THE LANDSCAPING SOLUTIONS BLOG


Welcome to our Blog. Inspiration, updates and industry trends from the team at Landscaping Solutions.

WILDLIFE PONDS

If you’re motivated to make a difference to biodiversity or simply wish to while away the day watching wildlife then you need a pond in your garden.

A Wildlife Pond by Landscaping Solutions

A professional garden or landscape designer will know where best to place a pond in your garden.

Here’s how to make it happen;

Take time to select an experienced professional to work with. A garden or landscape designer with a passion for creating naturalistic spaces will know how to attract wildlife to the garden and have an instinctive understanding of where best place to place the pond. This might be a natural dip in the lay of the land or an open area away from overhanging trees, preferably in a sunny spot as most insect and plant life thrives in warm, shallow and sunlit conditions. However, we ensure there’s at least two to three feet of depth at some point so hibernating frogs have a place to overwinter. Pond sides should gently slope to the depths to provide trouble-free wildlife access so we always create a shallow ‘beach’ area at one end.

A shallow beach area at the end of the pond

A shallow beach area at one end of the pond provides trouble-free access for wildlife.

A clever designer will plan to save and reuse as much excavated material as possible during the build process. Fertile topsoil can be used to create borders or banks elsewhere in the garden and less fertile sub-soil can be used as growing media in the pond.

Then it’s time to get creative with the planting. Our planting schemes utilise oxygenators such as Hornwort, Water Crowfoot or Spiked Milfoil along with some floating species such as Frogbit, Fringed Water Lilly and Water Soldier. A smattering of emergent species and marginal plants such Amphibious Bistort, Brooklime, Water Avens, Purple Loosestrife, Marsh Marigold, Water Mint and Hard and Soft Rush can be planted directly in to the soil layer in and around the pond.

Boulders and Deadwood

Boulders and deadwood are great for providing a hiding place for amphibians.

To make the pond more naturalistic we add boulders, stumps, deadwood, bark and branches to provide hiding places for amphibians and perches for birds and dragonflies. Now it’s time to sit back to see what comes in. It won’t be long before beetles, backswimmers, water boatmen and pond-skaters start to arrive. Snails won’t be far behind followed by frogs, toads and newts once the vegetation establishes. Within a year or so you’ll have a fully functioning ecosystem helping to redress the balance of habitat loss in the wider countryside and a constant source of enjoyment and learning.

For more information on how Landscaping Solutions can transform your garden, contact Ben West on 0208 241 2402 or email info@landscapingsolutionsltd.co.uk

LANDSCAPING SOLUTIONS HELPS YOU TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE

Futurescape is a leading event in the garden landscaping and design world. This year’s event, held last month, included a Summit addressing what the industry might do to combat climate change.

Futurescape Climate Change Summit

A packed Summit at Futurescape 2019. Ben West (second from left) on stage with Andrew Wilson, Sarah Eberle, Katya Griffiths, Paul Cowell and Alistair Bayford.

On stage were Landscaping Solutions’ Ben West, alongside industry leading lights and award-winning designers Sarah Eberle, Alistair Bayford and Andrew Wilson, President of the Landscape Institute Adam White, garden designer Katya Griffiths, Chartered Landscape Architect Paul Cowell and the Landscape Institute’s Noel Farrer.

Chances are that Climate Change is a shadow that hangs over you in some form or other. It’s difficult to avoid, as each day another worry seems to be added to the list of environmental damage: habitat destruction, plastic pollution, chemicals in the food...

The good news is that garden-owners are perfectly placed to play a part in creating a solution. “Gardens cover a larger area that Nature reserves in this country,” says Ben. “As the wider and wilder landscape becomes eaten up by development and intensive farming, gardens have become highly important last refuges for wildlife.”

It’s not about having the garden that doesn’t suit you, though. There are so many small changes that can add up to a greater impact. At the Summit, Andrew Wilson said, “Are we all going to change world tomorrow? It has to be incremental. If there’s a moment when ‘incremental’ can happen, it has to be now. Planting may be a garden at a time or a verge at a time, but that’s better than nothing.”

This is why it’s important to select a garden designer or landscaper with care, to find someone who is interested and knowledgeable in making a garden sustainable, for both you and Nature.

It’s an approach encapsulated in Sarah Eberle’s words at the Summit. “It’s about Man’s relationship with Nature, about our protection of Nature and what Nature can do for Humanity.”

The good news is that, as a garden-owner, there are garden designers and landscapers who are already ahead of the game. The Society of Garden Designers has started a programme of advice to members to enable more informed decisions on materials. A well-qualified designer will understand the plants that will suit your area best, and what will be useful for pollinators and attract birds to the garden.

Landscapers with an interest in their environmental impact buy hard landscaping from sustainable suppliers and environmentally sound businesses; they research and practise sustainable construction methods, reduce cement use and carry out environmental audits of their business.

