Pro Landscaper September 2020

SEPTEMBER 2O20

CORTEN COURTYARD KIRMAN DESIGN

WALMER CASTLE

FEATURE GARDEN

THE TIME IS NOW

CHANGING THE LANDSCAPE

Explore the grounds’ many transformations

Cheryl Cummings on her biodiverse haven

We shouldn’t wait to make changes, says Juliet Sargeant

Improving diversity within the horticulture industry

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DESIGN TANK PHOTO INICOLAS TOURRENC

Parklets 2.0 Design: SOLA, Johan Verde & Hong Ngo-Aandal

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WELCOME

W E LCO M E W

value, professionalism and the benefits it can offer society. If ever there was a crucial time that the industry needed to pull together and move landscaping to the top of the agenda, it’s now.

It’s great news that this year’s FutureScape (17 and 18 November at the ExCeL London) is going ahead, though in a much safer and more controlled environment. It is a chance for the sector to come to together for the first time since early spring and discuss and debate the next steps and the future of landscaping post COVID-19. More information about seminars, special events, opening times, registration information and who’s exhibiting can be found at www.futurescapeevent.com. We look forward to seeing you all there in November.

In the meantime, enjoy reading this issue.

JIM & LISA

LANDSCAPING IS KEY IN HELPING THE GREEN ECONOMY RECOVER

©Bob Searle/English Heritage

elcome to the September issue of Pro Landscaper. Can you believe that autumn is just around the corner?

Over the last few months, we have spoken to lots of landscapers and garden designers, with most reporting to be extremely busy, especially those working mainly in the domestic market. How long will this last? No one knows for sure, but we can only deal with the now. Businesses are, for the most part, back to full strength and are getting used to what is now the ‘new normal’.

All the new rules and regulations are here for the foreseeable future, but they must not stop us working.

We need to understand and protect ourselves, staff and clients, but vitally we need to integrate the new working system into our daily practice.

Landscaping is key in helping the green economy recover. We need to use this opportunity to drive the

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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CONTENTS

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INFORM 08 10 12 15 18 20 21 25 26 29 30 4

News Our monthly roundup of industry news Land Design Partnership Reveals Rebrand News Extra Future Projects Thames Tideway, London Let’s Hear It From Mark Hooley, PGSD Ltd

39 42 46 51 54 57 63

Company Profile Robert Barker Design View from the Top Sue Biggs FutureScape EXPO 2020 Plan ahead for this year’s show A Healthy Landscape Katie Flaxman Dealing With Disloyalty Sean Butler Regenerative Gardening Ben West The Shape of Things to Come Andrew Wilson

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INSPIRE

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Nature’s Office Hassell Corten Courtyard Kirman Design Picturesque Pathway Amanda Broughton Garden Design Thank You NHS Ground Control Landscape Architect’s Journal Lockhart Garratt Gardens for Living in a Changed World Anji Connell Streets Ahead Post-lockdown with Woodscape

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NURTURE 67 71 72 73 75 77 78 81

Feature Garden Cheryl Cummings’ Wildlife Garden Obstacles to Overcome Nick Coslett Out with the Old? Lewis Normand Inclusive Industry?

Noel Kingsbury Nursery Focus Provender Nurseries Lockstar’s Use Lengthens ICL herbicide granted label update Hedging Against Adversity QuickHedge IKEA’s Green Roof Bridgman & Bridgman

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CONTENTS

SEPTEMBER 2020 E D U C AT E

87 89 91 93 99 101

Tackle the Tap Lee Bestall Recognising New Rights Ilan Braha and Jason McKenzie of Oracle Solicitors Unforeseen Changes Angus Lindsay Ride-on Mowers Latest Kit The Time for Change is Now Juliet Sargeant

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Changing the Landscape Addressing diversity A Personal Touch Talasey Group Intuitive Irrigation Rainbird

89

PEOPLE 105 106 108 111 114

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©Tina Wing

85 86

106

Out & About Mottisfont, Hampshire Life/Style Butter Wakefield 30 Under 30 Update Will Burberry What’s Your Role?

Humaira Ikram Little Interviews Questions with the individuals who make up our industry

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Italian porcelain for outdoor living Meet us @ FutureScape Expo 17 & 18 November 2020 Stand F30

casatuaoutdoor.com

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CONTRIBUTORS

CO N T R I B U TO R S Sue Biggs The pandemic has hit the RHS, and hard – it’s cost the organisation millions of pounds. But Sue Biggs is seeing silver linings – the surge in gardening, for example, and the success of Virtual Chelsea. All RHS gardens are now open and it's recently welcomed a new president, who'll be championing diversity and sustainability.

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BEN WEST P29

@THE_RHS

Katie Flaxman

ANDREW WILSON P30

New contributor Katie Flaxman kicks off by sharing the story of the landscape architecture firm she co-founded – Studio 31 – from its roots to its ethics and its evolution. She explains why the relationship between nature and health is so important, and the areas she will be focusing on in her articles going forward.

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Sean Butler Trust is key in running a business, but what happens when that trust is broken? In the first of a two-part series, Sean Butler shares his experience of being betrayed by an apparently loyal employee, and the difficulties of balancing developing staff with protecting your business – and why these are both still crucial to Cube 1994.

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@CUBE1994

© Maria Scard

Juliet Sargeant

CONTACT

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Diversity in the industry is a hot topic, but will improving it remain on the ‘to-do’ list?

And will associations, companies and individuals act to bring change? Juliet Sargeant says we cannot keep saying change will take time, when there are actions we can be taking today; the time for excuses and lacklustre promises is over.

W W W. JULIETSARGE ANT.COM

Eljays44 Ltd 3 Churchill Court, 112 The Street, Rustington, West Sussex BN16 3DA Tel: 01903 777 570 EDITORIAL Editorial director – Lisa Wilkinson lisa.wilkinson@eljays44.com Tel: 01903 777 579 Head of content – Nina Mason nina.mason@eljays44.com Tel: 01903 959 393 Deputy head of content – Rachael Forsyth rachael.forsyth@eljays44.com Tel: 01903 777 578 Equipment editor – Rachel Gordon proarbeditor@eljays44.com Tel: 01903 777 570 Subeditor – Katrina Roy katrina.roy@eljays44.com Tel: 01903 959 391 Subeditor – Sam Seaton sam.seaton@eljays44.com Tel: 01903 959 391

Design – Kara Thomas, Kirsty Turek ADVERTISING Business development manager – Jamie Wilkinson jamie.wilkinson@eljays44.com Tel: 01903 777 585 Head of sales – Jessica McCabe jessica.mccabe@eljays44.com Tel: 01903 777 587 Horticulture Careers – Ben Cumberland ben.cumberland@eljays44.com Tel: 01903 777 583 Managing director – Jim Wilkinson jim.wilkinson@eljays44.com Tel: 01903 777 589 MARKETING AND CIRCULATION Tel: 01903 777 570 Subscription enquiries – Laura Harris laura.harris@eljays44.com Tel: 01903 777 580

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@JULIETSARGE ANT Printed by Pensord Press Ltd, Gwent, UK Published by ©Eljays44 Ltd – Connecting Horticulture. Pro Landscaper’s content is available for licensing overseas. Contact jamie.wilkinson@eljays44.com Pro Landscaper is published 12 times per year

by Eljays44 Ltd. The 2020 subscription price is £95. Subscription records are maintained at Eljays44 Ltd, 3 Churchill Court, 112 The Street, Rustington, West Sussex BN16 3DA, UK. Articles and information contained in this publication are the copyright of Eljays44 Ltd and may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publishers. The publishers cannot accept responsibility for loss of, or damage to, uncommissioned photographs or manuscripts.

Whilst every effort has been made to maintain the integrity of our advertisers, we accept no responsibility for any problem, complaints, or subsequent litigation arising from readers’ responses to advertisements in the magazine.

We also wish to emphasise that views expressed by editorial contributors are not necessarily those of the publishers. Reproduction of any part of this magazine is strictly forbidden.

Pro Landscaper is proud to be an affiliate member of BALI

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Professional Landscapers

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MANAGEMENT Managing director Jim Wilkinson Director Lisa Wilkinson Business development manager Jamie Wilkinson

Cover image ©Kirman Design

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INFORM

SCOTSCAPE MERGES FUTURE LANDSCAPE CONSTRUCTION OPERATIONS INTO CULTURA GROUP

NEWS

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NEW RHS PRESIDENT PUTS DIVERSITY AS A PRIORITY

£20M IN NEW GRANTS TO BOOST RECOVERY OF SMALL BUSINESSES

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he Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has appointed Keith Weed as its new president. Keith is committed to increasing the gardening charity’s focus on sustainability and helping to mitigate climate change as a key priority, as well as improving diversity within the industry.

He will be calling on all gardeners, both existing and the many recent new gardeners, to help the gardening revolution grow by not only continuing to make gardens and local areas more beautiful but to make the environment more sustainable too.

Whilst he was chief marketing and communications officer at Unilever he led the company’s groundbreaking sustainability programme, including the creation of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan. He retired from Unilever in May 2019.

Keith is also looking to focus on improving inclusivity in the industry. He says: “Another important priority for both the RHS and the

wider horticultural world is to help increase diversity in the horticulture industry and in this charity; on our boards, in our teams, in our gardens, at our shows and across our work. This will continue to be a collective and collaborative approach where we need to work with people from all backgrounds, all ethnicities, all ages, and the wider horticulture industry to shape the future of the RHS. “As the RHS continues to reach out to younger people we need to make the message clearer than ever that gardening can make a positive difference to our lives and the environment, inviting more people to join the magic and positive impact of gardening.” www.rhs.org.uk

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housands of smaller businesses in England are set to benefit from £20m of new government funding to help them recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the minister for regional growth and local government has announced.

Small and medium sized businesses will have access to grants of between £1k to £5k to help them access new technology, as well as professional, legal, financial or other advice to help them get back on track.

ultura Group and Scotscape Landscaping Ltd – the landscape construction division in the Scotscape Group – have announced that they are merging Scotscape Landscaping Ltd’s future landscape construction operations into Cultura Group.

This is a strategic move for Scotscape and Cultura Group, which aims to improve the landscape service offering of both companies and enable Scotscape to focus on its urban greening and maintenance operations – an area in which it has become a leading UK provider.

Cultura Group will offer landscape construction and associated services to the existing customer base of the combined businesses.

Angus Cunningham, Scotscape’s managing director, will work closely with exisitng clients and Cultura Group in the transition phase.

Angus says: “I have been impressed with the vision, improvements and drive that Phil [Jones] and his team have introduced to Cultura Group.

In making this change, we are focusing on our future core businesses and ensuring the high quality of the landscaping service that we have been offering to our clients for the past 30 years continues to improve with Cultura Group.

Strategically, it allows us to focus on increasing our landscape maintenance and urban greening market share whilst ensuring our long-term landscape clients are in safe hands.’’ www.culturagroup.co.uk www.scotscape.co.uk

It is part of the government’s plan to support businesses on the road to recovery. The government has previously launched the £2bn Kickstart Scheme which will create hundreds of thousands of new, fully subsidised jobs for young people across the country, as well as investing £1.6bn in scaling up employment support schemes, training and apprenticeships to help people looking for a job. www.gov.uk

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INFORM

TIVOLI COMMENCES TRIAL OF ELECTRIC FLEET

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ivoli has introduced a long-term modernisation programme for equipment and vehicles with a view to replacing them with electric or hybrid versions where possible, helping the company to achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral in the next 12 months.

A company-wide assessment of its existing equipment is underway, and the company is looking to bring in electrified replacements where possible.

This is an ongoing project that the company says is likely to require an investment of around £15m in the future.

Tivoli is actively looking to work with a small number of OEM partners that meet expectations for reliability, cost of ownership, environmental footprint and provide good product support.

The future investment includes renewal of the whole fleet of around 650 vehicles,

with an aim of replacing fossil-fuels with electricity wherever possible. In line with this plan, the company has commenced a trial of electric vehicles, with the first eNV200 delivered to its Walthamstow depot last week.

In circumstances where EVs are not a practical solution, Tivoli says it will look at the suitability of a hybrid, before opting for a conventional eco-vehicle as a last resort. www.tivoliservices.com

N U RT U RE L AN DSCAP ES ACQUIRES D E-ICE

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urture Landscapes has announced the acquisition of winter gritting and risk management specialist, DRP Client Services Ltd – trading as De-Ice – from 1 August 2020. This marks Nurture’s 26th acquisition to date.

Founded in 1998 by Mark and Vicky Lopez, De-Ice delivers winter gritting services across the UK, mainly to the business and FM sector, from its head office in Maldon, Essex. It will continue as De-Ice until September, and then rebrand as Nurture from 1 October when the back office operation will move to Nurture’s head office in Windlesham and be integrated

into Nurture’s Ice Master database.

An operational base will be kept in the local area. The acquisition brings Nurture’s combined turnover for its winter gritting business to around £10m, operating at more than 4,000 sites.

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Peter Fane, managing director at Nurture Landscapes, says: “We are delighted to welcome De-Ice into the Nurture family. We pride ourselves on remaining a family business and specialising in what we are good at, namely landscape maintenance and winter gritting, so De-Ice is a great addition to enhance our winter gritting business.

“These last couple of mild winters have given us time to review and streamline our winter gritting operations, and we have an experienced system and team in place.

“De-Ice’s portfolio will fit perfectly into our existing client base, and customers will receive a seamless transition of service as well as the benefits of being looked after by an exceptionally experienced team.”

Vicky Lopez, co-founder and director of De-Ice, adds: “When Mark and I set the company up, we could never have anticipated the exciting journey that lay ahead. It is now time for new leadership, and I believe the team at Nurture Landscapes will continue to deliver the professional and reliable service that De-Ice has been associated with.” www.nurturelandscapes.co.uk

NEWS IN BRIEF NEW PODCAST FOR TRADES AND CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS OWNERS LAUNCHES A podcast for trades and construction business owners has launched providing support and motivation for the industry.

The Evolve and Grow podcast was set up by The Trades Coach, Alison Warner, who hosts a series of conversations with guests, from business owners to leading industry figures. www.evolveandgrowcoaching.com

ONLINE GARDEN DESIGN SERVICE FOR LANDSCAPERS LAUNCHES A service has launched which enables landscapers to offer garden design services under their own branding. Once project information has been gathered, garden designers at My Garden Design will turn the information into a concept plan, which will carry landscapers’ logos and contact details. www.mygardendesign.co.uk

NEW CALL FOR LONDON’S FLEETS TO TURN ENGINES OFF WHEN PARKED A campaign has been launched encouraging businesses to tackle air pollution caused by idling engines. It comes amidst emerging evidence that air pollution is linked to poor recovery and higher infection rates of COVID-19. Idling Action’s campaign asks firms to help implement this good practice. www.idlingaction.london

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INFORM

L A N D D E S I G N PA RT N E R S H I P

REVEALS REBRAND

MANAGING DIRECTOR PETE JONES EXPLAINS THE REASONS BEHIND THE REBRAND AND THE COMPANY’S JOURNEY TO THIS POINT

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he Land Design Partnership was formed in 1993 by Rob Simmonds after starting life as GWS. Changing names was a signal that the business was moving more towards landscaping from an initial agricultural and groundworks background. Since then, the business has grown steadily within the landscape industry and has navigated some difficult economic times along the way.

The rebranding coincides with the retirement of Rob at the end of last year, and my desire for the current team to feel a sense of ownership and opportunity for the business and themselves. We are fortunate that many of the

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current team have been with us for many years and with a fresh look and feel, the rebranding allows the entire team to build something new together, whether they are long-standing employees or if they’ve joined us more recently.

The business has built a strong reputation, both in the industry and with our key clients over the years. We had no desire to change the name of the organisation during this process as we’d like people to remember our successes to date, and don’t need to bury the past altogether.

THE REBRANDING ALLOWS THE ENTIRE TEAM TO BUILD SOMETHING NEW TOGETHER The rebrand has concentrated on a new logo, website, uniforms and van liveries to bring our image more up to date, more versatile and crisper. It shows our intent to continue moving forwards from this point and that we remain positive for the future for our clients and our employees.

After a period of consolidation over the last 12 months, it is now our intention to continue to cement our position in our current key sectors and look for suitable opportunities with the

right clients to grow the business effectively over the next three to five years. With the right management team and an effective structure now in place, managed growth is our target.

It’s been a testing year, and one that we will remember for some time. I maintain that as a business we have been incredibly fortunate and have managed to continue to work throughout the lockdown. This has only been possible due to commitment from our clients, and more importantly from those within our team who committed to work in difficult circumstances to keep the wheels in motion.

Without those people at that time, we may well have been having a very different conversation.

I really feel for those businesses that were not so fortunate during tough times. I suspect that we all may have more challenging times ahead, but I feel that we couldn’t be in a better position to adapt, as we will no doubt have to.

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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18/08/2020 20:41

INFORM

Thames Tideway LONDON

SEVEN NEW PUBLIC REALM SITES ARE PART OF PLANS FOR THIS 25KM-LONG “SUPER SEWER”

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hey might not be glamorous, but Regular readers may be wondering what London’s sewers are undoubtedly place a sewer has in our Future Projects feature, an impressive piece of Victorian regardless of how remarkable that sewer may ingenuity. Stretching 1,100 be. This particular sewer expansion, miles, the current sewer system was though, is being accompanied by three ACRES OF constructed after the ‘Great Stink’ in acres of public realm throughout seven 1858, which forced parliament to different new embankments along the commission engineer Sir Joseph River Thames.

Bazalgette to resolve the problem “Various parts of the current sewer of waste in the River Thames. And he system in London are connected into did just that, constructing a sewer the main tunnel,” explains landscape system with more than 300 million architect Richard Lindley. “There’s bricks and creating the Victoria a substantial amount of engineering Embankment to avoid tunnelling below ground, and typically the shafts under the West End. It served the that run from the surface into the COMPLETION capital’s population of just over two tunnel are up to 30m in diameter. million perfectly – but herein lies the Then there are various chambers just 150+ YEARS problem; London is now home to below surface levels which are to do SINCE ORIGINAL nearly nine million people, and the with the connections into the sewer sewers are struggling, with waste system and also the air treatment. once again overflowing into the river.

So, you end up with these quite large Eager to avoid the ‘Great Stink areas where, when there’s a major Part Two’, a group of investors – or Bazalgette maintenance programme, you will need to get Tunnel Limited (BTL), otherwise known as access to the tunnel using cranes to remove Tideway – is funding the Thames Tideway Tunnel. the large covers. The legacy of the project Deemed “London’s new super sewer”, this 25km automatically becomes, on most sites, tunnel is an expansion of the existing network this substantial public space. of sewers below the river. It’s tipped to prevent “So, it started from the point of the project millions of tonnes of pollution entering the river being completely engineering driven, but then each year when it’s completed in 2024. the conversation moved on to what the legacy for the public realm could be; and in the course of developing the design of the project, from the very outset there were a number of options for site locations, so the final site selection was a combination of the engineering constraints but also discussions with stakeholders and local authorities about locations and integration into the wider KING EDWARD MEMORIAL PARK public ream and the impact

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on adjoining structures and so on.” The final sites selected are Victoria Embankment, Albert Embankment, Chelsea Embankment, Putney Embankment, Heathwall Pumping Station, King Edward Memorial Park, and Blackfriars Bridge. The public realm at the latter will be named ‘Bazalgette Embankment’, after

THE LEGACY OF THE PROJECT AUTOMATICALLY BECOMES, ON MOST SITES, THIS SUBSTANTIAL PUBLIC SPACE VICTORIA EMBANKMENT

WAS BUILT

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the Victorian engineer. Commenting on the announcement, his great-great-grandson Sir Peter Bazalgette said: “There’s a special magic about canals and rivers. People love being beside water, and they appreciate having the room to enjoy waterside recreation, so to have seven new areas beside the Thames that can be enjoyed and explored while walking is going to be a marvellous thing.”

This embankment, and each of the other six sites, will have their own identity. They will also have explanatory text, nodding towards the reasons behind the public realm legacy and the remarkable new sewer system. Taking this one step further, Thames Tideway is incorporating a Public Art Strategy into these areas and along the River Thames, commissioning more than 50 temporary and permanent artworks which will

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INFORM

BLACKFRIARS BRIDGE

showcase local heritage. These include two cast bronze herons by sculptor Sarah Staton, signifying the birds flying upstream at Carnwath Road Riverside, and artist Emma Smith has created a visual garden for the hoarding at Chelsea Embankment, featuring plants chosen

by Chelsea Pensioners.

Speaking of plants, the seven sites will feature solely native selections for biosecurity purposes, though this choice will also likely be useful when new and tougher import legislation comes in as a result of Brexit.

Richard says that incorporating biodiversity into the scheme, whilst an aim, has been difficult because of how deep they are able to dig into the ground of the embankments, but for every tree displaced by the project, two new ones will be planted. The team is also reducing its carbon footprint by using barges to move the material which is being dug up to create the tunnels – four million tonnes of it. The largest of these barges keeps around 83 lorries off London’s roads, according to Thames Tideway, so from start to finish, the project will have saved

CHELSEA EMBANKMENT

FOR EVERY TREE DISPLACED

BY THE PROJECT, TWO NEW ONES WILL BE PLANTED BARGE LOADED WITH SPOIL

PUTNEY EMBANKMENT

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512,000 lorry movements, reducing CO2 emissions by 90% and NO2 by 86%.

Whilst lockdown might have slowed down the schedule somewhat, all of the sites are back up and running and this monumental infrastructure project is back on track. By the time it’s completed in four years, it’s clear this “super sewer” will be deserving of that name, and will provide a whole host of benefits to the capital.

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18/08/2020 19/02/2020 20:26 10:51

INFORM

Let ’s Hear it From

MARK HOOLEY MANAGING DIRECTOR, PGSD LTD

THIS MONTH WE INTERVIEW MARK HOOLEY, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF PGSD (PERSONAL GARDEN SERVICES) LTD, A COMMERCIAL HORTICULTURE CONTRACTOR BASED IN HOUNSLOW, MIDDLESEX, WITH ADDITIONAL DEPOTS IN HERTFORDSHIRE, SURREY AND HAMPSHIRE. PGSD HAS TWO MA JOR SHAREHOLDERS, BROTHERS MARTIN AND ALAN WRIGHT. MARTIN SET THE BUSINESS UP IN 1993 AS A SMALL COMMERCIAL LANDSCAPING BUSINESS WHICH HAS GROWN STEADILY, WITH ALAN JOINING LATER. THE COMPANY EMPLOYED MARK TWO YEARS AGO AS MANAGING DIRECTOR TO DRIVE THE BUSINESS FORWARD BOTH IN TOP LINE REVENUE, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY PROFIT

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he company’s main focus is grounds maintenance, but it also offers landscaping and arb work, winter works, sports turf maintenance, and street tree planting as a growing area.

The service is offered to the home counties, but the area stretches up to the midlands for the right contract.

Mark has always had a love of the outdoors, but he originally started his career on a different path – studying psychology, which he found a tad boring. However, his brother, who was a foreman at an army barracks in Cambridge at the time, offered him some summer work which involved maintaining the grounds there.

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Mark took up the opportunity and found he loved the work, being outdoors and seeing he was making an impact. The lure of having money and the fact he wasn’t enjoying his course made him decide this was the career for him. The year after, he signed up to Askham Bryan College and got a diploma in Horticulture.

