Maggie Fennell, Boningale’s Product Development Manager, discusses the perennial problem of creating and maintaining healthy, environmental, attractive landscapes in the face of reduced budgets; a subject that was examined and dissected at the Green and Blue Infrastructure seminars at Ecobuild this year.
At Ecobuild, exciting tools such as CEEP’s Natural Capital Planning Tool and the new Building With Nature certification to be awarded by the TCPA were unveiled and explained.They show not only that the measurement of environmental and social benefits is still high on the agenda, but they demonstrate there is a higher level of engagement with the practical installation and completion of development projects.
Scientific analysis and industry consultation are combining to create something that is practical and usable, to ensure clear and transparent landscaping quality objectives can be determined. In other words, the implementation now matters as much as the design!
Now there is a real need for the horticultural industry to supply plants and products that will not only meet these demands, but prove that they fulfil the performance criteria that have been set. This has inspired planting innovation and collaboration, particularly in the field of perennial planting which has been trialled successfully on a large scale in Germany already.
Wildflower meadows have caught the public imagination and been reintroduced in a variety of forms through public and commercial planting schemes. However, in some locations they can be tricky to establish and might be vulnerable to weed invasion without the correct maintenance.
Wildflower meadows are ‘wild’ by nature, and the appetite for natural wilderness is always balanced by the human need for balance and regularity, particularly in urban settings. The glory of the summer display is seldom matched in the winter months, but the addition of evergreen perennials and structural grasses to a designed planting system can incorporate wildflower species and transform ecological planting schemes into more amenable, highly attractive areas, if planted correctly.
Scientifically tested communities of perennials and wildflowers can capture most of the environmental benefits of wildflower meadows to enhance biodiversity; in the sense that they can include UK native wildflowers and non-native species or cultivars which are proven to support British insects and wildlife.
They can also add additional value in the realms of year-round aesthetics, water management and general wellbeing. Increasing social studies are giving weight to the added value of beauty and the related increase in happiness and productivity. This can add real value to a property or development, but is perceived as higher maintenance and effort. Designing for an intended intermingling of plants however, can reduce the frequent maintenance normally needed to keep rigidly ordered blocks of single species planting looking perfect.
Provided the ground is cleared to start with and overlaid with the specified type and depth of gravel mulch, the system can avoid costly problems with establishment and weed invasion, and solve problems on difficult sites.
Our PhD researcher Michael Livingstone at the University of Sheffield’s Department of Landscape, supervised by recognised perennials expert Professor James Hitchmough, is helping to commercialise a stunning designed perennial planting system called Floratopia.This will be easy to install, enabling landscape professionals to offer a high value ecological landscape with minimum fuss.
Find more details about Floratopia perennial planting visit http://www.boningale.co.uk/floratopia/ and for information on the University of Sheffield specialist research projects go to https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/landscape/phd-research/designed-ecology
Or contact Maggie Fennell at Boningale on 01902 376500 or email
