarms, lights, and verbal warnings go off, while several mini cameras start recording the action. This is beamed live to a central control room, from which the police or local security services can be alerted. With 360° coverage and a range of 25m, the unit will activate and send live footage to the control room before the intruder has had time to knock it over or cover it. If the intruder turns out to be a fox or a dog, then the control room can reset the unit to silent — the fox will have long gone.

While there are other security systems available, the Armadillo in particular should make people think twice, especially if they set it off and are assailed by strobe lights, sirens, and a Terminator-esuqe voice warning them to leave the site. I’m sure somebody will find a way around it eventually, but, from £65 per week to hire, it’s definitely worth considering. It’s cheaper than losing a generator, dumper truck or expensive materials, and far better than your security guard getting beaten up.

So there you go, a rare recommendation from me to you (and no, despite appearances, I’m not on commission). Try it for yourself – it could save you plenty of money, aggravation and inconvenience. www.pid-systems.co.uk ABOUT ANGUS LINDSAY Angus spent several years working on arable farms in Scotland before joining VSO in Egypt, implementing a mechanisation programme, managing field operations for a commercial cotton plantation in Nigeria and working as a contract instructor for Massey Ferguson in Yemen.

He gained an MSc in agricultural engineering and mechanisation management at Silsoe, joining Glendale as machinery manager in 1994, and then idverde UK in 2009 as group head of assets and fleet.

Contact: angus.lindsay@idverde.co.uk

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20/04/2017 10:35

DON’T FENCE ME IN

INFORM

ADAM WHITE

Landscape architect Adam White asks whether playground fencing is essential, and explores more informal and less restrictive alternatives Back in 2014, the editor of The Playing Field, Nicole O’Donnell, discussed the topic of whether to fence or not to fence childrens’ playgrounds: “When communities are improving their play area, the natural assumption is often still to fence the play area in. There is a general acceptance that this is the right thing to do — after all, this keeps dogs out, and children in — so what could be easier?”

Too much fencing?

It’s obvious that there are situations where a fence is the best option. If a play area is sited next to a busy road, for example, then it might be vital. For some children with special needs (such as children with autism, who do not always perceive boundaries) a fence could also be important. However, where the play area is in a corner of a park that is already enclosed, the client should strongly consider whether there really is a need for further fencing – especially when anything up to 50% of the capital budget can go on fencing and safety surfacing.

There is no legal requirement to enclose a play area. Not having a fence encourages the children to treat the whole area as their own; it enables them to have the freedom to run around more, and use their imaginations for play beyond the specific equipment.

Paul Collings, director at Timberplay, makes the case for no fencing: “The bizarre thing is that most play areas exist in parks which also have playing fields. The children are encouraged to play ball games on the fields,

NOT HAVING A FENCE ENCOURAGES THE CHILDREN TO TREAT THE WHOLE AREA AS THEIR OWN sliding around and getting muddy, but these fields are outside the ‘magic fence’ and so dogs can run freely on them. How can we reconcile this laissez-faire approach outside the playground with the need for a sterile, highly protected dog-free playground?”

Gates in fencing can also cause problems: children might run into a swinging gate following another child, or pinch their fingers in the open or the hinged side. In urban areas it is also not unknown for people to use a fenced playground as a space in which to contain their dog, or for dogs to become trapped inside playgrounds.

If there really is a need for a fence, it may be worth considering more informal barriers such as grassy mounds, or a living ‘fedge’ (a hedge

A willow ‘fedge’ at the Otter Nature Playground

grown as a fence). We used a railway sleeper and grassy mounds around our Godstone Green play space in Surrey, and a willow fedge at Otter Nature Playground at Ferry Meadows Country Park. Fencing has been listed as a planning condition in our Southampton Common Playground project, but we have positioned it to run around a much wider area than just the immediate play space, which includes a large open grass area that is ideal for picnics and ball sports.

The Playing Field is a useful website designed to act as a source of advice and guidance for those interested in playing fields: www.theplayingfield.org.uk ABOUT ADAM WHITE FLI Adam White FLI is a director at Davies White Ltd, a RHS Gold medal and BBC People’s Choice Award chartered landscape architects’ practice in Kingston upon Thames. He is currently working on the Zoflora & Caudwell Children’s Wild Garden for RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2017.

Twitter: @davies_white www.davieswhite.co.uk

Low walls and grassy mounds contain the play area at Godstone Green

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Pro Landscaper / May 2017 41

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20/04/2017 09:44

INFORM

BACK DOWN TO EARTH DAVID DODD

David Dodd wonders why large corporate sponsors are pulling out of RHS Chelsea – and whether it’s necessarily a bad thing I wrote back in September last year about my thought process in sponsoring our own conceptual garden at Hampton Court, Inner Demons. This was to the tune of £25k, plus the £5k given from the RHS. I explained I’d done it for several reasons: for the promotion of The Outdoor Room and Longview, to suppport Amanda Miller who designed it, and to help raise awareness of the mental health charity Mind.

Now this budget was the most I’ve spent on any one form of promotion or advertising and, to date, we’ve seen virtually no return on it.

However, we have had some great feedback from Mind, as well as another Gold medal for the treasure chest, so to me it was still worthwhile.

My budget is peanuts compared to the big sponsors at Chelsea, where £250- £300k is the starting block for many of the larger show gardens. I’d always thought that this sort of budget for a large corporation was reasonable

Chelsea 2010, designed by Thomas Hoblyn, built by The Outdoor Room

Chelsea 2011, designed by James Wong and David Cubero, built by The Outdoor Room

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David Dodd.indd 43

when you consider a 30 second advert during Coronation Street is over £50k. The air time given to the show gardens over the week on the BBC is enormous and viewed by millions.

Combine this with the visiting public and it should surely make for a decent return on a company’s advertising budget, but alas, this doesn’t seem to be the case this year.

Laurent Perrier pulled out last year, which I assumed would mean Cloudy Bay would step in for 2017 under their owners Moët Hennessy, but

THIS COULD BE A NEW POST-BREXIT ERA FOR HIGH QUALITY, CLEVERLY DESIGNED GARDENS, PRODUCED ON A FRACTION OF THE BUDGETS WE’VE BECOME USED TO no – Cloudy Bay has pulled out as well.

Sounds like it might be a ‘bring a bottle’ kind of show this year! Then there was the shock news that The Telegraph wasn’t going to sponsor a garden for 2017, with which, when you consider Laurent Perrier and The Telegraph, Crocus has racked up a phenomenal 22 Gold medals and nine Best In Show – why stop now? Only the ‘powers that be’ behind the great Champagne houses and corridors of Fleet Street can answer that one.

It’s fair to say that the RHS has struggled this year in gaining other large corporate sponsors, but is this really a negative for the garden design and landscape industry?

In my opinion, not nescessarily. This could be a new post-Brexit era for high quality, cleverly designed and built gardens, on a fraction of the budgets we’ve become so used to seeing for the past 20 years. By the way, I fully intend to blame all of our country’s woes on Brexit from now on, even when there’s absolutely no logic to my argument whatsoever!

The Chaumont Garden Festival

To fill those empty spaces we could see a new category of gardens similar to Chaumont, where low budgets are compulsory, putting more emphasis on eking out creativity from designers and contractors, rather than throwing bundles of cash at them to produce something amazing.

If the budgets were a lot lower, surely this would attract more sponsors and a new wave of designers and contractors, bringing with them new ideas and a new look to RHS Chelsea.

However, I do think now the public have been spoilt with seeing hundreds of thousands of pounds spent on the 220m² plots in SW3. Their expectations, even if subconscious, are going to be forever high and personally, from a construction and horticultural perspective, I love it. It exudes confidence in our industry that sponsors can see a benefit in entrusting their money to having amazing gardens built.

However, times are a-changin’ and the RHS Shows, particularily Chelsea, may have to adapt.

ABOUT DAVID DODD David Dodd has been in the landscape industry since the age of 17. Having studied and then taught at Merrist Wood College, he set up The Outdoor Room in 1995. In 2013, he went into business with landscape architect Joe Perkins to form Longview Design Ltd. David has also lectured in design and construction for over 20 years.

www.theoutdoorroom.co.uk

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Way down

SOUTH

Pro Landscaper takes a trip to Southampton to learn more about the growth of a unique parks and green spaces offer

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n this ongoing series on local authority parks offers, the focus has mostly been on cities and towns where the destination green spaces have been donated to local residents by the very rich. This has often been the case, for example, in larger locations, with philanthropic (invariably Victorian) industrialists or manufacturers providing a chunk of land to enable their employees to get out and about, and stay healthy. One instance of this – as covered recently in Pro Landscaper – is the donation of Holywells Park to the people of Ipswich by brewing magnate John Cobbold.

In contrast, this month’s subject is Southampton, in which its parks offer has grown in a way that is comparatively organic – often in response to the development of infrastructure in and around various parts of the city. It is a surprising and often beguiling location, and one which still revels in its reputation as ‘the green city’.

An unusual offer Southampton is a unitary authority in Hampshire, situated just along from Portsmouth on the south coast of England. The city has traditionally been dependent on the sea for its economy, having been a major centre of shipbuilding since the mid-1900s, when it became known as the ‘gateway to the Empire.’ It is just under 30km² in size and boasts a population of around 250k, according to the 2011 census.

Nick Yeats is parks and open spaces manager at Southampton City Council. He provides an overview of the destination parks and green spaces on offer across the area.

“We’ve got about 1,000ha of green space,” he says. “That’s broken down into 52 parks, 23 allotments, and eight ‘green ways’ or wilder areas, as well as play areas, sports pitches, and so on. We also have around 240ha of woodland, with our tree team looking after about 50,000 trees that belong specifically to us.”

He continues: “Many of the parks have evolved out of different places and developments, which makes our offer quite unusual compared to some other parts of the UK. For instance, some are built on old landfill, such as Riverside Park down by the River Itchen, which was essentially just patches of bogland before.

“Cobden Meadows is another one, as well as Mansel Park, which was built in Millbrook following

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PARKS AND GREEN SPACES ARE PART OF THE FABRIC OF OUR CITY, NO MATTER WHAT THEIR ORIGIN STORY IS the construction of the estate in the 1960s.

A particularly interesting example of that kind of thing is Peartree Common, which is where chalk deposits were dumped following the construction of the A27. It’s essentially an area of chalk downland in the middle of the city, built on river terrace deposits. A lot of the land is too expensive to build on, so it ended up becoming parks.”

Southampton has two main destination green spaces, which likewise were first donated and then developed, but this time in concert with the Victorian parks movement. The first of these is Central Parks which, as the name suggests, is situated in the middle of the city, resting on a 21ha bed of marl clay (originally known as the Marlands). Southampton Common, meanwhile, was handed over to residents via an Act of Parliament in the 1840s, having originally been the grazing land which marked the old boundary of the city.

Speaking of the first of these destination parks, Nick says: “Central Parks gets a huge amount of use from local residents and visitors.

No one’s ever been able to put the design of it down to a single landscape architect, which is probably understandable given how the parks

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are laid out across a number of fields. It contains a variety of lovely areas, including rose gardens, shrubs and a play park.

“It’s made up of five spaces: Andrews, Hoglands, Houndwell, Palmerston and Watts parks. They were awarded the Grade II listed status on English Heritage’s Register of Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in 2013.”

Southampton Common, meanwhile, covers 150ha, and includes a variety of different environments, including woodland, parkland, rough grassland, wetlands and more. There’s also a children’s play area, a model yachting pond, and a fishing lake. At the southern end of the site sits the Hawthorns Urban Wildlife Centre, which is built on the former location of Southampton Zoo.

Workforce and plant selection According to Nick, around 20% of the land used across Southampton is occupied by green space. With that in mind, Pro Landscaper asks about the level of resourcing needed to keep the city’s parks and green spaces in good order.

“The service we provide covers all kinds of open spaces across the city, from the destination parks to our play areas,” says Nick. “To ensure the required level of maintenance, we employ around 70 staff to work on the tools, 15 of whom generally only work in the summer. The members of those teams are broken down into specialisms, for instance tractor drivers and specialist turf maintenance, but on the whole, they all share a broad range of skills.

“On top of that, I’ve also got about 20 managers and technical personnel, including allotment officers, play area staff and design staff, all of whom work at a more strategic level.

We’ve recently brought the tree surgery team back in house as well. One thing that seems to be the case with us is that we don’t have many people leaving, which has meant that many members of our workforce have been with us for a long time and have had the opportunity to work their way up.”

He continues: “In terms of plants, nowadays it’s got to be robust, low maintenance, drought tolerant and have the ability to establish easily.

We also look at pollution tolerance when selecting plants, as well as choosing plants which themselves help to reduce pollution. The other thing we decided to do a few years ago was to only plant single flower stock, which is www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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good for insects and bees. Most double flowers don’t have nectar.”

Pro Landscaper asked Nick to give an example of the kind of plants they would tend to use. “It’s really horses for courses depending on where we are and what we’re doing,” he says. “For instance, if we’re doing a housing bed in front of someone’s window, we wouldn’t plant a load of Elaeagnus, which needs to be cut every year to keep it small.

“Regarding things like flower beds, we’ll generally include a perennial in with the planting scheme. That way, at the end of the season, they can go into our herbaceous beds, meaning we can use them more than once. The old way of doing it was wasting money, as we would throw the bedding plants away.

“We don’t grow the plants anymore, and haven’t since our nursery closed down about 20 years ago. It’s all done under competitive tendering, which involves putting a specification together for what we want, including anything we might allow to be substituted. Different suppliers have different specialisms, which is something we bear in mind.”

Careful investments Thanks to careful planning, as well as an understanding of the importance of parks to the local population, Southampton City Council has been able to weather local authority funding cuts, whilst still maintaining the quality of its green spaces. The city allots an annual budget of around £4m, which goes to cover the cost of maintenance. It also has a capital programme of investment, for which the budget generally sits at around £1m.

According to Nick, rather than huge investments in big projects, this latter sum – which is made up of external grants, historical Section 106 funding and so on – invariably goes to fund 30 or 40 smaller initiatives across the city (albeit with most of the Section 106 money going into the city centre, because that’s where most of the private development takes place).

An example of that is the restoration of Central Parks back to what Nick calls its ‘Victorian heyday’, a project which cost in the region of £4m back in 2000. Following that, there was the £1.7m restoration of St James www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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MANY OF THE PARKS HAVE EVOLVED OUT OF DIFFERENT PLACES AND DEVELOPMENTS, WHICH MAKES OUR OFFER QUITE UNUSUAL Park in Millbrook in 2011, where the local friends group decided they wanted to turn an old air raid warden’s shelter into a kiosk, and eventually a cafe with a community area.

Pro Landscaper suggests to Nick that the latter is particularly fitting, given Southampton’s history of turning derelict ground or previously unwanted material into focal points for its community in the shape of parks.

“It is,” he says, “and it also indicates that the development is ongoing – that the parks are a living thing. We tie in investment around issues affecting the city, and we are always looking to improve spaces in relation to the health and wellbeing of residents, in line with council policy.”

He concludes: “Parks and green spaces are part of the fabric of our city, no matter what their origin story is. We’re very proud of the work we carry out, and the spaces we maintain.”

1 Viscount Palmerston Memorial in Palmerston Park 2 Southampton’s Central Parks were awarded Grade II listed status on English Heritage’s Register of Parks and Gardens of special historic interest 3 The use local residents get out of Southampton’s parks is invaluable 4 Titanic Engineers’ Memorial in Andrews Park 5 Southampton’s 1,000ha of green spaces aim to provide a variety of outdoor activites for residents and visitors

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PETER READER LANDSCAPES Hitting refresh on a small Hampstead garden

RURAL RAPTURE

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CREATIVE LANDSCAPE CO An Oxfordshire cottage garden with a contemporary touch

DOING THE ROUNDS

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THE OUTDOOR ROOM A smart geometric space for London medical students

CREATURE COMFORTS

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CAMILLA HILEY GARDENS Creating a haven for wildlife in Salisbury

INSPIRE

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We are a leading supplier of planters, burners and water features with over 30 ranges to choose from and over 150,000 pots in stock at our warehouse in the Kent countryside. No minimum order!

www.thepotco.com

sales@thepotco.com 01892 890 353

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SHARP FOCUS PROJECT DETAILS Project value £60k Build time Eight weeks Size of project 90m²

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PETER READER LANDSCAPES

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A small Hampstead garden is transformed with clean lines and crisp styling

ost areas of this garden were in a poor state: rotting fences, patio deck, sleeper retaining wall and steps. The artificial turf was full of moss, and had no sub-base. There were few plants, and they were positioned in corners or around the edges. The clients wanted the garden completely redesigned, replacing the wood surfaces with real stone, but keeping the layout of the lower patio by the house, and

retaining the openness of the upper area. They felt that the upper area was devoid of interest and so wanted this area improved, particularly to give an attractive view from the kitchen sink window.

