Wildflower Turf and Green Roofs

When you hear the words Hilton Hotel you tend to visualise something contemporary and grand.  The newly completed Hilton at Reading continues to live up to that expectation and at the same time has acquired some green credentials.

There’s nothing more boring  than looking out of a hotel window at a grey tarmac rooftop.  It is certainly less than ideal and definitely not inspiring.  At the recently completed Hilton the words boring and uninspiring don’t form part of the equation. Boasting a flat roof several meters above ground level, guests are treated to a spectacular vision of glorious wildflowers and sapling trees.  Irrigated from beneath, it stays beautifully green the whole year round, whilst producing a succession of flowers attracting birds, butterflies, bees and hoverflies throughout the summer.

When we were asked to supply our Wildflower Meadow Turf for this project we were delighted. So many modern hotels fail to exploit the opportunity to blend in with the surrounding landscape whilst at the same time making a statement.  We  think you’ll agree that the wildlfower meadow roof at the new Hilton Hotel certainly ticks both those boxes.

Wildflower Meadow on the roof at the Hilton Hotel Reading

Harking back to a time when building materials were sourced from the surrounding countryside, when keeps and castles were built to be impressive and stood proud against the sky line with hoards of soldiers to guard their walls, Cardiff Castle is no exception to that rule.

Relating the extraordinary episodes in the history of the castle , the new Interpretation Centre, is displaying its own extraordinary event – a new green roof of beautiful wildflowers.

When we were first approached by David Hopkins of Cardiff County Council and asked for a quote early in 2009, we were quite surprised as the centre already had a green roof albeit one of sedum.  However, it seemed all was not well with the sedum and they wanted something more spectacular and self sustaining.

By April the turf was on the roof complete with irrigation system.  The photos below show you the steep gradient on the Interpretation Centre, upon which the turfs were laid.  By June visitors were greeted by an army of wildflowers – a little different from the armies that would have been in residence in Roman times.

The first wave of flowers is generally led by the Campions; White (Silene latifolia), Red (Silene dioica), Bladder (Silene vulgaris) and Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi), preceded by Meadow Buttercups (Ranunculus acris) and Wild Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) then closely followed by surges of Cats Ear (Hypochoeris radicata), Hawkbit (Leontodon sp.) Vetch (Vicia sp.), Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor) and Ox-eye Daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare) to name a few.  Not to be outdone either, and bringing up the rear are the grasses with spears of flowers standing straight and tall above the rest.  An army to be reckoned with!  So no change there!

Just click on each image to enlarge – enjoy!

Laying laying the wildflower turf on the steep roof

27th April 2009 Turf all laid and looking lush

29 June 2009 already flowering

The First Wave led by an army of Campions

Very soon we will be launching the inuagural issue of our Newsletter.  We are very excited!  To celebrate the occasion we are creating some pretty thrilling stuff for you to read!

“Be the First” to see our time-lapse photography with voice-over as James Hewetson-Brown talks you through the concept of growing a wildflower meadow.

“Designing or Simply Considering the Concept of a Green Roof?” will showcase a few of the sensational  projects we have been involved with, that we believe you will find inspirational.  It doesn’t need to be a grand design to be impressive either as you will see.

“Eco Friendly or just a Gimmick? will be an excerpt from a recently commissioned Bug Report that proves the bio-diverse credentials of Wildflower Turf roofs.

We hope primarily that you will enjoy what we have written and as this will be our first newsletter we would value any feedback you can give us.  Which of course can be done via our website.

If you wish to subscribe to the newsletter you can do so on our home page. We really hope you do because we know you are going to be thrilled!

Wildflower Meadows as we all know, look absolutely stunning from the time they start to flower in May right through to cutting in September.  But aside from this obvious attraction, did you know that quite a few of the native wild flowers in that meadow can be either eaten, used for their healing properties or even as a cleaning agent?

Just imagaine the scene -  after toiling away in the fields or in the garden you can rub your aching muscles with oil from St Johns Wort after washing with soap made from Red Campions and wash your hair with Musk Mallow.

Musk Mallow

Bladder Campion

Feeling a little peckish after all that activity, you could gather from your wildlfower meadow a dinner of herbs – leaves of Bladder Campion, Oxeye daisy and Salad Burnet (tastes like Cucumber) served with tasty young Bladder Campion shoots lightly cooked with butter, accompanied with a glass of wine made from Field Scabious or a drink flavoured with Meadow Sweet.  Delicious!

Salad Burnet

Meadowsweet

After a little too much wine you could sooth your aching brow with a tincture of Betony and sooth the blisters on your hands from your hard graft with Self Heal.

Betony

Self-heal

Its such a pity that wildlfower meadows are not so easily found in the 21st Century.  Of course you can change that image by posessing your own wildlfower meadow – so why not have a stoll around our website and see just how easy it could be?  We are sure you will be pleasantly surprised.