Here at Landscaping Solutions, we do all these things and work with a number of SGD members. Nature-Friendly Garden Design is a speciality of ours. We can advise on how to reduce environmental impact, how reusing and recycling materials and keeping excavated soil on site can save money, reducing the need to hire skips and pay waste costs.

“What will you do tomorrow?” was the final question asked at the Summit. Sometimes, it can be hard to think of changes we can realistically make to help the climate change agenda. But if you’re thinking of redesigning your garden, then choosing designers and landscapers who will help find the most sustainable solutions alongside the stunning design you want is the first step.

“We are the superheroes of tomorrow,” said Alistair Bayford at the Summit. Join us in being a superhero to your garden.

For more information on how we can help create a sustainable, nature-friendly design that gives you the garden you want, contact Ben on 0208 241 2402 or email info@landscapingsolutionsltd.co.uk.

LANDSCAPING SOLUTIONS BUILDS WOW FACTOR INTO AWARD-WINNING GARDEN DESIGN

Indoor/outdoor living. Once something of a novel idea in the UK, it’s now a staple ingredient of garden design and, as garden landscapers, we get huge satisfaction in a clients’ delight at their new connection with the outdoors when a design is complete.

Garden Design By Landscaping Solutions In Clapham, London.

Crisp lines characterise this stunning garden design in South West London.

Often bi-fold doors opening onto decking is all that a client asks for, especially in the small gardens you find in urban Surrey and London. So much more can be done, however, and we were thrilled to be involved in this stunning BALI-award winning build in South London, a garden that offers multiple opportunities to enjoy the outdoors throughout the year, and which provides real-life inspiration.

The garden design brief

The brief was very clear - a space for entertaining and which would provide entertainment. A strong geometrical design was important, with all-the-year-round interest provided by structural, symmetrical planting. “With our large glass doors at the back of the house, we felt that it needed to feel like a natural open continuation of the kitchen/dining room, with similar smooth floor tiles and at the same level,” said the client.

David Harber Water Feature Garden Design And Build By Landscaping Solutions

The client wanted a garden that they could walk straight out into on the same level in bare feet.

They wanted a contemporary space suitable for relaxation and reflection and which naturally felt part of their living area. “I wanted a garden that I could walk in and out from the kitchen without shoes, on a flat, clean and smooth surface.”

And - for a busy family - low maintenance was a priority. “Our expectation for our new garden,” said the client, “was that it would not only have a design wow factor, during the day, at night, and through the seasons, but it would also be comfortable to live in with children.”

Garden designer Simon Thomas excelled at fulfilling the brief. Then it was Landscaping Solutions’ turn to get stuck in.

Starting the Landscaping

As is so common with garden landscaping projects in London, the only entrance was through the front door and all waste had to be removed through the house.

Landscaping Solutions Clapham London

Planting includes pleached Carpinus betulus to add height and structure, with Lonicera japonica ‘Halliana’ scrambling over the screen fencing, while Foeniculum vulgare ‘Giant Bronze’, Verbena bonariensis and Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ add airy planting to the architectural Buxus sempervivens and Taxus baccata hedging.

“This involved the removal and manual handling of at least ten tonnes of existing soils and turf, stone paving and a timber deck,” says Ben West, owner of Landscaping Solutions. “As London gardeners, one of our daily tasks revolves around making sure that the client assumes that nobody has been in the house.”

This means that, every bit a part of our job as is excellent workmanship, is ensuring that our exit path is clean and tidy at the end of the day, ready for the clients to come home.

The landscaping teams at Landscaping Solutions really enjoy their work. As we explained in a recent post, teamwork is integral to the way we operate, so once Ben had visited the site and met the clients, he presented the concept to staff members for planning and construction feedback. Involving the guys who will be working on a project early on adds an edge to the result. “By the time we came to start work,” says Ben, “the construction team were really keen to get in and express themselves on the features and the detailing.”

Simon Thomas Design Build By Landscaping Solutions Surrey

Boundary lines were tweaked to accommodate neighbours’ concerns.

London gardens don’t just have problems with access. Inevitably work impinges on near neighbours who voice their concerns, and it was no different here when the boundary lines went up as the first stage of the build.

Looking after relations with the people who will have to live with your new garden is another intrinsic, and very important, part of the job. “Good communication is essential when these situations arise, along with the ability to be flexible and think on one’s feet,” explains Ben.

We tweaked heights and levels on the boundary screens, and peace was restored.

Installing the pond and water feature

A water chalice designed by David Harber was a key feature, contrasting architecturally with the rectilinear fireplace at the end of the garden. We built a circular pool of rendered blockwork, coated inside with fibreglass and finished with mosaic tiles and bullnosed coping to pick up the step treads to the upper terrace, an addition made during the build.

Award Winning Garden Design By Landscaping Solutions

During the work it was decided to raise the fireplace above the rest of the garden, so a terrace was created with step leading up from the pool area. Behind the fireplace is a bespoke partitioned storage unit for bicycles, tools, toys and the gas bottle feed for the fire.