After a few years working in the UK landscaping sector, Mark decided to move to South Africa where he met his wife. After living in Cape Town for a while, Mark moved to Johannesburg and started his first landscaping business, firstly working on a large private hospital maintaining the grounds. The contract was with (at that time) the only black empowerment group which soon flourished.

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INFORM

He focused purely on grounds maintenance and won additional contracts for hospitals, schools and churches; however, Mark also formed a partnership and ventured into commercial landscaping, and soon became one of Johannesburg’s’ most successful landscaping companies, which continued until 2013. The South African political landscape started to change very fast, so he decided to sell the business and move back to the UK. Arriving back into the UK in 2015, Mark initially found it very difficult to secure the type of role that he was looking for.

He started working for John O’Conner Grounds Maintenance Ltd as a contract manager on its schools project, which went really well, and he enjoyed this immensely. The only underlying issue was that he had become used to running his own business, and felt it was a little bit stifling. So, after two years – in March

OUR STAFF TURNOVER IS VERY LOW, AND WE HAVE A STRONG COMMITMENT TO IN-HOUSE TRAINING 2018 – he moved into the role as managing director for PGSD Ltd, reporting directly to the shareholders.

The current team has 45 to 50 employees – dependent on the season. All head office function is carried out from Hounslow, and it’s running certain projects out of the satellite

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depots. General manager Alan Wright focuses on tendering. The team also consists of office admin staff supporting HR, marketing and financial functions. There’s also a team of contract managers running the projects.

Mark says: “Our staff turnover is very low, and we have a strong commitment to in-house training. We have a full training matrix, with most of the outdoor team being qualified to NVQ Level 2. All staff also have an appraisal twice a year where training requirements are highlighted.”

The majority of its contracts are grounds maintenance, working for London Highways Alliance, Hounslow Highways, University of Westminster, Yateley Town Council as well as numerous school contracts through Hounslow, Windsor, Herts, Essex and Suffolk and a variety of smaller commercial contracts. It also has a landscaping division headed up by Andy Lucey, working on some major projects including street tree planting in Strood for VolkerHighways, street tree planting for Eurovia in Farringdon, environmental rehabilitation at Wokingham Old Forest Road for Balfour Beatty, Thames Tideway landscaping at Blackfriars Bridge, plus various smaller one-offs which typically are care homes, offices and commercial properties.

The company’s turnover for the last 10 years has averaged around £2.4m per annum, and last year, the turnover reached £3m with an 11% profit margin. The main reason for this being that the company had a reshuffle and subsequently “are tendering a lot better and gaining repeat work,” says Mark. “We also have a very rigorous review process making sure that we deliver in line with the tender and make the profit we set out. If not, we have time to amend where necessary. These are checked by contract, by the department, and we also make sure the quality is to the correct standard.”

Mark explained that the business has coped with COVID-19 very well. It has come through really strong, which has fortunately put them into a strong financial position.

He also believes that the company is really punching above its weight, winning contracts against much larger businesses, which Mark believes is down to the quality of the tenders as well as Alan’s attention to detail. He goes on to explain that recently the company has been awarded Yateley Town Council in Hampshire, a contract based on the quality of work rather than price.

The company likes to purchase machinery and equipment with a support service so they can guarantee the cost of the lifetime, which is

WE CAN GROW BY EXPANDING DIFFERENT ASPECTS – LIKE LANDSCAPING AND SPORTS MAINTENANCE – AND SERVICE AREAS OF THE BUSINESS

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20/08/2020 09:52

INFORM

GROUNDS MAINTENANCE IS AN IMPORTANT SERVICE AND THAT’S WHY WE WERE HIGHLIGHTED AS A KEY SERVICE AND CONTINUED TO WORK DURING THE PANDEMIC normally around five years. There is also a drive towards using battery powered equipment, especially since seeing the great improvements by manufacturers from last year.

When Mark was asked what the shareholders have tasked him to achieve and where his main focus lies, he replies: “They want to grow the company by 10% each year and improve the profitability of the business – get the business on an upward curve.”

Asked if this was to position the business to be sold, Mark explained that there is no plan to sell the business currently, though they are looking to expand it. “We’re looking at a potential acquisition, but we also believe we can grow by expanding different aspects – like landscaping and sports maintenance – and service areas of the business.”

Mark believes the market will continue to grow, though he also admits being an eternal optimist. “Grounds maintenance is an important service and that’s why we were highlighted as a key service and continued to work during the pandemic.”

When not working, Mark loves to use his leisure time following horse racing and is a very keen Everton fan – if you meet him, it’s worth asking why.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Pedestrian mowing next to summer annuals Verti-draining on a sports turf maintenance contract Strimming of a wildflower area Top dressing at a local rugby club A new Toro Triple Flail mower Grass cutting on a parks contract Installation of new rugby posts for a school client

C O N TA C T PGSD Ltd Hounslow, Middlesex Tel 020 8577 3444 Email info@pgsd.co.uk

www.pgsd.co.uk

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17

20/08/2020 09:52

INFORM

How and when was the company founded?

The company was founded in 2015 but the journey into garden design began in 2011.

After a career in the music industry as a singer/ songwriter, I followed my love for design and enrolled at Capel Manor College to study the RHS certificates. That led to me working as a gardener for the likes of Diarmuid Gavin and Julie Toll. In 2015, while halfway through my garden design studies at Capel Manor, I was diagnosed with advanced osteoarthritis in both of my hips. Instead of gardening, which was my career while studying, I jumped head first into garden design and haven’t looked back.

How has it developed since?

It has developed very rapidly. Within a year of starting the design practice, I was awarded an RHS Gold medal for my first show garden, The Red Thread, at the 2016 RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. After that, I dedicated my time to building my business, which has been really rewarding, and each year we have been getting busier and busier, working on interesting projects.

COMPANY PROFILE

ROBERT BARKER DESIGN

WITHIN A YEAR OF STARTING THE DESIGN PRACTICE, I WAS AWARDED AN RHS GOLD MEDAL FOR MY FIRST SHOW GARDEN

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Pro Landscaper / September 2020

Company Profile Robert Barker Design.indd 18

‘THE RED THREAD’, AT THE 2016 RHS HAMPTON COURT PALACE FLOWER SHOW

ESTABLISHED 2015 EMPLOYEES 2 AWARDS GOLD MEDAL AT RHS HAMPTON COURT PALACE FLOWER SHOW 2016, SILVER-GILT MEDAL AT RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW 2018, RIBA REGIONAL EAST AWARD 2019

©Annaïck Guitteny Photography

What type of projects do you work on?

We work on projects of all sizes, from huge projects – like an entire estate of 78 houses in Holland Park – to small and medium size projects. We design large gardens with budgets of £100k plus but our bread and butter projects are between £30k to £70k in Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and London. As a practice, we are by no means snobs, and there can be a lot of joy found in £30k to £40k projects. You often have to be more creative due to restrictions, but the jobs can be quick to complete and clients are extremely grateful.

©Maciek Platek

ROBERT BARKER TELLS US ABOUT HIS CAREER SWITCH TO GARDEN DESIGN AND HOW HIS PRACTICE HAS GROWN SINCE

‘SKIN DEEP’ RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW 2018

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20/08/2020 10:06

INFORM

©Caroline Sarovsky Photography

GODMANCHESTER, CAMBRIDGESHIRE

©Maciek Platek

©Maciek Platek

Are they predominantly residential?

It is mainly residential, but over the last two years we have designed more commercial projects as well as two schools in Cambridgeshire, one of which – Eaton Socon Pre-School – we were awarded a RIBA award as part of Devlin Architects’ team which orchestrated the redevelopment.

FAMILY GARDEN CAMBRIDGE

as a designer, as when you are starting there are not enough mouths to spread the words for you, but over time word really has spread.

A WEEK INTO LOCKDOWN WE WERE COMMISSIONED TO DESIGN OUR BIGGEST EVER RESIDENTIAL PROJECT SO THERE IS NO PATTERN TO FOLLOW

How does the company promote itself?

I have invested a lot of time in networking with people I respect and with whom a mutual business relationship will benefit both parties; but other than that, my business has been promoted by the cliché of word of mouth.

I used to hate hearing that when I first started

©Annaïck Guitteny Photography

©Maciek Platek

CHISWICK, LONDON

©Annaïck Guitteny Photography

Are you a member of any trade associations?

I am sure that there are trade associations that are worth being a part of, but from my experience of being a member of societies such as the SGD, there is very little support or advice from the actual society itself, and as far as I am concerned no award that you have to pay for is worth winning.

GODMANCHESTER, CAMBRIDGESHIRE FRONT GARDEN

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Company Profile Robert Barker Design.indd 19

‘SKIN DEEP’ RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW 2018

Do you plan to continue designing show gardens?

I would love to design more show gardens, but the last two show gardens I created – The Red Thread at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show in 2016 and Skin Deep at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2018 – were conceptual and there really isn’t a place for conceptual gardens anymore at the shows. Recreating landscapes and creating show gardens to generate more work certainly has its place, but there should still be room for show gardens that can wow visitors. Very much like how clothes are showcased at London Fashion Week, I would like visitors to be shown gardens that they can’t have, showcasing just how amazing this industry is with gardens that inspire. Show gardens are becoming very formulaic and soulless. Unless we inspire, I fear it will be the flower shows' downfall.

Has COVID-19 impacted the business?

Like everybody, we have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Luckily, we have all remained healthy and have been able to pay our bills, but new enquires have been down compared to last year. Most of our very large projects have been put on hold; but, with that said, a week into lockdown we were commissioned to design our biggest ever residential project so there is no pattern to follow.

What are the plans for the company moving forward?

I would like to expand the company and take on a larger team at some point. We are in the process of moving into a new studio in Cambridgeshire, which is three times the size of our current studio in Bedfordshire – so that is exciting! As a practice, we would like to design more public spaces and still keep preaching that no matter where a client fits in the financial class system that we still have in this country, everyone should have a beautiful garden.

C O N TA C T Tel 01767 302669 | 07540 567707 Email info@robertbarkerdesign.com Twitter @R_Barker_Design Instagram @robert_barker_design

www.robertbarkerdesign.com

Pro Landscaper / September 2020 19

20/08/2020 10:07

INFORM

S U E B I G GS VIEW FROM THE TOP

THE RHS HAS FACED ADVERSITY IN THE MIDST OF THE PANDEMIC, BUT THERE ARE STILL INITIATIVES TO CELEBRATE AND, WITH THE WELCOMING OF A NEW PRESIDENT, AN EXCITING FUTURE

For the Virtual Chelsea Flower Show, more than two million people visited the site and we were delighted to see that this included more young people than ever before, with almost a third of our audience being under 35. On social media, our Instagram account – home of our youngest audiences – grew by 17,000 followers during Virtual Chelsea.

Part of our role as the UK’s gardening charity and our RHS shows is to support the industry,

20 Pro Landscaper / September 2020

VFTT Sue Biggs-2.indd 20

and this was a fundamental aim of both getting the garden centres open again with the backing of the Ornamental Horticulture Roundtable Group, and Virtual Chelsea too. The show is vital for so many horticultural businesses, and so through a big publicity campaign we helped shine a spotlight on many nurseries and growers – the lifeblood of our sector.

the sector. The RHS is committed to doing just that. Our new RHS president Keith Weed, who took over from Sir Nicholas Bacon on 31 July, is equally as passionate about these areas. We will all need to work hard and take a big collaborative approach from us all.

I am delighted to say that many specialist growers reported seeing their online sales soar thanks to the coverage generated by Virtual Chelsea, some even reporting a whole year’s sales as a result of this online show.

This is so encouraging and represents a golden era for gardening all across the country which is something that hasn’t happened to this extent since the Second World War, when the RHS provided advice to the nation to help them grow food as part of the Dig for Victory initiative.

Our challenge now, as an industry and one the RHS is focused on, is retaining these new gardeners. I am sure that many reading this will have noticed the increased interest in gardening and will be equally committed to helping keep our new green-fingered companions interested and actively involved in gardening.

Two key challenges for the RHS and the industry to finally get right is growing ethnic diversity and building sustainability throughout

©RHS/Helen Yates

OUR CHALLENGE NOW AS AN INDUSTRY AND ONE THE RHS IS FOCUSED ON IS RETAINING THESE NEW GARDENERS

Keith, who has just started in the role, brings with him a wealth of experience that is going to help us increase our focus on sustainability and our work in helping to mitigate climate change.

Keith is renowned for championing new ways of integrating sustainability into businesses as a key driver of growth and impact, while reducing their environmental footprint and increasing their positive social impact – so I’m thrilled to be working with Keith in building on our current work in this area.

ABOUT SUE BIGGS Sue Biggs joined the RHS as director general in 2010 with 30 years’ experience in the leisure industry. She has led changes to make the RHS more inclusive and forward-thinking, including a £160m investment programme. Sue was made a CBE in 2017 for services to the environment and horticulture.

www.rhs.org.uk

Sue Biggs portrait ©RHS/Anna McCarthy

I

t’s been a tough few months for the horticulture industry. At the RHS, we have had to cancel all our shows and close our gardens for many weeks which has dealt the charity a multi-million-pound blow.

However, one amazingly positive thing to come out of this awful situation is the surge in the number of people gardening across the UK. Within a week of lockdown, more than one million people visited the RHS advice pages.

In response, we launched a campaign to help the nation ‘Grow at Home’ which involved us sharing our knowledge online through videos and other content. Within 100 days of lockdown, 17 million people visited our website for inspiration and advice, and visits to our Grow Your Own pages were 200% higher compared to last year.

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19/08/2020 21:41

IMPORTANT DATE 17 - 18 NOVEMBER 2020

NEW VENUE | 2 DAYS NEW SAFETY PRECAUTIONS REGISTER NOW: WWW.FUTURESCAPEEVENT.COM about fs.indd 1

20/08/2020 08:51

New Venue ExCeL London: The Home of World Leading Events FutureScape has continually grown as an event both in terms of its importance to the UK landscaping sector and its physical presence. If you were among the 3000 people who attended last year’s event you will understand why the time was right to move to a space in a purpose-built venue.

Moving to ExCeL London allows the show to grow, in time, to its full potential. It also allows us more space for exhibitors and a better flow for the show with all the exhibitors, seminars, special events and cafes sited on one spacious open floor.

Another major benefit with ExCeL is that it has excellent transport links, both for cars and public transport.

Two days Since 2012, FutureScape has taken place over a single day but, as with moving venue, we felt it was the right time to expand to two days. After undertaking in-depth research both visitors and exhibitors felt more time was necessary – the show has grown so much that there is simply too much to see in a single day.

As FutureScape has grown the audience has also expanded both in terms of number and industry sectors. Over the last few years, we have seen the importance of landscaping and green space grow. This means there are more topics and issues to cover – way too many for a single day. Having the additional day will allow us to get the balance right and make sure we are covering the topics that need airing/debating.

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Making it safe to attend This has to be paramount and the major driver behind everything we do. Moving to ExCeL means that we have the support and backing of the UK’s number one exhibition venue; it has made sure that all events adhere to strict guidelines and has worked with the government in all aspects of running safe events.

On top of this, we have managed to secure additional space, allowing the aisles to be double the width required, with plenty of additional space at the seminar rooms, and two metres around networking areas.

We have also invested in a new registration system, which will mean quick and easy access without the normal queues. Additionally, there will be hand gel stations around the venue and we would ask you to utilise these. With all of us working together we can make FutureScape 2020 a safe environment within which to do our all-important business.

What’s on Along with a tremendous array of leading industry suppliers exhibiting, covering every aspect of the landscaping sector, we have an impressive seminar programme. This programme will tackle the issues facing the landscaping sector, such as what the industry looks like post COVID-19 and the role of landscaping in managing climate change, to more practical issues around plants, design, technology, staffing and of course some of the iconic live debates. FutureScape 2020 is the most important yet – registration is free via the website.

Exhibitors FutureScape EXPO 2020 plays host to a number of the most well-respected suppliers and service providers within the landscape industry. Walking around FutureScape EXPO you can expect to meet a wide variety of the most trusted landscape suppliers which include decking, paving, turf and artificial grass, plant and tree nurseries, drainage and irrigation, machinery, tools, aggregates, soils, furniture and many more. All of our exhibitors will be ready and raring to showcase their flagship products and services, as well as some brand-new ones.

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INFORM

K AT I E F L A X M A N A HEALTHY LANDSCAPE

BRAND NEW CONTRIBUTOR K ATIE FLA XMAN INTRODUCES US TO HER LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE PRACTICE STUDIO 31 AND ITS VALUES, EXPLAINING HOW HER BACKGROUND IN HEALTH INFORMS ITS WORK

S

tudio 31 was born of idealistic thinking. A series of conversations realising a practice which stepped beyond the present and into the future. We weren’t certain when we began Studio 31, exactly what this would look like or indeed how we would achieve it, but we knew the values we wanted to set at its heart. We wanted to create an environmentally conscious practice; one which embodied sustainability and climate positive actions. We wanted a practice which drew on the link between health and nature, and we wanted to challenge the traditional space

WAS IT POSSIBLE TO APPROACH HEALTH FROM A LANDSCAPE PERSPECTIVE RATHER THAN LANDSCAPE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF HEALTH? landscape architecture sits within in the built environment. More than all of this though, we wanted to be both ethical and authentic. We are, in business terms, still in relative infancy and our practice is evolving on the path to achieving each of these goals, but change is often the collision between perfect visions and imperfect actions.

One thing I know for certain is that change is rarely the result of inertia.

And so, we tread, unknowingly into the spaces we want to fill, cautious of our impact and continually evaluating and examining our actions. The eclectic mix of careers which conceived Studio 31 meant it was never

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going to be a conventional approach to landscape architecture.

I, myself, am not a landscape architect, nor a I garden designer or, indeed, any landscaperelated professional. I worked in mental health, transitioning to work at the University of Essex as a lecturer. It was there, I discovered the wealth of research pertaining to green exercise and green prescriptions. Essex University is home to this research and swiftly one journal led to another, and links between nature and health began to reveal themselves piece by piece. This felt like a collision of worlds for me. Suddenly, things began to make sense.

Anecdotal evidence from my patients about green spaces, places and activities which helped them to feel better, my own experiences with nature and those of friends and families all supported the idea that nature could profoundly

impact health. Health (and wellbeing) professionals were, at that point, beginning to use nature as a therapeutic tool. It was being demonstrated as a treatment for all kinds of health problems. But, I thought, what about prevention? Was it possible to approach health from a landscape perspective rather than landscape from the perspective of health?

That is – among many other things – what Studio 31 is attempting to find out and is a topic I will write further on in future issues.

The practice is run by Edward, Alex and I together. They are two of the most gifted landscape architects I know and their passions

WE WANTED TO CREATE AN ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS PRACTICE for environment, ecology, health and sustainability run as deeply as my own.

They never blinked at nor questioned the value I might add to a landscape architecture practice, seeing only the benefit of a multidisciplinary and research-led approach. That, I think, is another part of what makes Studio 31 unique – our willingness to step into the unknown in order to grow as a practice. The landscape industry is one of the most luminous in which I have had the joy to work, and over the next few months I hope to share research, opinions and some of our own projects and experiences which I hope might give back a little of the brightness landscape has brought to Studio 31.

A B O U T K AT I E F L A X M A N Katie Flaxman is cofounder and director of Studio 31 Landscape Architects. Studio 31 is an award-winning, adventurous and environmentally conscious landscape architecture practice working across the residential, public realm and health sectors. They use research-led design principles to explore the link between nature and health with the aim to create landscapes which are both better for people and better for the planet.

www.designstudio31.co.uk

Pro Landscaper / September 2020 25

19/08/2020 21:26

INFORM

SEAN BUTLER DEALING WITH DISLOYALTY

AFTER HIS OWN RECENT EXPERIENCE, SEAN BUTLER ASKS IF OTHERS HAVE CONSIDERED THE IMPACT ON THEIR COMPANY IF ANY EMPLOYEE ‘GOES ROGUE’

Y

ou have worked hard over the years to establish a thriving business.

You’ve built a team of hard working and loyal employees, rewarded high performance and invested in people at all levels.

Then one day, you realise one of your workers has gone rogue and – worse still – has been rogue for some time. Think it won’t happen to you? Well, it happened to me.

Building a successful business relies on many things, one being trust. Trusted employees are given full access to a range of confidential information and trade secrets concerning the business, operations, pricing, processes, suppliers, clients and employees which are commercially sensitive.

The more you develop individuals, the more skills they gain for the benefit of your organisation, which is great! Research indicates that professional development opportunities increase employee engagement, satisfaction and, ultimately, retention. It is due to this that we developed a culture at Cube 1994 Ltd of investing in employees’ development and gained a Gold accreditation for Investors in People.

The natural progression for any employee interested in furthering their career is either internal or external promotion, or leaving you and your company to start their own business.

If they are successful, it’s a fantastic accolade to you for training them in such a way that they too can build a successful and profitable business.

However, what if they leave and take more than just the skills with them? What if they lack integrity and will ‘do what it takes’ to start their business using your portfolio and poaching your clients, with no regard to your business or the loyalty and investment you have shown them?

Rogue employees that you’ve trusted, and even

26 Pro Landscaper / September 2020

Sean Butler.indd 26

financed their development, can deliberately and methodically plunder every aspect of your business, so be careful you don’t give them the tools to do so. Direct access to clients and data can result in a rogue employee gaining an unfair advantage by exploiting their knowledge of your costings for their own or a competitors’ benefit.

What about your website, templates, designs and photographic images of your company’s landscape work? What measures have you got

TRUST IS AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF ORGANISATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS AND PERFORMANCE

you, your company and other employees. After all, if you pay marketing costs to attract clients in the first place only to end up with your quotes in the hands of unscrupulous competitors who can then undercut you, it will impact your income, your profit, your organisation’s development and, ultimately, everyone in your company. Google ‘stolen design work’ and you will find various pages of articles about people affected by this.

However, ‘just because you find one bad apple doesn’t mean you should give up on the whole tree’. It’s a very difficult situation for employers; trust is an essential component – it engages others and encourages ownership of initiatives.

I may have had my fingers burnt but I still believe in Stephen Covey’s ‘Smart Trust’ – extending trust intentionally as a leader to bring out the best in others. I may now reconsider which trade secrets I share, but I will continue to actively build and maintain trust – restoring it when it is damaged – and I believe it should remain at the top of every business owner’s agenda.

Next month, I look at what to do when faced with a rogue employee and potential solutions to safeguard your business.

ABOUT SEAN BUTLER in place to ensure your work is not deleted or becomes part of their portfolio? Would you even know whether one of your employees is engaging in work for themselves or others whilst employed and paid by you?

Sadly, this is a more common scenario than you would imagine. Speaking to other business owners, it is becoming clear that I am not the only one that has been affected. As a profession, we need to do more to help protect

In 1994, Sean Butler set up his bespoke garden design and landscaping company, Cube 1994 Ltd. With a passion for the outdoor environment, a commitment to training others and a background in civil engineering, his experience is recognised industry wide. Sean is a registered member of the Society of Garden Designers (MSGD) and has collaborated with other designers to build awardwinning show gardens at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival and Chelsea Flower show.

www.cube1994.com

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19/08/2020 09:11

INFORM

B E N W E ST

REGENERATIVE GARDENING BEN WEST REMINDS US OF THE BENEFICIAL IMPACT WE CAN HAVE ON A GARDEN’S BIODIVERSITY WITH THOUGHTFUL INTERVENTION

H

©Split Second Stock/Shutterstock.com

ypericum perforatum, or ‘St John’s Wort’, is a common wildflower used traditionally as a wound herb and more recently as a treatment for depression or a general tonic for lifting the spirits. The plant is named after John the Baptist who is said to have been born six months before Jesus of Nazareth on 24 June and is venerated in the Christian faith as the one who prepared the way for Christ the Redeemer to carry out his work.

