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Commercial Portfolio
Sandy Way Business Park
Grass Roots Horticulture worked closely with Barry Smith of Barry's Garden Services to design and plant two and a half thousand shrubs and trees for the beds surrounding two new business premises in this yet-to-be-opened (at the time) business park.
 
18 months on
The choice of plants was more complicated than one may realise. Apart from the obvious considerations needing to be addressed before finalising a design, such as whether the beds are in sun or shade, their soil type, drainage etc., there were many more important concerns around the site that could be disastrous if overlooked. For example, the acute gradient of the bank at the front of the site - sloping down to meet the public pavement - meant that closely planting Cotoneaster en masse was required to bind the unstable soil to prevent minor soil slippage or a major landslide. As the bank's gradient petered out further down the bed, larger plants were used in close proximity to the same effect, such as types of Cornus (Dogwoods).
 
In another bed, albeit of lesser importance, Laurels were used to mask an external electricity sub-station. The basis of these planting schemes is much more one of functionality than aesthetics. The reverse is true, however, for other beds, where low growing shrubs are used to surround the buildings. Other than to soften the hard surfaces of the buildings, these shrubs have no real structural purpose other than their aesthetic value, which is important in an environment dominated by buildings and car park areas. These 'focal point' beds play a crucial role in the dynamics of the whole site that is appreciated more as the plants mature and merge together. It is thus one of the roles of the designer to anticipate and meet these issues with the selection and planting process. Not taking them into consideration can result in unexpected devastation, such as the giving way of land that had previously been supporting the foundations of a building.
 
 
With these points in mind, now consider the role of landscapers that have little or no horticultural background (and are thus no more than builders drinking tea in your garden) and envisage the repercussions of not fully understanding the dynamics that certain plants play in certain roles, such as the binding of steep slopes.
Centurion Business Park
This was a project which came to us in 2002, and it was one we could really get our claws into. We designed the planting scheme, sourced the 3000 plants from various locations, supervised and project managed the overall horticultural aspect of this new-build that would become Ocean Finance's Atlantic House (M42 Junction 10).
 
 
 
Westwood Business Park
This job required a great amount of preparation prior to laying the turf. The brief was to supervise all horticultural work undertaken, and to cut into and carve out the inclined grassy slope in order to achieve a flat surface for the turf to be laid onto. It took three people two days to prepare the ground surface and then to lay the turf.
 
 
Another undertaking at nearby location in the same business park was similar to the work outlined above. After drainage pipes were laid along the length of a one hundred and twenty metre stretch of bed by subcontractors - all but ruining the ground covering shrubs by covering them in piles of clay and rubble - we were called in to excavate a strip down the whole length of this bed prior to its covering of a membrane and then bark chippings; amounting to six cubic metres.
 
A two metre strip was removed of all excess soil, rubble and plants. The soil level was brought down to two inches below the level of the edging stones to properly retain the bark chippings within the confines of the new bed, rather than it spilling over onto the walkway; a major problem during strong winds.
 
Grimscote Manor
Grimscote Manor is a hotel that was bought by our clients when it was a bad state or repair, both the hotel and its grounds. Our clents worked so hard for a number of years to bring it back to its former glory - with fantastic results. The 'after' photos were taken immediately upon planting, so they do not do justice to how the grounds look now. There will be updated photos here soon.
 
 
 
The 'after' images were taken several months after completion, and we recommended sporadic weedkilling.
 
Drayton Park Golf Club
Unfortunately, the 'before' photos have been lost. Prior to creating a dwarf conifer and juniper around the practice hole outside the clubhouse, the area was simply a grassy knoll.
2 years after rockery construction & planting
Clifton Road Luxury Apartments
 
 
 
 
 
Sofia's Restaurant
Rear
 
Hanging baskets for the restaurant's frontage
Mica Business Park
 
 
 
 
 
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