Landscape & Urban Design - Issue 23 2017

LANDSCAPE & URBAN DESIGN

23 Jan/Feb 2017 Price £3 95 landud.co.uk

SPERING AND CO. Designing Small Town Gardens Can Be Challenging

A SENSE OF PLACE AND SPACE MARK LANE DESIGNS

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Chart Hills Golf Club: Minimising maintenance and perfecting performance / N16 Into the Woodland Garden - Sarah Kay Garden Design

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Landscape & Urban Design

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CONTENTS ISSUE 23

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LINDEN LANDSCAPES

24

MARK LANE DESIGNS

GET IN TOUCH Publishing Director Martin Holmes martin@landud.co.uk Sales Director Will Reed Tel: 01843 830249 will@mhmagazine.co.uk

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TOPSPORT GOLF COURSE

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VIRIDIAN LANDSCAPE STUDIO

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ROBERT HUGHES GARDEN DESIGN

Digital Manager Jamie Bullock jamie@mhmagazine.co.uk

Editor Lorna Davidson Tel: 01843 830249 lorna@landud.co.uk Creative Director Josh Holmes josh.d.holmes@me.com Studio Designer James Sayer james@landud.co.uk

www.landud.co.uk T: 01843 830249 E: info@landud.co.uk

Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material published in Landscape & Urban Design however, the publishers accept no responsibility for the claims or opinions made by advertisers, manufactures or contributors.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic (including photocopying) or stored in any information retrieval system without the prior consent of the publisher.

Landscape Landscape& &Urban UrbanDesign Design

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BALI Member Linden Landscapes receives coveted ELCA Trend Award at International GaLaBau 2016 The trophy was handed over by the current President of the BGL, August Forster and ELCA President Emmanuel Mony.

The BALI Award winning scheme at Box House in Sevenoaks and was built by Linden Landscapes Domestic Gardens Ltd in 2015.

M

ick Callahan, owner of BALI Registered Contractor Linden Landscapes Domestic Gardens Ltd, has won the coveted ELCA Trend Award 'Building with Green' at the International GaLaBau 2016.

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Landscape & Urban Design

The award was presented to Mick and his clients Mr Keith Roberts and his daughter, Lucy Roberts, at a glittering ceremony at the largest indoor and outdoor landscaping trade event in Europe.

The vision for the gardens design was created by BALI Registered Designer Andy Sturgeon MBALI, who sadly could not attend the event at the Nuremberg Exhibition Centre in Germany due to work commitments.

ELCA's President Mony commented: "This garden is an outstanding example of

Linden Landscapes TExT Linden Landscapes

sophisticated landscape design in a home garden.

The garden planner and landscape gardeners succeeded in a special way to bring together a number of related historical and modern building elements to a holistic appearance.

At the same time, very aesthetically pleasing garden proportions were redefined.

From the perspective of the European industry association, this project is a role model.

With the award ELCA is simultaneously underlining the importance of private home gardens as a valuable green space and an important location factor for a high quality of life."

When asked about the result, BALI's Chief Executive, Wayne Grills said: "Both BALI Members should feel extremely proud of their achievement and this result is a true reflection of the commitment, level of professionalism and expert skills on show from both Mick, his team at Linden

Landscapes and Andy, for their design, construction and implementation of such a large-scale private domestic scheme.

You have made BALI, and the UK as a whole, incredibly proud and this has certainly raised the bar to new heights for what can ultimately be achieved in the landscaping industry" The European Landscape Contractors Association (ELCA), every two years, awards landscape contractors and designers

phoTo Linden Landscapes

from across Europe with a coveted Trend Award.

This year, the United Kingdom was chosen as the country in which the schemes would be selected from and as the official member representative for the UK, BALI was asked to put forward domestic schemes for consideration for the Trend Award in 2016.

BALI received nine BALI Registered contractor applications in total, who had all won a prestigious Principal Award from either the 2014 and/or 2015 National Landscape Awards for their domestic projects, and were subsequently put forward to ELCA at the start of 2016.

Now that the trophy has been awarded, BALI would like to say a big thank you to the following BALI Members who also took time out of their day to meet and greet the ELCA judges back in July 2016 when the tour of the garden schemes took place.

Landscape & Urban Design

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Linden Landscapes

These members were: • • •

James Bird Landscapes, Stocksbridge Graduate Gardeners, Stroud Bartholomew Landscaping, London

The ELCA judging panel was made up of ELCA President Emmanuel Mony, VicePresident and BALI Director and Member Neil Huck from Ground Control, Lutze von Wurmb, Tamas Vincze and Landscape Architect BDLA Heidi Howcroft.

Once again, BALI would like to congratulate Mick, his team and Andy for their win and wish them all the very best for the future. www.lindenlandscapes.co.uk

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Landscape & Urban Design

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Chart hills Golf Club: Minimising maintenance and perfecting performance For a top UK golf course which prides itself on offering a challenging yet enjoyable game, the performance of its bunkers is essential to reputation and ultimately profit.

Preventing the issues and high maintenance costs associated with poor bunker drainage led Chart Hills Golf Club to look for an innovative solution with Tarmac’s Topsport.

The challenge Situated in the High Weald of Kent, Chart Hills is an award winning golf course designed by six-time major winner turned golf course designer, Sir Nick Faldo. Featured in the Rolex Top 1000 courses in the world, Chart Hills is recognised for offering a diverse game within a stunning location. Built in the traditional US parkland style, the course’s greatest challenge comes from the large number of bunkers which line its fairways

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Landscape & Urban Design

and surround its greens, including ‘The Anaconda’ which is the longest in Europe.

Bunkers are therefore central to the reputation and popularity of the club.

Ensuring effective and longlasting bunker drainage is surprisingly still a common problem for golf courses across the UK. With a requirement for an effective lining that could be retrofitted onto the existing green-side bunkers, the Chart Hills team therefore

began its search for a fresh solution that would avoid all of these common issues, reduce maintenance, and meet its high performance standards.

TopSport Golf Club TExT Topsport

The solution During extensive research, the Chart Hills team came across two courses already using the innovative Topsport bunker lining. Following these site investigations, the Chart Hills team decided to apply the unique engineered solution to an initial five bunkers in 2014. A further 11 greenside bunkers, totalling around 900 square metres, were completed in 2015 and following their success, an additional 20 are due to be lined in 2016.

Peter Cullen, Technical Sales Manager, for Tarmac’s Topsport team, commented: “The simple structure of Topsport’s bunker liner is beneficial for a number of reasons.

Chiefly, as it avoids the use of chemicals it can be laid in all weather conditions, meaning work can be undertaken during the winter months when courses may be closed or used less frequently, minimising any potential course downtime.

a real issue here given the significant number and sheer size of the bunkers at Chart Hills. We looked at several different ones and we were approached by Tarmac and its Topsport Bunker Lining was the one we wanted to go with.

“The improvements we’ve seen have been remarkable. We suffer significant wash through heavy rain here at Chart Hill and we are also situated on heavy clay.

However, the new lining has just improved the bunkers no end.

“In terms of maintenance, before the lining we were spending probably sixty per cent of our resources on bunker maintenance.

phoTo Topsport

Shaun Bakker, General Manager Chart Hills Golf Club, concluded: “We have 133 bunkers here at Chart Hills so maintenance and ensuring they’re always fit for play is really important to us. We are in England after all, and if there’s a bit of rainfall around you can quickly find your bunker faces getting washed down.

“As we’ve got a lot of high faces here and it’s important that we keep these bunkers in play for our members and guests, and with the Topsport Bunker Lining and its percolation rates, the water just goes straight through. It’s easy to maintain and really helps us to achieve maximum playability from our bunkers, whatever the weather.”

“Plus, having a dedicated Topsport approved installer means an efficient installation. For instance, a delivery of Topsport’s premixed bunker liner arrived at Chart Hills at 8:15 am to work on the ninth hole. Five installers barrowed, laid, and compacted the material for 100 square metres of lining, with the sand being replaced just two hours later. This speed meant that golfers teeing off at 9 am didn’t experience any disruption to their game, with the bunker fully playable by the time they got to the ninth hole.

“Chart Hills has certainly seen an improvement in free drainage. This has simultaneously reduced the levels of repair after very heavy rainfall, with the liner completely preventing washout from the bunkers to date. This ultimately means less replacement sand is needed over the course of the year, further contributing to reduced maintenance costs.”