How fitting, then, that on St John’s Day I had the most uplifting and redeeming experience of an otherwise tumultuous year when I tuned in to an online lecture by Fergus Garrett on the subject of biodiversity at Great Dixter House in Sussex. I came away healed, hopeful and with a sense that his vision could prepare the ground for our work as ‘regenerative gardeners’.

Between 2017 and 2019, Fergus commissioned a biodiversity audit of the Dixter estate in order to confirm his hunch that the gardens represented a special place for wildlife and inform his team of how best to manage the land going forward. The audit uncovered a range of interesting findings, the most important, in my opinion, being the discovery that the abundance and variety of life in and around the house and

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Ben West-4.indd 29

gardens outweighed that of the estate’s hedgerows, meadows, woods and farmland.

The gardens harbour a number of nationally rare and scarce bees, wasps, hoverflies, moths and spiders. One of the ecologists proclaimed the gardens to be one of the most biologically rich sites he had studied in 30 years of surveying.

So, what are they doing right at Dixter?

DIXTER HIGHLIGHTS HUMANITY’S BENEFICIAL INFLUENCE ON THE HEALTH OF THE PLANET In my last piece for Pro Landscaper, I wrote of the University of Sheffield’s ‘BUGS’ project which studied factors influencing biodiversity in gardens and discovered a number of recurring garden features which increased the quantity and variety of species. All these features are present at Dixter.

There is an emphasis on refraining from chemical use and over-zealous mowing. Composting is championed, along with the creation of brash piles and provision of standing dead wood.

The garden is famous for its successional planting providing early spring flowering fruit trees, a long-lasting summer mix of natives and exotics and diverse late season pollen and nectar sources. Hard structures have lots of nooks and crannies in which insects, birds and mammals can find shelter and raise young. Ponds and water courses are present and, crucially, there is recognition that ‘untidiness’ adds aesthetic charm as well as practical habitat.

The garden at Dixter is a dynamic and intensely managed landscape in a constant state of change. Man-made change. There is a pervading sense that, for wildlife to thrive, human intervention should be kept to a minimum. The hand of man is generally thought to be a destructive one. However, Dixter highlights humanity’s beneficial influence on the health of the planet and how thoughtful horticulture has a key role in improving biodiversity.

It’s easy to dismiss mankind as a plague on the face of the planet, but examples like Dixter remind us of the positive nature of our position in the web of life and how important gardens and gardeners are to how the picture might pan out.

Which impressions will we choose to leave on the canvas of the twenty-first century? The current background is a Turneresque tempest.

Will we overlay this with a depiction of the gates of hell or the Garden of Eden? The choice is ours.

Thanks and gratitude to Helen Gazeley for directing me toward the Dixter lecture. Watch it yourself here: www.vimeo.com/ondemand/ biodiversitygreatdixter

ABOUT BEN WEST Ben West spent his formative years exploring the landscapes of Staffordshire, and studied environmental management at Keele University, prior to moving to Surrey and setting up Landscaping Solutions. The firm has since won many RHS medals and BALI Awards. Ben wishes to use his passion for natural landscapes to direct the firm’s future trajectory, and ensure clients consider nature when planning landscaping schemes.

www.landscapingsolutionsltd.co.uk

Pro Landscaper / September 2020 29

19/08/2020 16:05

INFORM

ANDREW WILSON THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

ANDREW WILSON LOOKS FORWARD TO A WORLD IN WHICH WE CAN ONLY BE CERTAIN ABOUT UNCERTAINTY

T

he only constant in life is change,” said Heraclitus more than 2,500 years ago. What would he make of today’s pandemic for which I might suggest a paraphrase – the only constant in life is uncertainty?

Forward planning is tricky at the best of times, but when the parameters are constantly changing it makes life challenging on all fronts.

I am chairman of the Weybridge Male Voice Choir, a group of approximately 60 men who are certainly not in the first flush of youth.

Without missing a rehearsal, we moved 75% of our members onto Zoom for virtual practices in March. We still continue with our regular weekly

rehearsals and there will soon be three virtual performances up on Facebook and YouTube, raising money for charity as we used to – ’Weybridge Male Voice Choir sing for Shooting Star Children’s Hospices’. Find this and more music on our YouTube channel ‘the Weybridge Male Voice Choir’ (www.youtube.com/channel/ UCu9AK-5oeoD4szGLWNtiYAw).

What is more, the choir celebrates its centenary next year, an occasion for which planning started over 18 months ago. We are now coming to the conclusion that our main

30 Pro Landscaper / September 2020

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concert event, and perhaps any events, will not be happening, which in some ways comes as a huge relief. We are resigning ourselves that 101 is the new 100, and does it really matter if we celebrate a year late? Even if we as a choir

EMBRACING CHANGE AND SOMETIMES MAKING SNAP DECISIONS MIGHT HAVE THEIR DRAWBACKS BUT THEY ALSO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES manage to get together – and singing is a matter of big debate at the moment – would we manage to convince an audience to join us?

At LCGD we were full at the end of January with a long waiting list – the earliest we have reached that milestone. By March, of course, the whole world had changed – some students asked to defer, some pulled out and many stayed with us especially as we started to communicate our intent to continue with the course in some form or other.

By May, we experienced increasing numbers of information downloads and requests for interviews, with June seeing our largest ever number of downloads in the history of the college. Even now as I write this in early August, we still have a steady stream of prospective students wanting to discuss the programmes we offer. At the start of the year, who knew how the first half of the year would pan out? At the start of lockdown, who knew that we would survive as a college? And as we prepare for our

new academic year, who knows exactly how the course will unfold?

We are already more than half full for September 2021, which is staggering, but we are also planning to embrace Zoom as a means of delivering blended real time learning, of widening our audience on several fronts and adapting to a changing world. Most of our applicants are happy to go with these changes, with some positively seeking out these more flexible options.

I was reading an article the other day that suggested many people were now relying on heart decisions for the future rather than head decisions. Perhaps these last few months have suggested that life is fundamentally unpredictable and all too short. Embracing change and sometimes making snap decisions might have their drawbacks, but they also create opportunities.

Our graduates are starting to apply for positions that they worried might no longer be available as the world stopped in March: our tutors are all busy; Gavin and I are busier than we could have imagined; and Matt Keightley, this year’s external judge, has been encouraging the students by echoing the same message.

Clients, so far, seem very positive, but we simply have to adjust the way in which we work with them. Let’s ‘triumph in the face of uncertainty’, to paraphrase once again!

ABOUT ANDREW WILSON Andrew Wilson is a landscape and garden design consultant, director of the London College of Garden Design, and an author, writer and lecturer.

www.lcgd.org.uk

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19/08/2020 13:52

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01/07/2020 18/08/2020 12:48 20:29

INFORM

Rediscovering

WALMER CASTLE

WITH OVER 480 YEARS OF HISTORY, WALMER CASTLE’S GARDENS AND GROUNDS HAVE UNDERGONE COUNTLESS TRANSFORMATIONS THROUGH THE YEARS, AS EACH LORD WARDEN ADDED THEIR OWN TOUCH. NOW IN THE CARE OF ENGLISH HERITAGE, WE SPEAK TO GARDEN’S SUPERVISOR BRIAN ADDISON ABOUT SOME OF THE MOST RECENT CHANGES, INCLUDING THE RENEWAL OF THE LOST PLEASURE GROUNDS

W

almer Castle began its life nearly 481 years ago, as an alliance between Spain, France and the Pope caused Henry VIII to commission a chain of defences called Cinque Ports. It took 1,400 workers 18 months to create Walmer’s first garrison. Over the years, Walmer Castle has been home to soldiers, gunners, and briefly Royalists, but it wasn’t until it became the official residence of the Lord Warden that the surrounding gardens began to come into their own.

Walmer Castle, now in the care of English Heritage, has been home to some recognisable names, including The Duke of Wellington, the bookshop owner W.H. Smith, Winston Churchill and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. But it was prime minister William Pitt and his niece Lady Hester Stanhope who created the framework of today’s extensive gardens and grounds. Previously, there had only been a kitchen garden which provided food for the castle.

Though he kept this, Pitt also adapted it into an

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area where people could relax and take walks.

A woodland shelter belt was introduced around the castle, with large specimen trees put in nearer the castle. Finally, in the early 1800s, he transformed a quarry into a peaceful sunken garden.

I MIGHT BE A BIT BIASED, BUT I HAVEN’T SEEN MANY HERBACEOUS BORDERS BETTER THAN THE BROADWALK Following the earlier formal beds in Earl Granville’s time, the Broadwalk became herbaceous towards the turn of the 20th cenutry, with influence from Gerturde Jekyll.

“I might be a bit biased, but I haven’t seen many herbaceous borders better than the Broadwalk,” gardens supervisor, Brian Addison, tells us. “It has a beautiful colour scheme that’s

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been well designed, so it really carries – even from a distance. The yew cloud hedging that lines it just tops it off.”

The Queen Mother’s 95th birthday Earl Beauchamp remained the last to make major changes to the gardens for some years, until 1997 when English Heritage installed a garden for the Queen Mother as a birthday present for her 95th birthday, with her remarking: “I have been given many flowers before, but never a garden”.

Designed by Penelope Hobhouse, the garden is formal in its nature, with the arched pavilion reflected in the water of the central rectangular pool. The planting is soft in nature, to complement the Queen Mother’s tastes. Its deep borders are bursting with sculptural plants such as tall, purple-headed cardoons, deep blue Agapanthus, purple Verbena, scented roses and mauve alliums.

In the late spring, large terracotta pots are full of brightly coloured tulip varieties, such as ‘Rem’s Favourite’, and the ‘Paul’s Scarlet’ Hawthorn trees around the outside are full of rich red blossom.

THE GARDENER IN OUR KITCHEN GARDEN IS REALLY INTERESTED IN BRINGING AN ORNAMENTAL QUALITY TO THE SPACE Kitchen Garden For some years the gardens only saw small changes, but today the team consists of six gardeners and one trainee gardener, giving them more time and resources to transform the gardens once again.

The Kitchen Garden made an appearance on a plan of Walmer Castle dated 1725, making it the earliest documented garden at the castle.

“The gardener in our Kitchen Garden is really interested in bringing an ornamental quality to the space.” Brian explains. “She doesn’t want it to just be practical, she wants to make it an attractive feature.” This has certainly been achieved. Four box-edged beds are full of a range of unusual ornamental fruit and vegetables, joined by complementary planting such as tulips which add splashes of colour, with the cut flower border bursting into life in the spring.

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One of the larger changes which has happened over recent years is the transformation of the dilapidated Broadwalk.

Though the team was aware it had been influenced by the style of Gertrude Jekyll, it didn’t have any complete records about the individual plants, giving them some freedom.

The area had become tired and weedy of the years, and so in 2011 when Brian arrived at Walmer Castle, one of his jobs was to produce a design for the regeneration of the space.

“I produced a design based on Gertrude Jekyll’s work, adapted by Graham Stuart Thomas’ ideas on colour schemes.” With a maritime climate, Brian and the rest of the gardening team aren’t restricted in what they can plant. Softer coloured planting such as Acanthus mollis sit at either end of the Broadwalk, with warmer coloured Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Herbstsonne’, Hedychium and the annuals dahlia and salvia planted in the middle, giving the impression the border is longer than

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INFORM

this, the team has been creating ornamental structures out of pruning from the woodland to support the plants, which have now become a feature in their own right.

Pleasure Grounds Perhaps the biggest transformation the gardens have seen is the £2.3m project to revive the lost Pleasure Grounds. The wildflower meadow and sunken garden planted in the former chalk quarry once formed a peaceful landscape, but over time nature has reclaimed it, making it inaccessible.

The first task was enabling access to the site again, by improving the pathways around the shelterbelt and constructing a stairway down into the grounds. Next, the team needed to clear the undergrowth and deal with any unsafe or fallen trees. By clearing the site, they were able to reinstate pathways more or less along the original pathways that had been set up by Esther Stanhope in the early 1800s. Work on the trees has involved taking some of the evergreens back to the size of shrubs to bring in more daylight and allow for the regeneration of the ground cover.

“We wanted to be selective with the planting we chose for the Glen,” Brian explains. “We’ve planted things which would have been around in the 1800s, or might have been found growing there naturally. We also gained inspiration from evergreen plantings mentioned in letters written by Lady Hester Stanhope.”

Visitors can expect to see viburnums, Crataegus monogyna, Cornus and Prunus spinosa alongside native ferns, English bluebells, red campions, native foxglove and evening primrose. These varieties have also been dotted through the woodland, which was previously barren with little interest.

it is. “One of the most memorable and striking features of the Broadwalk is the bordering cloud yew hedges,” Brian explains. “Earl Granville’s geometric border was evolved into a more organic shape. It’s one of our best horticultural features. We maintain it ourselves, which is a commitment and it’s hard work, but they look spectacular when they’re done.”

Over the years, the gardening team found if they had a lot of rain, the planting in this border would collapse and fail. In order to overcome

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PERHAPS THE BIGGEST TRANSFORMATION THE GARDENS HAVE SEEN IS THE £2.3M PROJECT TO REVIVE THE LOST PLEASURE GROUNDS Though you may think it’s important to remove all weeds from this area, Brian and his team have to be selective about how they manage them. For example, though the Glenn is full of ivy, it actually helps to hold the chalk bank together. The nettles, as well as being great for

wildlife, have another surprising benefit – managing visitor behaviour. When the Pleasure Grounds first opened, there was a high amount of footfall, with the plants suffering. Keeping nettles in certain areas deters visitors away, stopping them from drifting away from the path, up banks and over plants.

Through the rejuvenation of the Pleasure Grounds, Walmer Castle has worked with its community in outreach and onsite activities, as well as offering volunteering opportunities.

A new hub for community and educational activity was also created in the form of a purpose-built learning room.

Future Walmer Castle is not finished with its transformations, though. Alongside Brian, the new head gardener Philip Oostenbrick has plans to transform the castle moat into more of an interesting feature.

Currently, the moat is made up of fairly ordinary planting with shrub borders. The team has hopes of introducing more tender, half-hardy shrubs and foliage plants. But first, the soil will need some attention, as currently it becomes incredibly dry during the summer months – something Brian thinks may need to be improved with more mulching and soil improvement.

For now, though, the focus is on the present.

Lockdown has affected companies all across the UK, and as a charity English Heritage is no different. Though it began its life as a form of defence, over the years the eight-acres of picturesque coastal gardens have shone, and it’s important to everyone that they can be enjoyed fully once more.

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Walmer Castle Broadwalk and cloud hedge Walmer Castle from the kitchen garden Queen Mother’s Garden from yew-castle mound Display glasshouse Broadwalk Ornamental kitchen garden Salad beds in the kitchen garden The Glen, volunteers and constructions Photographs ©English Heritage

Pro Landscaper / September 2020 35

20/08/2020 14:37

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INSPIRE

OFFICE GSK INSIDE OUT HASSELL T H E G R O U N D - B R E A K I N G D E S I G N O F G S K ’ S P U R P O S E - B U I LT A S I A HEADQUARTERS HELPS TO KEEP PEOPLE AND IDEAS FLOWING F R E E LY A C R O S S T H E W O R K P L A C E , W H I L E C O N N E C T I N G T H E M WITH THE LOCAL COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENT

PROJECT D E TA I L S Build time 40 Months Size of project 12,850m2 Awards 2019 Singapore Institute of Landscape Architects – Silver Award for Commercial and Industrial Landscape 2018 Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) – International – Highly Commended

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L

ocated in Singapore’s growing biomedical, technology, and research and development community, this workplace allows employees to work in a more connected way. It intentionally blurs the lines between groups and individuals, public and private, inside and outside, creating more opportunities for daily interaction and the exchange of ideas.

The project’s ‘building in a park’ concept features a series of landscapes, such as cascading ‘sky gardens’ that visually extend the surrounding Rochester Park setting, giving employees uninterrupted access to nature.

Horseshoe-shaped, flexible floors are arranged around a central atrium, roof deck and landscaped terraces, giving employees more choices for how and where to work. Just as importantly, it makes the work environment healthier, more agile and energetic every day, along with being adaptable to future needs, connecting health and community.

Client brief GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) wanted its new Asia headquarters in Singapore to be a beacon for health and research in the region – a place that reflects a culture built on knowledge, learning and innovation. The key to the final design response was one that pushed the concept of ‘inside out’. Set within an agile, open and multi-layered green campus, the design approach had a goal to inspire and engage GSK’s people and help promote employee wellbeing.

40 Pro Landscaper / September 2020

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Design and build Employees enter their offices through the parkland, immersing them in a rich tropical setting before their day even begins. The wider campus now features its own café serving healthy food, an outdoor yoga space and bicycle facilities. Public transport is just steps away, as well as multiple connections to the public parks’ new paths and recreation spaces.

In line with the area’s wider master plan, this new base is also designed to embrace the local community, including nearby residents and workers. The ground floor is open to the public and its landscaped surrounds are inviting and barrier-free. The public realm is also designed

as an extension to the island-wide park network, creating the opportunity to connect directly to the future green corridor and Ulu Pandan Park Connector.

The building’s striking façade responds perfectly to Singapore’s warm, one season climate. An element designed to help the client have a Greenmark Platinum rating for sustainable performance.

Additional features incorporated in order to enhance sustainability include: extensive native waterwise planting, improving urban habitat; LED façade lighting and energy efficient services; site-wide stormwater recycling via a naturalistic wetland bioretention pond, capturing and treating surface water; an underground detention tank; improved park and public transport links with an extended path network; and covered walkways.

The landscape design seamlessly blends the building with its parkland site – with more than 60,000 new plants and trees. Throughout the public parkland, the design team took care to ensure existing mature trees were largely retained, and then amplified the lush landscape with an extensive new tropical planting scheme that provides bursts of colour.

The planting palette is a reflection of the historic and natural context, with manicured lawns and ornamental planting around the bungalows, along with more naturalistic, wilder planting at the periphery. This greenery extends vertically through the building floors into the terraces, roof deck and green wall. The diverse interior planting scheme used massing, focusing, hanging, draping and climbing species and arrangements to create an undulating interior landscape.

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Challenges Maintaining quality and design intent of original vision was challenging as there were complex overlays regarding planning restrictions imposed on the site. Additionally, the client stakeholder team and governance model created challenges during the major milestones when assessing key sign offs related to budget pressures on the project. A proactive approach with Hassell as project architect, landscape architect and interior design lead ensured it tackled complex issues in a holistic manner for the client team.

The site was constrained via the adjacent roads, rail corridor setbacks and sloping topography as well as a number of significant trees. To address this, the landscape architects had to ensure the technical requirements for working close to the public realm and rail were understood, and that solutions were coordinated with the technical consultant teams as well as government stakeholders.

The landscape design prioritised clear and legible access in and around the grounds with minimum use of steps and ramps.

ABOUT HASSELL Hassell combines creative design expertise with capabilities in strategy, research, technology and experience design, and regularly collaborates with experts and partners from further afield. As an international, multidisciplinary practice, Hassell has a goal of building a more inclusive, sustainable future for communities – and create a more socially and ecologically resilient world.

www.hassellstudio.com

REFERENCES

Design Hassell www.hassellstudio.com Contractor Earthscape www.earthscape.com.sg

1 2 3 4

GSK Asia House blurs the boundaries between the inside and outside The workplace houses a wide range of indoor and outdoor places to work Roof terrace view visualisation Natural light floods into the workplace, but smart facade also protects from the harsh sun 5 Site constraints called for intelligent design solutions 6 Entrance canopy dips to height of the heritage buildings on site, creating a connection between the scales

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Lighting Louis Poulsen www.louispoulsen.com Fred International www.fredinternational.com.au Foscarini www.foscarini.com Oluce www.oluce.com Outdoor furniture Kettal www.kettal.com Xtra www.xtra.com.sg Plants Sourced locally

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CORTEN

C O U RT YA R D P R ESTO N CO N T E M P O RA RY C O U R T YA R D G A R D E N

P R E V I O U S LY H O M E T O A P O O R - Q U A L I T Y L A W N A N D A D I L A P I D AT I N G B R I C K W A L L , T H I S W E S T FA C I N G L- S H A P E D GA R D E N WAS I N D I R E N E E D O F A N U P L I F T W H I C H WO U L D C O M P L E M E N T T H E N E W LY T R A N S F O R M E D G A R D E N R O O M

KIRMAN DESIGN

K

irman Design was to create a contemporary open space, which worked in harmony with the new garden room. The area needed to serve as an entry point to the property, whilst addressing the issue of being overlooked from the road and houses to the rear.

A generous seating area for entertaining guests which was open plan and visually appealing was crucial, and the space needed to flow seamlessly from the garden room to the outdoor space and complement the interior of the modern build.

Design and build Bright, large slabs of porcelain paving were used, generating a courtyard effect, chosen in shades which complement the inside of the garden room. The raised area outside of the porch was constructed in line with the floor level of the house, requiring large shallow feature steps down onto the main patios and adjacent pathways.

The courtyard area provided a contemporary family area with a quirky yet simple approach. The lighting design produced a place to be enjoyed as much during the day as in the evening.

In areas used less frequently, a decorative gravel was used to complement the colour scheme and draw from the greys and buff tones of the porcelain.

A high slatted screen perimeter fence was constructed and set in line with the feature burnt timber screens, to add privacy from neighbouring properties.

Once materials and the overall finish was finalised, Kirman Design implemented a limited planting scheme comprised of greens, whites and silvers. A feature acer tree was planted and sat against a black yakisugi backdrop. The acer became the main focal point from the garden room, with its red stems and

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Coloured light cubes on porcelain patio Inside Out – a view of the garden room Yakisugi focal point Evening lighting scheme Corten steel fern leaf feature Flower pattern Corten steel screens

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PROJECT D E TA I L S Project value £24,454 Build time 5 Weeks Size of project 90m2 Awards Pro Landscaper small project BIG IMPACT Award 2019 – Build Under £25,000

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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BEFORE

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DURING WORKS

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7 8 9 10 11

View of seating area through allium border Porcelain contemporary courtyard Dynamic patio area lighting Feature porcelain steps Garden room view towards specimen acer

lime green to orange leaves contrasting against the black backdrop.

Used as backdrops in the upper and lower paving areas, the yakisugi screens add emphasis to the focal elements of the garden.

The first screen sits opposite the porch and featured the red Japanese acer, lit from the front at night as a focal point to look out onto.

The second screen was then set at the end of the lower patio, featuring black-lit Corten steel screens set in a group which added sculptural form to the design.

Leading into the rear garden, located at the end of the gravel pathways, a yakisugi plinth and fern leaf sculpture were also installed, which was lit and visible from the gravel path.

Challenges The main issue the team faced was a gas pipe which had previously been installed, crossed with a drainage channel – this was later rectified by a qualified third party and the drainage channel installed at the correct height afterwards.