Design and build The design upgraded the patio and retaining wall to limestone paving and rendered wall facing. This stone instantly transformed the look and feel of the space, making it bright and clean-lined.

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1 View across the three areas of the garden 2 Window view of the stairs linking the two levels

The steps to the main garden were widened to improve access, but also to strengthen the link between the two garden areas, which had previously felt rather separate.

On the house side of the lower patio, the kitchen wall comprises a wide space of white plaster. This was broken up by mounting two architectural wall panels, slightly raised from the wall so they could be backlit with LED strip lights at night. Other lighting placed throughout the garden highlights steps, entertaining areas, and key plants.

The main garden area was kept open, but a feeling of ‘rooms’ within it was created by dividing the space into equal thirds using limestone paver paths. The sunniest third was turned into a raised patio with comfortable outside chairs, the middle third (corresponding to the top of the steps) became a small area of artificial turf, and the third area was adapted to contain a bed with semi-formal planting, including Buxus balls and long flowering perennials for year-round interest.

This new bed sat directly under the kitchen window, giving an attractive view which was further augmented by the raised beds beyond.

Additional interest was given to the garden by rendered raised beds running along the rear boundary, making the space feel larger but also more intimate. Finally, the fences were all 52

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3 Verbena bonariensis ‘Lollipop’ 4 Trachelospermum jasminoides, softening the boundaries 5 Old wooden patio, retaining wall and astro-turf 6 New steps and paving under construction 7 Step lights detailing 8 Planting out

replaced with Jacksons’ horizontal Hit and Miss fencing which again contributed to making the space feel larger. A mixture of evergreen and deciduous flowering climbers were trained onto the fence to soften it.

Materials All of the hard materials used in the project were sourced to our specifications by the contractor, Belderbos Landscapes. The plants and architectural wall panels were sourced by Peter Reader Landscapes.

Challenges As it was a typical London garden, there was no access except through the house, so all materials had to be manhandled carefully through the home. Because the garden was small but had a lot of paving, the exact positions of the paving slabs had to be carefully planned in advance to ensure the best pattern on the ground, with no small off-cuts. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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ABOUT PETER READER LANDSCAPES Peter Reader Landscapes provides award-winning garden design service, based in North London and the south east. Peter is a versatile designer, as demonstrated by his RHS show gardens – the modern outdoor garden room ‘Al Fresco’ and the naturalistic perennial-style ‘Four Corners’. www.readerlandscapes.com

BEFORE/DURING

REFERENCES Design Peter Reader Landscapes

www.readerlandscapes.com Contractor Belderbos Landscapes

www.belderbos.co.uk

Stone (Jura Beige Limestone) London Stone

www.londonstone.co.uk Fence and trellis (Hit and Miss, Venetian) Jacksons Fencing

www.jacksons-fencing.co.uk Lights LandscapePlus

www.landscapeplus.com Building materials Travis Perkins

www.travisperkins.co.uk Artificial turf (Easi-Mayfair) Easigrass

www.easigrass.com Trees, shrubs, climbers and perennials Northhill Nurseries

www.northhillnurseries.co.uk Architectural wall panels Kyoto Garden Art

www.kyotogardenart.co.uk Furniture Westminster Outdoor Living

www.westminsteroutdoorliving.com Renders K-rend

www.k-rend.co.uk

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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• SUPREME AWARD WINNER • WINNER Overall Design & Build • HIGHLY COMMENDED £35k-£60k • HIGHLY COMMENDED Soft Landscaping

RURAL RAPTURE CREATIVE LANDSCAPE CO Traditional-style planting is given a modern update in this Oxfordshire cottage garden

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he brief was to create an outdoor living space to meet the needs of a family and their dog, with traditional cottage-style planting in keeping with the surroundings. The clients required the design to create a new garden within an existing walled area, linking their cottage extension with the existing barn. The style needed to blend in with the surrounding buildings and meet planning requirements in this country location. The clients were also plant lovers and wanted a natural, self-seeded look, with plenty of year-round colour.

The challenge The fundamental challenge was to address the odd angles created by the new extension and existing wall. An informal curved path, with drifts of cottagestyle planting, was cleverly designed to mask these angles and create a flow through the garden, integrating old with new and meeting the needs of family life.

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PROJECT DETAILS 1 A harmonising solution integrates old with new

Project value ÂŁ35-60k band Build time Four weeks

2 Allium seed heads complement the informal planting 3 Tumbled Indian sandstone patio positioned for sun 4 Informal curved gravel paths soften awkward angles

Size of project 950m²

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The result An outdoor dining area for eight was located away from the house to give the family the sunny aspect they wanted. This new seating area, constructed from tumbled Indian sandstone edged with traditional brick pavers, creates a focal point for the courtyard and is reached via a new informal gravel path, surrounded by bold drifts of cottage-style planting and herbs.

The gravel paths retained with steel edging create a physical journey that integrates the buildings and garden areas seamlessly.

Constructed from local stone, in keeping with the style of the barn and cottage, the paths bleed into the planting, creating a self-seeded look. They draw the eye into the ‘secret’ garden beyond, which includes lawns and a vegetable garden, and leads into meadows and woodland.

The bland walls on one side of the house were transformed by Versailles-inspired diamond climbers, which were planted with a roses, lavender and box. The result is a beautiful, relaxing family courtyard and garden that is sympathetic to the barn’s traditional exterior, contemporary interior and village location.

The planting The plant selection was reflective of the overall garden style, the architecture, and the wider environment, so it reinforced the sense of place.

The client loved plants, particularly traditional cottage plants, but also wanted a more contemporary edge. Given that the main courtyard is permanently overlooked, yew, box and multi-stem trees were used to create structure, along with a series of textural evergreen perennials.

Designer Mark Gillard explains: “We visually referenced many other more floriferous plants that you would associate with a traditional style, but used a reduced palette and, where possible, included grasses and planted in drifts. Accents and details were utilised around the stronger evergreens, through the grasses and against the old brick and oak walls.

“Variable light conditions around the pathways meant that the plant selection needed to accommodate dry, sunny conditions and also deep shade. As a result, the plants that could be repeated in various areas such as box, Libertia, Bergenia, Euphorbia, Anemone and Alchemilla, became key to ensuring a sense of continuity.”

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The designer’s favourite corner • Acer palmatum ‘Linearilobum’ • Buxus sempervirens • Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ • Hakonechloa macra • Polystichum polyblepharum • Hosta ‘Blue Cadet’ • Hosta ‘Francee’ • Ajuga reptans ‘Black Scallop’

1 Bold drifts of cottage-style planting bleed into paths 2 Soft Osteospermum, Stachys and Stipa tenuissima 3 Gravel paths create a journey and link areas 4 Tumbled sandstone sett detail adds charm

ABOUT CREATIVE LANDSCAPE CO Creative Landscape Co is based in Berkshire and has been designing, building and maintaining gardens for over 25 years, and has accumulated a portfolio of award-winning gardens. The company is run and managed by its original owners Glenn George and Mark Gillard, who have been friends for over 45 years and are committed to delivering individual, professional service for their clients. www.creative-landscape.co.uk

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PORTFOLIO APL Supreme Winner 2017 Judge’s comment: A harmonising solution to a challenging brief Designer Mark Gillard comments: “We are very proud to receive the APL Supreme Winner 2017 award in addition to the Overall Design and Build award. It’s a real testament to the superb team we have, and also to some lovely clients who trusted in our experience. It’s not the biggest or most complex garden we’ve ever built, but it combines all the right ingredients. As a designer, it’s a reminder that simplicity usually works.”

The judges commented: “The design was absolutely appropriate for the scheme, with great use of structural planting to soften, hold and separate. The angle of the house provides difficult symmetry and geometry. This was a challenging project and a harmonising solution.”

Mark Gillard adds: “This was a challenging and enjoyable project that has matured quickly into a harmonious environment for all the family, who were a pleasure to work with.”

DURING THE BUILD

ths

a

REFERENCES Design and build Creative Landscape Co

Tel 0118 934 1500 Email info@creative-landscape.co.uk www.creative-landscape.co.uk Tumbled Indian sandstone Stoneworld

www.stoneworld.co.uk

PLANTING

Brick pavers Chelmer Valley

www.chelmervalley.co.uk South Cerney gravel Rivar Sand and Gravel

www.rivarsandandgravel.co.uk Steel path edging Everedge

www.everedge.co.uk Plants and trees The Big Plant Nursery

www.thebigplantnursery.com Outdoor furniture – Client’s own

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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DOING THE ROUNDS THE OUTDOOR ROOM A circular redesign delivers a communal atmosphere at the Orchard Lisle Courtyard, part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital

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he client’s brief was to create an inviting main entrance to reflect the scale of the two buildings (Orchard Lisle & Iris Brook House), with planting that took into account a high traffic environment whilst protecting the ground floor rooms from visual intrusion.

The planting also needed to be modern, and reflective of the age and style of the buildings.

The client wanted the hard landscaping to open up the entrance way and make a connection with the rest of the campus,while also creating areas of space and relaxation for both individuals and groups.

Background The courtyard is open to the public, and surrounded on three sides by student accommodation for Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital. The project was a complete redevelopment of Orchard Lisle Courtyard, including hard and soft landscaping.

1 Custom made seating to fit the curves of the ground pattern, by Factory Furniture 2 The complex layout is kept as subtle as possible.

The space has proved very popular on lunch breaks!

PRINCIPAL AWARD

Hard Landscape Construction under £300K

AWARD FOR COMMUNITY SPACE

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PROJECT DETAILS

Photo ©Helen Fickling (www.helenfickling.com)

Project value £250k Build time Four months Size of project 770m²

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Challenges The first challenge was to remove the existing landscaping and begin clearing the site. The groundworks were extensive during the project, made more so by the discovery during excavation of a tower crane base which had to be removed.

Existing services were found in almost every location, including a 9in sewer, water mains, and gas and electricity supplies. Some were marked on existing survey drawings, but many had to be uncovered by hand. This involved days of painstaking work – particularly as the student accommodation was occupied during the project, so it was critical to avoid any interruption to utility supplies.

The access restrictions were considerable.

Banksmen were required to direct deliveries down very tight access roads, which were busy with pedestrian traffic.

All surface water had to be disposed of on site, and so Type 3 sub-base material was specified, with water on all hard surfaces needing to be directed to permeable areas. This was particularly challenging on such a level site, as potential pooling of water had to be avoided.

The scheme was a contemporary asymmetric design, including bespoke-cut Yorkstone setts and slabs. This involved setting components to complex radii, installing bespoke timber and stainless steel benches and stabilised gravel paths, and mature tree planting. Every Yorkstone slab had its own cutting number and had to be cut with accuracy to the millimetre.

1 The trees (Pyrus calleryana ‘Chanticleer’) help to reduce the dominance of the buildings in this urban environment (Trees supplied by Deepdale Trees Ltd) 2 The site mid-construction 3 The existing overgrown planting and hard landscaping were completely removed

REFERENCES Contractor The Outdoor Room

www.theoutdoorroom.co.uk Design Verde Garden Design

www.verdegardendesign.com York stone paving Rand & Asquith

www.randandasquith.co.uk

BEFORE

Plants Palmstead Nurseries

www.palmstead.co.uk Trees Deepdale Trees Ltd

www.deepdale-trees.co.uk

ABOUT THE OUTDOOR ROOM The Outdoor Room is a multi-award winning company offering design, consultation and construction services. It was founded in 1995 by David Dodd, who qualified from Merrist Wood College in 1992. He is a senior lecturer in landscape construction at Inchbald and is also an RHS Judge, a BALI Board Director and a co-founder of GoLandscape.

www.theoutdoorroom.co.uk

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Furniture (benches) Factory Furniture

www.factoryfurniture.co.uk Lighting Scenic Lighting

www.sceniclighting.com Edging Kinley Systems

www.kinley.co.uk

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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N O R

A G T

N E RD

PORTFOLIO

CREATURE COMFORTS CAMILLA HILEY GARDENS

PROJECT DETAILS Project value £12k Build time Eight weeks Size of project 95m²

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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Creating a wildlife-friendly front garden for a bungalow in Salisbury

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he objective was to create a wildlife-friendly space in the front garden, which was attractive to look at from inside and outside the property. The clients, a retired couple, wanted to be able to view the street, as they enjoyed watching passing walkers when sitting in the house. The wife enjoyed gardening but had minimal knowledge, so wanted planting that was easy to maintain. Parking for one car was required, and space left in front of the windows so that they could be cleaned.

Background The detached bungalow was on a street close to the River Avon, but because it was laid with tarmacadam it offered a dreary outlook from the house, with no possibility of any wildlife visiting.

As the site was flat, and the client did not want to be enclosed from the road and passing traffic, it was important to try and create some height by planting a couple of trees or multistemmed shrubs; these would create a light but pretty backdrop to the garden as seen from the windows, without casting a heavy shadow Pro Landscaper / May 2017 61

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PORTFOLIO over the front of the bungalow.

Betula utilis var. jacquemontii ‘Grayswood Ghost’ was chosen for its light and airy canopy and luminescent white bark, while a multi-stemmed Amelanchier lamarckii was selected for its spring blossom and autumn colour. The choice of hardscape materials was important too, as there also had to be a functional parking space, and the whole front garden had to read as a cohesive space.

Design and build As the space was rectangular, a strong curving design was implemented. This created two paths and a circular seating area, and diverted attention away from the rectangular shape of the space, giving the illusion of a journey to the front door.

Combined with structural planting, the garden provides enjoyment throughout the year. Narcissi and tulip bulbs give spring interest before the garden explodes into colour during the summer months. Box hedging and topiary provide structure in the winter.

Pavers from Marshalls’s Drivesett range were used for the drive, and a smaller paver from the range for the path. The idea was for the parking and the garden to read as one, and the small setts were perfect for the path’s tight curves.

The front wall was rebuilt using a brick creasing tile detail and topped with a low curved palisade fence. The tile detail was repeated in the centre of the circular paving, where a simple oak bench was installed. From here, a gravel path meandered back through the planting to the main path, leading to the front door.

Drainage had to be addressed as the surface was non-permeable, so a drain was placed at the entrance to the drive with a soakaway, to prevent water draining down onto the road. Drainage for the pathway was directed into the planting beds.

Topsoil had to be imported for the beds because the whole site had previously been hardstanding. As soon as the planting had been completed the wildlife started to appear in the garden, both above and below ground, which hopefully proved that the brief had been met.

ABOUT CAMILLA HILEY GARDENS Camilla Hiley is a Salisbury-based garden designer offering a design and consultancy service. Working nationwide, she likes to create spaces that are both aesthetically pleasing and fit for purpose. She has planted regularly at the Chelsea Flower Show for Crocus Ltd, winning three Gold Medals and three Best in Shows for well known and respected designers. www.camillahileygardens.co.uk

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PORTFOLIO

Planting • Alchemilla epipsila • Amelanchier lamarckii • Amsonia tabernaemontana • Anthemis tinctoria ‘Sauce Hollandaise’ • Anemone hupehensis ‘Hadspen Abundance’ • Astrantia ‘Star of Beauty’ • Betula utilis var. jacquemontii ‘Grayswood Ghost’ • Calamintha nepeta • Erigeron karvinskianus • Geranium ‘Nimbus’ • Geum ‘Prinses Juliana’ • Libertia grandiflora • Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’ • Salvia x sylvestris ‘Tänzerin’

1 Tulip ‘Ballerina’, ‘Spring Green’ and ‘Jan Reus’ 2 Seating area with Anthemis ‘Sauce Hollandaise’ and Geum ‘Prinses Juliana’ 3 Curved path with Alchemilla epipsila and Geranium ‘Nimbus’ 4 Betula ‘Grayswood Ghost’ with Tulip ‘Dolls Minuet’ in foreground 5 Path to front door with Allium nigrum and Astrantia ‘Star of Beauty’

REFERENCES Designer Camilla Hiley

www.camillahileygardens.co.uk Landscape contractor Wycliffe Landscapes Ltd

www.landscapersdorset.co.uk Tree supplier Hilliers

www.hillier.co.uk Plants Chichester Trees and Shrubs

www.ctsplants.com Bulbs Peter Nyssen

www.peternyssen.com

BEFORE/DURING

Paving Marshalls

www.marshalls.co.uk Bricks and Aco drain Jewsons

www.jewson.co.uk Fencing Made by Wycliffe Landscapes

www.landscapersdorset.co.uk Slats

Supplied by Mole Valley Farmers

www.molevalleyfarmers.co.uk

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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Dedon’s Dala range

INSPIRE

With the concept of the ‘outdoor living room’ fast gaining traction, Anji Connell presents a selection of eye-catching but weather-resistant garden furniture ‘Outdoor living rooms’, furnished with the same aesthetics and comfort as those indoors, have changed the way we spend our time outside.