Neil Lauder, Golf Course Manager at Chart Hills Golf Club added: “We were looking for a bunker liner because we have had

We are a high maintenance course and we’ve got a lot of bunkers, yet this product will go a long way to significantly reducing labour and other resources such as sand replacement. “The bunkers that we’ve used the Topsport Bunker Lining in have proved to be absolutely remarkable, especially when it comes to holding sand on the high faces. Members’ comments are progressing forward and I think it’s putting us back where we need to be in the market place.”

For more information on Tarmac’s range of Topsport golf course solutions, please visit www.topsport.co.uk

Landscape & Urban Design

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Landscape & Urban Design

Don’t slip up when choosing timber decking

By Charlotte hughes, product manager for timber decking, at Marley Eternit

Timber decking is becoming an increasingly popular design trend for a wide variety of landscaping projects.

From walkways through woods and parkland, to outdoor eating areas, viewing platforms and boardwalks, timber decking is being used to complement nature and create a sustainable aesthetic.

No longer just a means of extending living space into the outdoors, landscape designers and architects are increasingly seeing the design potential of timber decking and it is now often used as a way of directing people’s attention, or linking areas of a site, for example in school or university campuses, holiday villages and regeneration projects.

When choosing timber decking for landscaping projects, aside from aesthetics, there are some key considerations - most importantly strength, durability and safety.

One particular concern with timber decking is that conventional deck boards can become slippery in wet conditions, risking accidents and personal injury.

It is therefore important to choose a product that meets, or preferably exceeds, the HSL’s anti-slip testing guidelines and this should be considered at the design stage for any application where there is a timber deck with public access.

Our JB Antislip Plus timber decking boards are specifically designed to provide a durable and effective external anti-slip surface to minimise any risk of slipping – even in adverse weather conditions.

They are particularly suited to cycle paths, rural footpaths, wetlands and bridges, where the decking needs to blend in with the landscape. We also offer non-slip JB CitiDeck which is designed for use in urban environments and is ideal for creating accessible routes for prams and

wheelchair users, or as a non trip surface for areas where there is a high volume of foot traffic.

Both JB Antislip Plus and CitiDeck exceed the HSL guidelines and have been independently tested by the Health and Safety Executive, achieving a low potential for slip.

All of Marley Eternit’s timber decking is manufactured from selected joinery grade European Redwood and is the first and only decking board in the UK to be CE marked.

For more information and to see our full set of Eurocode compliant and BS 5268 design span tables, visit www.marleyeternit.co.uk/decking

Landscape & Urban Design

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proludic to enable 1 million people to be more active by 2020, using outdoor fitness equipment

U

K’s No. 1 outdoor fitness equipment company Proludic aims to get over one million people more active by 2020 using its range of outdoor fitness equipment.

With growing obesity issues and with a marked increase in the proportion of adults that are *obese from 13.2 per cent in 1993 to 26.0 per cent in 2013 for men, and from 16.4 per cent to 23.8 per cent for women, the use of the outdoors for fitness is critical.

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Landscape & Urban Design

Having access to green spaces can have a positive impact upon a person’s health and wellbeing. According to research, populations in England that have high proportions of green space have better physical health and mental wellbeing. The availability of green spaces in an urban environment is also associated with increased physical activity and the associated health benefits, and with reducing health inequalities that are linked to deprivation.

Proludic TExT Proludic

Over the last six months 146,000 Knowsley residents have been using over 107 pieces of Proludic Urbanix outdoor fitness stations over fifteen sites.

Knowsley’s community health development team ran a 10week pilot at two sites with the main one being at Jubilee Park for local residents over 10 sessions.

All of these sites are within ten minutes walking distance from every resident’s house, and fourteen were installed in some of the most deprived areas of Knowsley, to give all residents free access to high quality fitness equipment outdoors.

90% of residents turned up each week, and around 75% are still exercising as a group after delivering the exercise sessions.

Knowsley’s vision was for a community wide investment plan in outdoor green gyms to provide free and accessible equipment that improved overall health and activity levels. Key to success was the strong partnership with Public Health, NHS & Park Rangers. This was supported with personal trainers working closely with local residents and partners.

Proludic Managing Director Rob Baker commented “We are delighted to hear these first set of results on the Knowsley outdoor fitness initiative. It was Proludic’s mission to deliver sustainable facilities in two very specific ways.

This is a great success story and proves outdoor fitness interventions work.

Firstly, by offering a wide variety of opportunities from trails, to gyms to orienteering so that exercise could

remain fun and that there was something that would appeal to everyone to help us try and reach out to a new demographic.

Secondly, where we have provided outdoor gyms, that our second generation ‘Proludic Urbanix’ product would deliver the opportunity for people of all abilities to get more involved in free exercise and get fitter.

Most outdoor gyms are traditionally weight bearing but our unique hydraulic piston system enables users to increase the resistance settings from 5kg up to 60kg’s and this really does help motivate our users to come back again and again as they feel the progression they are making”

phoTo Proludic

Cllr Eddie Connor said: “Public Health has worked in partnership with the council to develop more innovative approaches to encourage people to get outdoors and get fit for free.

These green gyms enable people of all ages and abilities to take getting active in scenic, outdoor locations.”

The partnership is a great example that any local authority or organisation can provide free and accessible facilities for their community, making a difference to obesity levels and overall health and wellbeing.

Learn more about why the partnerships was possible at www.proludic.co.uk or www.vimeo.com/188640539

Knowsley’s Cabinet Member for Public Health, Wellbeing and Customer Services,

Landscape & Urban Design

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EcoBuild overhauls Floorplan With Exciting New Format As Architectural Collective Assemble Bring Turner prize Winning Art To 2017 Show culmination of Ecobuild’s Redefining Sustainability campaign – which seeks to create an industry-wide understanding of sustainability objectives and drives, and a clear direction for the future.

Architectural collective Assemble will present its award-winning Granby Workshop project at the Campus, the show’s destination for innovative thinking and the latest technology.

T

urner Prize-winning architects Assemble are to headline Ecobuild 2017, bringing their award winning Granby Workshop project to the show as part of an immersive new experience.

regeneration, in a way that is relevant and inclusive to all our exhibitors and visitors.

Different aspects of construction and the built environment deserve specific focus, and each of the Ecobuild 2017’s destinations will each have something distinct and exciting to offer.”

Bringing the event’s theme of regeneration to life, Ecobuild 2017 will see ExCeL London transformed into an immersive ‘city’ – complete with main street, distinct destinations and special feature attractions. Central to the experience will be Regeneration Drive, a boulevard running through the middle of Ecobuild, linking different aspects of the exhibition and enabling visitors to experience the very best examples of innovation and creativity from across the built environment.

Ecobuild also announced key collaborations with Lead Partner UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC), the Construction Products Association, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE).

Martin Hurn, Brand Director at Ecobuild, explained: “For 2017, we’re completely overhauling and innovating the Ecobuild experience. We asked our visitors what they want and need from the show, and sustainability overwhelmingly came to the top of the agenda. To deliver this, we’ve ripped up the floorplan and reinvented Ecobuild as an immersive city centred around Regeneration Drive. “Imagining the exhibition as a city allows us to deliver a unique programme focused on

The Arena will be home to the headline guest speakers, staging a range of keynote speeches from industry thought leaders and innovators across the three days.

Included within the programme will be renowned architects and the UK-GBC will host daily leadership panels chaired by their CEO, Julie Hirigoyen.

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As they make their way up Regeneration Drive, attendees will be introduced to key destinations such as The Arena, City Hall, The Campus, The Gateway and The Performance Lab.

The show’s sustainability hub, City Hall, will be home to the UK-GBC and World Green Building Council representing the

Visitors will be able to view and interact with a unique installation created by Assemble, telling the story behind the collective’s Turner Prize winning regeneration project. Attendees will be also able to interact with Future Materials, a gallery curated by ARCC, previewing next-generation materials and processes currently in either research or testing stage.

The Gateway will allow visitors to explore national and social infrastructure projects in partnership with ICE, as well as a separate seminar theatre dedicated to Green Infrastructure.

The Performance Lab, meanwhile, will showcase the latest in Smart Home and Smart Building technology in association with Ecobuild 2017’s building performance partner, CIBSE -the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers.

The Ecobuild city will also contain a number of other areas of interest, including a high profile area for Explore Offsite and offsite technology masterclasses, The BRE Academy, The Business District with export support and networking, international pavilions and a dedicated District Energy Town Square created in conjunction with the UK District Energy Association.

The organisers are encouraging exhibitors to get involved with the immersive city theme, inviting them to create their own destinations along Regeneration Drive and across the entire event.

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Strategic Partners:

Singapore’s new Funan complex to feature designs

by Grant Associates Funan to be redeveloped as lifestyle destination with retail, leisure and office use.