A B OU T K I R M A N D ES I G N Kirman Design offers a comprehensive design process from initial ideas through to the final design and build. It provides a detailed service that tailors every garden to the individual needs of clients. It specialises in planting design, landscaping and other tailored bespoke services.

www.kirmandesign.co.uk

REFERENCES Designer Kirman Design (Rick Everett) www.kirmandesign.co.uk Contractor Kirman Design (Head landscaper: Chris Hirst) www.kirmandesign.co.uk Construction materials and porcelain paving C&W Berry www.cwberry.com Yakisugi burnt timber screens Denbigh Timber www.denbightimberproducts.co.uk Premium porcelain Toscana range Global Stone www.globalstonepaving.co.uk Plants and construction materials Bannister Hall www.bannisterhall.com Slatted timber screens Forest Garden www.forestgarden.co.uk Construction materials Travis Perkins www.travisperkins.co.uk

PLANTING

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PICTURESQUE

PATHWAY KINGSWOOD HOUSE AMANDA BROUGHTON GARDEN DESIGN T H I S P R E V I O U S LY B A R E G A R D E N H A S B E E N PA C K E D F U L L O F N AT U R A L I S T I C P L A N T I N G T O C O M P L E M E N T T H E B L A C K S L AT E PAT I O A N D S U R R O U N D I N G M AT U R E T R E E S

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T

hough its striking black slate patio needed to remain, Amanda Broughton Garden Design had a large empty space to transform. Working with the surrounding magnificent mature oak tree to one side, and the high leylandii hedge to the other – which acts as a sound barrier to the nearby railway lines – Amanda Broughton Garden Design created a naturalistic space whilst keeping it relatively low maintenance.

Client brief The clients wanted to be able to enjoy the space with the family, and though they did enjoy gardening, they requested that the garden was still reasonably low maintenance. In order for the scheme to sit comfortably within its setting, planting needed to be naturalistic and not too manicured. More practical changes needed to be made also, such as the steep steps being rebuilt.

The clients were also keen to include a water feature in the space. New trees were to be planted, adding height to the garden and a wildflower meadow with mown paths was to be installed towards the rear of the garden, creating a haven for wildlife. Overall, a journey was to be created throughout the garden, while using hedging in a sculptural way, outlining the more formal spaces.

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Design and build It was important the planting sat comfortably within the rural setting of the house; grasses and perennials were largely used to create a naturalistic feel, with the addition of bulbs to add flecks of colour during the spring and summer months.

A Prunus lusitanica hedge acts as a backbone to the design throughout the year, with standard Betula utilis var. jacquemontii adding height and slowly drawing you through the space with its white trunks contrasting against the hedge in winter. The greenery framed the circular seating area, creating a more intimate space.

Calamagrostis × acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ thread their way through the design, adding verticality and movement.

Miscanthus, with its silvery plumes, contrast well with the autumn leaves of the new and existing trees. Rounded heads of Allium atropurpureum juxtapose well with the grasses and vertical spires of the Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’. Perennials such as Sedum ‘Matrona’, and Phlomis russeliana were chosen as much for their form as for their colour.

Evergreens selected for structure and interest throughout the year included Euphorbia characias and Hebe ‘Red Edge’.

Deciduous shrubs either side added leaf colour, variation and winter interest. An evergreen hedge delineates the design of the garden, with one species of trees adding height to what was a flat garden and leading the eye through the space.

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Autumn view through to the pond Deep planting beds surround a circular lawn The circular theme repeats through the garden Perennials/grasses take centre stage in July Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ Gravel path edged with clay pavers Wildflower meadow and fruit trees

PROJECT D E TA I L S Project value £16,561 Build time 4 Months Size of project 2,055m2 Awards Pro Landscaper small project BIG IMPACT Awards 2019, Planting Design Under £20,000 Shortlist

Pro Landscaper / September 2020 47

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48 Pro Landscaper / September 2020 22

5-

DURING WORKS 4255

PREVIOUS PATIO AREA 1323 1-

BEFORE 1-

G

1-

INSPIRE

Challenges The site was formerly used as an old bangers site; therefore, concerns were raised that the soil may be contaminated. A soil analysis was carried out, where no contaminates were present; however, the soil was shown to be a very alkaline, clay soil. Plants were chosen to suit these conditions, the soil later improved with the addition of organic matter.

As a last-minute decision, the clients decided to include a 12m-diameter pond beyond the main garden, in place of a large circular lawn. After much deliberation, the decision was made to move the pond to the centre of the plot rather than central to the new paths, as was suggested in the initial plans.

Although this decision wasn’t agreed on by all, now the planting has matured, the move works better.

ABOUT AMANDA BROUGHTON GARDEN DESIGN

BEFORE: AERIAL VIEW

Since becoming a garden designer in 2002, Amanda has been creating bespoke, rural and urban outdoor spaces. Her projects range from rambling country gardens to the smallest of courtyards, in both contemporary and traditional styles. Working with experienced landscapers, lighting specialists and other highly skilled professionals, she has been creating stunning individual gardens, designed and built with unparalleled attention to detail.

3-Pyrus calleryana 'Chanticleer'

www.abroughtondesign.com

REFERENCES

Contractor Chosen by clients

Plants Provender Nurseries www.provendernurseries.co.uk

Multi Stemmed Betula Utilis var. Jacquemontii Joseph Rochford Gardens Ltd www.rochfords.net

KEY

Plants overlaid with this pattern are NOT to be irrigated ie: All Stipa tenuissima

Grasses Knoll Gardens www.knollgardens.co.uk

Pond Plants Anglo Aquatic Plant Company Ltd www.angloaquatic.co.uk

PLANTING

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/08/2020 15:00

CORE

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The Pathway to Stress Free Gravel Surfacing Our gravel path stabilisation grid comes in two sizes. Both the handy pack and the larger sheet are suited to gravel sizes of 3mm-14mm. Also available in recycled polypropylene (Grey) or virgin polypropylene (White). The depth of the grid is just 18mm which means your gravel consumption is reduced by over 50%. We work on the calculation that 1 tonne of aggregate would cover approx.

35m².

The honeycomb grid construction provides tightly packed pockets of loose gravel which create a completely porous and hard standing surface, making it very easy to pass over with wheelie bins, bicycles and scooters.

Each panel has an interlocking mechanism on all four sides. This allows adjacent panels to be connected which creates a continuous matrix across the entire surface and ensures the structural integrity of the system is the same throughout.

The CORE PATH honeycomb grid has a high quality geotextile membrane heat welded to the underside of every panel. The membrane creates a tray for the gravel to sit in, thus preventing the gravel from migrating underneath the cell wall.

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Helping you create beautiful landscapes Professional advice, technical know-how and a trusted supplier for your landscaping project With over 13,000 landscaping products in our portfolio, the team at Green-tech can work with you to source the correct products for your project. We have a wealth of experience of supply chain integration, working with you to get the best products at the best price, delivered on time for your project.

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Tree protection and sundries Urban tree planting equipment Grass seed, fertilisers and chemicals Green-tree topsoil soil, growing media and bark Geotextiles, membranes and ground protection Green roof construction John Chambers wildflower seed

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INSPIRE PROJECT D E TA I L S Project value Estimate only as volunteer labour used and significant supplier donations, £45K Build time 5 Days Size of project Eight gardens and external spaces

T H A N K YO U

G

round Control was initially working on a charitable venture to support our NHS heroes by designing and installing a temporary podium garden at the Nightingale London Hospital. Ground Control had committed design, project management and procurement resources to the project along with a donation to the budget.

These skills were then combined with the generosity of clients, suppliers and staff to bring the scheme to life.

The Nightingale Hospital was stood down shortly before the works were due to start on site. The project was always going to have a legacy for Barts Health NHS trust with all elements of the Nightingale garden being relocated to various sites when the facility closed down. These plans were brought forward and the decision was taken to carry out permanent works to the Newham hospital.

NHS

NHS TRANQUILITY GARDENS GROUND CONTROL B U I LT A S A T H A N K Y O U T O A L L T H E H A R D W O R K I N G N H S S TA F F, T H E S E VA L U A B L E G A R D E N S CAN NOW PROVIDE A MOMENT’S RESPITE

©Tina Wing

Design and build Eight existing courtyard gardens and external spaces were identified for refurbishment. Each of the gardens has received an initial refresh of existing planting and features.

This structure was then transformed by a range of new planters and planting to complement the garden’s character, with the ultimate aim of providing respite from the surrounding built environment.

A collection of new garden furniture has also been added to allow more opportunity to sit and take a moment of reflection.

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Portfolio 4 Ground Control NHS Tranquility.indd 51

Pro Landscaper / September 2020 51

20/08/2020 17:22

INSPIRE

The scheme has brought these spaces back to life and provided much needed green spaces to be enjoyed by staff, patients and visitors, allowing them to benefit from interacting with nature. Much of the plants and furniture was generously donated by a range of Ground Control’s customers and suppliers. A key supporter was Ground Control’s client Savills who generously provided excellent furniture, volunteer labour and a significant contribution to the budget. Labour was all voluntary, with the majority being Ground Control staff and teams supported by customers. Ground Control will now be supporting the gardening team onsite for the next year to maintain the new gardens.

Adam Sewell-Jones, Interim chief executive at Newham Hospital, said: “The therapeutic and restorative nature of hospital green spaces is widely evidenced and I believe the tranquility gardens will go a long way in supporting the wellbeing of our staff, patients and visitors.”

Chris Bawtree, construction project manager at Ground Control, said: “There’s never been a more important time to provide a peaceful retreat for frontline workers, patients and their friends and family. This is a practical way of saying ‘thank you’ and showing our support for the amazing work undertaken by all NHS staff, especially during the pandemic.”

“A few months ago, this space was full of six-foot high weeds, the door was locked and it hadn’t been used for some time,” said Giuseppe Labriola, associate director of Midwifery and Nursing at Newham Hospital. “It’s been brought back to life and refurbished, and now we have a perfect area for women to mobilise who are in the early stages of labour and for staff to use to

52 Pro Landscaper / September 2020

Portfolio 4 Ground Control NHS Tranquility.indd 52

grab a quick breath of fresh air. It’s been completely transformed and we’re really thankful for everyone who’s been working on the project.”

“From a public health point of view, we know that access to green space aids recovery, is good for health and makes you feel better,” said Andrew Attfield, associate director for Public Health at Barts Health NHS Trust. “The volunteers have clearly worked very hard – not just with their hours and their time, but with their hearts – to make this commitment to the NHS and to Newham Hospital.”

Challenges The project proved very challenging to deliver due to a number of site constraints that included: live operational hospital site, COVID-19 restrictions, internal courtyards and gardens accessed via internal corridors, volunteer labour and tight programme. The project was safely and successfully delivered through a combination of excellent planning, proactive and flexible site management, and the enthusiasm and commitment of the volunteers to deliver something special for the NHS.

ABOUT GROUND CONTROL Ground Control is the UK’s largest external maintenance and commercial landscaping company offering a truly national service that includes grounds maintenance, winter maintenance, tree works and vegetation management, and soft and hard landscape construction.

www.ground-control.co.uk

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/08/2020 17:23

INSPIRE

BEFORE

BEFORE

DURING WORKS

REFERENCES Designer and contractor Ground Control Ltd www.ground-control.co.uk

Picnic tables Linnell Bros www.linnellbros.co.uk

Bench and wooden planters Tudor Environmental www.tudorenvironmental.co.uk

Engraved bench Barlow Tyrie Ltd www.teak.com

Shrubs Crowders www.crowdersnurseries.co.uk

Pre planted geranium tower Village Sensation www.village-sensation.com

Planters Europlanters www.europlanters.com Livingreen Design www.livingreendesign.com Light weight soil and mulch Green-tech www.green-tech.co.uk Pallet truck Gap Plant www,gap-group.co.uk Hi-vis vests Chelmsford Safety www.chelmsfordsafety.co.uk

1 Transformed Staff Garden courtyard 2 The Gateway Undercroft Garden – building entrance 3 Opening ceremony – gardens & memorial ©Tina Wing 4 Refurbished Japanese Garden courtyard 5 New planter in Staff Garden ©Tina Wing 6 New comfortable seating and planters for Staff Garden 7 Redeveloped Maternity Unit courtyard 8 Refurbished – The Moorish Garden

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Portfolio 4 Ground Control NHS Tranquility.indd 53

Furniture Furnitubes www.furnitubes.com Crocus www.crocus.co.uk Homebase www.homebase.co.uk

Trellis Anglian Timber www.angliantimber.co.uk Gloves Mathias www.mathiasandsons.com Street furniture Marshalls www.marshalls.co.uk Paint and accessories Brewers www.brewers.co.uk Planters Iota www.iotagarden.com Planting scheme design support Nily at Lotus Design Studio www.lotusdesignstudio.co.uk

Pro Landscaper / September 2020 53

20/08/2020 17:24

INSPIRE

LANDSCAPE A R C H I T EC T ’S

ESTABLISHED IN 1998, LOCKHART GARRATT HAS GROWN OVER THE YEARS, NOW OFFERING A FULL HOST OF SERVICES TO ITS CLIENTS. WE SPEAK TO DIRECTOR IAN DUDLEY ABOUT WHY THIS BENEFITS ITS CLIENTS, AND HOW LOCKHART GARRATT IS AHEAD OF THE BIODIVERSITY CURVE

JOURNAL W LO C K H A RT G A R R AT T

hen looking at Lockhart Garratt’s array of landscape architecture projects, you’d be fooled into thinking it has always offered this service. In reality, it started in 1998 as a Forestry and Environmental Land Management consultancy, going on to provide services in ecology, arboriculture, land restoration, soils and, in 2005, green infrastructure, which has developed over the years into a full suite of landscape architecture services.

The landscape architecture team of eight now has over 40 years’ combined expertise in landscape design, plus many more years’ experience across a wide range of associated landscape architecture services. It is this marriage of collective expertise that gives the company its edge. “The strength of our company lies in our ability to offer such a variety of services in combination,” explains Ian Dudley, director and head of landscape.

Lockhart Garratt’s work is still very much informed by its roots. Its landscape architecture work comes with a deep

THE STRENGTH OF OUR COMPANY LIES IN OUR ABILITY TO OFFER THESE SERVICES IN COMBINATION understanding of the practical aspects of landscape management, establishment and maintenance. This means its schemes are suitable for their location, grow successfully and can be managed cost effectively in the future.

Complementary design At its current Duchy of Cornwall project at a private garden in Oxfordshire, these are the exact aims.

Lockhart Garratt is creating a detailed landscape design for a new high quality large single dwelling.

The design aims to incorporate high quality hard landscaped areas within the garden along with sculptural features, such as a rose arbour and topiary hedges.

One of the key elements of the project is to design around the retention of an existing mature beech tree, using appropriate soft landscaping with both formal and naturalistic elements. New stone walling and adjacent planting will provide privacy to the garden, filtering views

54 Pro Landscaper / September 2020

Landscape Architects Journal-3.indd 54

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/08/2020 15:34

INSPIRE

from a nearby public footpath. The façade of the house has distinctive architectural character, and so the landscaping design will be low scale and formal to complement this.

The planting will be sourced from local UK nurseries so that the team can ensure they comply with biosecurity measures – something which is important to Duchy of Cornwall.

Multidisciplinary Established in 2006, Lockhart Garratt’s ecology service consists of a team of eight ecologists with a range of practical experience working with some of the most protected species, including great crested newts, bats and badgers.

The company has also invested in its soil service over the years through the career development of Robin Truslove, principal environmental consultant who is a professional soil scientist and a full member of the British Society of Soil Science. By providing the evidence base through sampling and chemical testing, Robin can help to support planning sign off and ensure that soft landscape designs have the best chance of successful establishment. He also provides agricultural land classification to distinguish best and most versatile land in strategic planning applications.

“We are fully equipped to take an end-to-end approach to our projects,” Ian tells us, “to design landscape in conjunction with our extensive ecology, arboriculture and soils expertise ensures cost effective and practical design, implementation and management solutions.”

Working on a recent project in Witney, West Oxfordshire, Lockhart Garratt provided a full suite of landscape planning and landscape architecture services in support of the proposed residential development of up to 495 new homes. From the outset, the project was promoted as an exemplar, sustainable, landscape-led development with community at the forefront of its design. Lockhart Garratt was instrumental in promoting this landscape-led development approach with access to a wide variety of informal and formal open spaces to create new recreational areas for residents.

The scheme will promote health and wellbeing through the creation of leisure opportunities through the lower Windrush Valley. This will include an extensive network of new pedestrian and cycle routes. The ecological potential of the Windrush Valley will be realised through the creation of a mosaic of new and diverse lowland meadow and dryland habitats.

New wetland reedbed habitat alongside the Windrush will offer substantial wildlife gain and

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Landscape Architects Journal-3.indd 55

provide flood betterment for the Cogges Estate.

“Our overarching landscape strategy sought to preserve, and where possible, enhance the existing green infrastructure,” Ian explains.

“Careful consideration has been given to ensure that the proposals are in keeping with the existing landscape character and habitat features of merit, preserving these within the framework of a Garden Village Development.”

A goal which no doubt informs his role as vice chair of the East Midlands Branch of the Landscape Institute (LI) and seat on the LI’s National Environmental Standards Group.

WE ARE FULLY EQUIPPED TO TAKE AN END-TO-END APPROACH TO OUR PROJECTS

Biodiversity net gain Another benefit to having all this expertise in the company is the ease that will come as the industry transitions its design approach to align with the biodiversity net gain agenda.

Lockhart Garratt’s ecology team has been developing skills in the emerging biodiversity net gain assessment space and has undertaken comprehensive training with the landscape team to develop a collective understanding. It is in the process of reorganising its offices to ensure stronger working relationships between its landscape architects and ecologist, and to ensure a cohesive approach to biodiversity net gain.

“We can achieve a seamless integration between these different environmental disciplines to build upon the green infrastructure-led approach we have taken for the last 15 years,” Ian tells us. “With the way that policy is going at a national level, that increased focus on the integration of ecology within development schemes and landscape design makes it critically important. The principles of biodiversity net gain, which will shortly become mandatory, are cost effectively integrated into projects at the earliest possible opportunity.”

At the St Paul’s House project in Oxford, the company was instructed by Lucy Developments Ltd to prepare RIBA Stage 3 design concepts for the proposed podium landscape. Formerly part of the Jericho Health Centre, this site was to be redeveloped for residential use.

A concern of the Local Planning Authority was the need to enhance biodiversity. With this in mind, Lockhart Garratt developed the design concept to ensure a focus on improving the biodiversity by including a range of trees, shrubs, hedgerows and climbing species, and with a focus on planting for pollinators.

The result was a contemporary, high-quality landscape, making use of bold architectural lines and hard landscape features juxtaposed against a palette of softer shrub planting that creates texture and movement. The use of multistemmed tree stock was also proposed to provide height and shade, and the use of natural stone boulders within paved and planted areas was promoted to add visual interest and break up the more designed, hard landscape elements.

Future Though it already has experience in biodiversity net gain, Lockhart Garratt will continue to work closely with clients and the ecology team to ensure that it embeds a naturalistic approach within all its projects. Alongside this, Lockhart Garratt will be launching its new landscape portfolio and website, as well as a new natural capital service.

Despite the current pandemic, Lockhart Garratt has managed to continue to provide its professional, solution-focused advice and maintain strong working relationships with all of its clients, making it optimistic about the future.

1 Vision of a multi-functional linear park 2 Water presents opportunities for ecological gain 3 Working in domestic holiday sector, we experienced interacting with sensitive and valued landscapes 4 Trees add seasonality, visual interest and summer shade, as well as habitat to a range of species 5 Lockhart Garratt’s new design portfolio is available upon request

C O N TA C T Ian Dudley BSc (Hons), MICFor, CEnv, CMLI Director and head of landscape Northamptonshire Office, 7 – 8 Melbourne House, Corbygate Business Park, Corby, Northamptonshire Tel 01536 408840 Email info@lgluk.com

www.lockhart-garratt.co.uk

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A

s we adapt to a new way of living that encourages social distancing, our outdoor spaces have become invaluable settings as places to connect and to benefit our mental health.

If there is one lesson to be learned at the moment, when the future feels so uncertain, it’s that we must surrender to the here and now and design a life we love. There is no better time to reflect, take action, and truly live in the present. As Marcel Proust summed up: “The

CIRCULAR TIMBER SEATING AREA WITH CENTRAL FIRE PIT

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real voyage of discovery consists, not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” It’s time to experience everyday things as if for the first time, and take nothing for granted.

We’re all feeling the need for more space at the moment, mentally and physically, and moving outside is a great solution. Garden designer Judy Kameon transformed an underutilised 1930s courtyard into a ‘front room’, using outdoor encaustic tiles as a ‘rug’ to anchor an extra-wide Plain Air (her own brand) daybed and coffee table. Adding a water feature to muffle street noise, she created a magical spot that also relates to the architecture of the house.

Kameon’s Elysian Landscape headquarters is also a great example of outdoor living. Housed in a once derelict space, it has been transformed into a lush oasis with terraced areas for guests and staff to gather. Similarly, sunken seating around a fire pit makes a pleasant place to be and is suited to our UK weather, lying low in the ground, avoiding winds. Adding an overhead cover to a space like this will keep heat in and help keep the worst of the weather out. Fire pits are also useful in all seasons. A raised platform facing a view or over water looks fantastic and is an excellent way of borrowing space.

Privacy, or lack of privacy, is another issue we have had to deal with over the past months. Tiles can be used not only to update areas but also to

THE LONDON GARDEN OF INTERIOR DESIGNER EMMA SIMS-HILDITCH

define spaces. With the addition of screens and partitions, backdropped with vertical green walls or feature walls and wall cladding, fabulous private outdoor spaces can be created – from working areas to intimate dining spots. Softening them with abundantly over-spilling planters (Atelier Vierkant pots are a great option) helps further in creating cosy, private spaces.

Adding a water element creates atmosphere and cuts down on noise pollution. Wall claddings help with sound issues, and are perfect for

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INSPIRE

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maximising vertical surfaces in tight city gardens.

Make it dynamic by adding splashes of fun and playful colours. Painting and cladding walls, with stones, marble, metals, organic materials with naturalistic patterns, add interest, depth, and colour. Mirrors and polished metal cladding will add depth and interest by reflection. Add planting to them for movement or woven fibre fencing and screens, like those available from Forest Avenue.

You could also dazzle with neon.

Planning outdoor soirees and lingering lunches will help us get through this current pandemic.

Take inspiration from South African garden designer and landscaper Tone Alexander, who says: “I wanted a summerhouse in the garden which started out as a greenhouse and evolved into the happiest little gin palace for family and friends to gather safely outdoors.” His gin bar is made from recycled doors and windows.

Interestingly, Google Trends has seen a massive 192% increase in outdoor bar searches while outdoor kitchen searches saw a 106% increase over the past six months. Kitchens are experiencing a lot of wear and tear, so it makes sense to take some of the action outside.

HOME ESSENTIALS

RAISED GARDEN BY JUDY KAMEON

Arclinea’s Artusi outdoor kitchen is a fabulous choice. Made of materials which have technical features that are highly resistant to humidity with a good degree of thermal insulation, it’s made entirely of AISI 316 stainless steel. It is internally

JUTE HOME: HILLSBOROUGH MEDITERRANEAN SAN FRANSISCO HOUSE

insulated and has a magnetic seal to protect the interiors from leakage and insects, and a Fulgor Barbecue element with four gas burners topped with a lid and a Miele induction hob. There’s even a pull-out base located beneath the single-basin with a thermal container for food and beverages.