This month and next month I’m looking at products to glam up our outdoor spaces. We have more choice than ever, and the technological advancement in materials means they can stand up to the UK’s variable weather.

“British summers start promisingly early, with lots of warm sunshine from April onwards, but August can deliver more than its fair share of rain,” says Tina Mahony, director of

Zanotta 1009 Club Outdoor Sofa

WHATEVER THE WEATHER contemporary furniture company Go Modern.

“Thankfully, we’ve also been experiencing some glorious Indian summers, with sunshine and warmth right through to late October. With the weather as mercurial as it is, we know that our customers want to buy designs that will withstand whatever the climate can produce.

“All our outdoor designs feature weatherproof fabrics, including on-trend outdoor velvets and outdoor leathers. These are fade, UV, rot and chlorine proof, and the advanced materials mean they remain soft to the touch,” Tina says.

“Designs also feature fast-drying foam cushions, and frames made in rustproof, powdercoated aluminium – many with hidden drainage channels to allow water to drain away quickly.”

San is a Japanese-inspired piece designed by Lionel Doyen for Manutti.

New for 2017, it’s a minimalist seating system made from sustainable Iroko wood and powder-coated stainless steel. “At its

Dedon Brixx

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simplest, San is a garden bench,” says Tina, “but its lightweight, modular design means there is the possibility of adding backrests, cushions and even table tops, to create anything from a sun lounger to a coffee table.”

Tonan Riverside chairs

MANY PEOPLE LIKE TO USE THEIR GARDENS ALL YEAR ROUND, SO IT’S IMPORTANT THAT FURNITURE IS ROBUST ENOUGH TO COPE WITH THAT At the other end of the aesthetic spectrum is Tonon’s innovative new Riverside chair, designed by Mac Stopa. Crafted from a non-toxic moulded polyurethane that is fire resistant, waterproof and lightweight, it certainly has the wow factor. The chair and accompanying River Stone pouffe are feature pieces from Tonon’s latest collection. Another sculptural seating option is Zanotta’s 1009 Club Outdoor Sofa, designed by Prospero Rasulo. Its steel structures are painted for outdoor use and covered in a PVC thread weave with nylon internal www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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INSPIRE

reinforcement. Weatherproof seat cushions are available for the piece, adding even more luxury.

For anyone who fondly remembers their grandmother’s garden swing but would like something a little more chic, Fable’s Swing is an inviting swing seat that comes in lacquered stainless steel with copper joints, suspended on synthetic leather straps and with cushions in a water repellent polyester. Dedon’s striking Fedro lounger is another option for those who would like to rock themselves into an afternoon snooze, its two skids providing a seesaw motion.

In addition to Fedro, Dedon has an array of other statement pieces to liven up your space.

Brixx, designed by Lorenza Bozzoli, was recently awarded an EESC European Award for Sustainable Design; like San, it is a minimal and modular seating system that can be arranged in countless different combinations to cater for all occasions.

Tibbo, designed for Dedon by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, is a classic six piece teak collection with a modern twist – described by the designers as “tactile and calm.” The range’s 3.5m table accommodates 10 chairs, making it perfect for long, lazy summer lunches and dinners. The furniture can be used both inside and out; left outside, each piece will develop an attractive silver-grey patina.

Meanwhile, Stephen Burks’s artisanal Dala collection has been updated in Pantone’s 2017 colour of the year, Greenery. The line is made with a geometric woven aluminium structure, using the patented Dedon fibre: a high-end, weather-resistant and aesthetically refined woven synthetic fibre.

Moroso’s aptly-named Tropicalia collection,

by Patricia Urquiola, is another woven geometric style and a really summery option; the pieces are made from a geometrical pattern weave of polymer threads on a tubular stainless steel frame, with polymer fibre cushions. Equally technologically impressive is the GO table from Landscape Forms, a table with a large surface area for working, eating or socialising, plus integrated data and www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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Manutti San

Dedon Fedro

power ports that work on or off the grid, and optional solar panels – no tripping over extension leads when you can’t resist the urge to grab your laptop and work outside.

No living room is complete without a lamp and a rug, and these are now available for our outside spaces, too. Oluve’s Pill-Low doubles as both a seat and a stylish floor lamp; it gives off a diffused light that is perfect for summer evenings, and comes in white polyethylene with a washable mesh cover. To finish off the look, Kettal’s outdoor Objects rug comes in a 200x294cm size, so you can group your furniture around it as you would indoors.

Next month, I’ll be running through the newest outdoor furniture from the Milan Furniture Fair, the largest and most anticipated trade fair of its kind.

Held each year, the exhibition showcases the latest in furniture and design. Watch this space!

Go Outdoor table by Landscape Forms

Oluce Pill-Low

ABOUT ANJI CONNELL Internationally recognised interior architect and landscape designer Anji Connell is a detail-obsessed Inchbald Graduate, and has been collaborating with artisans and craftsmen to create bespoke and unique interiors for a discerning clientele since 1986. Anji is a stylist, feature writer and lover of all things art and design.

www.anjiconnellinteriordesign.com

Moroso’s Tropicalia range

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Limestone . Sandstone .

Building Stone . Flooring . Walling .

Masonry r . Landsca ry aping . Restorat ap a ion . at

www.stonequ quarries.co.uk q

01386 584384

RH 'Native' half-page Pro Landscaper:Layout 1

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Readyhedge.

The home of mixed native hedging.

Mixed native hedging from Readyhedge makes the distinctive character of the British hedgerow available to landscape and garden designers on demand. Delivered to order in our unique Readybags, plants are grown up to two metres in height, ready-spaced and ready to plant.

01386 750585 lindsay@readyhedge.com www.readyhedge.com

READYHEDGE

READY-SPACED, READY TO PLANT, READY WHEN YOU ARE.

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INSPIRE

LONDON STONE

Slab Khaki & Slab Coke Porcelain Paving Designed and built by Danscape Gardens Ltd, this contemporary haven creates dynamic contrast with Slab Khaki and Slab Coke Porcelain Paving. With no dimensional tolerance, consistent colouring and colour matched pointing, a seamless finish was created.

Price: £56.40 per m²

BRADSTONE

www.londonstone.co.uk

CONTEMPORARY PAVING

Bradstone Natural Granite Winslade Landscapes created this contemporary, low maintenance outdoor space using Bradstone Natural Granite in silver grey and graphite – a suitable choice, with its straight, machine-cut edges and textured top surface.

Bradstone Natural Granite is available in two shades and four sizes, including a new large aspect 900 x 900mm paver.

Price: from £60 per m² www.bradstone.com

NATURAL PAVING

Premiastone Rydal Sandstone Natural Paving supplied its Premiastone Rydal Sandstone to a housing development in Halifax, West Yorkshire. The development needed a high quality paved area to complement the Yorkshire stone used on the houses. With its honed surface and mix of calm tones, Rydal was a suitable option, sitting well next to a vast range of colours and materials.

Price: approx. £50 per m² (subject to stockist) www.naturalpaving.co.uk

MARSHALLS

SYMPHONY Vitrified Paving The existing garden in this project was completely removed, with approximately 120m² of SYMPHONY Vitrified Paving in ‘Dark’ installed throughout the garden, as well as stoneface drystack walling to high standards. The modern colourway and smooth finish ensured that a contemporary aesthetic was achieved. The performance of the product guarantees reduced water absorption and staining, as well as easy cleaning.

Price: from £50 per m² www.marshalls.co.uk

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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GLOBAL STONE

Petrous Premium Porcelain Oyster This project involved a school that wished to create an external student café. The school wanted paving that was stylish, durable and easy to maintain. The health and safety of the students was a key factor, so the paving also needed to have anti-slip qualities and be able to withstand heavy traffic flow. The school opted for Porcelain Premium Paving in Oyster, which is a striking contemporary grey available in large format.

Price: £58 per m² www.globalstonepaving.co.uk

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Georgian window boxes

Art Deco window boxes

Cityscape window boxes

Regency window boxes

Victorian window boxes

Black galvanised steel

CAST ALUMINIUM WINDOW BOXES • STEEL WINDOW BOXES • GALVANISED STEEL AND FIBREGLASS WINDOW BOXES

Tel: 07729 634239 sales@mywindowbox.com www.mywindowbox.com

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20/04/2017 10:11

INSPIRE

HIGH-END LIGHTING

KEBUR GARDEN HUNZA PUREMATERAILS LED EURO OLD TOWN TWIN POLEPAVING LIGHT

KENSINGTON SPIKED SPOTLIGHT

FINIAL GLOBE LIGHT

LandscapePlus

John Cullen Lighting

Stone Globe Lights

Material 316 marine grade stainless steel Best project use Placed in the border for downlighting or uplighting among taller plants Voltage 12V 700mA Price From £541

Material Aluminium Best project use Highlighting features such as shrubs or small trees Voltage 12V Price £233

Material Fibreglass Best project use At entrances as gatepost and pillar lighting Voltage Mains 240V Price £328

WWW.LANDSCAPEPLUS.COM

WWW.JOHNCULLENLIGHTING.COM

WWW.STONEGLOBELIGHTS.CO.UK

E1072TL NIMBUS 70 BOLLARD LIGHT WITH LOUVRES – TEAK Lighting for Gardens Ltd Material Natural teak Best project use Driveways Voltage 240V Price £264

WWW.LIGHTINGFORGARDENS.COM

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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XXXXX FALTU OAK POST Lightmaster Material Untreated solid oak with solid brass eyelid cover in bronze finish Best project use Pathways Voltage 240V Price £166.80 WWW.LIGHTMASTER-DIRECT.CO.UK

MEYER NANO RANGE Commercial Lighting Systems Ltd Material Die cast aluminium Best project use External architectural and landscape lighting Voltage 240V Price £265-£584 WWW.MEYER-LIGHTING.COM

Pro Landscaper / May 2017 69

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INSPIRE

WORK

Best project: That’s a tricky question; every time I visit a potential client I always feel that it’s going to be the best project ever. The sheer enthusiasm and excitement for whatever is going on in the present tends to obliterate past favourites. I’m currently designing a rose garden for a 15th century moated country house, and am completely in love with it.

Colleagues: I have three people who work for me in the office: senior landscape architect Carl Mendel, landscape architect Daisy Parsons, and office manager Kate Booty. Together, we form a great little team that is capable of taking on fairly complex challenges. I would also count Alys Fowler and Charlotte Harris as colleagues, as we’ve collaborated so much.

Mentors: Our industry is rich with kind and talented people who are willing to steer you in the right direction, and whose guidance has prevented me from making too many hideous mistakes.

Andy Sturgeon, John Wyer and Cleve West have been generous with advice, particularly on business and design decisions. Dan Riddleston and David Dodd are always impartial with contractorrelated questions, and I have a lot of faith in Matthias Anton, David Johnson and Chris and Toby Marchant when it comes to plants.

Issues: I hate the fact that I drive so many miles in a year – disastrous from an environmental point of view. I use the train for all city-based projects but our rural projects are impossible to reach any other way than by car. I would like to find a way to use public transport more.

Best learning curve: Our first commercial project, the Greenwich Peninsula, threw us into a world that was quite alien. Working with a huge design team to build a multimillion pound scheme on contaminated ground, all for a client that I never met. Words like ‘seat’, ‘flying’ and ‘pants’ come to mind.

Luckily, the hugely talented Charlotte Harris guided us through.

Career highs and lows: Aside from the Gold medal and People’s Choice at Chelsea, I would again say completing the Greenwich Peninsula project, which brings me neatly on to the low point – fighting hard to retain creative integrity on the project, against the relentless pressures of the bottom line. The finish date was also gruelling – what little hair I have is a lot greyer since that year.

Leadership style: I’d like to say Mary Poppins-style, firm but fair – but my staff might describe it more as ‘intolerant and rude’. I rely on their extensive experience to make me look (and behave) like a good boss.

What you hope to achieve in your work during the next 12 months: It might seem regressive with all the technology at our fingertips, but I am increasingly drawn to ‘old school’ techniques – making clay models instead of using SketchUp, or using watercolour to render planting plans. Though slow, I find it really makes me consider the design process, and delivers another level of insight.

LIFE/STYLE Tom Hoblyn

Garden designer Tom Hoblyn on his successes, struggles and passions

INSPIRATION People: William Robinson’s gardening advice is as fresh and relevant today as it was in the 19th century, while Nan Shepherd’s The Living Mountain reminds me why it’s good to be here.

Gardens: Stourhead for its allegory, Great Dixter for its planting, Villa Lante for its magnificence – and mine!

It’s a constant experiment that gives me a lot of pleasure.

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INSPIRE

PERSONAL Hobbies: Despite the hard work, the diseases, the unpredictability and the fact that it’s cheaper at the local farm shop, I am very proud of my kitchen garden, which is filled with fruit and vegetables most of the year. I also run. It started as a sort of mid-life crisis but has got way out of hand. If I’m not in the garden or at work, I’m probably running. If I’m not running, I’m probably injured – and grumpy, according to my wife and children.

Design tastes: I’m very fond of late 19th century and early 20th century classical gardens. Though they are completely impractical in this day and age, I do like to borrow heavily from them.

Most treasured possession: My grandfather was deputy chairman of East Malling Research Station and amassed a huge collection of gardening books that I now proudly own.

Food: With the miles I run, all food is welcome. And while nothing beats our own fruit and veg, a tub of Ben and Jerry’s sometimes comes a close second.

Drink: The one and only time we managed to make elderflower champagne stands out as a high point.

Most fun you’ve ever had: This might sound a bit creepy, but the three years I had studying at Kew were hard to beat.

TRAVEL Places you’d like to go: Thanks to Kew, I’ve visited and worked in some far-flung places, but Japan is a place I have yet to visit and would love to go to.

Favourite continent: Europe, as it’s so historic and diverse.

How you like to travel: With my family. No hotels, we like to live like the locals as much as possible.

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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MULTI AWARD WINNING NURSERY

• SERVICE • ADVICE • SALES • DELIVERY • PLANTING • AFTERCARE

‘AirPot’ grown root system

An amazing experience from start to finish.

Majestic Trees are a fantastic company to deal with.

Planting team were so efficient. Would highly recommend.

Hannah Leonardi

• Over 7000 semi-mature trees at our nursery, from 12’ to 45’ tall, plus 2 km of instant hedging.

• A friendly, personal service from experienced and knowledgeable horticulturists.

• ‘AirPot’ grown trees establish faster and have a superior fibrous root system.

• Complete Planting Service, Establishment Warranty and AfterCare.

• Nationwide Delivery that goes beyond the kerb.

Chequers Hill, Flamstead, Nr St.Albans, Herts, AL3 8ET T: 01582 843881 | F: 01582 843882 | W: www.majestictrees.co.uk | E: info@majestictrees.co.uk

May_Adverts.indd 66

20/04/2017 09:53

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NURTURE NEWS A Supplier of the Year Award for Coles Nurseries

DESIGNER PLANTS ANNE JENNINGS

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Planting a magical ‘secret garden’ in Chelsea

THE LONG GAME

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ANDY MCINDOE Long-flowering plants for a year-round display

JOHNSONS OF WHIXLEY

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NURSERY INTERVIEW Pro Landscaper talks to the Yorkshire nursery

PLUS...

NURTURE

NURTURE NEWS

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IAN DRUMMOND (P81) JAMIE BUTTERWORTH (P82) NOEL KINGSBURY (P85)

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A unique British nursery, turning your landscape concept into reality

Creating pes landsca

Extensive range of plants and essential sundries Speed of service that’s second to none Delivery within 5 working days Accredited to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 Truly a one stop shop!

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1921 – 2011

For our FrEE cATAlOguE of amenity plants call 01423 330234 or email sales@nurserymen.co.uk www.nurserymen.co.uk

20/04/2017 11:11

NURTURE

NURTURE NEWS ‘At Home with Plants’ by Ian Drummond and Kara O’Reilly launches At Home with Plants, by Ian Drummond and Kara O’Reilly, was launched this month, with Pro Landscaper attending an exclusive launch event at The Club at The Ivy in London on Tuesday 4 April.

The book was created by Ian Drummond, creative director of Indoor

Garden Design, and interiors editor Kara O’Reilly. With houseplants increasingly important in interior design, it shows readers how to use plants to transform their interiors.

“House plants have always been my passion,” said Ian. “One of my happiest memories is my dad giving me some plants

when I was about four – that was the beginning of my lifelong love.

Having the opportunity to write a book on it is a dream come true.”