F

unan, one of Singapore’s best known shopping malls for electronic goods, is to be redeveloped as an ‘experiential creative hub’ featuring a multi-level landscape strategy designed by Grant Associates. The redevelopment of the 31-year-old complex follows owner CapitaLand’s decision to reposition the site as a lifestyle destination. Covering 887,000 sq ft, the mixed-use building will offer a sixstorey retail mall, two six-storey Grade A office buildings and one nine-storey block of residential apartments.

Key to the identity of the new venture is a focus on the experiential, including the creation of a series of gardens. Grant Associates has created a landscape design concept that centres on the theme of ‘Nature: City’. The scheme incorporates a water garden with views of Fort Canning, an ‘urban farm’ and edible garden, elevated walkways and a roof-top communal garden with views to the Marina and Central Business District.

By creating a range of special gardens and green spaces, the landscape strategy aims to consolidate CapitaLand’s vision

22 Landscape & Urban Design

of relaunching Funan as a destination, in addition to offering enhanced shopping facilities.

Key design features of the new landscape design are as follows: •

•

•

The Funan Urban Farm aims to showcase sustainable food production with a range of technologies. It will be unique to Funan, adding to its status as a special destination. The intention is to demonstrate the diversity and cyclical relationships of crop production rather than produce food on a commercial scale.

•

The Edible Garden on level 7 looks across to the Urban Farm and overlooks the Garden Stair. Featuring a range of edible plants, the space will offer sweeping views of the surrounding city from the comfort of giant swings and hammocks floating above planting.

•

The Community Garden on the roof combines a variety of recreational components including; a chill-out valley of giant sun loungers and mounds covered in storm lilies; an alfresco kitchen with edible table and tilted shade lawns that look out towards Fort Canning.

A series of plaza spaces within the public realm announce the entrances into Funan at ground level, while the Water Garden on level 4 centres on a pool that stretches out from the planting, reaching towards views of Fort Canning. Access to the pool is via two themed approaches, the Forest Steps surrounded by lush planting and the Water Steps, which are surrounded by living water features.

Funan is scheduled to re-open in 2019.

The Garden Stair links levels 4 to 7, taking visitors along raised walkways that are enveloped by planting and nature. In places, the walkways appear to extend beyond the confines of the building to create look-out points that project the viewer over the lower levels and street below.

“Visitors entering the complex can enjoy a series of characterful gardens and green spaces that inspire creativity and delight the senses – from the basement levels right up to roof-top levels. The landscape aims to connect the mall’s retail, office and residential uses to nature, leaving visitors reinvigorated and enthused to return.”

Tamasine Scott, Senior Associate at Grant Associates, comments: “Our intention for Funan is to excite and entice. We want to create surprising experiences within a rich and diverse multi-dimensional public realm. A landscape that invites further exploration, helping to draw people through the multi-layered building and entwined landscape features.

www.grant-associates.uk.com www.funan.com.sg

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Landscape & Urban Design

23

Agastache Black Adder unites the bottlebrush seed heads of Pennisetum and Calamagrostis brachytricha

Iris Siberica lit by evening sunlight, behind Euphorbia oblongata

Areas of wild grass lead into the “contemporary-wild” landscape

A Sense of place and Space

E

very landscape is different, but when garden designer Mark Lane was asked to design a large private garden for someone with access needs Mark’s personal circumstances made Mark Lane Designs the perfect choice.

Even among the wild borders, an area of formality with a simple slatted bench and repeated lowlevel white pots draw the eye towards the orchard

24 Landscape & Urban Design

Mark is the UK’s first recognised garden designer in a wheelchair and has been published in numerous journals and magazines and has gone on to be the first BBC gardening presenter in a wheelchair.

Mark’s practice Mark Lane Designs collaborates closely with architects, designers, artists, sculptors and craftsmen on a wide range of projects, to provide an individual, friendly and professional service offering high-quality, bespoke garden, planting and landscape design for small private or largescale public projects, an intimate little garden or a landmark outdoor facility.

Mark’s ethos is to create a garden or landscape that is a direct response to the architecture, topography and character of the landscape – a sense of place and space. His designs are functional, in-keeping with the surrounding environment, the wild space and its natural flora and fauna; building on integrated structures and the spaces between, in and around them.

Mark Lane Designs TExT Mark Lane Designs

phoTo Mark Lane Designs

Bold swathes of blue and yellow, with Rudbeckia Goldsturm, yellow Heleniums, Pervoskia Blue Spire and Aster x frikartii ‘Monch’

The central stepped granite water feature surrounded by a simple yet elegant planting combination of Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’ and Eryngium agavifolium

The hidden white LED lighting illuminates the pathways without blinding the Client who is in a wheelchair

Mark’s personal experiences, knowledge of and expertise for fully accessible gardens, whether for a private dwelling or for a public building, such as hospitals, disability charities, specialist units or rehabilitation centres, were brought together to create a “contemporary wild” garden.

A contemporary piece of sculpture sits comfortably among the white borders

The design focuses on access needs with full wheelchair turning circles, wide paths and views across borders, sometimes obscured, sometimes fully open, but creating a landscape that is fully inclusive.

A large stepped granite water feature is the centrepiece of the garden, influenced by the incredible water feature outside the Louis Vuitton Gallery in Paris.

Each angle has been measured to suit the incline of the site and designed by Mark to reflect the sun as the water cascades down.

Small flecks of silver in the granite sparkle enhancing the clarity of the water.

Landscape & Urban Design

25

The planting is full and abundant.

Over 5,000 plants and 3,000 bulbs have been planted to create colour, texture, form and scent for 12 months of the year. Planting is loose and informal, but the planting plans have been carefully put together by Mark to give an almost wild experience – as if the plants have self-seeded across the garden.

Large bold blocks of colour have also been introduced, but following the Client’s aspirations the borders have been divided into: herb garden, blue and yellow garden, white garden, pink garden and a grasses garden. Mark is a plantsman and wherever possible chooses plants that are as close to the species type as possible.

The white borders 3 months after planting surround a secluded seating area under a magnificent Silver Birch

Areas of wild grass lead into the “contemporary-wild” landscape

Digitalis parviflora stand upright like sentinels among the newly formed seed heads of Deschampsia cespitosa

The silken tassels of Miscanthus sinensis Gracillimus, Pennisetum alopecuroides and Deschampsia cespitosa

He looks at the surrounding plants and the local environment and creates a landscape specific for an individual site.

Building in layers Mark’s landscapes comprise shrubs and trees, herbaceous perennials and grasses, climbers, bulbs, corms and rhizomes that work together.

Hidden white LED lighting illuminates the landscape at night making the garden appear to float.

Influenced by the colours and flora of the Kent countryside for this project Mark has created an enticing and exciting landscape, and although designed for access needs it is foremost a garden with a sense of place and space. www.marklanedesigns.com mark@marklanedesigns.com 01227 207 013

26 Landscape & Urban Design

Planting Trees gives Peace, Beauty & Life to our Landscape & the Environment

Trees Direct was established 17 years ago as a

Working with our clients on a one to one basis

family run business and based in Shropshire.

we are able offer our guidance and advice to ensure that the end result will bring pleasure

We keep many of our trees and shrubs on site

and satisfaction for years to come.

while working with leading reputable suppliers both in the UK and abroad.

We are very aware that we must all work to protect the land for future generations and

Constantly expanding whilst maintaining our

our fauna and flora. It is of great importance

business on a personal level.

to take special care that trees and shrubs are planted to protect and preserve the

Trees Direct specializes in sourcing and putting

environment and our wildlife.

together suggestions and plans for plantings and ideas for those who just don’t have the

Our participation calls for a dedicated

time or contacts to do this.

commitment so there is always someone available on the phone to discuss and advise

We have co-ordinated and put together many

our clients with help on plans and suitability

projects and are proud to have worked with

before commencement of projects. We are just

The Woodland Trust, The Royal Institute, The

as happy to help source that one special tree as

Conservation Foundation for the Great British

to working with our clients for large plantings.

Elm Experiment together with many other interesting plantings, from Regeneration

We are aware that every project is personal and

Projects to Councils, Schools, Designers,

important to the client, so we are always open

Developers and Corporate companies as

to discuss ideas, offer guidance and advice

well as private landowners and individual

to ensure total satisfaction in our service and

customers.

products. However small or large the job, we are here to guide, advise, design and deliver.

www.treesdirect.co.uk

|

Email info@treesdirect.co.uk

|

Tel: 01584 878878

Trees Direct Ltd, Priors Halton House, Priors Halton, Nr. Ludlow, Shropshire SY8 2JN

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Chic Teak

Quality Teak To Inspire The Design We are so confident in our furniture that it carries a ten year guarantee. Working with professional furniture designers, we are able to combine our passion for teak with an unrivalled attention to detail. This means we can present innovative bespoke solutions for luxury outdoor furniture to suit every brief. Our enviable reputation of over 15 years has been built on quality craftsmanship, exceptional personal service and outstanding value for money.