A new awareness, or perhaps an enforced awareness, highlights how important gardens and outdoor spaces are. We are beginning to realise just how nurturing and restorative they are. Cold minimalism is going out of favour as the need and urge to actually ‘use’ our gardens overrides the need for mere decorative additions – not to mention their lack of contribution to local wildlife. We are all feeling the need to reconnect with nature by growing more productive gardens and more sustainable wildlife-friendly spaces.

It’s important to use lighting to extend our usage time – they also help create views and extend the space visually. This works from inside too, as it’s much more beautiful to look out at a view than dark. Light up sculptural works of art, trees, tables, seating areas, and hang lights from trees and eaves to light up your life literally and visually. Take a look at Wever & Ducré for inspiration.

Creating outdoor play areas for families is a high priority, too. Integrate outdoor play areas incorporating whiteboards and blackboards for home schooling, sandpits, hammocks, balance beams and climbing frames. You can blend these spaces into the garden using native hedging which will also help local wildlife.

Be prepared – they say more pandemics are on their way!

ABOUT ANJI CONNELL

PAOL A LENTI, WITH SOFT ROMANTIC PL ANTING

58 Pro Landscaper / September 2020

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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.

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Newcastle University dates as far back as 1834, starting with the School of Medicine and Surgery and the Armstrong College was later founded in 1871. The Armstrong Tower building at Newcastle University located on Victoria Road was built and dedicated for Physical Science. The Armstrong Tower building was once the proud owner of the Jubilee Exhibition with over 2 million visitors. A bandstand is the only remnant of the exhibition left today.

Newcastle University decided to invest in increasing their Green Infrastructure at the front of the Armstrong Building in the outdoor Generation seating area. Designers Southern Green planned the installation of 13 thriving trees to be installed into

the hard paving, GreenBlue Urban were thrilled to work closely alongside Newcastle City Councils installation team to ensure our ArborSystem Tree Pits (Using the GreenBlue Urban StataCell Soil Cells) were installed throughout. The StrataCell allows the maximum rooting volume within the tree pits, resulting in the trees growing to maturity for all to admire and use for years to come for future generations.

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GreenBlue Urban are also hugely passionate about tree planting and encourage all to consider their options of increasing our tree population throughout the UK.

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ST R E E TS A H E A D A

s we all begin to adapt to the long-lasting effects that the pandemic will have on our family relationships, social lives, workplaces and retail environments – all tentatively walking out of home-based exile blinking into the sun – there’s a new and adapting urban environment waiting for us all.

“Adapt yourself to the needs of the people” — Sunday Adelaja The UK government is pledging billions to changes in infrastructure and is aiming to improve social distancing on public transport.

This, alongside schemes such as ‘Cycle to Work’ boosting the numbers of sole commuters on the roads and pedestrian traffic increasing as walking becomes the easiest method to ensure COVID safety, means our streets need to adapt to deliver the ‘new normal’. Our heavily built-up streets often mean the available pavement space for social distancing is limited and needs adapting to use every inch to its fullest, so the way the public interfaces with the environment is facing a radical change.

Street furniture has a privileged role to play; it shapes our society and our interaction with the world. It’s a presence in every town centre, park, beauty spot and tourist attraction. It can truly shape the character of a destination along with meeting the varying and unique practical

W O O D S C A P E R E V E A L S H OW I TS A DA P T I N G S O M E O F I TS E X I ST I N G L I N E S TO S U I T P O ST- PA N D E M I C B R I TA I N

THE WAY THE PUBLIC INTERFACES WITH THE ENVIRONMENT IS FACING A RADICAL CHANGE demands of each location. Signage, seating, litter bins and cycle parking will need to combine to reduce their footprints, removing clutter from our streets. The capability to design this way has always existed, and now we have the support and funding to make it happen.

“Continuity gives us roots; change gives us branches, letting us stretch, grow and reach new heights” — Pauline R. Kezer

Some manufacturers are already accustomed to adapting their furniture to changes in design, materials and environment, and Woodscape is excited to be working with architects across the country on adapting designs and projects to best suit their communities’ developing needs.

For those locations in need of ‘off-the-shelf’ style solutions, we’re creating customisations to our standard range, such as this Lincoln shelter that brings together covered seating and cycle storage in one.

Many of our customers have limited available space to work with; they must meet the changing and uncertain future demands of pedestrians and cyclists alike without having additional space to fit cycle racks. A limited budget may also force a choice between seating or cycle parking.

With budgets in mind, Woodscape has developed options for its standard range, such as the Type 6 Cycle Bench.

THIS LINCOLN SHELTER COMBINES SEATING,

©Kristi Blokhin/Shutterstock.com

INSPIRE

TYPE 6 CYCLE BENCH

With no increase in footprint from a standard Type 6, the Type 6 Cycle Bench can be used for casual cycle storage at either end, while remaining usable for seating in the middle. With no cycles in place, two people can easily sit and maintain social distance. It’s particularly well suited for rural locations where seating is being upgraded on existing restricted groundwork, so no need to expand your project scope or budget.

“The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings” — Kakuzō Okakura Making these adaptions in the way we work, and the products we offer, could be seen as an inconvenience, another challenge to be overcome at a time when there are so many other challenges affecting the construction industry. However, our public spaces have never before been so much in the spotlight, so desperate to be well managed, well-equipped and utilised safely, and respect for those needs can offer opportunities which we may not see again for some time.

Let’s take this opportunity and develop it into a chance to make our public spaces the dream environment we’ve always known them to be. www.woodscape.co.uk

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NURTURE

F E AT U R E GARDEN

CHERYL CUMMINGS’ WILDLIFE GARDEN S U R R O U N D E D BY T H E S O U T H E R N H I L L S O F WA L E S , A G A R D E N I N M O N M O U T H I N T H E W Y E VA L L E Y C A U G H T C H E RY L C U M M I N G S D E S I G N E Y E . H E R E , S H E T E L L S U S T H E P R O C E S S O F T R A N S FO R M I N G I T I N TO A B I O D I V E R S E H AV E N FO R W I L D L I F E A N D H E R FA M I LY

I

’ve been a garden designer for over thirty years, and although I’ve really loved my work, there have been many times when I’ve been dismayed by a widespread lack of knowledge of the natural world – and sometimes total disregard of it, as if nature and the way the world functions were an optional extra in the garden.

For years, I’ve been pushing against the general tide of disinterest, encouraged by those clients who have actively sought me out, all the while increasing my knowledge of native species and how our gardens can help to slow their decline.

My own passion for nature has always been there, and no garden has seen the result of this passion more than my own. As a family, we’ve moved house more times than is sensible, but seven years ago we moved for what I hope will be the last time.

After drawing the short straw and ending up with a very small garden twice previously,

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though I liked the house at first sight, what really sold it to me was the sunny open aspect and the very weedy lawn.

It was April, and the thin grass was patched by speedwell, daisies and dandelions. The estate agents were baffled when I asked if the vendors could be persuaded not to mow it.

MY OWN PASSION FOR NATURE HAS ALWAYS BEEN THERE, AND NO GARDEN HAS SEEN THE RESULT OF THIS PASSION MORE THAN MY VERY OWN We moved in mid-June and on a wander through the long grass, I spotted a deeper pink among the clover. One pyramidal orchid became a drift of them, and I knew that I’d been right. Despite the island beds of exotic Yucca, Kniphofia and Phormium that had been cut into it, here were the remains of an old pasture and I blessed the former owner for not improving his lawn.

The exotics were given away or moved elsewhere – they were of little benefit to the tawny and ashy mining bees nesting under the south-facing bank. The bare patches recovered themselves from their seed bank in the soil, and with a little extra sowing from a wildflower mix, the range of species increased to provide forage for the many species of solitary bee, pollen beetles, hover flies, butterflies and both day

68 Pro Landscaper / September 2020

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and night flying moths I found making use of it.

All was well until neighbours on either side of us decided to take out parts of our mixed species boundary hedges. Upset but undeterred, I enlisted my husband’s help to move the relatively young beech hedge from the front boundary to fill the gaps.

On opening the front boundary up, I realised I had a perfect opportunity for another game of horticultural musical chairs. It had been part of my grand plan from the beginning to have as large a wildlife pond as I could, but the only realistic piece of level ground was a 1930s-style formal rose garden where the roses and surrounding rosemary and lavender were failing to thrive. It was just the excuse I needed to move them all to the front boundary. There, planted in informal groups interspersed with grasses and insect-friendly perennials, they took on a new lease of life.

The formal paths left from the old rose garden proved to be perfect paving material to use between the raised beds of a new vegetable garden. This meant the level ground I needed was free and my pond could be dug. To make it as useful as possible, it was constructed to have varying depths throughout – from a few centimetres deep so frogs could lay their spawn, to a central 90cm depth for a reasonably consistent water temperature.

My favoured way to edge a pond is to cover the planting shelves with a subsoil bank, reusing some of the excavated material and providing a planting medium for marginals that also hides the liner. The roof water was piped into it and an outfall, created to a slightly lower area, allowed

the mainly native marginals to migrate into the border, extending the damp appearance and integrating the pond into the wider garden.

Here, natives have introduced themselves – some, I’m sure, on the feet of visiting mallards.

Water figwort is a lovely tall plant, and is adored by wasps, gypsywort and reed sweet grass which now march around the edges with yellow monkey flower, which holds the soil together with its dense mat of roots. It’s important this holds in the moisture as mosses have colonised too, even on the sunny side.

The existing trees, several of them old apples, have been a wonderful resource for insects, birds and, of course, squirrels. I’ve added a few shrubby willows for early pollen and hawthorns to provide more berries for the birds. The self-sown Cotoneasters, having reached small

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NURTURE

tree proportions, have been covered in tree bumble bees in early summer and are a feast for wood pigeons and blackbirds in autumn.

The previous owner had been keen on winter interest, so beneath the trees and along a hedge he’d planted Pulmonaria, Helleborus, Hamamelis and Sarcococca. These are not only a mood lifter on a grey day, but absolutely invaluable for bumblebees out in milder winter weather. The Helleborus have seeded over time, and although there may be several muddy pink ones, with spreading Primula vulgaris, wild garlic and wood anemones beneath, they are just glorious. I have rarely touched this in seven years and it just gets better and better.

A perfect example of nature working at its best when humans stop interfering, and leave well alone. In a corner stands what might once have been an old telegraph pole. Ivy covers it from top to bottom and, when in flower, there are ivy bees feeding from it together with a wide range of other insects. It is so valuable as one of their last sources of food for the year. I wouldn’t dream of taking it away.

My weeding regime revolves around intentional negligence. In theory, identifying whatever pops up before I decide its fate.

In practise, with very little time to myself, most things stay and have just blended in. The process works very well, as the mix of native ‘weeds’ and self-sown ornamental annuals provides a diverse range of flowering plants.

Vicia sepium is the best pollinator plant, and its colours mixed with Nepeta and hardy geraniums

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is wonderful. That sprawls through the border with Centranthus ruber, mallow, fennel and opium poppies, all towering over the wild strawberries, Prunella vulgaris and Medicago lupulina. The lower plants cover the soil, preserve the invertebrate life beneath their leaves, while all of it gives maximum feeding opportunity to insects.

The garden gives me the most valuable lessons. I’ve gained plant knowledge, but also learnt how to work in tune with nature to benefit nature, but also people. My husband doesn’t get what the fuss is about, but happily sits overlooking the pond with a glass of something, smugly boasting that he always sees the bats in an evening before me. He’s blissfully unaware that if it wasn’t for the moths coming to the flowers in the meadow and the pond, there would be no bats.

My grown-up children still take pleasure poking about in the pond and my daughter, as eagle eyed as she was as a child, is still the first to spot any new creature we’ve not seen before.

She has worked for the NHS for 14 years and now, because of the strain of PTSD, is changing career. She has her own garden, populated by many of the plants she’s foraged here, and the knowledge she’s absorbed being in it. To her, the garden is her ‘lifeline’ and reinforces my belief that what we do in this profession is of life changing importance.

THE GARDEN IS HER ‘LIFELINE’ AND REINFORCES MY BELIEF THAT WHAT WE DO IN THIS PROFESSION IS OF LIFE CHANGING IMPORTANCE Humans are an integral part of nature, but our disconnection from it over time has made us forget how to be symbiotic. It’s a huge part of my continuing professional understanding, and seven years on I hope I’ve learned enough to be a useful part of this garden to all its inhabitants.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned from my garden is to leave my designer’s ego in my office and let nature lead the way.

1 A peaceful place to sit by the water 2 Pyramidal orchid Anacamptis pyramidalis 3 Shape, form and texture in the planting, still important to a designer if not the wildlife 4 Hedgehogs enjoying their cat food supper 5 Flowers around the house bring the pollinators up close for attempted identification 6 Perfect vantage point overlooking the pond 7 Larch deck and steps offer shelter to amphibians 8 Bumble bee/common knapweed Centaurea nigra

Pro Landscaper / September 2020 69

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NURTURE

W

hat is the new normal?

Excuse me if this month’s jottings are across a variety of topics!

My wife has recently retired, and her team very kindly gave her a pair of small olive trees – ball headed ones (pictured). Now, when I was at the nursery, all importation of olives was ceased, as the risk of Xylella to the business was too high.

These plants – which are very pleasant and my wife loves them – had an Italian plant passport number on the label which is supposed to pacify my plant health paranoia. It is still the International Year of Plant Health, even though certain ‘events’ have overtaken it. We all have to trust in the plant passport process, however weak and superficial it might be and whatever levels of inspection the APHA can undertake.

I’ll be watching out for any discoloured leaves!

But please, where you can, buy British.

NICK COS LET T NOTES SOME OF HORTICULTURE’S BIGGEST CHALLENGES, BOTH NOW AND OVER THE COMING MONTHS

WE STILL HAVE SO MUCH TO DO TO GET UK HORTICULTURE AND LANDSCAPE RECOGNISED Our Chancellor of the Exchequer has been throwing money – close to 10% of national GDP – at the UK to support jobs and the economy; I expect we won’t know how successfully until somewhere down the line, and it will need paying back. The UK growers, and especially those bedding plant growers who lost their route to market in March and April, lost critical income.

Garden centres only reopened in mid-May; however, if you visited any garden centre after then, there was a distinct shortage of bedding plants. Demand far outstripped the (by then, available) supply. Growers were having to catch up and rush plants out where they could.

However, many have suffered terribly, and their trade body, the HTA, pleaded with the government to support these growers to the tune of £36m, but you can guess the success of that – zilch. We still have so much to do to get UK horticulture and landscape recognised as we only contribute 0.8% toward UK GDP, despite the significantly greater benefits we bring.

Brexit is a fact, and with only five months to go, the new Border Operating Module has been released with little preparation time for businesses. It’s too complex to go into here and will be the subject of further articles; however, be assured it will add complexity, time and costs to all importing of live plants for landscaping. You

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have been warned, and price rises are inevitable for non-UK plants. The good news is a number of growers are expanding their production areas to meet the market demand for UK-grown stock.

Our Environment Secretary George Eustace spoke recently – 10 July – about the environment post-pandemic. He said: “When we destroy nature, we undermine our very foundations.” He recognised that nature is good for health and he’s funding some more “green prescribing” in four urban areas. But the week before (or so), Boris was trying to get the newt fencing delays to development set aside!

Yes, newt fencing frustrates me. Not because it protects via statute, and so funding the ecology of an area intended for development, but there is no protection for actually getting the landscape enhancements proposed at

planning realised to an actual established scheme. It's this which needs statute protection so ecologically enhanced landscapes are available to those living in new developments and benefit from living with a green world.

Crisis? What crisis? We really need to get the policy makers to understand our industry and how we can benefit all of society. Do your part where you can, please.

ABOUT NICK COSLETT Nick initially trained as a landscape architect, then parks manager, and for the last 20 years, he has worked with Coblands and Palmstead nurseries, running the Soft Landscape Workshops. He’s also been involved with BALI as national and regional chairs. Now, he is a BALI National Landscape Awards judge and Chalk Fund trustee.

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OUT WITH THE OLD?

GARDENERS’ WORLD COULD DO WITH A SWITCH-UP, SAYS LEWIS NORMAND, TO BENEFIT THE HORTICULTURE INDUSTRY

I

was (briefly) excited to read a headline this week (last month to you, dear reader) announcing garden designer and plantsman Adam Frost as the new host of Gardeners’ World. My excitement was quickly dashed, however, when I read further to see that it was only for a week and that Monty Don would return after a short break. In that moment, I had even thought that I might once again start watching Gardeners’ World regularly: I may well watch this week.

It would be all too easy to use my time here to rant on about how Monty Don isn’t helpful to our industry; often making inflammatory comments about various sectors, especially garden centres and bedding plant growers, which he has largely proven he knows little or nothing about. I’m not going to do that, though I do really wish he’d take the time to better know the industry and that he felt sufficient camaraderie to come out in support of us rather than snipe unhelpfully. Instead, I’ll talk about the positive follow-on thoughts I considered as a result of this experience.

I was briefly heartened, not because I was glad to see someone going, but because I was happy about what I saw as positive change; a diversification and broadening of the talent base. It would appear that I was not the only person who was caught out by this headline, also feeling excited by the prospect of

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necessary and positive change. A number of industry friends and colleagues posted on social media about how they felt heartened by this headline, only to be disappointed when further reading the article to find out that very little was actually changing.

Regardless of the reality of this change, let me explain why I feel that this brought about such feelings of joy. Adam Frost has long been an understandably well-respected professional garden designer, avid horticulturist, educator and very watchable presenter. He has won

PERHAPS, WE NEED TO SEE NOT SO MUCH A CHANGING OF THE GUARD, BUT A BETTER DISTRIBUTION OF PRESENTERS OVER AIRTIME multiple medals at shows and exposed himself to critique in the crucible of RHS Chelsea Flower Show on a number of occasions. He actively works in the industry; connects with it and understands the challenges facing it. What better an advocate could we want? Able to tie the needs of the amateur gardener to those of the professional; marrying gardening with professional horticulture and garden design.

He – along with a number of less exposed horticultural presenters – given more airtime, would do a great deal to broaden the appeal of professional horticulture and garden design to prospective students and career entrants. Perhaps, we need to see not so much a changing of the guard, but a better distribution of presenters over airtime.

While BBC Gardeners’ World is a show designed for the amateur viewer, it is watched (or at least has been at times) by most people who work in the

various sectors of horticulture. Importantly, it is the number one UK gardening TV show and so the window to the UK amateur audience.

Seeing garden designers like Nick Bailey, Mark Lane, Arit Anderson, Joe Swift and Chris Beardshaw, contribute hugely to the professional contact that show has; seeing more of them and others, allowing them to steer some of the programming, would add a great deal to the value of the show to all.

Expert, professional gardeners with a wealth of experience from study and industrial work, like Alys Fowler, Francis Tophill, Toby Buckland and the wonderful Carol Klein, also add huge value, taken from industry and applied in a manner that suits an amateur viewer, but maintains the respect of the professional.

Highly versatile presenters like James Wong bring a vast knowledge of botany, ecology and experience in garden design and interiorscaping to broaden the offering of the show.

All of these people, along with highly viewable but less well-known in the professional arena presenters – Rachel de Thame, for example – would add so much to the credibility of the show and to professional horticulture if they were allowed the reigns more often.

Monty Don is, as I understand it, hugely popular with the viewing public and, while this benefits TV figures, it perhaps doesn’t help to connect and convert much of the audience toward professional ambitions, or help them understand the value and needs of the industry.

By giving greater airtime to a wider array of presenters, I believe we can better represent diversity and offer a broader perspective on myriad facets of horticulture and garden design.

ABOUT LEWIS NORMAND Lewis has worked in a wide variety of roles within horticulture over a 20-year career. He has lectured on garden design and horticulture, and designed gardens in the UK, Europe and the Middle East.

Since 2011, Lewis has focused on nursery sales, now working as sales manager at Bernhard’s Nurseries, and has helped to launch a number of new plants into the UK plant market. He is a specialist supplier to show gardens, supplying more than 100 gardens at major shows.

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19/08/2020 21:56

NURTURE

INCLUSIVE I N DUST RY ?

NOEL KINGSBURY SHARES HIS FEEDBACK FROM THOSE IN HORTICULTURE FROM BAME BACKGROUNDS, AND SAYS IT MAY BE THE IMAGE OF THE INDUSTRY THAT’S THE PROBLEM

D

iversity’ is one of the great buzzwords of the moment. So, how does the landscape and garden world shape up? Not terribly well.

This is an overwhelmingly white industry.

I’d like to unpack some of the reasons why.

First, a thought experiment – at least for us white folks. Think of going for a country walk. Now try to think of the last time you met somebody black or Asian climbing over a stile. I bet you can’t remember. The British countryside is unbelievably white. Now put yourself in the shoes of a black or Asian person on a country walk – you’d really stand out, wouldn’t you? How would you feel about that? Could you relax and enjoy the scenery?

It is this discomfort, rather than racism per se, that is perhaps the problem in our industry, which in many ways is an open and tolerant one.

This very much came up with several Africanheritage people in the garden world I spoke to a few years ago, when I was researching a magazine article that in the end was never commissioned. A garden designer once told me that it was the possibility of racism that constantly nagged at her and stopped her from putting her portrait on her website, while an

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Asian-heritage landscape architect said to me recently: “It’s the ‘only gay in the village’ problem.” He describes himself as being very confident, but his experience of almost any professional situation is that he is the only person of colour in the room.

Often well-meaning white people can really make this worse; ‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions’, as the saying goes. Trying to take an interest in someone all too easily leads to questions like, “where are you from?” or “what

RAISE THE STATUS OF THE INDUSTRY, AND IT WILL BECOME MORE ATTRACTIVE brings you here?” To anyone from a minority background the subtext here is “you are different” which all too easily elides into “you don’t have a right to be here”. And yet the opposite, completely ignoring differences of ethnicity, is also a kind of lack of awareness, because the black and Asian experience is different.

Whilst pondering these questions, it suddenly occurred to me: ‘What about the Jews?’. Here, we have what is probably the most creative community in human history, and yet, in the garden and landscaping world they are curiously absent. I asked my most observantly-Jewish friend, who happens to work in garden media, and received the rather brusque but, I think, very true reply: “Maybe different ethnic groups are simply attracted to particular areas of life and

work through their own cultural, religious, and historical experiences. There’s nothing more irritating than being prescribed.” Gardens, in particular, are very tied up with notions of Englishness. Several African and Asian-heritage garden and landscaping people I’ve spoken to mentioned this, as well as citing working on the land as being low status and stressing that all immigrant communities are intensely aspirational. Indeed, one of the stock themes in the Asian comedy series ‘Goodness Gracious Me’ is that of parents boasting about the careers of their children in medicine, law and accountancy. Garden work in particular is considered ‘low status’. Raise the status of the industry, and it will become more attractive.

As we all steadily integrate, attitudes change.

When I was researching my never-written article, I was pleasantly surprised at how many people I found to talk to. African and Asian heritage people are rising in the profession, and those in the public eye are passionate that their presence will encourage young people from minority backgrounds to consider landscaping as a career. The rest of us have a duty to show that this is an industry that is genuinely welcoming to anyone who has a passion for their surroundings.