Including specially commissioned photography by Nick Pope, At

Home with Plants looks at the practicalities of growing houseplants, provides inspiration for each room, and includes an A-Z plant directory. www.indoorgardendesign.com

Norman Hambrook launches The Hambrooks Plant Book

Coles Nurseries wins Supplier of the Year – North/Midlands Grower

Norman Hambrook, founder and managing director of Hampshirebased Hambrooks, has produced a 200-page book. With nearly 50 years of experience, Norman has brought together his knowledge and expertise to compile The Hambrooks Plant Book. Its simple, non-technical style is aimed at both the inexperienced and the more knowledgeable reader.

The book is set out in an easy-to-digest style that combines plantmanship with practical, concise information. A comprehensive guide to eye-catching plants, shrubs and trees, each entry contains a high quality image to demonstrate colour, structure and shape.

Norman Hambrook said: “I have learned by doing, and there is no

Coles Nurseries has won Supplier of Year in the Grower: North/ Midlands category, sponsored by Pro Landscaper, at The Association of Professional Landscapers (APL) Awards 2017. The annual awards, held on 17 March at The Brewery, London, celebrates outstanding landscaping by APL members.

Coles Nurseries’s customer development manager Vince Edwards said: “Coles Nurseries is extremely proud to win for the second year running. This award is highly prized within the industry as it is voted for by the trade and end users. A very big thank you to all who voted and support us.”

Coles Nurseries, based in the East Midlands, is the UK’s largest grower of trees and shrubs for the amenity and commercial markets. It has the capacity to grow more than 1.2m trees and 2.4m shrubs across its 500 acres.

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Nurture News.indd 75

doubt hands-on learning gives you a deeper understanding of plants. I am imparting a lifetime of horticultural expertise in this book.

“My book’s most valuable content is the fact that it covers staple plants that have stood the test of time. Flower trends come and go, and while some of the plants I have selected may not be the most fashionable, I have spent a lifetime turning jungles into gardens, and I know what works.” www.hambrooks.co.uk

The judges commented: “Coles deliver excellent service and product, and also deliver a fantastic educational training service to landscapers and designers. By putting something back, they ensure a better future for our industry.” www.colesnurseries.co.uk

SEND US YOUR

NURTURE NEWS! editor@pro-landscaper.co.uk

01903 777 570

Pro Landscaper / May 2017 75

20/04/2017 15:11

Distressed shepherd’s hut with moss roof

NURTURE

Designer PLANTS Anne Jennings runs through the plants she used to create an aged ‘secret garden’ in Chelsea

The brief for this project was for a ‘secret, rediscovered garden’ where everything was to look naturally aged. Integrated into not much more than 10m² is a dining area, shepherd’s hut, lush planting, and mise-en-scène features that visually enlarge the space. One of the most challenging elements was to retrofit a moss roof to the shepherd’s hut, which was achieved using exterior felt, live florists’ moss

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and chicken wire, together with a microsprinkler irrigation system. The walls were covered with overgrown ivy, which was carefully disentangled and pruned, with as much as possible retained to ensure green boundaries. Additional mature ivies on 3m frames fill any gaps.

Partway through the project the client requested larger trees than originally specified.

Restricted access necessitated a road closure and the use of a crane to lift mature specimens up and over the canopies of London plane trees and across the top of the building. Each was then lowered directly into a pre-dug planting hole.

Among these, a 1,000L multi-stem Cornus controversa has pride of place in a central raised bed. Chosen for its elegant open shape, the tree sits beautifully in this elevated position – it would have taken up too much room if it were planted at ground level. An important element of the brief related to garden lighting,

including a tree to be adorned with fairy lights, and the structure of the Cornus provided the perfect setting.

Prunus ‘Pink Cloud’ and Malus ‘Adams’ satisfy a requirement for spring blossom, while two specimens of Sorbus x thuringiaca ‘Fastigiata’ stand sentinel, one each side of the shepherd’s hut, providing delicate foliage cover and additional spring flowers.

Under-storey planting plays on the theme of a woodland floor, with ferns, Ajuga, Vinca, Heuchera and Epimedium weaving a tapestry of colour and texture throughout. Above the carpet www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/04/2017 14:30

Ivy and Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’

roof

NURTURE

Mature ivy and fast-growing hollyhock

Seasonal planting in antique pot

Eclectic planting for a personal touch

View to multi stem Cornus controversa

Terrace for socialising

plants, feature shrubs make an appearance – Daphne odora, Hydrangea paniculata ‘Vanille Fraise’, Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’, and ever-reliable hummocks of Viburnum davidii.

Herbaceous plants provide additional colour and seasonal interest, including frothy spires of Astilbe x arendsii ‘Peach Blossom’, Helleborus niger ‘Mini Blanc’, Helleborus foetidus ‘Wester Flisk’, and Geranium ‘Brookside’, which displays intense blue flowers all summer. Woven through the ivy is the occasional contrast climber, such as Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris, with its umbels of creamy-white flowers and lovely textured stems revealed through the winter.

Parthenocissus quinquefolia falls from the first floor balcony planters to form a foliage curtain, linking the house with the garden and contributing to the overgrown effect – as well as covering an essential but muchdisliked modern glass screen. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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Tendercare Nurseries supplied the plants and planting expertise, and its specialism in mature stock made a huge contribution to the garden’s aged appearance. Tendercare also built the garden, and now maintains it.

This garden was a finalist in the SGD Awards’ 2016 Small Residential Garden and People’s Choice categories, and won a BALI Award 2016 in the Design Excellence category.

ABOUT ANNE JENNINGS Anne Jennings MSGD MBALI MCIHort is a landscape designer, consultant and director of Viridian Landscape Studio. After training in horticulture and garden design, Anne became consultant horticultural advisor to the Garden Museum in London before setting up her own company. She often contributes to gardening magazines and newspapers, and has written seven gardening books.

Plant list

• Cornus controversa • Prunus ‘Pink Cloud’ • Malus ‘Adams’ • Sorbus x thuringiaca ‘Fastigiata’ • Daphne odora • Hydrangea paniculata ‘Vanille Fraise’ • Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’ • Viburnum davidii • Astilbe x arendsii ‘Peach Blossom’ • Helleborus niger ‘Mini Blanc’ • Helleborus foetidus ‘Wester Flisk’ • Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris • Parthenocissus quinquefolia • Geranium ‘Brookside’

www.viridian.uk.com

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NURTURE

Andy McIndoe suggests some of the best long-blooming shrubs and perennials for year-round interest

S

o many popular landscape plants have very short seasons of interest: two or three weeks of flowers, and rather boring foliage for the rest of the year.

Philadelphus, Deutzia, Syringa, Rhododendron, many Spiraeas and most Cistus fall into this category. These are great plants to use when well-supported with attractive foliage, or perennials and shrubs that perform in a different seasons, and where space allows. However, some plants bloom for much longer, perhaps more than once during the year, and these are always worth bearing in mind when planning planting schemes.

Potentilla fruticosa ‘Abbotswood’

It is hardly surprising that most of these are extremely popular. Choisya, for example, blooms twice a year, in spring and autumn. The flowers, along with its evergreen foliage and tolerance of a variety of growing conditions, account for its wide usage. Potentilla misses out on the evergreen foliage but thrives on poor soil, chalk and clay, blooming from midsummer to late autumn in an open, sunny situation. It is easy to maintain, requiring only a clip over in late winter.

Potentilla fruticosa ‘Abbotswood’, with its dark green leaves and white-petalled, golden-eyed flowers, is one of the most useful – and a good alternative to Cistus x hybridus.

Roses can be really tricky landscape plants.

The ideal varieties are those with a low, shrubby habit. The Flower Carpet series are pretty reliable and bloom freely, and it is surprising that the shrub rose ‘Rosy Cushion’ has never become a

THE LONG GAME Andy McIndoe

favourite. The name is an excellent description of its appearance, and its single, pollinator-friendly blooms are produced continuously throughout summer and autumn.

For an enduring display, any of these roses would combine brilliantly with Geranium ‘Rozanne’ which has a similar flowering period, unlike most other blue herbaceous geraniums that only flower for about four weeks. Now widely planted, ‘Rozanne’ is an economical plant to use, even if the individual plant price is higher.

A single plant forms a billowing mat of up to 90cm across and 45cm high, so it is best planted singly. In large schemes, drifts of it are extremely effective.

Geranium ‘Rozanne’

Rosa ‘Rosy Cushion’

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Any perennial that is self-supporting, grows without regular lifting and division, and flowers for a long time is worth its weight in gold, hence the popularity of Sedum ‘Herbstfreude’ and similar varieties. They add bold structure in a summer scheme, and come into their own late in

Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’

the season. Many Asters are prone to mildew, but the delightful ‘Little Carlow’ is resistant and a wonderful addition to mixed borders, or for growing with grasses.

For shadier situations, Hydrangeas have remarkably long flowering seasons, at a time when earlier shrubs and perennials have faded.

Despite reservations about its lax habit, it is not surprising that Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ is so widely used. It grows well in semi-shade, reliably produces a spectacular display, and is easily cut back to 30cm or less in late winter — a simple maintenance task. The secret is to plant it further back in a border, where other shrubs can lend support if necessary. It is an excellent choice for cold sites or heavy clay.

Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Mariesii Perfecta’

Due to their meteoric rise in popularity, there are many new varieties of Hydrangea available each year. Some are excellent, but not all are tried, tested and proven. Old varieties such as Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Mariesii Perfecta’ can be the best bet for semi-shade on moist soil, where the growth bud will not suffer severe frost damage. Deadheading in late winter and periodic removal of older stems keeps them looking good — a slightly more tedious job than pruning Hydrangea arborescens or Hydrangea paniculata.

ABOUT ANDY MCINDOE Andy McIndoe is a practical horticulturist with more than 30 years’ experience in ornamental horticulture.

He has designed and advised on gardens of all sizes and has been responsible for 25 Gold medal winning exhibits at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Twitter: @AndyMcIndoe

www.andymcindoe.com

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/04/2017 14:26

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20/04/2017 12:06

NURTURE

House plants are exploding in popularity and are set to be a huge trend this summer – Ian Drummond is delighted

LUST FOR LEAF

I

t’s funny how trends come and go. And it’s even more fascinating to see how they’re predicted, often years ahead of their time, by cultural soothsayers bearing weighty tomes containing consumer analysis, mood boards, swatches and pantone references. These alchemists must have got together years back and prophesied that in the summer of 2017, the collective consciousness of the entire interior design world would be crazy for plants in the home.

They’d have predicted we would have plants hanging from the ceilings, plants popping out of crevices in the walls, plants upside down, inverted, arching round a window, single specimen or grouped, neat or fecund – take your

PLANTS ARE FOR EVERYONE. THEY ADD SOMETHING UTTERLY UNIQUE TO OUR HOMES BECAUSE THEY ARE AUTHENTIC NATURE

Ian Drummond

pick. There wouldn’t be a room in the house untouched by the healing powers of nature. It would be understood that plants create sanctuary in any space, be it bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchen, dining room or study, and it wouldn’t stop there, they’d be in the halls, on the stairs — if there’s a space, there’s a plant, bringing joy and breathing health into our homes.

Our love for plants would then spread, triffid-like, onto the print of our cushions, the colour green on our walls, tropical embellishments on duvet covers, handbags, jackets, mobile phones, and then everything that the soothsayers ever said or thought about the trend for plants in 2017 would converge at the mighty RHS Chelsea Flower Show and come to be.

And that’s exactly what has happened. This year, the world’s most prestigious flower show, that inspires millions every year through showcasing the best in garden design, will include an exhibit within the Grand Pavilion that has very

little to do with outdoor gardening and contains minimal flowers. Those trend analysts must be having quite the party — it’s official, a fashion that transcends everything, and the RHS is on board.

The exhibit in question, co-created with IKEA, is called ‘At Home with Plants’ and it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. It’s a three

DESPITE THE FEVERED ENTHUSIASM, MANY PEOPLE ARE STILL UNSURE WHICH PLANTS WORK IN WHICH SPACES roomed ‘house’ comprising a living room, bedroom and bathroom, and I designed it to demonstrate creative ways of using plants in different rooms, and to show which plants work in which spaces, because despite the fevered enthusiasm, many people are still unsure. Visitors can walk through and experience how planting can transform any interior space, and feel emboldened by what they see and experience.

More than anything, I would like to convey the message that you don’t need to be a greenfingered fanatic to enjoy plants in the home. Plants are for everyone. They add something utterly unique to our homes because they are authentic nature — not a paint colour called Mouse, or a fabric called Meadow, or a china service called Posy. They are living, they connect us to something bigger than we are, and they make our homes a better place in which to live.

At Home with Plants AT HOME WITH PLANTS

‘At Home with Plants’, by Ian Drummond and Kara O’Reilly, published by Mitchell Beazley, is out now.

Ian Drummond & Kara O’Re PUBLISHED BY MITCHELL BEAZLEY 6TH APRIL 2017 PRICE £20

Houseplants are hot, and creative interior planting is becoming increasingly easy to achieve. The new wave of unusual and dramatic indoor plants is as much about décor and statement as greenery. Used aesthetically, as a focal point and sculptural element in interior design, indoor gardening is not just about possessing or growing a plant, but about using it as an accessory combined with other objects to create a particular style and mood.

There are also proven health benefits to living with plants.

In this much needed book, award-winning interior landscape designer and RHS Chelsea Flower Show gold medal-winner Ian Drummond and interiors writer Kara O’Reilly

ABOUT IAN DRUMMOND

show you how to transform your home with plants and tell you which plants will work b where and how to care for them.

From strikingly geometric terrariums to pretty hanging baskets, practical herb pots and colourful window displays, this book is packed full of exciting and gorgeous ideas.

Specially commissioned photography by Ni Pope throughout shows the power of plants range of stylish contemporary homes.

With chapters on the practicalities of growing houseplants, inspiration for using the right plants in the right room, and an A-Z Plant Directory, this book is the essenti reference book for anyone looking to bring outdoors in.

Ian Drummond is the creative director of Indoor Garden Design, Europe’s leading interior landscape design company. Based in Highgate, north London, IGD has been bringing nature into offices for over 40 years.

RHS Che

www.indoorgardendesign.com

lsea Disc

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Ian Drummond.indd 81

overy Are

a Exhibit

‘At Home

For more information please contact K aren Baker on 020 3122 6720 or karen.baker@octopusbooks.co.uk

with Plan

ts’ 2017

Pro Landscaper / May 2017 81

20/04/2017 14:59

NURTURE

Jamie Butterworth turns his attention to umbellifers – a popular choice for designers at RHS Chelsea

M

ay is the month when the eyes of the world turn to SW3. Months of pressure, planning and praying culminate in five days of the best flower show on Earth. For me, nowhere else matches the exhilaration and sense of expectation that I feel when walking down Main Avenue first thing Monday morning.

At Hortus Loci, we are lucky enough to have been part of this process, to have nurtured and cared for some of the stars of this show. There is one flower that has become synonymous with Chelsea over the last couple of years, a staple of any flower border gracing main avenue – the humble umbel.

The jewel of the naturalistic garden and king of the hedgerow has become a fully paid up member of the Chelsea planting palette. This is partly because of their ability to reliably look drop dead gorgeous in the third week of May, but also because of the height, structure and grace that they bring to any planting scheme.

However, it is time for some new kids on the block, or perhaps we should say avenue, and here is my selection of admirable

UMBEL PIE

Jamie Butterworth

umbellifers that I’m predicting will make this year’s show extra special.

Bunium bulbocastanum This not only looks beautiful but tastes pretty good too – hence its common name, the earth chestnut. This dainty perennial is not fussy, growing in all soil types, although it won’t perform in the shade. Its elegant white umbels sit amongst fine, bright green foliage and it flowers from May to July, growing to approximately 60cm high and 30cm wide.

Cenolophium denudatum Otherwise known as Baltic parsley, this Cenolophium is a firm favourite at Hortus Loci.

This hardy perennial has a long flowering period from May through to August, is irresistible to insects, and grows up to 1m x 75cm. It forms a mound of semi-evergreen, fern-like foliage, with tall branching stems that hold the flat heads of creamy green flowers.

MONTHS OF PRESSURE, PLANNING AND PRAYING CULMINATE IN FIVE DAYS OF THE BEST FLOWER SHOW ON EARTH

Laser trilobum With slightly glaucous pinnate leaves, reminiscent of Aquilegia, Laser trilobum has an upright habit with slender arching stems, sometimes flushed purple, and topped with sprays of white flowers in pincushion clusters.

It grows well in partial to full shade, up to 60cm, and flowers from May to June.

Ligusticum lucidum This is a clump-forming perennial with an abundance of ferny, glossy green foliage, and delicate white flowers in June and July. It’s one of the taller umbels reaching 90cm-1m in height, and will tolerate partial shade.