C

hic Teak Ltd. are the UK’s leading supplier of sustainable teak luxury furniture to landscape architects, landscaping professionals and garden designers.

Established for over 15 years, our clients include the UK’s leading architectural & design practices, the National Trust, English Heritage, MCC (Lords Cricket Ground), Henley Royal Regatta, London Zoo and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. We are also the preferred supplier to many public buildings, country estates, schools and colleges, as well as most councils, including the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

We use only the finest quality grade A heartwood teak. This is ethically and responsibly sourced from Indonesian government controlled plantations. All our timber is correctly kiln dried for the British climate prior to machining and assembly.

30 Landscape & Urban Design

Our furniture has been made by the same workshops for many years, ensuring both supply chain continuity and quality craftsmanship. Developing relationships through our regular visits, working closely with our supply partners and employing our own local quality control manager, means we can be confident that every piece is built to the same exacting standards.

Our luxury furniture is made to our own specification, manufactured by expert craftsmen to the finest quality and built to last a lifetime.

We are based in Hampshire where we have a large showroom and office.

Experienced staff are able to discuss your requirements and advise on the best solutions. Designers have been particularly keen to incorporate planters, objet d’art and bespoke items into schemes.

Alongside our own range of high quality teak benches, chairs, tables and planters we feature benches designed by the renowned architect Michael Balston and this year sees the arrival of a new lighter weight teak furniture range by the Danish designer Jakob Berg for indoor or outdoor use. www.chic-teak.co.uk

sales@chicteak.co.uk | www.chic-teak.co.uk | 01256 809628 Southwood Farm, Dummer, Hampshire, RG23 7LU

Country High Bridge galvanised bridge in a rural setting with Rough&Ready beam railing & StreetdeckÂŽ

shapes and sizes. Streetlife caters for a range of needs by offering a series of appealing pedestrian and cycle bridges. This is the lightest category of bridge and the ones provided by Streetlife possess a distinctive, natural style.

The Streetlife Bridges Collection is unique due to sophisticated construction, understated and urban settings thanks to their timeless appearance. Extremely durable, due to the use of sustainable materials, our bridges combine sustainable FSC ÂŽ wood with untreated CorTen steel, for example. After installation, the steel oxidises to display a rusty brown colour, which makes the CorTen components maintenance free while affording the structure a warm tone that blends perfectly with the surroundings.

Components constructed with All Black beams are increasingly popular with architects and clients. All Black material is made of local recycled plastics, such as waste plastic from the agricultural industry and plastic bags. The material is black throughout and the colour is retained in the long term as a result of UV stabilisation.

Getoonde producten zijn beschermd door Int. Model Depots, Patenten en Copyrights.

in green and urban landscapes

Wild Willow Bridge

The Solo CorTen Bridge was installed in the Dutch town of Assendelft and nestles in a location that has undergone a dramatic transformation. Nauerna Park theme of renewability, highly sustainable landscaping elements were chosen. Not only the Rough&Ready furniture but also the bridge fencing has been constructed from All Black beams. The decking is constructed from CorTen steel and uses specially designed Cordeck ® . The overall effect is an engaging contrast between the warm CorTen and the black balusters, with the combination of materials affording the bridge a sturdy, robust appearance within the landscape.

The Crossline CorTen Bridge lends itself well to

distinct CorTen frames with integrated hardwood railing can be delivered with various inserts, allowing the character of the bridge to be adapted to its surroundings. Whereas the horizontal alignment exudes functionality, the criss-crossed stainless steel balusters add a certain playfulness and possess a rugged natural quality. The bridge is delivered almost entirely prefabricated, which means installation only takes a day.

True Composite Bridge (new)

Bold Bridge

Solo All Wood Bridge (new) This bridge is constructed with FSC® hardwood slats with characteristic 7x7cm Solid dimensions.

Streetdeck ® 40 is an ecological and functional alternative to hardwood. Available in two colours to blend with different road surfaces, the deck is more slip resistant and durable than hardwood and has a sleek, contemporary look. The Streetdeck ® composite wood consists of 75% shredded waste wood and 25% synthetic material. It is splinter-proof, making it an ideal surface for walking barefoot on jetties.

Floating Jetties are available in straight and curved ® 70 FSC ® hardwood slats, making them the perfect match for

Single Swan Colour Bridge

made of composite and comprise a foam core with a system, the jetties are invisibly kept in place with poles and are connected to the shore.

Floating Jetties Curved with Solid Bench

STREETLIFE Leiden, The Netherlands T +31 (0)71-5246846 www.streetlife.nl streetlife@streetlife.nl

Streetlife BV in social media

Viridian Landscape Studio

V

iridian Landscape Studio is a landscape design and consultancy practice offering a wide range of professional services to architects, developers, planners and property managers, as well as private clients.

34

Landscape & Urban Design

We are based in Buckinghamshire but accept national and international commissions.

It was with huge pride that Viridian’s Director, Anne Jennings accepted the Principal Award in the Design Excellence category at BALI’s Award Ceremony held at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel in December. BALI, the British Association of Landscape Industries, is the leading Association for the nation’s landscape professionals, and a BALI Award is prestigious and highly coveted within the industry.

The winning project is a small residential courtyard in Chelsea, London, designed in exquisite detail to meet the client’s Brief for a garden with the character of an old, rediscovered ‘secret’ treasure, giving the illusion it had existed for decades.

Viridian Landscape Studio TExT phoTo Viridian Landscape Studio Viridian Landscape Studio

pruned so that as much as possible could be retained. It was re-trained and more plants added to cover the old walls and provide the garden with an evergreen backdrop.

Part way through the project our client decided that large trees were required.

Reclaimed York stone was sourced and calibrated and, combined with salvage materials such as stable blocks, terracotta tiles and stone setts, creates a tapestry of paving that gives the impression the surface had been repaired with available materials over the years. Old, tangled ivy clad the walls and this was painstakingly disentangled and

The specimens, in 750 and 1000L pots, with root balls almost a metre in diameter and weighing nearly a tonne each required street closure, crane lifting and walkie-talkie communications to ensure the trees were gently lowered into preprepared planting holes.

Mis-en-scene features such as old oak doors with mirrors set behind, reclaimed mirror-glazed factory windows and gothic arches all add to the aged character and contribute an eclectic ‘collectable’ narrative.

In pride of place, the children’s play house in the form of a distressed Shepherd’s Hut with retro-fit moss roof provides a quirky, rustic focal feature that has enormous appeal for both young and old.

This project was unique and one of the most enjoyable we have worked on, with various challenges (including the clients’ non-res status throughout the project) merely adding to its fascination.

We are delighted that it has been recognised by our peers as an outstanding project for its exquisite design detailing. www.viridian.uk.com

Landscape & Urban Design

35

GRoUND-FLooR oppoRTUNITY FoR Garden Designers – Landscape Gardeners – Garden Architects – Tree Surgeons – Landscape Designers – Garden Maintenance Contractors - Fencing and Paving Contractors – Horticulturalists and anybody offering any type of “Garden Services” WE ARE A MULTI-AWARD WINNING LANDSCAPE DESIGN & BUILD COMPANY DESIGNING AND CREATING “SPECIALIST” GARDENS NATIONWIDE WE ARE VETERAN ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY EXHIBITORS AND CONTRACTORS…WE HAVE PERSONALLY SPONSORED OUR OWN (LARGE) SHOW GARDENS AND WON, FOR OURSELVES, TWO RHS GOLD MEDALS AND BEST IN SHOW AWARDS AS WELL AS THAT, WE HAVE CONSTRUCTED/CO-DESIGNED/PLANTED FIFTY+ SHOW GARDENS INCLUDING EIGHT GOLDS AT CHELSEA OUR AIM IS TO CREATE AN IRRESITABLE “GO TO” ONLINE DIRECTORY OF GARDEN SERVICES ONE FOR EACH COUNTY AND/OR AREA OF THE UK THIS DIRECTORY WILL FEATURE OUR AWARD WINNING SPECIALIST GARDENS BUT WILL ALSO CATER FOR EVERY OTHER LEVEL OF GARDENING SERVICE IMAGINABLE