It was important to ensure the water from the pond didn’t overflow. Even though the Mint Sawn Sandstone paving was sealed, it could still stain from prolonged contact with water from the pool. We devised the remedy by installing a hidden submersible pump that could be linked to the main storm water system via sub-surface pipework and operated by remote control either from inside or away from the home. We also installed drip irrigation to all the flower beds.

Garden lighting

Remember the brief? That the garden would have a wow factor at night too? Stainless steel light fittings illuminate the screen fencing, LED light are recessed into the paving and raised beds, with strip lights illuminating the step treads and spotlights offering dramatic uplighting to the architectural planting in the beds. Again, they are remote-controlled. With the flames flickering in the fireplace, the wow factor is unmissable.

Award-winning result

At the 2011BALI National Landscape Awards the judges commented on the “exceptionally good detailing” and awarded us Principal award in the £20,000 - £50,000 category.

Most of all, though, the satisfaction of the clients in having their dream realised was the highest reward. “On a personal level it was a great feeling to stand in the middle of the action,” says Ben, “working closely with the designer, the clients and our hard-working staff, and watch everything come together.”

For more information on how Landscaping Solutions can transform your garden, contact Ben on 0208 241 2402 or email info@landscapingsolutionsltd.co.uk.


​TEAMING UP WITH LANDSCAPING SOLUTIONS

“It definitely brings us closer. You see a different side of people.” This is Landscaping Solutions’ Operations Manager James Double’s verdict on our annual camping trips. Perhaps that’s not surprising when you find out what owner Ben West gets us doing.

Landscaping Solutions Camping Trip

Landscaping Solutions’ Ben, George, James, Frank, Jack, Tom and Hudson.

When our social events take place outside work, they usually involve something like golf, go-karting or football. “If I organise something,” says Ben, “we’ll end up doing activities that most of us haven’t done before - friction fire-lighting, bushcraft skills, swimming in rivers, hill-walking on Brecon Beacon.”

Ben’s been wild camping since he was ten, and the trips are now a feature of the firm. Contracts Manager Tom Underwood hadn’t ever camped when he joined the company just over seven years ago. “I wasn’t into it, but I really look forward to it now,” he says. “I’m already looking forward to the trip for this year.”

Team Camping Trip

The trips certainly aren’t compulsory and we don’t have to venture far - a recent camp-out was in the Surrey Hills - but they do offer a chance for us to get to know each other better over a couple of days. “Most love it,” says Ben. “You don’t always get to mix with everybody in the firm, so you’re meeting other people you might have heard of and not worked with. It’s letting hair down in general.”

“It’s team building,” says Tom. “Two or three days in the wilderness with nothing but yourselves. It definitely contributes to well-being and happiness, and if you’re happy in work, then you do it better.”

BALI Award Winning Garden By Landscaping Solutions

A BALI award-winning garden, London, designed by Simon Thomas and built by Landscaping Solutions.

Teamwork is vital to a landscaping practice and is at the heart of Landscaping Solutions. It stands to reason that if three or four of us are working on a site for several weeks, the better we understand each other, the better we work together. “Teamwork is very important to the company. I’ve noticed that people coming from other firms say that they like the banter and the fun,” says Ben. “You’re spending most of your life doing this, so if it’s not fun, there’s not much point in having the job. The trips away help to create camaraderie, and it’s calming being out amongst the bird song and around the fire. As soon as you’ve got a fire going in the dusk, people talk about things that they rarely talk about otherwise.”

“We’re a close group,” says Tom. “I pass on what I’ve learned, and the guys teach me; I’m always ready to learn.”

And if you’re wondering how this plays into Landscaping Solutions’ work, then take a look at some of our BALI award-winning gardens.

Camping Trip

Alongside teamwork goes the ethos of recognising the talent we’ve got. “The culture of Landscaping Solutions is to promote from within,” says Ben. “We take on young guys and the team supports them to give them the skills and take on responsibility. That’s the most successful way to get people into responsible roles,” he adds.

James joined around seven years ago, was promoted to foreman and now works alongside Ben in the office. Tom, who joined at around the same time, also became a foreman and is now Contracts Manager, overseeing all the teams, giving toolbox talks, ensuring everyone has the workwear, PPE and materials they need. For the guys who moved into the gaps left by their promotion, James and Tom are on hand to monitor and give support.

BALI Award Winning Garden Patio By Landscaping Solutions

A BALI award winning garden, London, designed by Jilayne Rickards and built by Landscaping Solutions.

We think the results speak for themselves. The recent BALI awards gave us our 5th award over 7 years, two being Principal Award Winner. Of the latest winner in December 2018, designer Jilayne Rickards said, ““The finish was exquisite, because that’s how Landscaping Solutions work.”

So, when you commission Landscaping Solutions for your garden project, we’ll not just enjoy building it. You’ll also know you have a tight-knit team who will work together to give you the best result possible, maybe even a BALI award-winner.

For a discussion on how we can help with your next garden project, contact Ben on info@landscapingsolutionsltd.co.uk or the number at the top of the page.

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