ABOUT JAMIE BUTTERWORTH Graduating from RHS Garden Wisley with a distinction in summer 2015, avid plantsman Jamie now works as show plant manager at Hortus Loci, growing the plants for major flower shows such as RHS Chelsea, Hampton Court and Tatton. Jamie is a YoungHort ambassador and RHS ambassador, promoting horticulture to young people across the UK.

Bunium bulbocastanum

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Email: Jamie.butterworth@hortusloci.co.uk www.hortusloci.co.uk

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/04/2017 15:01

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The allotment space sits on a plot of land that was transformed by Out There Services from a hub of anti-social behaviour and fly tipping, to 30 allotment plots, equipped with sheds and gardening tools.

Alongside this development, Out There provided monthly training sessions through their own in-house Horticulture Specialist, teaching residents basic gardening skills and how to use the produce they have grown with “Plot to Plate” sessions.

These educational sessions have allowed plot owners to create a Social Enterprise, selling home-made jams and chutneys locally, bringing previously long term unemployed residents back into the world of work.

Eight participants are also taking part in City and Guilds Level 1 Practical Horticulture with Out There’s accredited training centre, with sights set on completing more modules in the near future.

Getting hands on and improving communities they work in every day, Out There are setting the standard in Social Responsibility, an initiative that will only grow from strength to strength in more areas across their sites in the UK.

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20/04/2017 10:44

NURTURE

Noel Kingsbury considers the challenges of urban tree selection and suggests some possible solutions

S

treet trees are one of the most emotional topics in the landscape business. Many readers will have seen the battles in Sheffield where contractors working for the city council have felled trees despite vigorous protests. Street trees are not, however, universally popular.

Some members of the public are quick to hold trees responsible for allergies, car damage and noisy birds.

Urban tree selection is a difficult issue. At a time when swingeing government cuts are placing limits on what local authorities can do, low maintenance trees are vital. This rules out any new planting of species which need pollarding or other regular pruning – including the two most widely-planted European tree species, limes (Tilia spp.) and London planes (Platanus x acerifolia), which are particularly easy to keep to size through pruning.

ONE BLOCK IN THE WAY OF IMAGINATIVE TREE PLANTING IS THE EXPECTATION PLACED ON LANDSCAPE DESIGNERS TO USE ‘NATIVE’ TREES Compared to our European neighbours, there is no great tradition here of pollarding and pruning, so even if there was funding for appropriate maintenance (for example through corporate ownership), the skills and workplace culture necessary for effective management may be lacking.

There is a strong tendency towards selecting species which are small (such as Malus tschonoskii) or narrow, therefore needing

BRANCHING OUT Noel Kingsbury

no pruning. Such species may be good visually, but they do not provide many of the environmental services we will increasingly need from trees as climates change, such as shade, cooling, dust trapping and breaking down atmospheric toxins. The bigger the tree, the more of these services it provides. There is plenty of evidence that the more tree cover a city has, the more the urban heat island effect – which makes life so intolerable in hot weather – can be reduced. Surely wide spreading trees should play a part in the design of future cities.

Rarely used but usefully fast species such as wingnuts (Pterocarya spp.), have fantastic potential, although careful placing for such large trees is obviously important.

Prejudices against conifers need to be addressed, too. As evergreens, they provide a level of interest in winter that is often underestimated. Many endangered conifers

thrive in British conditions, and imaginative city planting could play a part in helping maintain gene pools vital for species’ survival. The popularity of Metasequoia and the occasional gingko (both endangered in the wild) are good examples, but these could easily be joined by evergreen relatives.

One block in the way of imaginative tree planting is the expectation placed on landscape designers to use ‘native’ trees, supposedly because they are the most wildlife-friendly. In the context of the highly unnatural urban landscape, this should be called out as the idiocy it is. We have a tiny pool of native tree flora, of which very few species make good street trees, and the amenity value and service we want – in what is, after all, a human environment – must take precedence. The irony is that the varieties which combine being supremely biodiversity-friendly, native and street-friendly are hardly ever seen – for example, the various fastigiate forms of Quercus robur.

Given the number and severity of diseases affecting our trees, it would seem imperative that any new planting emphasises diversity. Genetic clones are particularly vulnerable – if one gets a disease, they all will. Such lack of uniformity may offend the eye of the tidy-minded landscape architect, but that is a small price to pay for the increased resilience of our urban landscapes.

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

www.noelkingsbury.com

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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20/04/2017 15:16

NURTURE

NURSERY INTERVIEW

JOHNSONS OF WHIXLEY Pro Landscaper spoke to Johnsons of Whixley’s production manager Ian Nelson about the nursery’s growth, its research into plant varieties, and the Growing Stars initiative which is securing its future

Johnsons of Whixley is a growing force in the north of England. Since being acquired by John Richardson in 1964, the 200 acre nursery has developed three separate divisions: garden centre sales, a cash and carry service called Wholesale Xpress, and a commercial wholesale division, the most prosperous, making up 80% of its turnover. Based in North Yorkshire, the nursery is now run by the second generation of Richardsons, brothers Graham, Iain and Andrew.

Its wholesale commercial division focuses on landscape contractors, developers and local authorities, though production manager Ian Nelson explains that their relationship with the latter has changed over the years: “We have fewer relationships directly with the local authorities, as they tend to outsource the work.

It now goes through a landscaper.”

This does not affect Johnsons’s prosperity, as it continues to be involved in key projects, predominantly in the north of England and Scotland. It recently supplied plants for the Forth Replacement Crossing, the Old Dairy development in South Ruislip, the Royal 86

Pro Landscaper / May 2017

Nursery visit Johnsons of Whixley.indd 86

Edinburgh Hospital redevelopment, and Culzean Castle. It also supplied the plants for Chris Myers’ Best in Show garden at the RHS Flower Show Cardiff earlier in the year. Ian says Johnsons is starting to make inroads in south east England as well. “We’re starting to have a higher presence there, particularly on the north east side of London and in Essex.”

With its presence increasing across the UK, Johnsons is focusing more on research and development. “We’re not just responding to the market, we’re also looking closely at what we’re producing, and testing the robustness, health and durability of some of the varieties that we grow. We’re doing a lot of work behind the

JOHNSONS OF WHIXLEY CONTINUES TO BE INVOLVED IN KEY PROJECTS, PREDOMINANTLY IN THE NORTH OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND

scenes, looking at sourcing clones of plants from particular growers to make sure that the product we are growing is not only durable but consistent with the characteristics of its variety.

“We’ve done a lot of work with Heuchera varieties, trying to select those with the right colour range and constitution to cope with the varied conditions and treatments of landscapes, as well as looking at how they’re going to be

managed. We’re also looking at ferns, as these are becoming more popular, but the best selections for the UK are not necessarily known.”

Johnsons is also focusing on developing its staff with its Growing Stars initiative, launched last year. Existing staff are given the opportunity to develop their skillset, in the hope of enabling them to take on managerial roles in the future. “Growing Stars is an attempt to look at the succession of the company. Many of the managers, including myself, are approaching retirement age, so there is a practical need to fill these positions.”

The programme, delivered in conjunction with training providers Dutton Fisher, includes a number of training activities, including the opportunity to earn a formal qualification in team leadership. Only in its first year, the programme has already received a positive response from staff, with the first class set to complete the course in August.

With a firm grasp on both the present market and the future of the nursery, Johnsons of Whixley can only continue to succeed.

CONTACT Johnsons of Whixley Gilsthwaite Ln, Kirk Hammerton, Whixley, North Yorkshire YO26 8AQ Tel: 01423 330234 Email: info@nurserymen.co.uk Twitter: @JohnsonsWhixley

www.nurserymen.co.uk

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/04/2017 15:14

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97

ROBERT WEBBER Why communication and commitment are vital in a working relationship

KNOWING THE LAW

98

SEAN BUTLER Providing some clarity on laws affecting landscapers

PAVING THE WAY FORWARD

102

LONDON STONE Answering the big questions about porcelain paving

TRADING WITH

105 111

EDUCATE cover.indd 89

NATURAL PAVING Behind the scenes at the ethical stone company

EDUCATE

REACH FOR THE STARS

PLUS...

SAM HASSALL (P90) STEVEN WALLEY (P93) PAUL NEWMAN (P94) WHAT’S YOUR ROLE? (P107) PEDESTRIAN MOWERS (P111)

107 20/04/2017 14:56

EDUCATE

2 PART

In the second part of his series on costs and profitability, Sam Hassall examines a requested speciality area, the cost of materials for bedding and jointing paving

HELPING YOU MAKE A

PROFIT

Materials for bedding and jointing paving In the last few years, the range of paving has increased and so has the technology to fix it. Here we look at the costs of the various materials for bedding and jointing paving.

Epoxy mortars While these have the added benefit of strength, they are very expensive and are usually only used on areas where a stronger bond is required, such as steps or cantilevers. We have not addressed them in this evaluation.

Please note that we are making no attempt to present the benefits of one system over another – this view is from a cost perspective only.

Pricing note: all pricing includes labour and spreading. Some suppliers specify the use of a forced action mixer. We have not allowed for this in the tables – allow £350 per week if hired. Delivery on all items is not included.

All pricing in this series is shown at COST. Readers should add their margins to this, dependent on the market sector, geo-location etc.

TABLE 2: SPECIALISED BEDDING MORTARS IN MOST CASES A PRIMING SLURRY IS REQUIRED

Bedding mixtures Bedding mortars are traditionally laid at a thickness ranging from 10mm for tiles to 50mm for stone paving. The standard is 1:3 or 1:4 mortar, or mortars with plasticiser. The products we will be addressing here are as follows: SteinTec, Larsen, and polymer modified cement.

Specialised mortar beds Slurry primers UltraScape primer (www.kebur.co.uk)

1.68

Tuffbond SteinTec

1.71

Paving bedding mortars SteinTec

Pricing note: many of the products mentioned here specify a manufacturer’s recommendation of a forced action mixer.

25mm

16.73

35mm

23.43

Proprietary paving bedding adhesives (www.kebur.co.uk)

TABLE 1: TRADITIONAL BEDDING MORTARS

UltraTile ProFlex 20 kg (Kebur) 6mm thick

8.24

Mortar 1:3 - sand bulk bags

UltraTile ProFlex 20 kg (Kebur) 10mm thick

13.65

Mortar bed: 25mm thick /m²

7.85

UltraTile ProFlex 20 kg (Kebur) 15mm thick

23.50

Mortar bed: 35mm thick /m²

10.99

Standard mortar beds - aggregates (www.kebur.co.uk)

per m²

Mortar 1:6 Mortar bed: 25mm thick /m²

6.80

Mortar bed: 35mm thick /m²

9.52

Sand in 9.5t loads (www.kebur.co.uk) Mortar 1:3 Mortar bed: 25mm thick

5.89

Mortar bed: 35mm thick

8.25

TRADITIONAL HAND TOOLED JOINTING IS NOT USED MUCH ON PAVINGS, THOUGH THERE IS OBVIOUSLY STILL A PLACE FOR THIS CRAFT AND MANY GOOD CONTRACTORS, AND EVEN DESIGNERS, MAY STILL DEMAND A HAND POINTED FINISH TO EXACT STANDARDS

Mortar 1:6 Mortar bed: 25mm thick

5.02

Mortar bed: 35mm thick

7.02

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20/04/2017 15:00

EDUCATE

Jointing materials Traditional hand tooled jointing is not used much on pavings, though there is obviously still a place for this craft and many good contractors, and even designers, may still demand a hand pointed finish to exact standards. There is a cost to this, as although the traditional materials of sand and cement are generally used, the time taken to point is far greater. However, a range of gunnable and sweepable mortars have emerged over the last few years which do make this task far more efficient. Here we examine some of the products.

TABLE 3: BEDDING MATERIALS AND LABOUR /M² GROUTING AND JOINTING – 5MM JOINTS Paving size

Labour + Materials 400x400

400x600

600x900

RR*

20mm thick

8.15

7.24

6.49

10.81

30mm thick

9.35

8.17

7.24

12.19

50mm thick

10.98

9.40

8.19

13.99

20mm thick

2.66

2.39

2.00

2.33

30mm thick

3.31

2.93

2.39

2.85

50mm thick

4.56

3.99

3.14

3.86

20mm thick

3.59

2.95

2.65

3.05

30mm thick

4.47

3.84

3.05

3.78

50mm thick

6.04

5.90

4.39

5.45

20mm thick

4.4

4.20

3.27

3.97

30mm thick

5.97

3.83

3.40

3.77

50mm thick

9.01

5.26

4.47

5.20

Traditional sand:cement

SteinTec Tufftop

EASYJoint

GftK vdw 800

*RR= random rectangular

Sealants Some materials are prone to staining during the jointing process.

The stone supplier should point this out. Where required a sealant such as STAIN-PROOF may be applied.

Other costs Moving materials on site There is always the cost to consider of distance from the offload point for bulky materials. Be sure to add these costs to your pricings as required.

Example — Bedding and jointing materials and labour only Lay mortar bed 25mm thick + priming slurry + Stain Proof + Easyjoint 20mm thick + move materials 25m COST for bedding and jointing labours and materials only = £21.71 Acknowledgements: With thanks to Kebur Garden Materials for pricing and advice.

TABLE 4: PAVING SEALANTS (WWW.KEBUR.CO.UK) Dry-Treat STAIN-PROOF

Cost /m² 8.81

Loading and moving costs: wheel or sack barrow

per m²

Aggregates 20mm thick

0.32

Aggregates 30mm thick

0.53

Aggregates 50mm thick

1.77

ABOUT SAM HASSALL Sam Hassall is the UK’s only dedicated specialist landscape cost consultant. As managing director of LandPro Ltd, his range of services include providing cost and implementation information to landscape design professionals and contractors. Sam’s expertise are gained from his formal training, and many years of experience in the landscape industry. Sam also compiles the Spon’s External works and Landscape price book, and developed the market leading LiberRATE Estimating system.

www.landpro.co.uk; Tel: 01252 795030

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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20/04/2017 10:30

EDUCATE

Committing to an

Steven Walley explains how an ethical supply chain can support good business practice and boost your profitability

A common misconception about ethical sourcing is that it costs money. Putting resources into investigating working conditions has to affect margins, doesn’t it? I used to think so. When London Stone decided to make ethical sourcing part of its business model, it was based on a desire to enhance our brand.

What soon became clear was the enormous boost ethical sourcing gave us, not only in terms of good business practices, but also profitability.

As I explained last month, Tier 1 suppliers – the factories that process our stone – are suppliers with high working standards, especially when regular production flows. It’s when there’s a sudden need to draft in more staff to fulfil a one-off, urgent order that issues can arise.

WORKING WITH SUPPLIERS’ STRENGTHS, RATHER THAN TRYING TO MAKE THEM SUIT US, OPENED UP NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES As we mapped our supply chain, this weakness was identified and formed a major reason for setting up our Bespoke Stone Centre. Until then, all our bespoke work was carried out in India. That meant a twelve-week lead time, and also disrupted the factories’ work flow. One moment staff would be working to a schedule turning out paving in standard sizes, the next they’d be doubling up to work on a bespoke order. In this situation, staff are the first to suffer, working excessive hours to meet a deadline. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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Working with suppliers’ strengths, rather than trying to make them suit us, opened up new business opportunities. Now we import the largest standard sizes possible and cut them down ourselves. From a business point of view, we can plan orders six months ahead, and ensure that we always have stock on the ground.

At the same time, we’re building relationships.

You can chop and change suppliers – we could buy stone in India at half the price we pay now – but buying on price is the enemy of a company’s reputation and the wellbeing of supply chain employees. The result will be poor quality stone produced with no ethical standards.

Ethical sourcing demands trust and communication. With around a year of due diligence required to investigate a new supplier before placing a stock order – including visiting factories, looking at Tiers 2 and 3 in the supply chain and ordering sample crates – it’s pointless to waste the time and resources. It’s better to stick with people you trust: being able to pick up the phone and have a frank conversation with a supplier is invaluable. Eight years with some of our suppliers has created open dialogue and an interest in helping each other. These relationships have taken years to nurture and can’t be instantly replicated with a new supplier. Long term relationships also give us leverage – as a trusted partner, we can exert more influence.

Committing ourselves to an ethical supply chain has internal benefits too. While our original move focused on company image, I began to appreciate how every individual plays a part in a company’s success. If you invest in an invisible quarry worker, instinctively you attach importance to every other member of your staff, from delivery drivers to project estimators. People, whether in a distant factory in India or passed in the corridor, are the most valuable asset of every business.

Next month, I’ll be looking at what landscapers and designers can do to support workers in the supply chains.