JOIN US AND YOUR WORK WILL BE FEATURED ON OUR ON-LINE DIRECTORY ON THE HOME PAGE AND IN YOUR OWN PAGES IN YOUR LOCAL COUNTY/ AREA WITH 100’s OF DOMAIN NAMES AND MULTIPLE VARIATIONS TO COVER ALL SEARCH OPTIONS SUCH AS… WWW.UK-GARDENDESIGNERS.CO.UK WWW.YORKSHIRE-LANDSCAPERS.COM WWW.LONDON-LANDSCAPERS.COM WWW.LONDON-GARDENDESIGNERS.COM WWW.GARDENDESIGNERS-SCOTLAND.COM 36 Landscape & Urban Design

OUR ULTIMATE AIM IS TO HAVE A DEDICATED WEBSITE/DIRECTORY TO COVER EVERY COUNTY AND AREA OF THE UK OFFERING A COMPLETE ONE-STOP OPTION FOR PROSPECTIVE CLIENTS SEARCHING FOR ALL LEVELS OF GARDEN SERVICES FROM BASIC (BUT QUALITY) TO HIGHEND AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN AND WITH OUR EXISTING, LONG ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP WITH GOOGLE WE KNOW THAT OUR SITES WILL ALL BE FEATURED ON PAGE ONE AT NUMBER ONE OR IN THE TOP THREE SEARCHS MEANING THAT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE OF NOT BEING NOTICED BY 1,000’S OF POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS WE ALSO KNOW USING GOOGLE’S OWN STATISTICS (70,000 to 100,000 GARDEN SERVICES RELATED SEARCHES A MONTH) THAT THERE IS A HUGE UNFULLFILLED DEMAND OUT THERE FOR HIGH QUALITY WORK AND AGAIN OUR AIM IS TO PUT ALL OF THE “LOCAL/REGIONAL” CONTACTS IN ONE PLACE AS WELL AS GOOGLE…USING OUR CONSIDERABLE SHOW GARDEN EXPERIENCE OUR “PARTNERS” FROM EACH COUNTY/REGION WILL TEAM UP AND CREATE SHOW GARDENS AND OR TAKE A TRADE PROMOTION STAND THUS GAINING MORE “LOCAL” AWARDS FOR THE SERVICE AT SHOWS SUCH AS… TATTON PARK, HARROGATE, SOUTHPORT, MALVERN, HAMPTON COURT, GRAND DESIGNS, IDEAL HOME AND NUMEROUS COUNTY SHOWS ADVERTS WILL ALSO BE PLACED WEEKLY AND MONTHLY, ALL YEAR ROUND IN PUBLICATIONS SUCH AS…THE TIMES, THE TELEGRAPH, COUNTRY LIFE, GARDENERS WORLD WE INTEND TO LAUNCH THIS SERVICE IN SELECTED AREAS IN THE SPRING SO JOIN US BEFORE YOUR COMPETITION DOES TO EXPRESS AN INTEREST PLEASE EMAIL US… ultimate-gardenservices@gmail.com Please include details of your experience, your services and images of your work or if you are just starting up, some background Landscape & Urban Design

37

“Happy Christmas Hitchin Market Paving”

T

he historic Hitchin Market Square paving in Hertfordshire was successfully refurbished and repointed with GftK's vdw 850 Paving Joint Mortar 7 years ago and is still going strong and ready for another busy Christmas. The work was all carried out and completed just in time for the Christmas Celebrations just over 7 years ago in November 2009. All previous pointing materials were failing in just a year or two of the demanding environment, with multiple heavy duty loadings and exposure, plus frequent mechanical street cleaning etc. However, following the Engineers extensive research and trials to find the best refurbishment paving grouting system on the market, this time the project was completed on time and on budget, because work could continue and be completed using GftK's vdw 850. Even despite the wet weather and low temperatures throughout that would have made any cement or single-pack pointing mortar useless and doomed to failure in these joints. Now after 7 Years, the historic market is looking good and will continue to do so for a good few more years yet.

“Happy Christmas Hitchin Market Paving” Contact: David MacKay at NCC Streetscape Limited: 01257 266696 Or email: sales@nccstreetscape.co.uk

Happy 7th Anniversary & another Happy Christmas Hitchin Market!

“Secure and Durable Granite Sett Re-pointing for Sheffield”

T

he granite paving through the Peace Gardens in Sheffield has been refurbished for Sheffield City Council using GftK’s vdw 850 Paving Joint Mortar from NCC Streetscape.

The highly durable granite was becoming loose and subject to damage due to the far less durable cement based jointing mortars used originally and for earlier repairs. Whilst ‘traditional’ these are all highly sensitive to water, mixing and exposure to frost resulting in typical cracking and loss of strength problems.

The Council’s Engineers and their Contractor found the ideal solution was the unique, epoxy resin bound sand based, vdw 850 Paving joint Mortar from NCC Streetscape. This also enabled all of the work to be successfully completed without having to completely close any areas of the popular commuter routes through the gardens.

The areas were high pressure water jet cleaned, any loose stone setts re-fixed and then the joints were simply wet-slurry pointed with the vdw 850 jointing mortar, which self-compacts into the joints. The surface was rinsed, dry brushed-off and within a short period of time reopened – also with no delays for cold or wet weather.

38 Landscape & Urban Design

“Secure and Durable Granite Sett Re-pointing for Sheffield” Contact: David MacKay at NCC Streetscape Limited: 01257 266696 Or email: sales@nccstreetscape.co.uk

GftK Paving Joint Mortars for Natural Stone and Concrete Paving Ideal for both NEW and REFURBISHMENT works because you can: • • • •

Work in wet weather and low temperatures (from +3ºC) Use fast wet slurry application Get off your knees and work standing up Have greatly reduced staining and cleaning work

Whilst also achieving: • Full frost and de-icing salt resistance • Full pressure jet washing and mechanical road sweeper resistance • Permeable joints for SUDS Suitable Colours and Grades Available for ALL Types of Paving and Traffic, from Domestic Patios and Driveways to Market Squares and Highways

Save Time and Money on Every Project For more information visit www.nccstreetscape.co.uk or call David or Gary on 01257 266696 Paving Joint Mortars from

Working with Architects and Interior designers to achieve coherent and exciting spaces In the planning and designing of domestic outdoor spaces the garden designer may often find his or herself low down in the pecking order as the architecture and interior are prioritised naturally. I’m often told “we don’t know the budget for the garden yet, we’ll see what’s left after we’ve finished the house”!

As a garden designer and a fan of architecture, in particular the use of glass in modernist buildings, it excites me to see large windows being installed, bringing the outside-in and

40 Landscape & Urban Design

ultimately giving your place as a garden designer much more precedence.

The relationship between client, architect, interior and garden designer can sometimes be a challenge as we’ll all have our own ideas. First and foremost we have to please the client whilst staying true to the architecture and working with the interior to create a flowing and coherent space. Lets not forget adding your own touch as a designer too as the client has invested in you and your style.

Continuity and cohesion are words I use a lot during consultations as the success of a space can weigh heavily on them. Clear communication and an understanding of the architect and interior designer’s intensions can only help you fulfil such philosophies. In any creative industry, borrowing and allowing our surroundings to influence our work is how we progress, it’s what drives new ideas. Approaching garden design whilst working with other professionals should be

Robert Hughes Garden Design TExT Robert Hughes Garden Design

the same. Using elements of the architecture and interior in the garden may feel like cheating but it creates a bond and a relationship between the elements and ultimately leads to coherent design.

Each project, client and collaboration brings a new experience and keeps us on our toes as new relationships are created and exciting spaces spring up out of the ground. A recent experience

of working with an architect and the interior designer, who happen to be husband and wife and owners of the garden, saw a project take shape in an uncustomary fashion. Whilst given artistic license on the design which would sit next to a modern renovation, during the build their influence lead to changes which I may not have agreed with at the time. However a creative understanding and a willingness to work with and

phoTo Robert Hughes Garden Design

listen to each other lead to a successful relationship and ultimately a one space that flows from inside-out. Good design is often not the idea of one, but the collective thoughts and teamwork of everyone involved.

Robert Hughes Garden Design Web: www.roberthughesgardendesign.co.uk Facebook: /RobertHughesGardeDesign Twitter: @RH_GardenDesign Tel: 02920 811688

Landscape & Urban Design

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A

Why Choose Our Granite?

t Granite Setts UK we can provide you with a stunning, high quality collection of granite setts, granite cobbles, granite tiles and granite kerbs that will truly stand the test of time. With granite, you can ensure that there will be no cracking due to subsidence or damage from the elements. Granite will last up to ten times longer than your average block paving.