A Beast is what the garden at Follers Manor was before Landscape Architect Ian Kitson turned into a Beauty that complements its elevated surroundings in the newly designated South Downs Country Park.  Featured in Channel 4′s programme Landscape Man, Follers Manor is located at the eastern end of the South Downs and was a project that offered the opportunity to demonstrate just how beautiful a wildflower meadow can look when integrated into an innovative moderen design.  Full of flair and elegence there are distinct echoes of Antoni Guadi’s Parc Guell with an English twist.

When we were first approached in May 2009, we only had a vague idea of how glorious the finished garden would be.  Ian’s design featuring a wildlife pond at the bottom of an intricate winding path naturally had to have a wildflower meadow, which created a seamless vista against a backdrop of the East Sussex countryside.  We are sure you will agree with us when we say we were thrilled when we saw the finished project.

Wildlife pond surrounded by wildflower meadow in the East Sussex Countryside

Wildflower meadows are a surefire way to guarantee plenty of wildlife around a wildlife pond.  Delicate and enchanting Dragonflies, Bees, Damselflies and Butterflies as observed at our own lakeside wildflower meadow (Bug Report coming soon) make this design as ecologically friendly as you could get in such a logistically difficult location as the South Downs National Park.

With pink Campions and Ragged Robin waving in the breeze with Tufted Vetch, Yellow Rattle and dazzling Oxeye Daisies, along with the vast array of wildlife that ventures by is a feast to be reckoned with.  We are absolutely certain that clients Ann and Geoff Shaw will thoroughly enjoy relaxing by the pond as they relish their dream landscape in the beautiful South Downs.

A place to relax and enjooy the wildlfowers and wildlife

Wildlife pond and wildlfower meadow seamlessly blend

On the TV front we have also supplied wildlfower roof turf to Grand Designs due to be broadcasted later this year.  “So watch this space” as they say, and lets see who else has decided that grand architecture is enhanced and enriched by wild flower meadows!

Last Autumn we were delighted to be approached by Architects HPW Partnership, concerning a new themed area at Paultons Park in Hampshire.  Peppa Pig World is due to open at Easter 2011.  As part of this project there is a “12,000sq ft indoor play area providing a brand new space for visitors to take cover on wet days, and the largest Peppa Pig dedicated shop in the country”!  HPW had specified a green roof and recommended Wild Flower Roof Turf. Paultons Park had used our turf in the past and were keen to go with our system.

Owner and Managing Director of Paultons Park, Richard Mancey and project manager Keith Ashley, met up with James Hewetson-Brown to talk through this exciting new project, and to discuss how the proposed green roof could be tackled. As contractors BBS Green Roofing had been selected to install the turf and the overall construction of such a huge project needed to be carefully managed.This was very successfully executed by Steve Vincent who has 15 years experience is this very bio-diverse trade.

Three weeks ago this phase of the new building was successfully completed.  First to be installed was our high quality substrate that gives the wildflower roots something to knit into and thrive on, then an automated irrigation system and finally, the wildflower turf was duly laid on the roof.

Having received a few pictures from BBS and the architects after the wildflower turf was laid, James couldn’t resist visiting the site today and taking a few pictures of his own.  We think you will really like these and by Easter when this area opens it is going to look amazing.

Pepper Pigs New Green Roof

We are proud as punch that Olivia Stewart, a young designer with her own company, chose our Wildflower Meadow Turf for use in her Conceptual Garden, Clear Waters Rising.  This design was entered and short-listed for the RHS Young Designer of Year Award at Tatton Park.  As you will have seen on BBC1 Olivia achieved a Silver Gilt Award for this beautiful design inspired by a camping trip to the Lake District.

We were a little worried that the turf was a little too young for this concept, but we needn’t have worried as you can see from the link below. It was just about perfect.  Her design definitely reminds us of the Lake District with some wildflowers already blooming whilst others are just waiting to spring into colour.  We would be interested to hear if you agree with us.

Well done Olivia, the sky is the limit now and we wish you every success for future designs!

Olivia wasn’t the only designer that chose our companies products for this show.  Marcus Green came to us with quite an unusual request – he wanted Barley!   Well we are running a farm here – so Barley it was.

Now -  looking at his design -  we can see it was an inspired choice.  Marcus’ design was influenced by the Northamptonshire Landscape and obvoiusly wowed the judges as they presented him with a Silver Medal.  You can see his design on the RHS website.

Marcus is quite a seasoned designer with innovative and exhilarating ideas – we can’t wait to see what he comes up with next. 

Well we are quite exhausted.  All these shows and all these wonderfully talented people chosing our products.  What more could we ask?  Long may it last we say!!

The Chelsea and Hampton Court Flower shows are now a distant memory but not so distant that we can’t congratulate a bunch of our customers for their beautiful designs and thank them for choosing our wildflower meadow turf as part of their project.