©Roderick Polak Photography

ETHICAL SUPPLY CHAIN

ABOUT STEVEN WALLEY Steven Walley is the managing director of London Stone. Through his involvement with the ETI, TFT and support of the No Child Left Behind Project in Budhpura, Steven has been actively involved in improving conditions for workers within stone supply chains.

www.londonstone.co.uk

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EDUCATE

In the final part of this three-part miniseries, Paul Newman shares his knowledge on plant choices for rooftop terraces, and how to care for them Roof terraces can be a harsh environment for plants, so they need to be chosen wisely. Most are open to the elements, with little or no shade. Wind is a problem, as there will be none of the natural windbreaks – trees, fences or buildings – found in ground level gardens. Plants with delicate or very fine leaves should be avoided, as they will dry out with the combination of strong winds and hot sun.

A rooftop environment can be hot, dry and windy; with this in mind, many dry-climate plants will do well, as they have evolved to put up with intense heat and drought. Their leaves will be smaller and lose less moisture through transpiration, often being tough or leathery with a grey-green colour to reflect sunlight – good examples would be lavender or olive trees.

Hailing from extremely arid and hot environments, cacti and succulents have taken this to another level, having little to no leaves. Their fleshy,

UP IN THE AIR elongated stems store water, with spines to protect them from grazing animals. Coastal plants are also good candidates, as they can endure very windy conditions.

Many of these plants are architectural in shape and form, and look superb planted in a container and used against a plain backdrop so that their shape can be appreciated. Lighting these will throw amazing spiky shadows across a wall, further enhancing their form.

Hardy palms can also make great focal points. Chamaerops humilis is better than Trachycarpus in windy locations, as it has smaller, stiffer leaves and a more compact shape. A number of yuccas and agaves are also hardy enough to use. In many arid habitats throughout

PAUL RECOMMENDS...

1 Agave leaf detail: highly architectural but deadly sharp 2 Agapanthus africanus: great in containers and loves summer heat 3 Grasses with Cordyline australis 4 Chamaerops humilis, the European fan palm 5 Tough, leathery leaves adapt well to dry conditions

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the world it can freeze at night, but it is a dry frost — so if you are using these plants, add plenty of grit and drainage material to your planting medium, as the drainage needs to be good. The sharp tips of the leaves can be painful, so careful consideration is needed when positioning.

Plants on roof terraces cannot take up ground moisture like they would in a garden. This, together with the strong sunlight and wind, means that a

ROOF TERRACES CAN BE A HARSH ENVIRONMENT FOR PLANTS TO THRIVE IN, SO THEY NEED TO BE CHOSEN WISELY planter in summer will quickly heat up and dry out.

To prevent this, and to enable a wider range of plants to be grown, it’s best to install an automated irrigation system. Early in the build, get all your first fix plumbing and electrics in place, and run a main water supply pipe around the perimeter, or to wherever you intend to have plants. From here you can branch off with smaller drip feeders to individual planters, or in rows if using a long trough.

We use drippers with adjustable heads, which give the benefit of being able to control the amount of water delivered to individual plants. The system is best controlled by a small irrigation timer, which can be connected to a rainwater harvesting unit. Set this up to your plant’s watering requirement cycles, and leave your client to enjoy their newly planted roof terrace.

ABOUT PAUL NEWMAN Paul Newman Landscapes provides a complete landscaping service from concept to completion for clients throughout London and Hertfordshire, offering high quality individual design and build projects to suit any client’s style and budget. www.paulnewmanlandscapes.co.uk

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/04/2017 15:07

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No, it’s not a ‘resin’!

Natratex is a range of beautiful, fully bound coloured asphalt surfacing used to enhance any landscape project, including public parks, schools, universities, retail, housing, commercial and large public realm projects.

Natratex is supplied hot throughout England and Wales, and laid by surfacing contractors in exactly the same way as conventional macadam.

Our coloured asphalt is as versatile as it is good looking. Our team is on hand to help you choose the right product, whatever the scheme. We can assist you from the design stage of your project right through to when the Natratex is laid.

Natratex is good looking, cost effective and durable.

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20/04/2017 10:41

REACH FOR

THE STARS Robert Webber stresses the importance of communication and commitment in a working relationship, and offers his top tips for lighting design Most of our commissions at Scenic Lighting are based on our own designs – lighting that we ourselves have specified, installed, maintained and adapted over time. However, we are often called upon to help set straight existing lighting installations, where clients have put their faith in installers, and the delivery hasn’t been quite what they envisaged. Expectation and realisation are sometimes miles apart.

Unfortunately, it’s a story we hear all too often from designers. We all know it’s not just about talking the talk, you must also walk the walk, and deliver what you promised with transparency. Some think differently, and they give all of us a bad name. That’s why we set out our stall in the market place of landscaping. We promise a different way, and deliver it; with us, it’s a continuous exchange of ideas and dreams, creating a ‘lightscape’ of beauty.

There are many common mistakes that are made when approaching garden lighting. Most of them are based on misunderstandings between the client and the installer.

Communication is key. The process of exchanging and developing ideas can be very theoretical – they share ideas, you show images – but it’s the delivery of the dream that will bring you success.

I’m very precious about our way of working.

We give absolutely everything to our clients and there are absolutely no half measures or shortcuts. Here I share some of these nuggets of wisdom with you — some are industry specific, while others are a more a general way of working that will set you apart from competitors.

Designers give so much thought to every aspect of a garden. Lighting is often left until last because they don’t have the knowledge to carry it out, or don’t understand that when the sun goes down, their gardens also disappear. We have a saying at Scenic Lighting: “go long”. It’s a bit cheesy, but it means thinking long term, thinking outside the box, designing for life, and reaching higher than others. We would rather die trying than live in a rut.

ABOUT ROBERT WEBBER Robert Webber is the founder of Scenic Lighting, a specialist exterior lighting company based in Berkshire.

He designs and installs garden lighting throughout the UK and internationally. Robert can be contacted on rob@ sceniclighting.com or via his mobile on 07766 051 000.

www.sceniclighting.com

EDUCATE

ROB’S TOP TIPS

1

Never over-light a garden. It’s a massive temptation, but also a huge indication that you don’t know what you’re doing. Careful placing and selection of lighting is far more effective than throwing everything you have at a garden. Our tip is to choose just one feature, regardless of how big or small a garden is. Light it well, and nature does the rest. When the sun falls, and the lighting comes on, you’ll create a piece of art.

2

Never forget your best friend — FAF! Function, Aesthetic and Feature. Think each of these areas of lighting through.

Identify changes in level, and consider where people are going to sit and eat, and whether there are any security issues. Where can you create atmosphere, ambience and feeling? Are there any natural features you could enhance at night? Could you import a feature? Draw people’s eyes away from the mundane and towards the beautiful.

3

Design for night time. I’m on a constant mission to educate designers so that they think beyond the 9-5. Most of us use our gardens outside of that time. It’s often dark when we leave for work and dark when we get home. If a client is investing in their little piece of England, it’s only right you extend their enjoyment beyond the time that they leave for work and the few hours after they get back.

4

Set the mood. We all love creating spaces that our clients enjoy. Lighting helps build a bridge between inside and outside. It can decide their movements after dark and generate a space they want to explore. Create the artwork they see through their windows. Invite them into the space, and set the mood they need.

5

London courtyard contemporary garden with lighting behind etched-out patterns in corean screening. Designed by Philip Nash, built by Beau Art Landscapes and Scenic Lighting

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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Remember that light dictates the way clients will use the garden. If there are two sets of steps and you only light one, that’s the set they will use. Where you light, they will look; where your light leads, they will follow.

That’s why you need to design it carefully and thoughtfully, leaving areas of darkness for mystery and dreaming.

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EDUCATE

KNOWING THE LAW I’m sure you are all law-abiding landscapers and designers. As our businesses keep growing and new staff are employed, it is important to add to the induction an update or reminder of the basic laws that must be adhered to in our everyday work life. Failing to comprehend the law is not an acceptable excuse – it is our duty to know it.

In the first part of this series on knowing the law, we will look at how the law affects your employees and business.

Driving lorries I’m starting with this one as it has affected my own business. One of my employees had worked for me for 17 years and would drive one of my lorries if our main drivers were off.

One day, during a routine stop by the police, he was asked to produce his licence only to find he was not actually qualified to drive the lorry, despite having driven it on and off for 17 years.

Within the driver training industry, 1 January 1997 was a significant date. Yet at the time, the general public barely noticed it. So, what happened that day, and why is it still creating problems today?

The change was in the type of driving licence a driver obtained once they passed their practical test. If you passed your practical driving test (licence category B) before 1 January 1997 you would also automatically acquire licence categories BE, C1, C1E, D1 and D1E. Drivers who passed their driving test after 1 January 1997 received a driving licence with entitlement to drive category B vehicles only. To drive vehicles that fall within the additional categories listed above, further driving tests are required.

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responsibility and he was let off – but as the owner and director of Cube I was fined £500 and given three points. Lesson learned.

Transporting waste You must register as a Waste Carrier, Broker or Dealer if you do any of these things as part of your business • Transport waste • Buy, sell or dispose of waste • Arrange for someone else to buy, sell or dispose of waste, including hiring a skip or grab load away to do this for you.

You can be fined up to £5k if you don’t register. Registration is usually free if you only transport the waste you produce yourself.

Otherwise, it costs £154. As landscapers, we transport materials, plants and debris arising from the clearance of a garden on every project, and so this is a must.

Electrical work A landscaper was jailed for five years in 2005 after the faulty electrics he fitted in a garden caused harm to a child. Since 2005, all electrical work in dwellings in England and Wales, whether professional or DIY jobs, must meet the Part P requirements of the Building Regulations.

Make sure you know the law regarding electrical work – including water features

By law, the homeowner or landlord must be able to prove that all electrical installation work on their property meets Part P requirements, or they will be committing a criminal offence.

Electrical work which requires notification differs between England and Wales. Additional changes were introduced to Part P in England in April 2013. This means that electrical work in a dwelling, or associated with its surroundings, is notifiable to a local building control body where it includes: • Circuit alteration or addition in a special location (bathroom, showerroom, swimming pool, sauna) • Installation of one or more new circuits • Installation of a replacement consumer unit (fuse box) • Rewire of all circuits • Partial rewire • New full electrical installation.

Our landscapers at Cube do not carry out any electrical works. A qualified electrician is always brought in for electrical installations, and provides the client with the relevant certification.

Knowing and understanding the law will give you peace of mind. It would be great, in my opinion, if the professional associations tested contractors and designers on their knowledge of some basic laws like the examples above. Setting high standards to abide by can only be good for all of us, and our profession.

Look out for the second part of this series next month, where I will look at avoiding legal disputes and complaints over high structures.

References: www.drivex.co.uk, www.gov.uk, www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk

ABOUT SEAN BUTLER Sean Butler is a landscape designer and director of Cube 1994. With a background in civil engineering, Sean has an in-depth understanding of the design, construction and maintenance of the physical and naturally built landscape. www.cube1994.com

Design and Build by Cube 1994 / Photos ©Cube 1994

In the first of a threepart series, Sean Butler provides some muchneeded clarity on several laws affecting those in the landscaping industry

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/04/2017 14:57

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EDUCATE

PROFESSIONAL

PORTFOLIOS Ben Shaw, national account director at Adtrak, explains the importance of online portfolios in building up your business, and suggests how to use them to your advantage For most landscaping professionals, a portfolio is vital. Not only does it give prospective clients a better idea of the work you do and its quality, but it also helps to establish trust and credibility, building your reputation as a result. We work with a number of landscaping clients, helping each of them to develop and build a fantastic online portfolio. In part two of this series, we look at why a portfolio is so important and how to create one successfully.

NOT ONLY DOES IT GIVE PROSPECTIVE CLIENTS A BETTER IDEA OF THE WORK YOU DO AND ITS QUALITY, BUT IT ALSO HELPS TO ESTABLISH TRUST AND CREDIBILITY Why is an online portfolio so important?

The landscaping sector is highly visual and, as a result, prospective clients are usually primarily concerned with how the finished result will look. Therefore, it’s imperative that landscaping companies provide high quality examples of their work.

Visitors to a landscaping website would expect to see a good range of imagery. In fact, if they didn’t, it would probably set alarm bells ringing. A limited number of images, or poor quality images, would be extremely 100 Pro Landscaper / May 2017

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off-putting and would likely result in decreased enquiries.

A diverse and professional portfolio, on the other hand, is much more conducive to engagement and offers a stronger user experience. This, in turn, will help to keep visitors on your website for longer and can contribute towards improved search engine rankings.

Capturing your business at its best Bespoke website images, along with a dedicated gallery of images (such as the ones included here, for our clients R&J Landscapes) and case studies section, will ensure your audience is kept informed and engaged as they make their way through your website.

It is incredibly important that your website displays fully functioning and high quality photography across all devices.

Therefore, it’s crucial that your website is mobile friendly as this will allow visitors to check out your work on their smartphone or tablet. For more information on mobile-friendly websites, be sure to read our previous article in April’s issue.

In addition to displaying photography on your company’s website, it’s also important to have a strong presence on social media. Platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest and Houzz are fantastic for landscaping businesses as they are highly visual, allowing your audience to focus on the work you display there. Google My Business is a wonderful way for landscaping businesses to show off their work directly from search engine result pages: images are shown to the right-hand side of the search results, which encourages people to click and look through them.

Incorporating videography Video is one of the most powerful tools for visual communication, and is another fantastic option for landscaping businesses. It is a highly effective way to showcase your work, and will help take your portfolio to the next level.

Videography can be used on the homepage of your website, showcasing your services in a prime position. It’s also a great tool for case studies and client testimonials, and will add character to your online image.

ABOUT ADTRAK Adtrak are a web design and internet marketing company based in Nottingham. They offer all BALI members a free website health check and consultation, aiming to help you improve your online presence and build your business.

Tel: 0800 030 9062 www.adtrak.co.uk

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/04/2017 14:21

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20/04/2017 10:56

EDUCATE

PAVING THE WAY

FORWARD The last couple of years have seen porcelain explode onto the UK market, and with more and more designers and landscapers coming around to using porcelain, it looks like the material is here to stay. Despite its rise in popularity, many designers and contractors are still nervous about specifying and installing it. So, what is it exactly that’s holding people back? We spoke to one of the UK’s leading porcelain suppliers, London Stone, to get answers to the questions designers and landscapers are asking

What’s the best way to lay porcelain?

This is the most common question, and the easiest one to answer. Porcelain can be laid on a full bed of sharp sand and cement mortar, exactly the same as natural stone. The only difference is that a primer (sometimes known as a bond bridge) must be used to ensure adhesion between the porcelain and the mortar bed. This can be a dedicated slurry primer, or an SBR bond bridge mixed on site. Simply paint the primer onto the back side of the porcelain, ensuring complete coverage, and then lay the porcelain onto the mortar bed while the primer is still tacky. A lot of landscapers we speak to are also adding SBR to the mortar mix to further aid adhesion. Following these simple steps guarantees a strong bond between the porcelain and the mortar bed.

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I am struggling to cut porcelain. Any tips?

Porcelain is an unbelievably hard material – it’s often said that porcelain’s strength is also its biggest limitation. Porcelain is difficult to cut, but contractors shouldn’t be put off by this. With the right equipment, porcelain can be cut quickly and accurately. To achieve the best possible cut, it should be wet cut with a

THE LOW POROSITY OF THE MATERIAL PREVENTS DIRT AND MOISTURE FROM ABSORBING INTO IT, AND THIS MAKES MAINTENANCE MUCH QUICKER AND EASIER

specialist continuous rim porcelain blade.

Always seeking a better finish, we’re noticing that more and more landscapers are starting to use table saws to cut porcelain. A table saw is undoubtedly the best method, and any landscaper who uses a lot of porcelain should definitely consider investing in one.

What’s the best material to point porcelain with?

In terms of aesthetics and durability, nothing beats an exterior tile grout. Porcelain is fully rectified so, unlike natural stone, there are no dimensional tolerances. The main benefit of this is that porcelain can be laid with contemporary style tight joints, as little as 3mm wide.

Incorporating joints as tight as 3mm rules out the majority of other pointing products, so this is www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/04/2017 15:10

EDUCATE AS PORCELAIN IS MAN-MADE YOU WILL NOT SEE ANY WILD COLOUR VARIATION, ALTHOUGH IT CAN DIFFER SLIGHTLY DEPENDING ON MANUFACTURING CONDITIONS where exterior tile grout really comes into its own. From an aesthetics point of view, porcelain offers consistent colour and texture, so the uniform colour and smooth texture of exterior tile grout is the perfect complement.

Does porcelain need sealing?