Granite will create head-turning external paving that will retain its good looks for years and, due to natural variations, add real character. Granite is both affordable and durable, and will create an impressive finish that just cannot be matched if you choose lower-grade products.

42 Landscape & Urban Design

We can deliver our granite across the entirety of the UK with discounted delivery on multiple pack orders and FREE delivery for larger orders

Granite Setts UK are perfectly positioned to cater for both domestic projects and larger scale commercial projects with all our granite products coming with a Declaration of Performance (CE Mark) to guarantee conformance to BS EN

1342 (Setts of natural stone for external paving) For commercial and large residential enquiries, please contact us directly on 0800 246 1212 or via email at sales@granitesettsuk.co.uk for a bespoke quotation.

We supply premium-grade granite setts, cobbles, tiles and kerbs at extremely competitive prices from our Portuguese quarry. All our products are fabricated on site by a team of expert stone masons and come in a wide range of colours and finishes.

Orpington Business Park, Unit 1, Faraday Way, Orpington, Kent, BR5 3AA

t

CREATES A STUNNING FINISH WITH A HUGE AMOUNT OF CHARACTER

t

UNRIVALLED DURABILITY, EVEN IN AREAS OF HIGH TRAFFIC

t

NATURAL COLOURING THAT DOESN’T FADE, WITH A TIMELESS, APPEALING QUALITY

t

EXTREMELY VERSATILE – EFFECTIVE IN A NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS AND PATTERNS FOR DESIGN

t

GRANITE SETTS AND COBBLES WILL NOT CRACK UNDER VEHICLE LOADING

t

INCREDIBLY LOW MAINTENANCE AND WILL LAST A LIFETIME

t

SLIP RESISTANT SURFACES

t

CUSTOM MADE DESIGNS AND CREATIONS AVAILABLE

t

VAST RANGE OF COLOURS AND FINISHES

www.granitesettsuk.co.uk

l

0800 246 1212

l

sales@granitesettsuk.co.uk

Next generation products from the next generation Star.

Star

leading

to continue to demonstrate our

of flexibility and has a proven track

manufacturer of high performance

Uretech

is

a

commitment to the decorative

record within the industry.

decorative

resins.

market and development of the

Formed in 2000 the company have

next generation resin systems. In

They also supply high performance

firmly

themselves

our efforts to not just provide a

resin bonded ‘coat and scatter’

in the decorative market due to

trusted, honest supplier but help

products which vary in flexibility

their technical innovation, product

to improve the industry as a whole

to cover the variation in substrates

development and commitment to

we have recently become FeRFA

from concrete to blacktop. TekGrip

customer service. Importantly Star

members and are well on our way

DSR is an extremely hard wearing

Uretech prides itself on its honest

with BALI and RSMA membership.

and scuff resistant surface ideal

approach and the quality of its

We are very keen to help improve

for paths and driveways. There is

technical advice to its customers.

the image of the resin bound

also a product called TekGrip DD2

industry

that

which has the benefit of a slower

The

surfacing

established

company

has

and

to

ensure

recently

consumers don’t suffer due to low

cure speed ideal for new installers

undergone several changes within

quality systems or unscrupulous

or resurfacing steps to produce a

its management team and this is

installers”

high friction, non-slip surface.

The company’s decorative range of

The company offers free full

reflected in the company’s new forward thinking philosophy.

products are manufactured on site

training,

Mark Almond, General Manager

under the TekGrip name. TekGrip

guidance in the use of its products

says “We are young, dynamic team

DPB is a high quality, UV stable

which includes information on

which includes the addition of our

resin for resin bound surfaces.

surface

experienced polyurethane chemist,

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strength

mixing equipment and the correct

Kirstie Rawlinson. We are in the

properties combined with a degree

choice of aggregates. Call us for

perfect position for the future and

exhibits

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preparation,

and

suitable

more details, we want to help you!

Star Uretech is a leading manufacturer and supplier of decorative surfacing adhesives. We are a young, dynamic and forward looking team and we aim to offer our customers a fresh, honest and reliable alternative to what has previously been available. Our ambitions are to improve the industry as a whole and this is why we offer free training and technical advice.

For the best products, technical knowledge and a company that takes pride in doing the right thing please contact us. We want to help you!

Web: www.star-uretech.com Email: info@star-uretech.com Tel: 01254 663444

N16 Into the Woodland Garden

T

his back garden was a large, South facing space with mature trees and shrubs, which had become overgrown, making it unruly and dark.

A kitchen extension project, with bi-folding doors across the back would put the garden on show and gave the perfect impetus for a garden re-modelling. I worked closely with the architect to ensure that two

46 Landscape & Urban Design

projects would complement each other.My clients were keen to create an open and inviting outdoor space for entertaining whilst retaining the natural mature woodland

feel of the garden for exploration and play. I felt it was also important to ensure that there was a smooth transition between these two areas.

Firstly, the large Magnolia Grandiflora was pruned to encourage flowers lower down and an overgrown Salix Caprea which dominated the back area was removed.

Woodland Gardens TExT Woodland Gardens

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ll other shrubs were pruned to allow light into the garden, transforming it into a sun dappled space. The garden sloped upwards away from the house so oak sleeper steps and terracing were used to retain the back area.

Plant choice was influenced by the heavy clay soil and I noted what had thrived in the garden previously. The Magnolias and Acers were particularly happy so these were replanted in more suitable positions and underplanted with clay loving hardy perennials including

Vinca minor, Astrantia major, Galium odoratum and Orphiopogon 'Nigrescens'.

My design seeks to create a clean, modern entertainment area with a large raised Balau deck which is softened by raised beds to the sides and front, which through planting will create a semi-transparent screen between the deck and lawn area.

The existing Wisteria has been trained around the bi-folding doors of the new extension and the planting to the front and west side of the deck includes a Magnolia Stellata, Allium ‘Purple sensation’ and various culinary herbs.

The bed to the east side of the deck features a pruned back Hebe tree and shade loving perennials and climbers including Hellebores and Clematis ‘Early Sensation’.

A flint gravel path leads you from the deck, passed a small lawn to the wilder woodland area. Climbing shrubs including Ceanothus ‘Puget Blue’ and Hydrangea ‘Petiolaris’ blend with the existing shrubs and trees.

The woodland area is dominated by the Magnolia Grandiflora and a large Choisya underplanted with Ferns, Sarcococca and

phoTo Woodland Gardens

woodland bulbs. A sleeper bench backed by a screen of bamboo provides a quiet reading area in the shade.

As I’ve been maintaining this garden for the last year, I’ve had the pleasure watching the planting develop and mature into a private and secluded space and the garden transform from a underused burden to a treasured additional family resource.

Landscaping by New Look Gardens Design by Sarah Kay Garden Design

www.sarahkaygardendesign.co.uk

Landscape & Urban Design

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Building Beaverbrook: a tee to green solution for one of the country’s most exclusive golf clubs Golf in the UK is well known as an accessible sport, with thousands of clubs dotted around the country. Whilst the nation is home to some of the most famous courses in the world, the word luxury does not always spring to mind. However, all this is set to change with the impending opening of the Beaverbrook Course at the Cherkley Court development: a £90m hotel and golf course resort designed by some of the most prestigious names in the game.

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ased near Leatherhead in Surrey, and once home to media magnate and one-time owner of the Express Newspaper Ground – Lord Beaverbrook, Cherkley Court is set to push the boundaries of premium golf resorts, not just in the UK but across Europe.

The new resort, developed by Longshot Cherkley Court (LCC) and due to open in 2016, will be home to a £90m hotel and the prestigious 18 hole Beaverbrook golf course. Codesigned by eight-time major championship winner Tom Watson, along with renowned golf course architect David McLay Kidd (DMK), the Beaverbrook Course will offer the rare opportunity to play on a world-class surface.

One of the standout features of the Beaverbrook Course will be its USGA-accredited greens. Achieving such a high quality putting surface is out of reach for many clubs due to the associated requirements, costs and logistics that must be adhered to in order to receive USGA accreditation.

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Topsport Golf Course TExT Topsport

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n order to meet such demanding requirements, DMK approached Tarmac to tap into its years of expertise in golf course Rootzone design and construction via its specialist Topsport solutions. For the Beaverbrook course, a range of high performance Topsport materials were heavily involved in nearly all aspects of the course’s construction, from tees to greens, and all the green surrounds.