Chelsea Flower Show:

We were pretty thrilled to be asked by four garden designers, to supply turf for their Chelsea exhibits whether that be a trade stand; Lily Sawtell of Lily Sawtell Designs and  Richard Eccleston of Oakleaf Gates or a spectacular show garden; Paul Stone for the Eden Project Garden and Sue Hayward of Sue Hayward Garden Designs.

Sue’s design for the “Stephen Hawking Garden for Motor Neurone Desease”, won a  Bronze Medal in the Contemporary Category Show Garden, Congratulations Sue.

“Eden Project – Places of Change” designed by Paul Stone was awarded  a Silver Flora Award by RHS. Well done Paul! We were very proud to be asked to supply Wildflower meadow turf for this imaginative and colourful garden. You can find even more photographs on the  BBC web site.  The picture below was taken by photographer Robert Davidson.

Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

The Hampton Court show was held last week and what glorious weather they had too.  This definately seems to be the year for the flower shows with sun, sun and just more sun on offer.

Imagine our delight when well known garden designer Sadie May Stowell gave us a call to order Wildflower Meadow Turf for her glorious design for the Copella Bee Garden “celebrating the behaviour of the British bee, whilst raising awareness of its population decline…..The layout takes inspiration from the bees’ “waggle dance” and the garden reflects the journey from plant to hive”.  We’ve attached a link so you can see how glorious this was, it also demonstrates how beautiful a garden can be when wildflowers are used a-plenty.  So if you want bees and any other insect for that matter, well then, we suggest you go for it.  Sadie’s design won a Silver Gilt Medal – and so it should, it was delightful. A Splendid result!

So what’s next?  RHS Show Tatton Park between 21st – 25th July – its so exciting, we can hardlly wait!  And guess what,  the weather forcast is good for next week – oh yes more sun!  Who’s exhibits are we looking forward to seeing?  Well Marcus Green and Olivia Zoe Stewart are both exhibiting but because its not till next week we’re going to have to wait to see what exciting innovative ideas and designs they have dreamt up – so just watch this space.  Phew!  What a blooming lovely summer!

Oh! I nearly forgot! In a couple of weeks we are going to do a quick feature on green roofs which is a great idea. So much prettier than boring old tiles and of course very biodiverse.  One of our regular customers had a stand at Hampton Court so we should have some pictures for you as well.  There’s no stopping us now!

Barn Owls (Tyto alba) are a species of conservation concern in the UK, so being given the chance to change their fortunes albeit very slightly and locally was not an opportunity we were prepared to pass up.

Some while ago the nice people from The Hawk Conservancy popped over to the farm to install a nest box in one of our high barns.   The goal was to encourage the Barn Owls that had been seen flying around the farm, to rear young in a place where they would be relatively safe and there was clearly a guaranteed food source.

Barn Owls are low flying predators and prefer open farmland with abundant hedgerows, edge of woodland with field margins left alongside hedgerows.  They feed on small mammals such as short tailed voles, mice, shrews and small rats – just what you would expect to find scurrying around a farm with open tracts of rough un-grazed grassland and acres of wildflower meadow turf.

A few weeks ago, and with great anticipation on our part, The Hawk Conservancy returned to see whether Mr & Mrs Barn Owl had decided it was a Des. Res. and had set up house in there.  To our great delight they had done more than that, they had laid a couple of eggs.

So imagine our enchantment today when Sam Hunt of the Hawk Conservancy returned to check their progress.  One charming 3 week old chick with the fattest tummy, a clear sign of plentiful food, was proudly presented ready for ringing.  Sam told us the chick was a little young to see whether it was a boy or girl but the fact that it was clearly well fed and healthy was all we really cared about.

Sam weighed this fluffy specimen and we were told it was the same weight as its mother, around 30 grams and heavier than its father. Wow, what a bruiser!

We have a nifty little fact for you: Did you know that Barn Owls mate for life?  Well they do, which means that next year, because Mrs Barn Owl quite liked our next box she will probably use it again.  How cool would that be!

We also thought you might like to see this bruiser of a barn owl baby, so we took a picture.  Ahhhh!

Hard work always pays dividends and in some cases, well deserved recognition.  The National Motor Museum, Beaulieu was the venue this year for the annual Hampshire Awards ceremonies run by Hampshire, The County Magazine, where our very own James Hewetson-Brown proudly accepted First Prize for Hampshire Business of the Year 2010 as presented by Mark Houghton of Space Air Conditioning, this years sponsors of the Business of the Year Award.

James Hewetson- Brown accepts first prize for Hampshire Business of the Year, 2010

Our wildflower meadow turf is an innovative, sustainable product that provides inspiration for designers and gardeners throughout the country who wish to encourage not just beautiful wildflowers into our lives but also the accompanying fauna.

We cannot ignore the fact that this recognition reflects the growing awareness that  many of us feel that we need to provide habitats that attract butterflies, bees, beetles and birds, of which there is a rich assortment (article coming soon) in the absence of the age old wildflower meadows that our ancestors enjoyed.

Well done James and team.