The Italian porcelain that we source has 0.05% porosity, so there is absolutely no point in sealing as the sealant will simply not absorb into the stone. In fact, sealing porcelain is not advised because the sealant will sit on the surface of the porcelain as a greasy film, collecting dirt.

Is porcelain really zero maintenance?

Porcelain has been positioned in the UK as a low maintenance product – this is not the whole story. In reality, porcelain does require maintenance — especially the lighter coloured materials. The difference with porcelain is that the low porosity of the material prevents dirt and moisture from absorbing into it, and this makes maintenance much quicker and easier.

Can porcelain be supplied in bespoke sizes?

Porcelain is manufactured in large batches.

The ultra-efficient manufacturing process begins with the lightest coloured material and runs through to the darkest. Once the darkest coloured material has been manufactured, the equipment is thoroughly cleaned before the process starts again. The batch quantities usually start at around 3,000m², so, unless you have an order of 3,000m², bespoke sizes are not practical. We do have our own bespoke cutting facility, so if clients do need bespoke sizes we are able to cut them down from our off-the-shelf sizes.

Can porcelain be edge profiled?

All porcelain can be edge profiled, but achieving a quality finish is completely dependent on the quality of the base material. Some of the cheaper Asian porcelains are not full-bodied and the finished texture is printed on the upper surface only. Trying to add an edge profile to a www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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material that is not full-bodied results in an unsightly contrasting appearance between the surface texture and the freshly profiled edge.

The European full-bodied porcelain tiles carry the colour through the entire thickness, so they can be bullnosed, pencil rounded or chamfered to a high finish standard.

Is each slab of a particular porcelain product exactly the same?

No – there are 20 different patterns for each stone. This gives variety to each slab within a particular product, so that while the overall colour and textural tone will blend well together, the slabs will still show different characteristics.

Does porcelain have colour variation?

Because porcelain is a man-made material you will not see any wild colour variation, although the colour of the same product can differ slightly depending on the conditions during the manufacturing process. Fluctuations in temperature and humidity, for example, can slightly affect the colour. It’s always worth checking, particularly when ordering large quantities, that all the material you are buying comes from the same batch.

Can porcelain be installed on pedestals?

Porcelain is a very strong material. A 600 x 600 x 20mm unit will happily sit on a pedestal system without a central edge support pedestal. For some of the larger sizes like 1200 x 600mm and 750 x 750mm we would always recommend using a central edge support pedestal. Porcelain is used with a pedestal system extensively on roof terraces and other areas that are subject to weight restrictions.

CONTACT London Stone 08442 251 915 info@londonstone.co.uk www.londonstone.co.uk

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20/04/2017 11:00

PEOPLE

TRADING WITH NATURAL PAVING

CONTACT

Company name Natural Paving Address Belton Road, Sandtoft, Doncaster, North Lincolnshire DN8 5SX Tel 0330 333 8030 Twitter @Natural_Paving

Natural Paving provides ethically-sourced Indian sandstone for the UK market. Pro Landscaper spoke to its group sales and marketing director, Malcolm Gough

Email sales@naturalpaving.co.uk Web www.naturalpaving.co.uk

is calibrated to give it a flat underside, reducing installation time and reducing transport costs — a saving that can be passed onto the buyer.

Can you tell us a little about Natural Paving?

The company has been trading for nearly 13 years, originating when founder Mark Wall travelled to India to Malcolm Gough investigate Indian stone and saw an opportunity to create a business around it. Mark saw the need for a stable and reliable supply chain – a large quantity of Indian stone entering the UK at that time was being bought from the open market. He sought an alternative method, and set out to import from an ethical source. As well as stone, we have added a selection of other products, including Pavetuf, a line of paving sealers, cleaners and installation products, and Vitripiazza, which is a range of porcelain paving.

What is your bestselling product line?

For a long time it has been the classic stone project pack. It includes four sizes of Indian stone, providing 18.9m² of coverage. This stone

Is there anything new in the pipeline?

Luxigraze artificial grass and its accompanying accessories are our latest additions. We’re looking at new products to launch next year and have just renamed our holding company to Talasey – more on this next year.

What are your lead times?

We have an average lead time of one to five days, achieved by importing large quantities of our products and keeping them stocked in four locations around the UK, ready for distribution.

Do you offer a trade discount?

We supply our products directly to builder’s merchants, who set prices themselves.

However, if we are approached by one of our merchants requesting a large order for a project, we would indeed look at potential discounts.

What are some of Natural Paving’s key company values?

We are a full member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), falling under the stone group. We are also a member of the Stone Federation. Our membership of these organisations helps ensure that we uphold our main company value of protecting customers and assuring them that they are purchasing safely. All of the products we supply have been appropriately tested and bestowed with the CE mark, and we make regular trips abroad to ensure that the materials for our products are sourced ethically.

How do you ensure the quality of your products?

We have regular audits in India, with our products coming directly from our supply chain.

All our products are tested for water absorption, flexural strength, and freeze-thaw testing by an independent source to gain the CE marking.

Have your products been used in any prestigious projects?

We were involved with a large project in Hull, providing Indian sandstone for the grounds of the C4DI building, specified to a bespoke thickness and polished smooth.

How do you market the business?

As we supply to builder’s merchants, we don’t do a lot of marketing, although we do help our stockists with their marketing strategy in relation to our products.

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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WHAT I’M READING Robert Barker, Robert Barker Garden and Landscape Design

ROBERT B

ARKER

Title Derek Jarman’s Garden Author Derek Jarman Publisher Thames and Hudson Ltd Many years ago, a friend and I made a pilgrimage to Derek Jarman’s garden in Dungeness, Kent. My friend was studying to be a doctor and needed a break; it seemed like a good idea to get in the car and head to the expanse of shingle that faces the nuclear power station in Dungeness.

I knew very little about Derek Jarman at the time, only that he was a controversial filmmaker, but many people in horticulture had told me to visit his garden at Prospect House. As we approached, the light was starting to fade, and we stepped out on to the shingle alone and unprepared for the experience that awaited us.

A MAGICAL PLACE When I was studying garden design, my lecturer John Gilbert encouraged us to always try to discover the ‘genius loci’, the particular spirit and atmosphere of a place. Derek Jarman’s garden is the very embodiment of the genius loci – you can’t help but feel inspired by this very private man’s garden, created with his painter’s eye, horticultural expertise, and sculptures made from stones, old tools and found objects.

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As soon as I returned home I researched Derek Jarman and his garden, and was happy to discover the book Derek Jarman’s Garden.

Since purchasing it all those years ago, I often return to it – it perfectly encapsulates the magic that I felt during that visit, and is a wonderful example of how a personality can be imprinted on a garden.

“Paradise haunts gardens,” writes Derek Jarman, “and it haunts me.” The book, like the garden, is full of poetry – in particular John Donne’s poem ‘The Sun Rising’, which is printed onto the black timber of the cottage.

The poetry, the sculptures, and the beauty that has been conceived in such an inhospitable place all combine to create this magical atmosphere, both in real life and in print.

Instead of fighting the conditions, Derek embraced and accepted them. The shingle alone would deter many, but Derek worked within its limitations, with positive outcomes: the ease with which weeds can be removed and plants rearranged, the deep blanket of pebbles covering up marks. There is no need for a fence, boundary or borders; like the shingle, you can shift as you please, the garden melting seamlessly into its surroundings.

BEYOND DESCRIPTION The book is full of beautiful photographs that capture the garden in different stages and seasons as Derek creates his own paradise, from its beginnings in 1986 to his death from an AIDS-related illness in 1994. In addition, we see glimpses of Derek’s life in Dungeness – weeding, watering and enjoying life.

The garden is difficult to do justice when describing it to those who are yet to visit – I am frequently met with a blank look when describing the shingle, the sculptures made of

IT IS A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE OF HOW A PERSONALITY CAN BE IMPRINTED ON A GARDEN timber washed up by the sea, the selection of plants: gorse, giant sea kale, fennel. The book is similar in that it has to be experienced.

Derek Jarman’s Garden is a wonderful accompaniment to an atmospheric, poetic and soulful garden. There are a few horticultural tips and words of advice, but the joy lies in the photographs, the poetry, and the voice of Jarman himself. Like the garden, it remains a fitting memorial to a brilliant artist who, against all odds, created a magical garden in the most unwelcoming of environments.

ABOUT THE BOOK Published in 1995, Derek Jarman’s Garden follows the evolution of the filmmaker’s garden, set in the shingle facing the nuclear power station in Dungeness, Kent. It is the last book he ever wrote, and features photos of Jarman working on the garden by Howard Sooley.

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/04/2017 14:34

PEOPLE

WHAT’S YOUR ROLE? CRAIG POTTER London Stone’s garden design director, Craig Potter, spoke to Pro Landscaper about tailoring his service for clients, and how this keeps London Stone ahead of the competition

the biggest challenge has been to maintain that level of service as I take on more and more clients. I think I’m managing this okay – I’ve had no complaints yet. Well, apart from my wife Amy, who thinks I’m becoming a bit of a workaholic.

Can you tell us a little about your role?

The key part of my role is consultation with garden designers, and it’s something I’m really passionate about. It’s hard not to be enthused when you’re surrounded by so much creativity.

In the first instance, I will meet the designer and introduce our full product range so that they are aware of what we can offer. There is no hard sell – I give them time to digest the products and services we offer. We’ll often discuss current projects and work together to generate a specification, and we’ll usually discuss who is tendering to build the design.

We’ll also discuss anticipated build dates, which is extremely useful in avoiding stock bottlenecks – which can occur, especially during the busy summer months

Where do your new contacts come from?

Various sources. Social media is a great resource and is ‘live’, but I do get great contacts from print media such as Pro Landscaper and the SGD journal.

What do you find challenging about your role?

From day one at London Stone it was always instilled into me that service was the most important thing. Our founding directors Gavin, Steve and Duncan Walley all came from a landscaping background, so there has always been a strong sense of what our clients need.

I’ve always given my clients great service and

How do you keep up to date with all of London Stone’s products?

I am a person who has to see and handle a product before I can confidently put it forward for projects. Gavin always laughs at my obsession with samples, but I can’t help myself, I simply love sourcing and seeing new products. In the last two years we have introduced a phenomenal amount of new products to the market. Keeping this

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going gets harder every year but that’s one of the things that we are known for now, so we’ve got to keep going. We have an industry of very talented designers and landscapers who are really pushing the boundaries in what they do. We need to meet that demand.

How do you keep London Stone a step ahead of the competition?

It’s difficult, as the UK boasts some great, well-established stone companies. London Stone is relatively new to the market, and while that could be considered a disadvantage, we feel that we have come into the industry with a fresh approach. We’ve always done things our way, and don’t worry too much about what others are doing. If I had to pick one thing, I’d always come back to service – the way we look after our customers is our strong point.

Do you adjust your approach when pitching to landscape contractors as opposed to garden designers?

I try not to, as I like to give a consistent level of service across the board, but of course the approach is slightly different. One of the biggest issues for landscapers is time. Whereas I will usually meet a designer in their office or studio, I often meet landscapers on site. They are a busy bunch and you need to be sensitive to this – the last thing I want to do is waste their time. My aim is to bring the designer, landscaper and London Stone together at the earliest opportunity – this can only be a good thing for everyone involved.

Pro Landscaper / May 2017 107

20/04/2017 14:20

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UNASHAMEDLY P ABOUT LANDS C PR O

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Supporting Designers & Contractors at RHS Chelsea Flower Show for over 25 years Designer: Maureen Busby , Contractor: Japenese Garden Society ‘Japenese Garden Society’

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1989 2008 Designer: Robert Myres Associates ‘The Cadogan’

Designer: Robert Myres Associates ‘The Cadogan’

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Designer & Contractor: Ecology Desigh Ltd & Mazzndi Design ‘Lalique’

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Designer & Contractor: Kazuyuki Ishihara ‘Togenkyo - A Paradise on Earth’

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SCOTHORT HORT CONNECTING LANDSCAPING

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EXPERT VIEW: HOW DO YOU SAFELY TRANSPORT A PEDESTRIAN MOWER, AND WHAT MEASURES DO YOU TAKE TO STORE IT IN THE WINTER MONTHS? To safely transport our 21in Honda lawnmowers, there are two main factors I consider. The first is

RAFAL ZIEGLER HEAD GARDENER, SURREY LAWN CARE

how the mower is moved in and out of the commercial

permits it, we do have some minor storage procedures that

vehicle. We use bespoke solid board planks, fitted for the

we follow. The first of these is to remove all fuel from the

mowers we use, which makes it possible for one operator

tank, especially in our two-stroke machines – starting a

to roll the mower into the back of the vehicle without

mower using fuel that has ‘gone bad’ can damage the

damaging either the mower or themselves by attempting to

machine. I would also highly recommend a servicing in the

lift it. The other factor would be the storage in the van. For

autumn before the mower goes into storage, as this

this, we store our pedestrian mowers sideways within

prevents any issues from being accentuated and then

bespoke wooden dividers that fit our machines perfectly,

escalating when the mower is put into storage

preventing any movement and damage.

over the winter.

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Pedestrian Mowers.indd 111

In terms of winter storage, while we continue to use our mowers throughout the winter months when the weather

Pro Landscaper / May 2017 111

20/04/2017 15:05

EDUCATE

REPORT

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR

MOWER

MANUFACTURERS? Pro Landscaper explores the current trends in the mower market, and what the future may hold

T

he landscaping and mower manufacturing industries are closely intertwined and this does not look likely to change any time soon, as the maintenance of green spaces will always be a task that requires professional attention.

There appears to be a clear consensus among mower manufacturers about what landscapers are currently basing their purchasing decisions on, but this could change in the coming years with the implementation of new technology and regulations.

The current picture When asked what percentage of their sales are made up by the landscaping sector, manufacturers gave a broad range of answers, spanning 15-80%. This indicates that there could be a disparity between manufacturers in terms of the focus they put on developing landscaping-specific machinery.

The priorities of mower manufacturers vary drastically in relation to whether they focus on selling to larger landscaping companies, or smaller firms and sole traders. A number openly state that they only look to focus on large scale companies with the potential for fleet sales, whereas others look into all sales equally. STM Co Ltd’s Graham Robson explains: “We are as happy to look into an individual sale of one machine as we are a fleet order. Each receive the same PDI checks, delivery and instruction.” According to

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LANDSCAPERS LEAN ALMOST UNANIMOUSLY TOWARDS ROTARY CUT SYSTEMS OF ALL SIZES

Graham, STM has taken this view because of landscaping companies’ growth potential – smaller orders could snowball into larger future purchases, as landscapers tend to remain loyal to a particular mower brand.

Landscapers lean almost unanimously towards rotary cut systems of all sizes; this has been the standard for many years now. The system consists of one high speed rotating blade underneath the machine, which offers greater simplicity in terms of construction and maintenance – a major positive for end users.

Adrian Langmead, business development manager at Kubota UK, says: “Reliability is a huge factor, as these machines represent a sizable investment for landscapers. Customers often grow to associate particular brands with a quality product, which gives them an advantage in the marketplace.”

Price, although a significant factor, is often lower on the list of priorities. Offering bulk discounts on fleet sales is one way manufacturers sway landscaping companies into larger purchases, as well as pushing the advantages of a fleet management system to monitor performance. Systems such as these are growing to become a prominent selling point, with the potential to maximise efficiency.

After sales support also plays a role in a landscaper’s purchasing decision. As reliable and durable as many of these machines may be, things can still go wrong. Many choose to operate through dealer networks such as Viking, which boasts over 400 dealers spread across the UK. Viking product manager Andrew Paskell www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Mower Market report.indd 113

says: “Our specially selected dealers are given training for our mower maintenance to ensure they can provide customers with exceptional after sales support.” Additionally, Viking is incorporating a patented blade brake clutch system in order to protect the crank shaft, increasing the life of its mowers – a trump card when it comes to selling to landscapers. “Also, with the incorporation of fleet management systems for our robotic mowers, maintenance is made ever simpler, further reducing the end user’s dependence on after sales support,” Andrew tells us.

Looking forward There will always be demand for the latest and greatest models as the potential for ever more efficient performance increases. Digitalisation is on the rise in many industries, and the mower market is no exception. When asked about the technology that will drive the future, Kevin Ashmore, UK manager of Husqvarna Professional, says: “Operational telematics are something that is pushing the industry forward.

We developed Husqvarna Fleet Services in order to allow fleet managers to monitor the usage of their machinery, and therefore implement training where appropriate. Robotics is of paramount importance when it comes to the future, as it will greatly streamline firms’ costs and efficiency.” As vibration levels are a key purchase driver in the mower market, Kevin adds: “In our latest models we adapt the chassis with selected engine partners to minimise vibration levels.”