ABOUT NOEL KINGSBURY Noel Kingsbury is a freelance designer, writer and researcher who has long promoted naturalistic planting design. He also teaches at Boston Architectural College.

www.noelkingsbury.com

Pro Landscaper / September 2020 73

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NURTURE

N U R S E RY

FO C U S L

uck or clairvoyance – either way, Provender Nurseries was somewhat prepared for lockdown when it struck in March.

It had ordered another 20t truck nine months earlier, which arrived in the first week of lockdown. New battery powered pump trucks, alongside a new truck with a bigger tail lift which the nursery purchased last year, allowed deliveries including heavy items to be made by one person rather than two, helping to maintain social distance and limiting the number of people using the vehicles.

The company had also bought two portacabins last year to expand staff facilities. It had planned to install these this summer, but instead hastily converted them within three weeks into new offices and additional toilets.

As if all this wasn’t enough, managing director Richard McKenna had also recently had the toilet facilities improved on the site, including the addition of knee-operated taps, which are more hygienic (and are likely to become mighty popular going forward).

Despite all this, Richard says the greatest asset the nursery had which has helped it to weather the pandemic is the staff. “I know this sounds corny, but the best

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PROVENDER NURSERIES WAS SURPRISINGLY WELL PREPARED FOR THE PANDEMIC, AND IS NOW GE ARING UP FOR THE NE XT CHALLENGE - BRE XIT thing I had is a great bunch of people. Everybody came in on the Tuesday, [the day after Boris announced the lockdown], and we had a meeting in which we decided to shut down the cash and carry.

Within three hours, my colleagues had set up a click and collect system and they’d sorted out paperwork and noticeboards. One went out and bought cleaning products. We potted rootballs and moved around stock. Every member of staff did their bit and it’s actually cemented the whole team. I’m ever so proud of them.”

THE BIGGEST CHANGE IN HORTICULTURE IS GOING TO BE PLANNING Keeping on 52 members of staff with only a handful furloughed meant that the nursery had to take a bit of a financial hit, though. “We still had a substantial wage bill every month, and once the wages had been covered I then paid as many suppliers as I could – it was really difficult, because you never knew where your next payment was going to come from.”

Now, Provender Nurseries is slowly starting to return to some normality. People can now attend the site without booking ahead, but they must register their details at the door. Visitors are also advised to use hand gel and wear gloves, and face masks are now mandatory, as of 24 July. However, as readers will have undoubtedly heard uttered before, businesses

may be returning to a ‘new normal’ to which everyone will have to adjust. “Time has to change,” says Richard. “People are realising that they cannot click their fingers and everything magically appears. Calling up and saying they want their plants for the next day just isn’t going to work anymore. We’re finding our customers are having to plan weeks in advance, and it’s only going to get harder next year.”

As of January, new legislation is being implemented around imports as a result of Brexit – which Pro Landscaper will be covering in more detail in a later issue.

“It’s generally quicker at the moment to get material in from the continent than it is from UK nurseries, but that continental supply chain is going to slow up; stock may be quarantined, it may have to be inspected.

I genuinely feel that the biggest change in horticulture is going to be planning.”

Coronavirus may be the challenge now, but it’s important for nurseries – and for all those which rely on them – to be aware of the changes which are coming and plan accordingly. For Provender Nurseries, it’s not luck that will help it to overcome adversity, but thinking ahead and having the right people in place. It is now building new infrastructure to help handle materials post-Brexit.

Tel: 01322 662315 www.provendernurseries.co.uk

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20/08/2020 16:27

NURTURE

LIQUIDAMBAR STYRACIFLUA

HEDGING AGAINST

A DV E R S I T Y

P E T E R B O N G E R S , M A N AG I N G D I R E C TO R O F Q U I C K H E D G E I N T H E NETHERLANDS, TELLS US HOW THE NURSERY REMAINS POSITIVE A B O U T U K T R A D E I N T H E FAC E O F B R E X I T A N D C OV I D -1 9

Q

uickHedge could comfortably be called a forward-thinking nursery.

The business itself was founded around aspirations of automation.

Owner Peter Bongers started producing young whips in 1985 and spent several years attempting to automate part of the process. Finding this to be a somewhat fruitless task, he changed tact, and in 2005 started to grow instant hedges using GPS systems – and here lies his success.

“Our nursery was the first in Holland to work with a GPS system,” says Peter. “At the moment, we grow only instant hedges across 35ha of land. We’re likely the biggest grower in the world which grows in open ground.”

Using the GPS system, QuickHedge plants and trims the hedges across the vast site, enabling the process to be faster and more efficient. And whilst automation might not be quite on the cards just yet, Peter says the nursery follows the developments in robotics, though admits it’s a long way off from being suitable for the needs of QuickHedge. “If it’s possible for the nursery and we can make it viable, then we’d like to do it, but there are too many problems with the technology at the moment; that’s why we use GPS instead.”

Despite being forward-thinking and closely monitoring the market, there is one issue that QuickHedge could not have predicted and which

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has had a huge impact on businesses not just in the Netherlands but across the globe – COVID-19. Both the Netherlands and the UK imposed their own lockdown restrictions at the end of March to

BUSINESSES ARE STARTING TO COME BACK IN THE UK AND REQUESTS ARE LOOKING GOOD

prevent the spread of coronavirus, and as a result of this – and Brexit, of course – QuickHedge’s trade with the UK has shrunk from 20% of its business to 5%.

When Pro Landscaper spoke with Peter in mid-July, though, many of the restrictions put in place by both countries were gradually being lifted. “A lot of companies closed in the UK in March and we couldn’t supply them at that time.

“Fortunately, we didn’t have a complete lockdown and our company was able to continue working. We had new rules for how to work, of course, taking into account the social distance between employees, but it was workable and we think we made a good decision for our employees and our customers.”

“Last month, we noticed that businesses are starting to come back in the UK and requests are looking good.” Peter expects this to continue too, with the FutureScape EXPO 2020 in November being an opportunity to showcase the nursery and what it can offer. “We grow only instant hedges and we are proud to show a product where landscapers can make a garden private within one day. “[Over the next few months], QuickHedge will try to grow a wide assortment of instant hedges from 80, 120, 150, 180 and 200cm in height; 80% of our stock will have a height of 200cm. In the last two years, we have introduced two new hedges to our assortment – Liquidambar styraciflua and Parrotia persica ‘Vanessa’. These are quite new as instant hedges and need little maintenance.”

QuickHedge is continuing to look ahead and plan for the company’s future, of which the UK still plays a key role. www.quickhedge.com

PARROTIA PERSICA ‘VANESSA’

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Artificial turf Evergreens UK www.evergreensuk.com

Irrigation Watermatic www.watermaticltd.co.uk

Stone Wraxalls www.wraxalls.co.uk

Paving Zoontjens www.zoontjens.co.uk

Plants Acorn (MK) Nurseries www.acorn-mk-nurseries.co.uk

Soils Bourne Amenity www.bourneamenity.co.uk

Green roof build up Bauder www.bauder.co.uk

Bike stores Green Roof Shelters www.greenroofshelters.co.uk

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EDUCATE

TAC K L E T H E TA P I

t’s 10pm, and you’re finally relaxing and ready for bed when you receive a text from a client chasing you for something that they’ve been asking you to do for weeks.

The invasion in your downtime is one thing (now you’ll never get to sleep), but worse than that, you’re annoyed with yourself because you’ve read the ‘to do’ on your list three times today and thought about them twice. It’s as if they can read your mind.

Think of a client or customer enough times, and sure enough they’ll call you up – and it’s not normally to check if you enjoyed your weekend!

Call it intuition, a sixth sense or a spiritual connection, but we call it a tap on the shoulder, and when you’re aware of it, it happens all the time. You think to yourself: ‘That member of the

THE TAP ON THE SHOULDER IS, IN ESSENCE, OUR BODY CREATING A LITTLE ‘MOTIVATING SHORT-TERM PAIN’ team seems a bit off’ – it’s a tap on the shoulder. ‘I’ve been avoiding dealing with that; I must address it’ – that’s a tap on the shoulder.

Phrases like ‘it’ll be fine’ or ‘I’ll deal with it later’ are a tap on the shoulder; avoid them and before you know it you’ll be tap, tap, tapping all day long. Unable to focus and be creative, when you don’t tackle the tap on the shoulder, it usually slaps you right around the face!

The concept of tackling the tap was introduced to me by my mentor and it’s a game changer, let me tell you. It’s part of your body’s IPPS or ‘Internal Psychological Protection System’ (I just made that up).

On a scale of one to 10,

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a tap is about a two on the pain scale – by pain, I mean the internal ‘I know I should but I’m avoiding it’, slash, the feeling of slight nausea – an example of which includes remembering you promised to do something and forgot.

This triggers feelings of slight nausea and the ‘must write it down’ response, which is usually followed by no action and a repeat of the process in a couple of days’ time.

Now, your body is pretty clever, so it will often give you a few of these ‘automated reminders’ and they are usually when you least want them – maybe when you’re in the shower, driving the car or, worse, trying to get to sleep. This is your body’s way of ramping up the need for action, and it escalates the pain to a three or a four, and if it’s been on your mind for a while, then maybe a seven or an eight.

It’s important to note here that our body isn’t trying to sabotage itself by causing us unnecessary pain, it’s just a little ‘pre pain’ to get us motivated enough to get the task completed. Humans (like most animals) are naturally programmed to be motivated into action by two things: pleasure and pain. These feelings keep us alive (the pleasure of eating food and reproducing) and safe (the avoidance of pain). But here’s the head masher. We’ve also learned, mainly through our experiences in life, that in order to avoid a bigger pain, or long-term pain, we must act on short-term pain (think about an injection – short termpain, but better than the disease which it helps us to avoid).

So, the tap on the shoulder is, in essence, our body creating a little ‘motivating shortterm pain’, which, if necessary, will keep on ramping up until we address the issue – all in the name of keeping us safe from the bigger

LEE BESTALL TALKS ABOUT AVOIDING PARTS OF YOUR TO-DO LIST AND WHY THESE ARE THE TASKS YOU REALLY SHOULD COMPLETE STRAIGHT AWAY

pain that will inevitably come if we don’t deal with the tap now.

Since being aware of the shoulder tap – and still sometimes avoiding the first one – I’ve noticed that my brain will escalate the pain quite quickly, and far beyond the anticipated pain of the slap. It’s a common problem and can make us feel like we’re going mad; we think the problem will be worse than it actually is when we address it.

So, if you’ve been avoiding something, anything at all, or the next time you have a tap, be strong and tackle it there and then.

I promise you’ll feel better for it and it won’t be anywhere near as bad as the slap you’ll get if you don’t!

A B O U T L E E B E S TA L L Lee Bestall has been designing and managing the construction of gardens in his signature style for more than 10 years – and his honest, genuine passion is infectious. He regularly writes gardening and outdoor-style articles for magazines, is brand ambassador for Spear & Jackson and a stand-in presenter for BBC Radio Sheffield’s Gardeners’ Question Hour. www.bestall.co.uk

Pro Landscaper / September 2020 85

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N E W R I G H TS E

arlier this year, the government introduced a swathe of changes to employment rights in this country.

Many of these emanated from a document called ‘The Good Work Plan’ which was heralded as proposing the biggest workplace changes in more than 20 years.

An important change is the introduction of the requirement for all workers to have a written statement of the terms and conditions of their employment and this statement must be given on or before their first day.

Before 6 April, a statement of particulars was to be given to “employees” within two months of commencement of employment.

Now, this right is extended to “workers” as well as “employees”.

The distinction between “employee” and “worker” isn’t always clear cut but, in short, an “employee” is an individual employed under a contract of employment, who provides their own services and their employer is obliged to provide them with work, under the control of the employer, in return for an agreed salary or wage. A “worker” works under a contract or arrangement and agrees to work or provide a service to the other party to the arrangement who is neither a client nor customer; examples include most agency workers, short-term casual workers and some freelancers. The term does not include the self-employed.

The required information under the new written statement includes: • Days of the week the worker is required to work and whether working hours or days may be variable, with details of how they may vary; • Any other benefits provided; • Any probationary period, including conditions and duration; • Any training provided by the employer, any mandatory part of that training and details of any required training where the employer will not bear the cost; • Notice periods for termination by either side; • Terms as to length of temporary or fixed-term work.

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IL AN BR AHA AND JASON MCKENZIE OF OR ACLE SOLICITORS E XPL AIN THE RECENT CHANGES TO EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS, FOCUSING ON WRIT TEN TERMS WHICH NEED TO BE PROVIDED

Before April 2020, the above information could be given at different times and as separate documents. Now, it must be given together.

THERE MAY BE MORE REQUIRED OF EMPLOYERS, BUT IN THE LONG TERM IT MAY ACTUALLY STREAMLINE THE PROCESS

There are exceptions to what information must be given on the first day. Exceptions include pensions, collective agreements (e.g. agreements with unions) and certain information about disciplinary and grievance procedures. These must be given within the old two-month period from the first day.

Information about sick pay, paid leave, pensions and any non-compulsory training entitlement which the worker does not have to pay for can be in a different document – the document must be reasonably accessible and referred to within the main written statement.

What about existing employees?

If, on or after 6 April 2020, an existing employee requests a written statement of their employment terms, the employer must provide a compliant statement within one month.

An existing employee may only make one such request. Also, if there is a change in any of the particulars required under the new written statement rules, the employer must give the employee a written statement containing details of the change within one month of the change.

The new deadline and requirements for the statement do, at first blush, sound like quite a burden for employers. However, most if not all of the information was already to be given to the workers and was likely either ready to hand or obtainable without too much effort. This is essentially consolidating all the required information into a single document and requiring it to be given to new workers either on or before their first day. Short term, there may be more required of employers, but in the long term it may actually streamline the process.

Do you have a question you'd like to ask Oracle Solicitors? Get in touch: content@eljays44.com

A B O U T O R AC L E S O L I C I TO R S Oracle Solicitors is an award-winning law firm with expertise in employment, commercial, criminal defence and extradition, personal injury and aviation. Oracle was founded in 2002 by managing director Sajjad Shan and has since grown to include offices in London, Belfast, Frankfurt, and Addis Ababa. It prides itself on its no-nonsense clientfocused approach. It has recently launched its Employment Protection Scheme – please visit:

www.oraclesolicitors.co.uk

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19/08/2020 23:09

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WITH THE SUPPLY CHAIN SUFFERING, ANGUS LINDSAY SAYS IT’S IMPORTANT WHERE POSSIBLE TO RETAIN STAFF WITH THE EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE TO PULL THEM THROUGH THE CRISIS

A

s we emerge from lockdown, like survivors from a nuclear fallout, the full extent and long-lasting effects on our day-to-day lives are becoming apparent. The pandemic has seen some big names in manufacturing and supply fall by the wayside or diversify, and it has been impressive the way some businesses have adapted to produce products to assist in the battle against COVID-19.

What has come as a surprise is the loss of some highly experienced individuals within the supply sector from businesses which weathered the pandemic and continued to provide support during the lockdown. We are all having to adopt leaner working practices but, to my way of thinking, losing years of valuable experience is an extremely shortsighted approach to the long-term sustainability of a business. Within a commercial operation, a realistic programme

WHATEVER LIES AHEAD, OUR LANDSCAPE STILL NEEDS TO BE MAINTAINED AND MANAGED of succession planning makes these decisions far easier to manage, as hopefully there will be someone with the right skills able to pick up the reins. But what of the family business, where the next generation may not always be the best replacement and they may not always want to follow into the family business? But, then I suppose blood is thicker than water.

Tough times call for tough decisions. When the loss of the few may safeguard the future of many others, it’s a tough call many smaller businesses are having to make to ensure their survival. Several large corporations with multi-faceted interests, some linked to the aviation industry, are now looking to sell some of their portfolio which, perversely, could affect the supply of lawn mowers and ATVs. John Deere recently announced that it is selling its pedestrian mower manufacturing facility and

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ceasing production of robotic mowers as these products are no longer a strategic fit for their business. I wonder how many more of the big players will look to streamline their operations by rationalising their product line-up? After all, the recent pandemic is only one hurdle; emissions and a move to cleaner technology could dramatically change the range of options available to the end user.

THE GRASS WILL STILL NEED TO BE CUT, BUT HOW?

Whatever lies ahead, our landscape still needs to be maintained and managed. How we deliver this remains to be seen, though learning from experience will be invaluable to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not replicated. With tens of thousands of people entering the job market, some may well decide to join our industry but have little or no experience, so learning from the ‘old hands’ is an ideal way to get them up to speed, as technology can’t always provide the answer. Before, I have extolled the virtues of learning from others who’ve ‘been

there, seen that, and got the T-shirt’, and going forward I think that this is even more relevant.

I’m sure we have all come up against inexperience in one form or another; the 1.5m rotavator fitted to the 100hp tractor; specifying a 48” machine only to discover it can’t get through the gates; thinking it is acceptable to carry an 1,800kg machine on a 3,500kg truck; or the belief that a flail will take down anything from brambles to small trees. These could all be avoided if we share our experience. In our brave new world, where getting people back into work through apprenticeships and the like is a priority, management training schemes and online training are all well and good, but shouldn’t we be drawing on those who can share their vast practical knowledge and experience before we lose them for good?

A B O U T A N G U S L I N D S AY 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 has an Agricultural Engineering and Mechanisation Management MSc from Silsoe, and joined Glendale as machinery manager in 1994, then idverde UK in 2009.

angus.lindsay@idverde.co.uk

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19/08/2020 13:54

THE FRIDAY WRAP DELIVERS THE NEWS, VIEWS AND OPINIONS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED It’s not only Pro Landscaper DURING WEEK that’s had a THE makeover, the Friday wrap has a new look too.

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Pro Landscaper / September 2020 89

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18/08/2020 21:32

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THE TIME FOR C H A N G E I S N OW

he world gasped in unison at the death of George Floyd; we all agreed that no citizen should be killed by the very officers tasked with serving him with protection from criminal acts, under the law. The death of Mr Floyd mattered, but a more thorny issue seems to be how much his life mattered; the life that he lived before 25 May 2020. Does it matter that his life chances and those of other black and minority ethnic people are different from those of white people? Does it matter that a BAME baby born in the UK in 2020 is likely to live a shorter life, be poorer and suffer greater health problems than a white baby? Does it matter that it is harder for BAME people to enter, progress and be heard in some professions?

I start with these questions, because I cannot assume that the answer from everyone is ‘yes’; because once we admit that it matters, then the next question is, how much does it matter? Does it matter enough to make changes? To change the way our whole society works? The way that our children are raised to see white as the norm; to default to the white perspective; to listen more openly to a white voice and to see non-white as different?

This task of change seems too massive; understandably we defer to higher powers, to the elected authorities, to our leaders; government, of course, but equality laws are already in place, so now we need to look closer to home; at how the spirit of these laws is being lost in the application. On paper, Britain is equal – in reality, it is not.

So, is horticulture equal?

We asked several of our industry’s leading bodies to reflect on diversity within the landscape industry and their sectors in particular.

We elect and pay our leaders to shape and grow our industry; to not only comply narrowly

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with legal requirements, but to envision and inspire a future that we can be proud of and that young people will want to be part of.

Conversation and collaboration is always essential to change, but it cannot be a substitute for individual action. Each organisation which represents a sector of our industry needs to take responsibility for the things that they themselves can change. Reviews, research, data, reports, discussion are all very well, but I invite you to consider the actions that you could take

CONVERSATION AND COLLABORATION IS ALWAYS ESSENTIAL TO CHANGE, BUT IT CANNOT BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR INDIVIDUAL ACTION tomorrow: training for your staff about diversity and unconscious bias; correcting the imbalance of your board; reaching out to under-represented communities; grants for marginalised groups; work experience programmes and career opportunities; more platforms for BAME professionals (and not just to speak about diversity!); the support and development of role models; career mentoring schemes; and open, empathic and robust complaints procedures.

Each society within the horticulture industry must put its own house in order. But societies are made up of people and so change will also involve individuals having the humility to ask difficult questions about their own life and career advancement; courage to reflect on past actions; motivation to become better informed and integrity to stand up for what is right.

It may be difficult for white people to see them, but there are barriers into and within horticulture, believe me: ranging from overt

racism and bullying from individuals, through unconscious bias and well-meaning ignorance within our institutions, to apologetic cowardice and looking the other way.

I am heartened to see genuine efforts at change, but the thing that saddens and frustrates me is to hear our leaders saying yet again, “It’s going to take time”. Setting a lengthy timeline soothes those that are afraid of losing out and reassures people who seek the impossible paradox of change that does not upset the status quo. But, a comfortable and imperceptibly slow rate of change is what we have had for the last two centuries; I would like to see a greater sense of urgency. The under representation of BAME people in horticulture and other professions is not a new problem, we should be beyond the conception stage by now; we need to rapidly move to action.

In his 20s, my father was told by the legal profession: “Be patient, change will not happen quickly”. His life has come and gone.

I am now in the latter part of my career. My daughter, in her first job in television, was told by her producer not to bother pitching any black presenters to a particular channel – “They will never have a black lead for a programme.” In 30 years’ time, will Amy’s daughter be told the same thing as she starts her career? “It’s complicated – it will take time – be patient”? Three careers spanning half a century, three black lives – does it matter?

Juliet Sargeant MRCP FSGD FLI

F U R T H E R I N F O R M AT I O N For organisations and businesses looking to improve their marketing to diverse groups of society: www.theunmistakables.com

Pro Landscaper / September 2020 91

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CHANGING THE L ANDSCAPE I T ’ S H A R D TO A R G U E AG A I N ST T H E R E B E I N G A L AC K O F B A M E R E P R E S E N TAT I O N I N H O R T I C U LT U R E . R AT H E R T H A N P O I N T I N G F I N G E R S , T H O U G H , I T ’ S T I M E TO F I G U R E O U T W H Y T H E I N D U ST R Y I S N OT A P P E A L I N G TO T H O S E F R O M T H E S E B AC KG R O U N D S A N D H OW W E C A N C O L L EC T I V E LY C H A N G E T H I S – A N D S O O N E R R AT H E R T H A N L AT E R

I

can’t breathe.” This was chanted by thousands of people outside the US embassy in London on 7 June. Banners, raised high, read: ‘There is a virus greater than COVID-19 and it’s called racism’. Many simply stated ‘Black Lives Matter’, the name of the campaign which, despite being founded in 2013, is only just gaining traction.

This protest was one of a series of anti-racism UK demonstrations to be held. Each was sparked by the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died at the hands of the police in Minneapolis on 25 May. George had been arrested by four officers, and lay handcuffed on the ground whilst one of the policemen – a white man – knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, an action which killed George and became the reason why hundreds of thousands of protestors, not just in the UK but globally, echoed – and continue to echo – the words “I can’t breathe”.

Protestors flocked to the streets to campaign against the injustice of George’s death and to demand that the police officer responsible be charged with second-degree murder – and their call was answered; Derek Chauvin is now being held in a state prison.

The three officers who stood alongside him have also been fired from the force and are facing charges of aiding and abetting.

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Case closed? Hardly. This wasn’t just a wake-up call of racism embedded within the Minneapolis Police Department, or institutional racism across America. It raised the global struggle of the BAME (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic) community with racism remaining widespread, affecting the opportunities available

ONLY 1.5% OF THE 3.7 MILLION LEADERSHIP POSITIONS ACROSS THE UK’S PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTORS WERE HELD BY BLACK PEOPLE LAST YEAR to those of these backgrounds. Take one statistic from Business in the Community, a charity which encourages responsible business practice; it found that, despite black people making up more than 3% of the population of England and Wales, only 1.5% of the 3.7 million leadership positions across the UK’s private and public sectors were held by black people last year.