A crucial part of achieving USGA accreditation is ensuring the right rootzone mixture is achieved. The USGA specifies that all rootzones used for greens must be mixed offsite , and strongly recommends any potential product undergoes a rigorous quality control programme undertaken in a laboratory environment. This ensures that any Rootzone laid will comply with the strict performance criteria laid down by the USGA recommendations and will offer the necessary agronomic support for the seed bed and growing in process.

In order to help DMK achieve USGA accreditation for the Beaverbrook Course greens, Tarmac supplied over 12 thousand tonnes of its Topsport rootzone to be used across all of the greens, as well as the green surrounds and tee boxes.

The bespoke rootzone was designed and mixed at a dedicated off-site mixing station from high quality sand, blended with carefully selected organic materials.

This allowed it to maintain organic content and pH balance, as well as providing the best possible growing medium for the three different playing surfaces.

Support for adequate drainage also had to be prioritised to provide consistent course playability throughout the year. Poorly drained greens can result in a number of serious maintenance issues, as well as having a detrimental impact on a player’s round as they are much more difficult to read. Given Beaverbrook Course’s vision of unsurpassed quality, a state-of-the-art drainage solution was imperative.

phoTo Topsport

Drainage gravel is a crucial element of a green’s construction, and as with rootzones, must meet certain criteria in order to achieve USGA accreditation.

Tarmac was again on hand to supply over six thousand tonnes of its specially designed Topsport drainage gravel to the Beaverbrook Course. The gravel was designed to meet the performance criteria required when an intermediate gravel layer is not used in the green construction. Bridging, permeability and uniformity co-efficient criteria were all met by careful source selection, which included the ability to wash and screen to a well-defined grading profile. The overall drainage and growing media profile profile can then move water rapidly away from the green’s surface, ensuring available play times are maximised.

Peter Cullen, Technical Sales Manager, for Tarmac’s Topsport team, was heavily involved in the specification and supply process for the Beaverbrook Course at Cherkley Court.

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Topsport Golf Course

“All construction materials supplied to the Beaverbrook Course, including the drainage gravels, the straight sands and the blended rootzone product, had to be produced to the USGA Recommendations for putting green construction; which involved an incredible amount of pretesting and pre-production work to ensure we could meet the brief.

“One of the key challenges involved the production of the USGA rootzone.

It comprises of fully classified sand produced at Kingsley quarry in Hampshire which is then blended with a specifically graded sphagnum peat.

This resulted in a growing medium with very precise physical properties to support the very fine grasses needed to meet USGA requirements. It took probably about six months to achieve the right blend ratios to achieve the specification.

“Similarly, all gravel had to be designed to meet the Beaverbrook Course’s exacting grading specification.

This was to ensure no fine material could potentially enter and block the perforated drainage pipes, which were laid in the herringbone style and then covered with Shepperton 2/6mm of gravel, and 30cm of the rootzone, before being shaped.”

Peter concludes: “Whilst a significant amount of research and development has been undertaken to ensure only the best possible material was supplied for the Beaverbrook Course, we are extremely confident the end result will be one of the finest playing surfaces in British golf.”

Casey Krahenbuhl, Senior Design Associate at DMK Golf Design and Site Manager at Beaverbrook Golf Course, added: “Our design criteria changes from site to site, but here at Beaverbrook the developers wanted nothing less than the highest standard of greens in the country, or even in Europe.

Fine creeping bent grass greens were the only option for us to meet this brief, and to do that we needed the very best green

52 Landscape & Urban Design

and tee construction possible, namely USGA Specification. Sourcing a sand and a gravel that worked for us was crucial.

“However it’s not just about the product, it’s also about the supply chain and dealing with vendors that we trust and believe in and that we know can be partners to the project. The final product was fabulous; some of the best USGA sand we’ve ever dealt with, really

consistent and exactly what we were after.

Tarmac’s Topsport team has been the best partner we could ask for on the job, they’ve been our biggest vendor and the supply chain they’ve provided has been fantastic throughout.”

For more information on Tarmac’s range of Topsport golf course solutions, please visit: www.tarmac.com/topsport.

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Devon Garden With A Moorish Theme

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his garden lies in front of a newly modernised house in South Devon.

The owners had recently visited Granada where they had greatly enjoyed the Moorish gardens of the Alhambra palace, an enthusiasm which I share.

Would it be possible, they wondered, to recreate something of the flavour of a Moorish garden in a semi-rural location in Devon without it looking out of place?

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Landscape & Urban Design

The garden is centred on a pool fed by a low fountain whose stone bowl is modelled on those seen everywhere in the old Moorish houses of Granada.

The same buff clay brick that was used to frame the pool is also used for retaining walls and steps.

Planting includes Mediterranean shrubs that are equally at home in the mild climate of coastal Devon: clipped box and myrtle, abelia, pittosporum, cistus and santolina.

Pleached hornbeams enclose the two sides of the garden.

From the pavillion at the end of the pool steps lead down to a small orchard. www.webstergardens.co.uk

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hampshire club bowled over with new green

The challenge: With a 500 year history, bowls is a sport that’s deep-rooted in English tradition.

However, its gentle pace may be deceiving as underneath a quiet exterior lies a game wholly reliant on skill, small margins and, crucially, a thoroughly level playing field.

Despite being part of the local community for over 60 years, when Alton Social Bowling Club decided to relocate and expand its facilities in 2015, it needed expert advice to ensure its new green would live up to the reputation of its well established predecessor.

Creating a brand new bowling green from scratch is no easy feat, especially when the site’s starting point is an ordinary, arable field; yet this was the challenge faced by the club as part of its recent relocation.

56 Landscape & Urban Design

With the sport relying on a perfectly level playing surface, the end result is dependant on a reliable and long-lasting solution.

To do this, the club called upon the services of the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) and contractors, MJ Abbott, to get the job done as accurately and professionally as possible.

First and foremost, the contractors had to remove 5000m3 of soil at the new site to accommodate the size of the bowling green surface and to reach the depth required for the green’s wider sub-surface infrastructure.

Once achieved, the next – and perhaps the most important – obstacle to overcome was the design and creation of a bespoke drainage system and rootzone blend to allow for optimum turf growing conditions.

The solution In order to achieve the best playing conditions possible, the new bowling surface had to be built in line with the strict STRI specification process, which is particularly detailed regarding the drainage and rootzone composition.

MJ Abbott approached Tarmac’s Topsport to help create a tailored solution and apply its vast industry experience.

“After initial consultations with both MJ Abbott and the STRI, it was decided that a unique rootzone blend was necessary to achieve the fine balance between drainage and water retention,” said Topsport’s Joe Evans, who helped manage the project.

“Working closely with all parties, we ultimately arrived with a bespoke blended 70/20/10 solution, which comprised of 70 per cent sand, 20 per cent soil, and 10 per cent compost. “This blend offered the optimum combination to allow water to drain a little more slowly than other sports surfaces, ensuring the grass would have enough supply to keep it healthy and grow in the desired way.

“Once a sample was made, a percolation test was run to ensure it would offer the required drainage speed. Following this, 600 tonnes were created and blended at the Tarmac quarry in Kingsley, located just around the corner from the club to help keep both logistics and the overall project length to a minimum.”

Whilst the rootzone was being sourced, the aggregate-based foundation layer of the drainage system was being installed.

Joe continued: “During the specification process there was actually a regional shortage of drainage media. However, we were able to supply a clean, durable, carboniferous limestone, an approved alternative to the specification that ensured all work was able to be completed on schedule before the winter months set in.

“The primary drainage layer comprised of a two-part gravel system: use of 4-10mm stone in the primary drainage system, topped by a 150mm layer of clean graded 2-6mm limestone from Tarmac’s Halecombe quarry in Somerset.

“Ultimately, we were able to arrange for the delivery and installation of 300 tonnes of drainage media and 600 tonnes of rootzone in just over a week.

Once the rootzone was laid, a laser-guided bulldozer was used to ensure a perfectly even surface for the turf to be installed and bedded in over the winter.

“Our main objectives on this project were to meet the design, creation, and supply of bespoke materials and to complete the job on time. We’re pleased to have met these aims and produce a fantastic final finish that the customer is happy with, whilst making the most of local produce to keep logistic costs to a minimum.”

Nathan George, Contracts Manager at MJ Abbott, added: "With the limited aggregate options we faced when working on the Alton Social Bowling Club project, we were able to rely on Topsport to source suitable materials which would allow us to meet the requirements of the STRI specification whilst remaining in budget.

“Topsport’s knowledge, both of sports turf construction specification and sourcing quality product, has been essential in maintaining our long standing relationship.”