In terms of the machines themselves, flail mowers could see an increase in popularity in the future, for a number of reasons. Managing director of Ransomes Jacobsen Ltd, Alan Prickett, explains: “As time between grass

OFFERING BULK DISCOUNTS ON FLEET SALES IS ONE WAY MANUFACTURERS SWAY LANDSCAPING COMPANIES INTO LARGER PURCHASES Pro Landscaper / May 2017 113

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cuts increases due to reduced funding from local councils, we believe customers will start to gravitate towards flail mowers in force, as the longer grass will require a more aggressive machine. We’re also seeing a resurrection in the demand for four bladed 10in reels which are able to handle tougher terrain.” As certain models grow in popularity, inversely, other models will fall out of favour. Alan responds: “The demand for grass collection units has been on a steady decline. Despite offering a nearer finish, they have the drawback of incurring additional costs for end users as they must dispose of the collected clippings.”

The way in which mowers are powered, as with most modern machinery, is a huge driver in manufacturers’ latest developments. Standard diesel and petrol engines are no longer cutting it in terms of emissions regulations, with Stage 5 emissions standards set for 2019 which will restrict the pollution output when working in public spaces. This is pushing alternative motors into production lines across Europe, including lithium-ion and hybrid engines. Les Malin, operations director of Etesia UK, says: “We are investing a great deal in electrical technologies to 114 Pro Landscaper / May 2017

Mower Market report.indd 114

THERE WILL ALWAYS BE DEMAND FOR THE LATEST AND GREATEST MODELS AS THE POTENTIAL FOR EVER MORE EFFICIENT PERFORMANCE INCREASES power our mowers as environmental regulations dictate. As lithium-ion technology is continuing to grow rapidly, with the potential to reduce costs further and power larger machinery, Etesia will continue to incorporate the latest developments into its products.” With Brexit coming in, there is a degree of uncertainty behind how the price of imported mowers from Europe will be affected.

Les commented: “Our parent company, Etesia SAS, is based in France and is 100% behind the UK market. We are assured that our business is going to remain strong in the UK.” The significance of landscapers The mower and landscaping industries rely on each other’s performances greatly, yet as technology changes and robotics become more prominent, this relationship could change as professional staff become less integral to the maintenance of green spaces. Chris Meacock, divisional sales manager of John Deere Ltd,

says: “We believe the significance of landscapers to our business will remain constant. It’s possible that larger companies will take away from individual sales as they grow, but the percentage should remain about the same. As larger companies seek a closer relationship with us, we will continue to provide them with quality products and after sales support.”

The markets for all types of lawnmowers are evolving, moving with the latest trends and demands of the industries they supply. With regulations further dictating how landscapers operate in public spaces with regard to noise and pollution – as well as funding being cut by local authorities – landscapers’ profit margins are decreasing, and the expectations they have for their machinery are rising. This makes the future collaboration between mower manufacturers and landscaping companies somewhat uncertain; market trends will have a significant impact on whether both will continue to prosper. www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/04/2017 15:04

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LANDSCAPERS REQUIRED

We are currently looking for somebody to carry out the day to day running of a diverse landscape firm, with responsibility for a variety of general landscape construction, maintenance and ground works projects as well as specialised surfacing works. Work is spread between private clients, commercial works and public sector works. The candidate would be expected to hit the ground running as there will be no training given in CAD or price estimating software. The candidate would be expected to step into the role with ease already having the expertise to do so.

We require landscapers with basic skills and knowledge of working in hard and soft landscaping, who want to further develop their skills in a team environment. Working to a set programme of works, you will be directed by your team foreman on a weekly and daily basis. The ideal landscaper will learn new skills easily and work on their own initiative. It is important that you bring an element of skill to your team so that you feel part of the Cube family. You will need to provide your own small hand tools and transport. The working hours are Monday-Friday 7.30am-4.30pm.

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

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

JUNIOR CONTRACTS MANAGER

CUSTOMER SERVICES MANAGER

We are currently seeking a junior contracts manager to oversee and manage landscaping projects from instigation to final completion. Reporting to the contracts manager, candidates must have a minimum of 3-5 years in the landscaping industry, ROLO/CSCS and minimum SSSTS and driving license, and be I.T. proficient.. You would be expected to cover an area of roughly 80 miles from our office here in Milton Keynes. Good timekeeping and people skills are essential for this role, as you will be expected to liaise with clients and operatives on site. Excellent salary package, including company vehicle.

Mitie Landscapes Ltd are looking for a customer services manager to manage and develop regional accounts. Responsibilities include overseeing the transition of sites to new managing agents, ensuring maximum revenue growth, driving service quality, producing internal and client quality audits, providing support to national client account managers in achieving contractual SLAs, carrying out Service Improvement Plans for regional accounts, and attending on site review meetings with clients. You must have a can-do attitude and a passion for working with clients and colleagues.

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

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

AQUATIC LANDSCAPER

TEAM LEADER - GROUNDS MAINTENANCE

Our client is a leading specialist within pond refurbishment, construction and maintenance, seeking an aquatic landscaper.The role requires a hardworking person who is happy working in and around ponds, takes real pride in their work and has excellent communication skills.You must be physically fit and willing to learn new skills in the hard landscaping area. Knowledge of aquatic plants, fish and pond life is advantageous, but necessary training will be provided for the right candidate. You will need your own transport to go to and from the head office, and a clean driving licence as you will be required to drive a company vehicle.

We are looking for an experienced grounds maintenance team leader with horticultural knowledge, a record of delivering high quality workmanship, previous team leader experience, excellent communication skills and a flexible approach. Duties include: organising your team on site, delegating tasks, ensuring work is completed on time and to high standards, liaising with clients, and operating machinery including hedge cutters and mowers. You will be responsible for ensuring tasks are carried out in accordance with safety procedures, and that machinery and equipment is kept in good condition.

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

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

SKILLED HARD LANDSCAPE TEAM LEADER

EXPERIENCED GARDENER

We are looking for a skilled hard landscaper to lead one of our teams in building gardens in Oxfordshire and the surrounding counties. You must have experience in all aspects of landscaping, knowledge of a range of materials, and the abilities to read and interpret scale drawings, keep a commercial overview at all stages of a build, and manage a team. Other requirements include a polite manner, a high standard of professionalism, effective team leadership skills, and a full UK driving licence.

We are looking for an gardener with meticulous attention to detail and at least three years’ experience, including working on prestigious private domestic estates. Must have a good general knowledge of landscape maintenance work including mowing, lawn edge clipping, strimming, and weeding with a high attention to detail within flower beds.You will need to be hard working and committed, with the ability to move around the site efficiently when working as part of a team.You must have a full, clean driving license and your own transport.

QUEST LANDSCAPE SERVICES Location: Isle of Man

LAND STRUCTURE LTD Location: Milton Keynes

FRANKLIN SAPSED STAFFING SOLUTIONS Location: Stevenage, North Hertfordshire

NICHOLSONS Location: Bicester, Oxfordshire

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

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Jobs 1.indd 119

CUBE 1994 LTD Location: Essex

MITIE LANDSCAPES LTD Location: Frimley, Surrey

GREENFINGERS Location: Edinburgh

BLUEFISH LANDSCAPING & EQUESTRIAN DEVELOPMENT LTD Location: Farnham, Surrey

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

Pro Landscaper / May 2017 119

20/04/2017 15:24

JOBS XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX Location: Location:

Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxx xx xx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxx xxx xx xx For For more more details details please please go go to to www.horticulturecareers.co.uk. www.horticulturecareers.co.uk.

For full details on all jobs, please go to For full details on all jobs, please go to www.horticulturecareers.co.uk. www.horticulturecareers.co.uk

Call Call 01903 01903 777 777 587 587 or or email email ellie.downes@eljays44.com ellie.downes@eljays44.com with with your your vacancy. vacancy.

Call 01903 777 574 or email liam.colclough@eljays44.com with your vacancy

LANDSCAPE ESTIMATOR/SURVEYOR XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX (JUNIOR CONSIDERED)

MAINTENANCE GARDENER / XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX SOFT LANDSCAPER

We are seeking a candidate with landscape estimator/surveying experience. A junior position will also be considered for the right candidate. You must be able to visit sites and For more details please go to www.horticulturecareers.co.uk. converse with site teams and our clients’ opposite numbers, confidently estimate hard and soft landscape packages with values up to £1m, assist and deal with the surveying/ commercial side of the business, have good people skills, be reliable and well presented, and be computer literate and able to use Microsoft tools such as Excel.

Our client is a landscape gardening company based in West London, looking for a maintenance gardener. Responsibilities include mowing, strimming, weeding, planting, For morewatering, details please go tohedgecutting, www.horticulturecareers.co.uk. pruning, seeding, leaf blowing, spraying and mulching. Previous experience essential.

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

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

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX GARDEN MAINTENANCE TEAM LEADER

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX CONTRACTS MANAGER AND SUPERVISOR

Xxxxxxx Our clientxxxxxx runs a xxxxxx garden xxxx design, xxlandscape xxxxxxxxand xxxmaintenance xx business based in North London. They are looking for a garden maintenance team leader for gardens in the London area. You must be responsible, trustworthy, well presented, polite, conscientious, For adaptable, more details keen please to learn go and to www.horticulturecareers.co.uk. prepared to work hard. You should have at least three years’ experience as a professional gardener, with good craft gardening skills and plant knowledge, ideally backed up with an appropriate Horticultural qualification.

Xxxxxxx An established xxxxxxlandscape xxxxxx xxxx construction xx xxxxxxxx business xxx isxxlooking for a contracts manager and supervisor. If you are looking to further your career, then we would like to hear from you. Based in West Yorkshire and Cheshire. Wages £25,000-£32,000+.

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

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

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

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX HIGHLY SKILLED LANDSCAPER

HORTICULTURALIST/MAINTENANCE XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX GARDENER/FOREMAN

Location: SKIDMORES OF HERTFORD Location: Hertfordshire Xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xx xxxxxxxx xxx xx

XXXXXXXXX HORTICRUITMENT Location: Location: North London

XXXXXXXXX THE OUTDOOR ROOM Location: Location: Cowfold, West Sussex

Xxxxxxx We are offering xxxxxxanxxxxxx excitingxxxx opportunity xx xxxxxxxx for a highly xxx xx skilled landscaper to join our awardwinning company.The right candidate should be positive, self-motivated, enthusiastic, and able to use their own initiative.They also need to be flexible, organised and willing to undertake any For required moretraining. details please The ideal go candidate to www.horticulturecareers.co.uk. must have at least five years experience in all areas of both hard and soft landscaping, be able to read plans, and be fully H&S compliant (a CSCS card is preferential, but not essential). A full, clean driving license is essential.

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

Location: ANDERSPLUS LTD Location: West London Xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xx xxxxxxxx xxx xx

XXXXXXXXX TAYLOR2RECRUITMENT LTD Location: Location: West Yorkshire/Cheshire

Location: THORBURN LANDSCAPES LTD Location: SW London Xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xx xxxxxxxx xxx xx Thorburn Landscapes are recruiting a horticulturist.You will have at least two years’ experience working in a similar position.You will have good knowledge of plants, diseases and pests, and For more details go driving to www.horticulturecareers.co.uk. experience layingplease turf and vans. Irrigation experience is preferred.You must be proactive, organised, polite, and willing to take responsibility for additional duties. Qualifications: National Diploma or NVQ level 3 Horticulture or similar, PA1/PA6a certification preferred, full clean UK driving license (or right to apply).

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

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX SALES PERSON XXXXXXXXX

SALES - SOFT FRUIT XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xx xxxxxxxx xxx xx We are looking for a full time sales person to process customer quotes, enquiries and orders. You will work with the sales director in conjunction with the sales team and customers. You will be answering customer queries, processing quotes and For more details please go to www.horticulturecareers.co.uk. orders for plants and associated sundries, completing sales, and ensuring customer requirements are met. You should have excellent plant knowledge, a good understanding of related horticultural sundries, competence in computer skills, effective communication skills, and a positive can-do attitude.

We are looking forxxxxxx a smart,xxxx confident person, with of the growing/management side Xxxxxxx xxxxxx xx xxxxxxxx xxxknowledge xx of soft fruit, to develop sales. Ideally you will have been a tunnel, irrigation or picking manager on a soft fruit farm. You will be working from home, covering Kent, Surrey, Sussex, East Hants, Middlesex, Essex and Suffolk. is envisaged that you will be staying away from home one or two For more details please go toItwww.horticulturecareers.co.uk. nights a week. You must be familiar with MS Office software as there will be a degree of record keeping and reporting involved. A company car, telephone and expenses will be provided. Salary will depend upon age and experience.There will be a commission paid on sales.

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

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

PROVENDER NURSERIES Location: Location: Swanley, Kent

120 Pro Landscaper / May 2017

Jobs 2.indd 120

XL SOFT FRUITS XXXXXXXXX Location: Kent

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PEOPLE

RICHARD MIERS Designer and owner, Richard Miers Garden Design www.richardmiers.com Go to reference book The RHS book Pruning and Training.

One piece of technology you can’t live without My car to get to those remote sites in the middle of nowhere, where the most interesting historic houses are.

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

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JAMES HEWETSON-BROWN Managing director, Wildflower Turf Ltd

Favourite seasonal plant Cyclamens in winter, tulips in the spring, summer roses and autumn asters

Favourite sandwich filling Cheese and coleslaw.

Karaoke song of choice Here Comes the Sun by The Beetles.

Who would play you in the film of your life?

Colin Firth.

Ideal project in five words or less Large budget with interested client.

Best moment of your career Hard to narrow down to just one, but it has to be revisiting a garden I designed eight years ago two years later and pinching myself that it was my work — I thought it looked so gorgeous!

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Favourite sporting memory Murray winning Wimbledon for the first time.

www.wildflowerturf.co.uk Go to reference book How to make a Wildflower Meadow by James Hewetson-Brown Favourite seasonal plant Lychnis flos-cuculi ragged robin, in May and June.

Ideal project in five words or less Another London Olympics.

Best moment of your career Supplying the 2012 Olympics Athletes Village and Opening Ceremony.

Top of your bucket list Getting a sponsor with deep pockets for a Chelsea garden.

One piece of technology you can’t live without Coffee maker.

Favourite sandwich filling Anything but peanut butter.

Karaoke song of choice I couldn’t inflict that level of pain on anyone!

Who would play you in the film of your life?

My wife thinks Brad Pitt, providing she gets to interview him first.

Favourite sporting memory Sitting outside a pub in Southern Ireland with a pint of Guinness, listening to England beat the Aussies at the Oval and win the 2005 Ashes Top of your bucket list Studying wild flowers on the Kola Peninsula in Russia – whilst salmon fishing

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PEOPLE

STUART BALL Procurement and product development, AHS Ltd www.ahs-ltd.co.uk Go to reference book My daughter’s encyclopaedia of the world.

Favourite seasonal plant I do like a wood filled with bluebells.

Best moment of your career Supplying the materials for the London Olympic Aquatic Centre.

One piece of technology you can’t live without Radio.

Who would play you in the film of your life?

James Corden.

Favourite sandwich filling Egg and bacon.

Favourite sporting memory Arsenal 2001/02 Double – Tony Adams wonder goal to seal the league

Top of your bucket list Walk the iconic part of the Great Wall of China.

Karaoke song of choice Love Shack by The B-52’s

COLIN KNAPMAN

MIKE SHACKLETON

Owner, CK Garden Design

Senior lighting designer, Ornamental Garden Lighting

www.ckgardendesign.co.uk Go to reference book Does Google count as a reference book?

Favourite seasonal plant Sedums, for late summer.

Ideal project in five words or less Something with a sea view.

Best moment of your career Getting a BSc degree at my age (undisclosed!).

One piece of technology you can’t live without This flipping tablet!

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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www.ornamentalgardenlighting.com Favourite sandwich filling Bacon butty.

Karaoke song of choice Where have all the flowers gone?

Who would play you in the film of your life?

Mr Bean.

Go to reference book The Poetry of Nature’ by Lars van de Goor.

One piece of technology you can’t live without Mobile phone.

Favourite seasonal plant The acer’s delicate foliage and variety of colours give endless opportunities for subtle but dramatic lighting.

Favourite sandwich filling Mozzarella and basil.

Favourite sporting memory Leicester winning the league.

Ideal project in five words or less Any interesting landscape or garden.

Top of your bucket list City breaks to all the European capitals.

Best moment of your career Having a client actually cry with joy when we finally turned the garden lighting on.

Karaoke song of choice Things Have Changed by Bob Dylan Who would play you in the film of your life?

Steve Martin.

Favourite sporting memory Racing the Porsche 2.7 RS that I never should have sold.

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20/04/2017 09:52