So, how does the horticulture industry fare when it comes to being inclusive? If not well, then what’s the reason behind this? And what can we do to change it?

“We are aware that diversity is sadly lacking in the horticultural industry, particularly those from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds,” says Sue Biggs, director general of the RHS. “Recent stats [from a Pye Tait 2019 report] show that a mere 1% of workers in the sector are from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

This a situation that is totally unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue in today’s world.”

In May 2018, the Landscape Institute (LI) published its Future State of Landscape report.

It revealed that the majority of the association’s membership was white – a whopping 95%, in fact. Recognising the lack of ethnic diversity in landscape architecture, the LI identified this as one of its priority areas. It had already started tackling this issue the previous year, setting up a Diversity and Inclusion Working Group, which not only focuses on ethnicity but also gender, mobility and sexuality.

It’s not just landscape architecture, though, which is predominantly a white profession within horticulture. “Whether parks managers, ecologists, greenkeepers, landscape architects, nurserymen/women, contractors, garden

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designers, etc., we tend to see the same faces – and they tend to be very similar,” says Romy Rawlings, chair of the LI’s Diversity and Inclusion Working Group. “There are many individuals doing great community work, such as Carole Wright, but they’re generally not well-known by the ‘mainstream’ industry. “[Diversity] is a vital element of any sector and horticulture is no different. That might be at grass roots level to ensure that the needs of our communities are being reflected in our green spaces and ensure every member of society feels supported, or at senior levels where a diverse board membership can bring about a 20% better performance in a company.”

The statistics for other areas of horticulture are sadly unavailable – for now. “What is apparent is that there is a data shortage,” says Wayne Grills, CEO of the British Association of Landscape Contractors (BALI). “We do not have statistics on BAME representation within the industry and this is something we are addressing by commissioning some quantitative analysis.

“We are interested in knowing more about the geographical spread of diversity along with understanding more about what diversity and equality look like, particularly within management roles. We need data to understand what the true societal representation looks like in order for us to help ensure that the landscape services industry is something to be seriously considered as a vocation for all.”

The Society of Garden Designers says it will also now be capturing this data from its members. Chair Sarah Morgan says: “Unfortunately, the landscape industry in the UK is not immune to the inequalities and prejudice that members of the BAME community face, with BAME people under-represented on horticultural courses and within the professional sector, despite high representation at allotments, garden forums and home gardening.” So, horticulture is potentially appealing to BAME people as a hobby, but perhaps not as a

profession; and whilst it’s hard to pinpoint the reason behind this, there are a few ideas as to why the industry is failing to appeal.

“I had a conversation with someone for a podcast in the States, and we came to the conclusion that it’s maybe a throwback to the days of slavery,” muses Danny Clarke, who runs his own design and build company, The Black Gardener, and co-presented ‘The Instant Gardener’ on BBC1. “Maybe, psychologically, working the land is seen as servile.”

DIVERSITY IS A VITAL ELEMENT OF ANY SECTOR AND HORTICULTURE IS NO DIFFERENT R O M Y R AW L I N G S , C H A I R , T H E L I ’S D I V E RS I T Y A N D I N C LUS I O N WORKING GROUP

Whilst Danny himself, whose parents are of Jamaican heritage, was not deterred by this – he left a career in sales to follow his passion for horticulture – he is not the only one to suggest slavery could be part of the explanation.

“Historically, the roots of horticulture and landscape design are muddied by the injustices of colonialism and the slave trade,” says Sarah Morgan. “Combined with the perception of horticulture as low skilled with mediocre pay, our industry has been less attractive to groups already disadvantaged by society and there are

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many other factors, like location, economics, lack of inclusivity and the way it is portrayed, often as an eccentric middle-aged white occupation.

“According to the ONS survey 2020 during lockdown, those of black ethnicity are 2.4 times less likely than those of white ethnicity to have a private garden. Early childhood experiences and influences have a huge impact on later life and career choices.”

Attracting young people to horticulture is hardly a new problem, but could this wider issue be partly to blame for low BAME representation? “As an industry, we struggle to recruit in all sectors of horticulture,” says Phil Tremayne, general manager of the Association of Professional Landscapers.

“Horticulture for many – particularly the young – is seen as an underpaid, manual, nonprofessional trade, where most of its participants are out in the cold and wet getting dirty, for little reward.

What they don’t see – and as an industry we fail to be able to deliver – is the passion and sheer joy of being involved in the world of horticulture; its variety, its people, its plants, its skill, its professionalism and its opportunities. If we could find a way to promote the sector that encompassed all those elements, we may appeal to all, including BAME.” However, Romy Rawlings warns there isn’t one solution. “When you break BAME down into specifics, each cultural sector will have different reasons for lack of engagement or understanding, so it’s not necessarily a blanket issue that can be addressed with one simple ‘fix’.

Could more visible role models be part of the solution, though? “When you watch [horticulture programmes] on TV – for example ‘Gardeners’ World’ – it’s very white and middle class,” says Danny Clarke. “Monty Don goes into his shed and

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permission, it was alright for him to see it as a career option.

“It’s important that people feel they can belong to a wide range of industries. For some reason, gardening seems to be dragging its heels when it comes to inclusivity.”

IF YOU’RE NOT ACTING, YOU’RE PART OF THE PROBLEM. YOU’VE GOT TO BE PART OF THE SOLUTION DANNY CLARKE, OWNER OF THE BLACK GARDENER

he’s got 20 different shiny red secateurs to choose from; most people have probably got a lawnmower and a spade, and that’s about it. So, it doesn’t really relate to the common person.”

UNFORTUNATELY, THE LANDSCAPE INDUSTRY IN THE UK IS NOT IMMUNE TO THE INEQUALITIES AND PREJUDICE THAT MEMBERS OF THE BAME COMMUNITY FACE SARAH MORGAN, CHAIR OF THE SOCIETY OF GARDEN DESIGNERS

As co-host of ‘The Instant Gardener’, Danny was one of a handful of horticultural presenters from a BAME background, and the impact of him appearing on such a popular show can be seen in Grow2Know, a non-profit organisation which aims to create a more inclusive environment and encourage young people to join horticulture. It was founded by 23-year-old Tayshan Hayden-Smith, who Danny now sits alongside as a director. “Tayshan lives in the shadow of Grenfell Tower and he lost friends in the fire,” shares Danny. “He turned to community gardening as a way of therapy.

He loves gardening, but in the past he didn’t feel like he belonged because he had no real role models. Then I came along with ‘The Instant Gardener’ series and he felt that it gave him

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Danny says he himself has not experienced overt racism in the industry, but inactivity to address the imbalance of race is an issue in itself. “If you’re not acting, you’re part of the problem. You’ve got to be part of the solution.

This country is changing, whether people like it or not, and horticulture needs to wake up and represent what’s going on. Our gardens, our plants are very diverse, but unfortunately the people that work in the gardens aren’t.”

The big question, then, is: How can we change this? “There is much to learn and discuss, but we must start making a difference within the SGD and the industry now,” says Sarah Morgan. “First, we need to recognise and understand the problem. Listening to BAME horticulturists and garden designers helps us to understand what barriers prevent more entering the profession, how comfortable they feel within it, and whether equal opportunities exist to flourish and succeed compared with those who are white…We will be rolling out training for members on equality and diversity, particularly those in leadership roles of the SGD, and ensure any report of discrimination is investigated.”

The Landscape Institute has been working hard over the last few weeks, engaging with its BAME members and others who are passionate to push for change to gain insight into the best route forward; a working group is now being brought together and the idea of setting up a BAME network is being explored. “The problem of lack of diversity shouldn’t rest solely on the shoulders of those from diverse backgrounds, but you’re not going to be very successful in addressing issues if you don’t actively include and involve our diverse voices and lived experiences,” says Dan Cook, CEO of the LI. “We have been actively encouraging our

TIME FOR CHANGE MAKING H O R T I C U LT U R E MORE DIVERSE In an exclusive online article, Claire Vokins questioned the horticulture industry and its opportunities for diversity. The garden designer spoke with Marcellus Baz – who was named the BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards in 2016 for his work in supporting young people – about his experiences of the industry and its inclusivity. This includes this jarring comment from Marcellus: “I have been working with young people and especially young BAME people within deprived communities for over 15 years and many have shown a real passion for gardening. But I have also seen that passion wither away because it hadn’t been nurtured or encouraged due to lack of opportunities, awareness of potential opportunities and funding for young BAME people to get into gardening.”

Read the full interview here: www.prolandscapermagazine.com/ time-for-change-makinghorticulture-more-diverse

members to hold a mirror to us and to show what needs to change going forward. It is uncomfortable listening to hear their stories.

I thank them for the honesty.

“We have much to do to overcome past injustice and discrimination. We need to provide better support and build bridges between people from different backgrounds, and work to create change collectively. We also need to explore how we best help employers move forward on this agenda in a constructive and proactive way, because it will take time.”

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BLACKOUT TUESDAY Instagram looked drastically different on 2 June. Instead of perfectly posed selfies and carefully constructed breakfasts, people’s feeds were awash with black squares. It wasn’t just Instagram either – Twitter and Facebook also underwent unscheduled makeovers. The reason?

A campaign called Blackout Tuesday, organised by Brianna Agyemang and Jamila Thomas of Atlantic Records, who initially set the challenge for the music industry – “a day to disconnect from work and reconnect with our community.”

It quickly spanned beyond the music industry, though, and became a global movement. There were hiccups – many were using the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag, rather than #BlackoutTuesday, which meant posts providing useful information about the protests became lost in the wave of black squares. But Blackout Tuesday joined social media users together with one goal – to eradicate racism. The profiles of influential black people were shared, books such as the ones we’ve listed on page 97 were recommended, and cold, hard statistics were revealed. It was meant to be one day, but the impact of Blackout Tuesday continued for days after 2 June, and arguably still continues now.

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Romy Rawlings says all aspects of a diverse workforce rely on a trio of recruitment, retention and recognition. “It definitely starts with schools to encourage more young people into the profession…Individually, we can all make a difference, whatever our role or specific sector.

Become an ambassador for your representative body and offer to attend careers events. Write about it, talk about it, encourage others to do the same. As a business owner, offer work experience and reach out into local communities that might not normally get to hear about such opportunities through schools or youth groups. Offer apprenticeships that will encourage those not choosing a university path into the profession.”

Whilst Dan Cook says there is still a lot of work to be done, he is proud of some of the LI’s actions so far to be more inclusive, one of which is to tackle socioeconomic deprivation from preventing people entering the profession of landscape architecture.

“We have ran specific events focused on gender, black history and LGBTQ+ issues as well as starting to do more outreach to diverse communities. Often people can be members of multiple groups; we consider diversity and inclusion in an integrated manner.

“Last year, our members agreed to create a technical grade of membership for the first time in our 90-year history, and now we’re getting the approvals through this year for apprenticeships that will feed this new membership qualification.

This will help us reach people from different economic backgrounds and help us address social mobility.

Not having those opportunities to earn whilst learning has been a barrier

to entry for some. The Level 3 apprenticeship that’s been approved will serve many roles in our sector, such as landscape technicians, assistants, those in digital aspects of landscape design and also park managers going forward.”

THE PROBLEM OF LACK OF DIVERSITY SHOULDN’T REST SOLELY [WITH] THOSE FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS DAN COOK, CEO OF THE LI

“We have always had a double degree requirement for becoming a landscape architect, or the equivalent experience, so most of our members have both an undergraduate and post-graduate degree from a range of top universities. As we work towards having a degree level apprenticeship approved and delivered by the higher education sector, we hope this will broaden the reach of landscape as a career for people from diverse backgrounds.”

And to draw people into the profession in the first place? Dan says the LI has been trying to showcase the profession as inclusive, ensuring a diverse range of speakers and panellists at its major events. “We know we’ve got a long way to go on the make-up of the profession. We think that things like apprenticeships will help, but we also need to be proactive to get more diverse role models into the profession, and to build closer links to diverse communities to promote careers in landscape.”

“We should all be under no illusions – change will not happen quickly,” says Sue Biggs.

“This will need a collective and collaborative approach; we need to work with people from all backgrounds, all

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ethnicities, all ages, and the wider horticulture industry to ask questions, reach out and, most importantly, listen. We want to take time to work sensitively and genuinely. This is our long-term commitment, and we hope many people from all backgrounds will come forward to work with us as we will listen and take action together.”

The RHS has kicked off its own efforts by hiring a new diversity and inclusion manager, Glen Willie, who will be conducting “a full review across the RHS this summer and [building] an action plan to create an RHS that is more reflective of the UK population at every level and this means on our boards, in our teams and across our work”. It has also recently announced a new president, Keith Weed, who has put diversity as one of his top priorities going forward.

Romy Rawlings praises the RHS’ existing Green Plan-It initiative, too, as “a brilliant outreach project to get schoolchildren involved”. Romy also says BALI’s GoLandscape and the Landscape Institute’s Choose Landscape – launched to attract those from different backgrounds and disciplines – are two of “several great initiatives from our professional bodies that provide excellent advice and support”.

“Through GoLandscape, BALI’s careers initiative, we continue to actively promote the landscape services industry and the vast number of roles available to all,” says Wayne Grills. “With the support of industry ambassadors, GoLandscape attended 73 careers events between March 2019 – March 2020. This included a broad spectrum of schools – inner city state schools, private schools, all girls and all boys’ schools, colleges, military events, and careers shows. This gave us the chance to speak to hundreds of school pupils about the broad range of roles, education routes and opportunities to progress

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within landscaping. The challenge remains the same; that few people understand the industry and the number of different roles it offers. Part of GoLandscapes’s aim is to address this and challenge false perceptions that often sit, not just with school pupils, but also with teachers, careers advisers and parents/guardians.

“It is right that we challenge each other on these issues and BALI welcomes the opportunity to not only highlight the work we and others in the industry are already doing, but also to ensure we keep diversity, equality and inclusion as a priority issue.”

THOSE OF BLACK ETHNICITY ARE 2.4 TIMES LESS LIKELY THAN THOSE OF WHITE ETHNICITY TO HAVE A PRIVATE GARDEN One thing is clear – diversity is on the industry’s agenda. How high up and for how long? That will be more apparent through the actions of associations, companies and individuals over the coming weeks. It cannot be just a month of protests, or a social media campaign – it has to be an ongoing movement in which we all engage and proactively encourage.

Share your thoughts and suggestions with our professional bodies: APL phil.tremayne@hta.org.uk BALI contact@bali.org.uk LI diversity@landscapeinstitute.org RHS inclusion@rhs.org.uk SGD info@sgd.org.uk

RECOMMENDED READS WHY I’M NO LONGER TA L K I N G T O W H I T E PEOPLE ABOUT RACE

BY RENI EDDO-LODGE An undeniably uncomfortable read for white people and yet an absolute must for those who are looking to push for change.

The book follows on from a viral blog post

by Eddo-Lodge, in which she shared her frustration at the denial of white privilege.

HOW TO ARGUE WITH A RACIST

BY ADAM RUTHERFORD Unsure how to respond to racist comments and how to prove their inaccuracies? How to Argue with a Racist has got you covered, separating fact from fiction with good old-fashioned science, giving you the tools to tackle those tricky conversations.

N AT I V E S : R A C E A N D C L A S S IN THE RUINS OF EMPIRE

BY AKALA British rapper, poet and activist Akala shares his experiences of racism whilst growing up in London. He broadens this out to talk about the history of racism and the sociological and political factors which mean racism is still rife in Britain today.

ME AND WHITE SUPREMACY

BY LAYLA SAAD You have to accept that there’s a problem in order to change it. The lengthier title of this book – How to Recognise Your Privilege, Combat Racism and Change the World - sums up what Layla is trying to achieve with her writing, and it has some tough truths to swallow.

Pro Landscaper / September 2020 97

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THE TALAS EY GROU P TEAM AT FUTUR ESCAP E

THE TEAM

A PERSONAL TOUCH TAL ASE Y GROUP HAS L AUNCHED A NEW L ANDSCAPING TE AM TO PROVIDE CONTRACTORS WITH A WE ALTH OF INFORMATION ON ITS PRODUCTS

SHANE MCCORMICK

CRAIG BROOK

RYAN BURGE

RAY STEPHENSON

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T

alasey Group is already a well-known name in the landscape industry.

It’s one of the largest suppliers of porcelain in the UK and boasts seven brands under its umbrella – Natural Paving, Vitripiazza, Baksteen, Pavetuf, Luxigraze, Resiscape and Piranha – with products ranging from paving to artificial grass, to composite decking and fencing.

Whilst there are plenty of landscapers using the Talasey Group’s products, the company wants to take this up a notch and create long-lasting relationships with its end users.

It plans to do this by providing landscapers, installers, designers and architects with detailed information about its products, adding a valuable service to the hundreds of builders merchants and landscape centres across the UK which stock its products – and it’s set up a new team to do this.

The Talasey Landscaping Team is being headed up by landscape director Shane McCormick – who has been regional sales director for the last two years, covering the south of the UK – with the support of landscape consultants Craig Brook, Ryan Burge and Ray Stephenson, each of whom have extensive experience in the landscaping market.

From 1 July, the team has been spreading the word about its new offering and helping contractors build an affiliation with Talasey Group. “Within the last two weeks, we’ve had good call rates and we’ve gotten lots of samples out – there’s a lot of interest,” says Shane.

But what makes Talasey Group stand out?

“We’re a medium-sized company – small enough to care, with strong family values and ethics, but large enough to deliver a premium product and service; we’re not owned by a corporate business, we’re still owned by a family member. People like us as there is a personal touch. We have good values and good people.”

WE HAVE GOOD VALUES AND GOOD PEOPLE The personal touch Shane speaks of is only set to improve with the new landscaping team, and the four members have already been in touch with all of the industry associations to build an awareness of Talasey’s dedicated focus on contractors. They will be able to provide all the technical specifications for each of the company’s products, such as the sizes and colours available and the best uses. This includes Talasey Group’s newest brand, Piranha, which currently offers two ranges of composite decking, Hunter and Fuzion, both of which are reversible. They will be able to talk landscapers through the product range to find the best product for the project and help to find the local stockist.

If you’d like to speak with someone from Talasey Group’s Landscaping Team, you can call them on 0330 333 8030 or email LandscapeTeam@talasey.co.uk

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Terrace Planters - London Working to a high specification We created these bespoke steel planters for the outdoor terraces at a super-prime residential development in Mayfair.

The planters have an anodic bronze powder-coated finish, with concealed LED lighting and built-in irrigation. Divider planters separating the terraces feature integral privacy screens made from toughened, frosted self-cleaning glass behind steel panels, which we laser-cut in-house. The highest standards of work, for the top end of the market.

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T

here can be a perception that automated irrigation systems use more water than they save. This is simply not the case; the correct specification, installation and management will ensure that the minimum amount of water necessary is used to maintain the health of any residential or commercial landscape or sports turf application.

When creating a new landscape, the planting design can play an important role in future irrigation requirements. It may, for example, be useful to divide it into separate irrigation zones so that areas that require less irrigation – groundcover, shrubs and trees – can be watered separately and less frequently.

Certain factors need to be considered, including the size and complexity of a project, the irrigation zones, any water conservation targets, management and budget. Irrigation can then be specified and customised to achieve these goals, and thanks to the modularity and compatibility built by manufacturers into irrigation technology, there is flexibility to build up the installation over a period of time.

By including water management features, irrigation controllers can conserve water and prevent problems. Rain Bird ESP-ME3 Wi-Fi compatible controller features inbuilt flow monitoring and is compatible with multiple makes of flow monitoring sensors. It will help to

IRRIGATION CONTROLLERS CAN CONSERVE WATER AND PREVENT PROBLEMS save water by sending data to the controller for precise monitoring of water flow. It detects low or excess flow conditions or leaks and can shut down areas, preventing overwatering of plants or landscape damage. With the LNK Wi-Fi module and app, internet-based weather information can be received, and the controller automatically adjusts run times and irrigation schedules.

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INT UIT IVE

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Rain sensors, flow sensors, weather stations, and water meters can be added to any automatic irrigation system.

A rain sensor can stop or delay irrigation in the event of precipitation and a rain delay feature will allow a user to postpone watering when irrigation is not needed. Flow sensors record the actual flow of every valve in the system and sensors at each location can detect high flow and low flow or no-flow of water, alerting managers to potential problems.

Comparing typical flow rates to actual flow rates can help to identify any emerging problems such as clogged sprinklers and action can be taken. Controllers with inbuilt flow management will automatically react to these situations, shutting off one valve or even an entire system based on pre-set conditions.

With a weather station, a smart controller adjusts the watering schedule according to current and predicted conditions; this allows the controller to water plants optimally year round without the need to reprogramme constantly.

Information can be obtained on evapotranspiration conditions and adjustments can be made automatically to the irrigation regime.

Rainfall intensity can be monitored and compared to the soil infiltration rate to determine how much water reaches a plant’s root zone. Water can be conserved by avoiding irrigation when extra moisture is not needed.

Water meters are engineered to measure water use accurately at both low and high flow

rates. If the pressure is too high, install products equipped with pressure regulating devices which can make significant water savings per minute per device.

Real time remote management of irrigation systems is possible with central control systems such as the IQ4 platform. Combining controllers equipped with a communication cartridge allows a suite of water management tools to be enabled. Multiple irrigation start times and independent programmes can be set up which allow for precise run times based on irrigation zones.

Users can manage several installations from a centrally located PC or on the move from a Wi-Fi enabled smartphone or tablet. This is convenient for contractors and others involved in the management of multiple installations.

Reports can be automatically created and provide critical management information. www.rainbird.eu

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SAVE THE DATE:

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Enter your company into the

Pro Landscaper business awards For more details contact Laura Harris:

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P EO P L E

©Eva Schwank

LIFE/STYLE BUTTER WAKEFIELD

P106

I N S I D E P E O P L E T H I S M O N T H PA G E 1 0 5 O U T & A B O U T: M O T T I S F O N T, H A M P S H I R E , PA G E 1 0 6 L I F E / S T Y L E : B U T T E R W A K E F I E L D , PA G E 1 0 8 3 0 U N D E R 3 0 U P D AT E : W I L L B U R B E R R Y, PA G E 1 1 1 W H AT ’ S Y O U R R O L E ? : H U M A I R A I K R A M , PA G E 1 1 4 L I T T L E I N T E R V I E W S

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OUT & ABOUT

MOTTISFONT, HAMPSHIRE O N W E D N E S DAY 3 J U N E , T H E N AT I O N A L T R U S T B EG A N TO R E O P E N I TS G A R D E N S A N D PA R K S A S LO C K D O W N R E ST R I C T I O N S LO O S E N E D. T H O U S A N D S O F V I S I TO R S F LO C K E D TO T H E G A R D E N S , W I T H T I C K E TS F O R T H E F I R ST WEEKEND SELLING OUT WITHIN HOURS

M

ottisfont is among the National Trust sites to reopen, and after weeks of trying, we were finally able to book in a visit. The 18th-century house is framed by borders of spring bulbs and lavender, a bubbling brook and 1,600 acres of woodland.

In most areas, the paths at Mottisfont are wide enough to accommodate social distancing guidelines, but a one-way system is in place along the river walk, and through the kitchen garden and ornate rose garden – home to its world-famous collection of old-fashioned roses.