For more information on Tarmac’s range of Topsport golf course solutions, please visit: www.tarmac.com

Looking Great For Solihull - Urban Flowers Reduce Maintenance Carbon Footprint

The visual and financial success of a Rigby Taylor Euroflor urban meadow flower planting scheme at a public park in the West Midlands is spurring the local council to consider the further widespread use of the flowers for other open spaces and highway verges in the borough.

In a trial instigated by Amey’s regional groundscare contracts manager, Tim McGibbon, in conjunction with Rigby Taylor’s area representative, Andria Backhaus, the planting of the Euroflor Sarah Bouquet urban meadow flower seed mixture has created a colourful, monthslong display of wildflowers that has attracted many complimentary comments by visitors to the park. In addition, the scheme has also generated significant reductions in the carbon footprint of the park’s maintenance regime.

Tim McGibbon explains: “By trialling the urban flower mix in an area that is traditionally grass and cut by Amey 18 times a year, we’ve created a visually impressive area that has transformed an area of dull grassland.

Not only has it attracted positive comments but it has reduced the cutting frequency down to just once every 12 months.“

58 Landscape & Urban Design

“With Amey being responsible for around 60 million square feet of open space, grassed areas and highway verges for Solihull Council, any increase in our Euroflor planting schemes with help brighten up the parklands even more.

that “creates better places for people to live, work and travel” - is an established user of Rigby Taylor products, sourcing a wide range of consumables from the amenity specialist including fertilisers and line marking paint.

And, as a welcome by product, generates significant savings on cutting regimes for the authority in the future”.

Now, following the success of the urban flower mixture, Euroflor will be added to Tim McGibbon’s annual shopping list – and, after hearing about the project, other Amey Groundscare divisions look set to follow suit.

“This change to open space management practice makes sound economic sense but also creates for Solihull’s residents and visitors parks, that are a more pleasant place to visit.”

Councillor Ken Hawkins, Solihull Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Housing & Regeneration, said: “The flowers have transformed an area which was previously short grass and has provided an excellent bed of colour on which park users have complimented us.

Thanks to Amey’s idea we now hope to sow more seeds next year to make our parks even more attractive for people and wildlife - in support of our aim of managing all of our open spaces to Green Flag Award standard.” Amey’s Solihull Groundscare division – part of a nationwide, 21,000-employee operation

www.rigbytaylor.com

Bituchem Creates Landscape For New Leicestershire School

Hard-landscaping specialists, Bituchem, has recently been involved in the creation of a brand new primary school in Leicestershire.

building and the warm tones create a welcoming setting for play. I would thoroughly recommend this product and look forward to working with Bituchem again soon.”

deteriorating and causing potholes or other breakages in the surface so eliminating trip hazards and making the material smoother and safer for young children.

Natratex is a material manufactured by Bituchem to the highest standards to offer a seamless, high-performing solution for hard-landscaping. The material is created using naturally-occurring aggregates

Natratex is a very versatile material and can be used for a wide range of applications, with a variety of colours available to suit all specifications.

The material was selected in grey and Cotswold for Fossebrook School to provide a varied surface for the children to play on, with designated coloured areas adding to the fun of playtime.

bound using Bituchem’s specialist clear resin binder to give it the complete compactness that it requires. The Cotswold and grey coloured aggregates offer an aesthetically pleasing alternative to a traditional tarmac finish, with the same durable and long-lasting qualities as asphalt technology.

The material can be used for new constructions, such as Fossebrook School, as well as regeneration and overlay products. Natratex has proved to be a time and cost effective solution as it can be applied quickly and easily using conventional equipment.

Melissa Ralph, Landscape Architect at MeiLoci commented, “MeiLoci are very pleased with the Natratex surfacing – a great appearance and finish. Natratex really sets off the new timber school

The hard-wearing, compact finish of Natratex has made it a popular choice for school playground applications. The resin binder used to create the smooth surface reduces the likelihood of the material

The construction of the new Fossebrook Primary School was completed in mid-July ready to open to Foundation, Year One and Year Two students in September. The school was developed by Leicestershire County Council to provide an additional school for early-year students in the area, and is sponsored by the Discovery Schools Academy Trust.

The school was designed by Cornwallbased Kast Architects and MeiLoci landscape architects, who specified Bituchem’s specialist Natratex hardlandscaping material in Cotswold and grey to create an informal demarcated area for the playground. The surfacing works was carried out by Gary Fletcher Surfacing Ltd., who have much experience of Bituchem’s materials.

Natratex is Bituchem’s flagship product and has been used for various applications in schools due to its modern aesthetics and safety benefits.

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Further information is available from Bituchem on 01594 826768 or 07584 311266, by emailing: mark@bituchem.com or by visiting the company’s website at www.bituchem.com

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Small, oddly shaped and on a slope – designing small town gardens can be challenging!

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he great attraction of garden design to my way of thinking, is that each garden is unique and presents its own challenges, and this small town garden is a case in point. There is a difference of 1200mm from the FFL of the house to the back of the garden which lies approximately 12 metres away.

The shape of the garden is not perpendicular to the rear of the house but rather extends at an angle away from the house, and the boundary starts from the edge of the neighbour’s house rather than the house itself. The design specification was to include a relaxing water feature, a patio, lots of planting in an abundant ‘English country garden’ style, and some lawn

62 Landscape & Urban Design

- all in a classic/contemporary style, sensitive to the fact that the garden is in the middle of Oxford, and not sited in a village.

The first design decision I made was to opt for gentler curves rather than designing on a grid,

as I felt straight lines would only emphasise the quirky shape of the garden. At recent trade shows I have also noticed that there is a trend to using more curves in garden design, compared to the designs of the last decade which seemed to celebrate straight lines.

The seating area is at the back of the garden and is a 2800mm natural sandstone circle, with a bespoke teak semi-circular bench. This bench is newly made, so it still has to weather down to a softer hue, but the workmanship is wonderful and the dimensions exact to my specification, which I made once the sandstone circle had been laid. The bench comes from cyan-teak-furniture.

com. The water feature is set within the sandstone circle, and simply has 2 Oase bubbler fountains with underwater lights. The sound is a perfect soft sound that really does distract from any traffic noise and the relaxing atmosphere is heightened with the installation of a metal heron that sits within the planting border, overlooking the fountain. The metal heron comes from Zimbabwe and

is made from recycled metal.

Similar sculptures can be found from zimbolic.co.uk, a company that supports artists in Africa.

The planting picture changes with each season, and wherever there are groups of perennials I have under planted them with bulbs, thus ensuring maximum use of the space. The winding paths lead you through the borders,

and are edged with Liriope muscari, Geranium Rozanne, and Alchemilla mollis. ‘Who needs to go to Giverny’ was the comment that one visitor made when they first saw this small garden in Oxford.

01865 240077 07780 683 961 monique@spieringandco.com www.spieringandco.com

Landscape & Urban Design

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Aesthetically Pleasing But Virtually Invisible: Our Cable Fence Systems’ Are Specifically Designed To Give An Unspoiled View Of Your Garden and Surrounding area Based in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside, we understand the importance of appreciating a great view.

Spotting a gap in the market during a personal project, we produced a patent pending design focusing on hiding unsightly tensioners. Hence, the creation of Cable Fence Systems Ltd. Our versatile fencing is suitable for indoor or outdoor use, making it ideal for many projects.

Composed of marine grade stainless steel components and 4mm wire cabling, our product is corrosion resistant, durable and maintenance free.

This ensures suitability for all weather types and is available for purchase overseas as well as in the UK.

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Landscape & Urban Design

Some application examples include, but of course are not limited to: decorative outdoor decking fencing, contemporary indoor stairway infill and beautiful pagoda trellising. Examples of previous projects can be viewed on our website www.cable-fence.com to offer some inspiration!

Our stylish and easy to fit systems are available in 3m, 6m and 12m kits which provide 10 runs in each.

They include all you require to fit your new fencing so no specialist tooling is required. And, to assist you in your project, our detailed installation guide takes you through the quick and easy process step-by-step.

Our cable fence systems’ are designed and manufactured in the UK with a helpful team on hand to offer any advice should it be required.

Please call 01535 667077 or visit our website www.cable-fence.com for more information.

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Source stone for landscape and urban design projects with an unrivalled choice of materials from around the world.

Access CPD from 25 free seminars at the Natural Stone & Building Conservation Conference.

Highlights include the one-day RIBA-assessed workshop ‘Innovation meets stone design’ on Tuesday 25 April.

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Learn about award-winning landscaping projects at the Natural Stone Awards Gallery.

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