There is a standard that visitors expect to see when visiting a National Trust property, and social distancing rules have not diminished this standard.

With a choice of bringing along your own food or choosing from its many food kiosks, Mottisfont’s acres of rolling lawns and stretching parklands make for the perfect social distance picnic spot.

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PEOPLE

ŠEleanor Walpole Photography

Best project Our best project to date, without a doubt, has been our Ribbon Wheel Garden in Bayswater. It won the BALI Principal Award 2019, as well the SGD Small Residential Award and SGD Hardscape Award 2020.

We feel particularly grateful to our incredible landscape contractor, The Outdoor Room, and feel our success rests firmly at its feet. It was a very complicated, ambitious design, technical and challenging on all levels, and one that I felt could have easily come unstuck.

But Gavin Barrett, Mark Britton and all The Outdoor Room chaps brought all of my imaginings together so beautifully, they made all the difference.

It was a joyous affair from beginning to end, and one that we are hugely proud of.

Issues to address I worry endlessly about poor old Mother Earth. I’d love to see our industry even more environmentally aware and responsible. There is still so much waste which is disposed of inappropriately.

I would love to see a plastic pot exchange with our growers and nurseries; some sort of delivery and collection service, so that the pots can be cleaned and reused instead of recycled or, worse, thrown away.

That would make me deeply happy; surely we should be leading the charge, trying harder, doing more, showing the way!

Leadership style I am not sure I am a leader or have a particular leadership style as such.

I do, however, have several young keen gardeners who I work closely with and whom I adore. Over the years, I have spent hours with them, teaching them how to plant, working to a perfect finished level, to prune shrubs and climbers and how to maintain and look after both our clients and their gardens alike. I am devoted to them and developing their skills and knowledge with and for them. They are fun and funny, and make my work and life so happy and rewarding. I feel an undiluted responsibility to them, their welfare, their wellbeing, their education, and their success.

It brings me more satisfaction than most other things!

LIFE/STYLE

BUTTER WAKEFIELD B U T T E R WA K E F I E L D, O W N E R O F B U T T E R WA K E F I E L D G A R D E N D E S I G N LT D, S H A R E S W I T H U S A L L A B O U T H E R WO R K I N G AC H I E V E M E N TS , I N S P I R AT I O N S A N D PA S S I O N S O U TS I D E O F T H E S EC TO R

INSPIRATION On a personal level, I am inspired by people; young creatives interest me hugely. I love watching them flourish and seeing their various styles develop. I am inspired by people with passion who share their zest, creativity, and talent generously with others. I enjoy Instagram for this very much. I follow

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a very eclectic range of wonderfully gifted folk, everyone from florists to cooks, interior designers as well as garden designers (of course). I think it is a wonderful platform and a lovely way to quietly get to know people, and the way they like to do things and to express themselves. Fascinating and rather compelling viewing!

On a professional level, I am inspired by architecture, proportions, mouldings, architraves, and the intricate details that bring them all together. I find beautiful period architecture wonderfully interesting. I also find nature and being in nature fills my soul with happiness, and without fail, it lifts my

spirits. It acts like a soothing tonic that helps me to relax and allows the design process to reignite after a long exhausting week. It is the slow pace the weekend allows, the time I spend with my dog walking along the river that inspires my creativity and allows ideas and imaginings to percolate gently through.

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PERSONAL Hobbies I guess you could call me old fashioned; I think I can safely say, I am a bit of a homemaker. I love all things related to making a house a home. I absolutely adore to cut and arrange flowers from the garden and then fill the kitchen shelf and table with them.

The weariness and anxiousness from the working week seems to slip away when I am doing the flowers for the weekend.

I also love to do my needlepoint, and find it wonderfully relaxing on a Saturday and Sunday morning to spend a few quiet hours before the rest of the house is awake doing my tatting. A good strong cup of coffee with lots of hot oat milk will always be found not far from reach.

Favoured dress style I tend to reach for my blue linen trouser suit when I need to look and feel a bit pulled together and smart.

Otherwise, I am a jeans and white button down shirt kind of girl, with the top button always done up. One can never have too many white shirts, I feel they are a real luxury. Having said that, the majority of my white shirts are from Gap. I also love super comfy shoes, which is code for Converse or Stan Smith trainers.

Food I love food and I love to cook when time allows. My ma is a wonderful cook, and all of our four children love to cook and eat. It’s a wonderful family thing we adore to do when we are together.

In recent years – thanks to the gentle influence of Rae Wilkinson, Cleve West, and Sarah Wilson – I became a vegan, after Cleve challenged his Instagram followers to Veganuary. My love for food and cooking has not changed or faltered, only the ingredients have.

TRAVEL

©EvaSchwank

Places you’ve been I am possibly the least well-travelled person I know. My children have been to far more places in the world – in their relatively young lives – than I will ever manage. I suppose, being an American living in the UK, for the past 30+ years, my annual leave always finds me heading back to the US to see my family and friends. My beloved ma is still alive and extremely fit and well (I am happy to report), so I want to spend as much holiday time as I can seeing her, my brother and my sister.

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Places I’d like to go When, and if, more time allows, I would love to explore the west coast of Ireland in a long, slow, leisurely way – wandering, walking, even camping and staying in little ‘out of the way’ places. I would like to think that I might find a quiet simple way of life there, that is gentle and perhaps even a bit lost in time. I have this very romantic notion of life there. I know I would find the natural beauty of the coast deeply moving and inspiring. I dream of a time I might manage this…

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3 0 U N D E R 3 0 U P DAT E

WILL BURBERRY FIVE YEARS ON FROM BECOMING A 30 UNDER 30, WILL BURBERRY TELLS US ABOUT KICKSTARTING HIS OWN COMPANY AND HOW LOCKDOWN HAS SOMEWHAT BENEFITTED THE BUSINESS

A

t just 19 years’ old, Will Burberry was one of the youngest entrants to become a 30 Under 30 back in 2015, when the initiative first launched.

He was working as a landscape operative at Gardenscapes, a garden design and construction company based in Surrey, whilst completing his apprenticeship with Merrist Wood College, where he won Apprentice of the Year in 2014.

It was through Gardenscapes that he met Phil Tremayne, general manager of the APL, who encouraged Will to become involved in the APL WorldSkills UK Landscaping competition.

Although initially reluctant, Will agreed to take part and ended up taking home Gold. He then went on to compete at EuroSkills, scooping yet another Gold, before going to the WorldSkills finals in Abu Dhabi where he was awarded a Medallion for Excellence.

Will says it was competing in the WorldSkills that gave him the confidence to set up his own landscaping business, Radial Landscapes,

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three years ago. “When I was at Gardenscapes running jobs, customers would struggle with the fact that I was young,” explains Will. “It put a bit of a downer on the job. But once I did WorldSkills, I thought, ‘I’ve come this far, I must be able to do it’. It made me a lot happier going to see customers.”

WE NOW HAVE A SIX-MONTH WAITING LIST, WHICH IS THE LONGEST WE’VE EVER HAD Now aged 24, Will says being young still means he has to work hard to win customers over, but competing in WorldSkills – once he explains to clients it’s the “Olympics for trade”– helps to build trust.

The company also has a strong relationship with local garden designer Deborah Davies.

“Debbie was just starting out in her garden design career. She won a couple of jobs and we built our first garden for her. It went really well and won a Marshalls Regional Award. Since then, we’ve built every one of her gardens – about 25% of our work is from Debbie.”

Excluding the first month of lockdown, Radial Landscapes has continued to work throughout the pandemic – in fact, the company has had its busiest summer since it was founded, in terms of

enquiries. “It’s mainly because we do domestic jobs up to £40-£50K and people seem to still want to spend their money on their gardens,” says Will. “We stopped for a month, when all the builders merchants instantly shut and weren’t making deliveries, which put us a little behind, but we now have a six-month waiting list, which is the longest we’ve ever had.”

Despite the growing workload, Will is careful not to get ahead of himself and expand the company before it’s ready. “I don’t want to end up rushing ahead and getting too big too quickly.

It’s only me and one other at the moment, and that works really well.”

The plan, for now, is to build Radial’s portfolio, particularly with contemporary projects. “We’re trying to do more modern jobs as well as full gardens – so, both the front and back, rather than just patios.” Will is also looking to enter more awards, such as the APL Awards – in which he won the Matthew Bradley Memorial Award in 2020 – and Pro Landscaper’s small project BIG IMPACT Awards, in which one of Radial’s projects was shortlisted last year.

Still in his early 20s, Will Burberry is just at the start of what is turning out to be an impressive career already, and there’s bound to be more successes to come.

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

19/08/2020 13:46

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Previous winners have expressed that winning the award is a wonderful way to enhance their career.

The rules are simple, you can nominate yourself or a colleague as long as the nominee was aged 30 or under on 1 January 2020 and currently works within the horticulture, arboriculture, garden design or landscape sector. Entrants must have worked in the industry for at least one year.

Closing date: 24 September 2020

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PEOPLE

WHAT’S

YOUR

ROLE? HUMAIRA IKRAM REDSCAPE DESIGN WE SPE AK TO HUMAIR A IKR AM ABOUT HER RECENT APPE ARANCE ON NETFLIX’S ‘THE BIG FLOWER FIGHT’, AND LE ARN MORE ABOUT HER 10-YE AR CAREER AS A GARDEN DESIGNER

What are your current roles?

I’m a garden designer and I have been for more than 10 years. Today, I have my own practise, Redscape Design, and I collaborate with many people on exciting projects. I also run the Garden Design Diploma at KLC School of Design. Before that, I worked in London for Reuters, but the work-life balance was terrible – we couldn’t even get a cat because we were never home. While retraining, I also did work for Cleve West, who introduced me to shows.

Favourite projects to date?

I love doing shows. It’s rewarding, but hard work. People think it’s glamorous, but if they saw the pictures of me crawling under a shed, they might think again! I’ve worked with Matt Childs over the years, too. The first garden we did together was the first B&Q Garden for Hampton Court. I remember it being sweltering, and the plants were really suffering. But I love problem solving, and that, alongside trying to make the garden look as though it has been there forever, was a challenge I enjoyed. It won Best in Show and a Gold Medal.

When I first started designing gardens, a lot of my jobs were through parents at school who had small suburban gardens. One of them was a small front garden. They wanted a parking space, but the local authority had refused it three times. But, I successfully managed to create a beautiful front garden full of plants and a parking space. Gardens can be useful and beautiful.

©Andrew Montgomery

IT’S SUCH A COLLABORATIVE INDUSTRY, AND IT NEEDS TO BE

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Whats your role Humaira Ikram.indd 111

You’ve recently been on Netflix’s ‘The Big Flower Fight’. Tell us about the experience.

I always say yes to new things, but after a terrible audition I assumed I’d never hear from them. But they called me! It was my first time on TV and it was great fun, but bonkers. I was a judge on the first week as well, so everyone was still finding their feet. But everyone was so lovely, and the contestants were genuinely talented – they were creating something out of nothing in hardly any time. I have to say,

I think I get more questions about the jumpsuit I wore than about gardening!

Do you think the public’s view of plants has changed?

I think for a while, people forgot that they needed plants. Historically, people interested in gardening have been a bit more mature.

Now, especially on social media platforms like Instagram, the demographic interested in plants is a lot younger. Lockdown has definitely reinforced the idea that you need to get out and be in touch with the outdoors. I’ve never seen this many people in my local area in the park.

What’s your favourite part of this industry?

The people. Throughout the industry, everyone is so invested and passionate. They take your project seriously and are always willing to help.

It’s such a collaborative industry, and it needs to be, because you cannot know everything.

Is there anything you think needs to change?

We talk a lot about diversifying the industry and attracting younger people – which is of course important. But we need to make the industry more valued to make it more enticing to a more diverse demographic.

I think the issue is being valued. If you’re young, looking for a career and love horticulture, you still have bills to pay, so you should be paid accordingly to your level of experience and expertise – and you should be able to live on that wage. For example, I know people who’ve volunteered at RHS Chelsea for more than 10 years and, even though they have experience and expertise to produce a planting palette that looks like it has been there for years (in 10 days), some of them have not been valued enough to be paid.

We should try to make the industry more fair and transparent where money is concerned.

The current situation perpetuates the fact that people who have financial backing or are financially secure are more likely to consider being part of this industry. This doesn’t apply to all parts of horticulture and landscape design, but to make the industry better for all who are in it and increase diversity, we need to value the skills that people bring and pay them well.

What are your future plans?

I just want to continue to work on different, interesting and exciting projects. Change is always good!

Pro Landscaper / September 2020 111

20/08/2020 12:20

JOBS

For full details on all jobs, please go to www.horticulturecareers.co.uk Call 01903 777 570 or email ben.cumberland@eljays44.com with your vacancy

SENIOR HORTICULTURIST

HARD LANDSCAPE FOREMAN

Garden Club London is an award-winning landscape design company based in Vauxhall. It is looking for staff who are passionate about the industry and delivering high quality landscapes. Duties include completion of SSRA, updating notes and photographs of garden development, getting stuck in onsite to work independently on detailed works as well as being part of a team and helping to train junior operatives.

You will have the opportunity to work on a range of projects including show gardens, residential and commercial podium landscapes and domestic gardens. This role also provides the chance to work with industry-leading designers and career development.

Garden Club London promotes ingenuity and collaboration. It ultimately strives to create a great working environment for all its employees. The company is looking for a well organised and highly skilled hard landscape foreman who is driven and passionate about materials, finishes and in delivering high quality landscapes to the required timeframe. The successful candidate will oversee a small team onsite, work independently on detailed works, be part of a team and help to train junior operatives.

If you think you would enjoy working in an innovative and expanding company that rewards and continually develops employees, get in touch.

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

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

SKILLED HARD LANDSCAPER

ONLINE SALES MANAGER

Garden Club London is looking for proactive staff members who are passionate about working in the industry and in delivering high quality landscapes. Skilled landscapers will support its foremen onsite to work independently on detailed works as well as part of a team and help to train junior operatives. You will have the opportunity to work on a range of projects including show gardens, residential and commercial podium landscapes and domestic gardens. Applicants need at least two years’ experience in paving, decking, general carpentry, irrigation, turfing and fencing. They should have the ability to communicate effectively with clients, the operations team and designers.

The purpose of this full-time position is to manage the company website by creating interesting, relevant and engaging content and to ensure the online shopping experience meets and reflects company standards. The successful candidate would be expected to manage and achieve sales targets and oversee the processing of online orders and online promotions. The ideal candidate must be able to demonstrate confidence with IT and websites, possess excellent organisation and communication skills as well as good horticultural knowledge. Horticultural qualifications are beneficial but not essential. Salary dependant on qualifications and experience in the industry.

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

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

QUOTED SALES MANAGER

CASH AND CARRY SALES MANAGER

Provender Nurseries is looking to recruit a full-time quoted sales manager to drive growth in this department. Reporting to the sales director, you would be expected to win new business and ensure quotes and orders are processed in a timely and efficient manner. Duties include: following sales leads and win new orders; support the sales team to achieve sales targets; ensure customer service standards are met; maintain sales margin; contribute to market intelligence and trends; and oversee development and delivery of the sales strategy. The ideal candidate would have a strong customer focus and excellent leadership skills, as well as a good knowledge of the industry.

The Kent-based nursery is looking to recruit a full-time cash and carry sales manager to oversee the daily cash and carry sales activities and manage a team of staff to maximise sales potential and ensure customer satisfaction. This is an exciting role for someone who enjoys working with customers, managing a team and working with plants. The successful candidate would be expected to help set and orchestrate the achievement of sales targets, manage point of sale processes and cash management.

They should be able to demonstrate confidence using EPOS systems and IT, have excellent communication skills and good horticultural knowledge.

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

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

LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE OPERATIVES (ALL GRADES)

LANDSCAPE APPRENTICE

GARDEN CLUB LONDON Location: London

GARDEN CLUB LONDON Location: London

PROVENDER NURSERIES Location: Kent

WILLERBY LANDSCAPES Location: Kent, London

GARDEN CLUB LONDON Location: London

PROVENDER NURSERIES Location: Kent

PROVENDER NURSERIES Location: Kent

GREENSCAPE GARDENS LTD Location: Surrey

This is an opportunity to join one of the UK’s leading landscape contractors, Willerby Landscapes, based in Edenbridge, Kent. You will work as a team member, carrying out landscape maintenance to commercial and domestic high-profile schemes in London and the South East. Punctuality, enthusiasm and good attendance along with a driving licence are essential. There are excellent rates of pay available for the right candidates.

A CSCS card would be an advantage but not essential. Willerby Landscapes is an equal opportunities employer committed to creating a fair working environment .

Greenscape Gardens Ltd is offering a unique apprenticeship opportunity to join its award-winning landscape company. The apprentice will look to be part of the growing company with the goal to work up through the ranks and become a foreman or project manager. You will be involved in many aspects of landscaping and will be supported in developing a range of skills. This apprenticeship will last approximately 18 months and incorporates a day release each week to a training provider to undertake the theory and assessment aspect of the apprenticeship. You will be expected to pass an End Point Assessment to successfully achieve your apprenticeship.

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

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

112 Pro Landscaper / September 2020

Hort Careers.indd 112

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/08/2020 10:02

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PEOPLE

114 Pro Landscaper / September 2020

Little Interviews-2.indd 114

IN LOCKDOWN

T H E L I T T L E I N T E RV I E W

PRO LANDSCAPER ASKS QUICK-FIRE QUESTIONS TO GAIN A SMALL INSIGHT INTO THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE UP OUR INDUSTRY. TO TAKE PART, EMAIL CONTENT@ EL JAYS44.COM

CLARE MORGAN

RICHARD MCKENNA

Product expert, CASATUA

Managing director, Provender Nurseries

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www.provendernurseries.co.uk

You’re self-isolating – who’s your favourite person to be locked up with?

Easy, my family and especially my dog.

You’re self-isolating – who’s your favourite person to be locked up with?

Sir Patrick Moore. As a kid, I loved watching ‘The Sky at Night’ and we have had some spectacular clear night skies over the past few months.

One thing that’s changed in your daily routine that will continue post-lockdown?

I’ve rediscovered reading for pleasure.

What is your background noise when working from home?

I always have the radio on while I work and when I get bored of that I switch to my somewhat eclectic playlists.

In hindsight, what would you have prepared in advance?

Introduced my granny to Zoom; but with the help (and patience) of her lovely carers, technology has not beaten her!

Is the government doing a good job of keeping you informed?

In the main, yes. In difficult circumstances, with little space for manoeuvre, without the benefit of hindsight, I doubt anyone could have done much better.

Which restriction were/are you most looking forward to being lifted?

I was overly excited about having my nails done again.

Country you will be visiting first?

Without a doubt, Italy.

One thing that’s changed in your daily routine that you’d like to change back?

Days have been a lot longer trying to keep on top of all the extra involved in keeping the business functioning. I’d like to spend a bit more time with my family again.

DIY or gardening?

Gardening is always first for me, I love spending time in my garden.

In hindsight, what would you have prepared in advance?

Definitely a haircut before lockdown. My head looked more like a mop by the end.

Is the government doing a good job of keeping you informed?

Everyone expects the government to solve every problem, and not everyone will be happy with what they are told or not told.

What’s your predicted date for returning to normality?

I am not sure that the normal we left is the normal that we will return to. The way we do certain things will have changed for good. Not all of this change is negative.

One outdoor space which has been your go-to?

Walking locally and watching four kestrel chicks grow and fledge on our local The Wildlife Trusts reserve.

Which restriction were/are you most looking forward to being lifted?

I am not a big drinker at all, but I missed going to the pub.

Best new follow on social media?

Olive and Mabel, the lovely dogs of the sports presenter Andrew Cotter.

Country you will be visiting first?

It will be well over a year since I saw my family in Ireland; a trip ’home’ is a must.

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

20/08/2020 13:57

PEOPLE

JOANNA MACPHERSON

WILL BURBERRY

CHERYL CUMMINGS

Owner, Attadale Gardens

Managing director, Radial Landscapes

Owner, Cheryl Cummings Garden Design

www.attadalegardens.com

www.radial-landscapes.co.uk

www.gardendesignerwales.co.uk

You’re self-isolating – who’s your favourite person to be locked up with?

Could I just say a lot fewer than I’ve ended up with while self-isolating here at Attadale Gardens? We’ve considered ourselves to be in one big bubble up here.

You’re self-isolating – who’s your favourite person to be locked up with?

I would’ve said Theo, my dog, as he keeps me company but doesn’t actually talk to me, giving me peace to get work done!

You’re self-isolating – who’s your favourite person to be locked up with?

The dog – well, he thinks he’s a person.

One thing that’s changed in your daily routine that will continue postlockdown?

I was working in the garden from 8am every weekday so now I make sure I’m at my desk from 8am, which I have to admit is earlier than it used to be.

One thing that’s changed in your daily routine that will continue post-lockdown?

Buying lunch on the way to work has changed. When the shops had queuing systems, I took to making lunch at home, making a surprisingly big financial but also health benefit.

Best new series or book you have discovered?

Really enjoyed ‘Call My Agent’; it’s funny and quick and in French but has subtitles.

It is available on Netflix.

Best new series or book you have discovered?

‘White Lines’, a Netflix series. I’m never normally one to be instantly grabbed by a series but this did exactly that!

What is your background noise when working from home?

Silence punctuated by Betty the black pug barking at delivery men or anything else she considers exciting.

DIY or gardening?

For me it’s DIY, but I’ve done as much outside as I have inside over lockdown.

In hindsight, what would you have prepared in advance?

Possibly more and better wine.

Is the government doing a good job of keeping you informed?

I’m sick of all their pronouncements, and here, we have both Westminster and the Scottish parliament to contend with.

Is the government doing a good job of keeping you informed?

I feel like they are keeping us informed but not in a clear manner; certain things are set one day but not the next.

What’s your predicted date for returning to normality?

Things will be different for a good couple of years, this could just be the ‘new normal’.

Which restriction were/are you most looking forward to being lifted?

My adult children being able to stay.

Which restriction were/are you most looking forward to being lifted?

Going out for dinner is the main one for me.

Country you will be visiting first?

Preferably France or Greece; we could reach France more easily by train.

Country you will be visiting first?

Hopefully Germany on a rescheduled trip I was supposed to be going on in April.

www.prolandscapermagazine.com

Little Interviews-2.indd 115

One thing that’s changed in your daily routine that will continue post-lockdown?

Definitely less time in the car. I’ll continue to offer remote consultations whenever it’s appropriate.

DIY or gardening?

Gardening, but mostly wandering around my garden, not gardening, just looking.

In hindsight, what would you have prepared in advance?

With the local architect’s office closed, I haven’t had my usual easy access to an A1 printer, so I should seriously have considered buying myself an A3 printer at least.

Is the government doing a good job of keeping you informed?

Because I live in Wales, I’ve had to remember which government has said what and when because restrictions have been lifted at different times here.

Which restriction were/are you most looking forward to being lifted?

My local leisure centre swimming pool; we have a lovely new pool here and I like nothing better after work than a leisurely swim.

Country you will be visiting first?

Nowhere exciting; England to see clients.

Best new follow on social media?

A new Facebook page of local biodiversity activists; the young and not so young coming together to make a difference in their own town – very commendable.

Pro Landscaper / September 2020 115

20/08/2020 13:57

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