Wildflower Turf and Green Roofs Blog

Theodore Gillick showcased two of his popular works on the SKYshades Garden at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show 2011, and has kindly sent us a photo.  His new, life-size Leaping Hares are a garden version of the table-top Mad March Hares, an edition which proved hugely popular and has now sold out.

Only released from the foundry in early May, Leaping Hares are an edition of 9.  The edition seen at Chelsea is already number 3, with several further orders having been taken in the first few days of the Show.

The Hares are in their element in the SKYshades garden, surrounded by our Wildflower Turf, and would look marvellous in a wild (or not so wild) area of any garden.  They have a discreet base which can be fixed into the ground as required.

Boxing Hares by Theodore Gillick

The use of sculpture to enhance a garden setting is one of the themes covered by Julie Hollobone, in her article on the RHS website, entitled ‘Five Trends to Watch’. In it she makes reference to ‘Leaping Hares’. See the full article here.

Did you know…The saying, ‘Mad as a March Hare’ is derived from the fact that an unreceptive female will ‘box’ with an amorous male. The mating season generally starts at the beginning of March or late February if the weather is warm enough.
The European or Brown Hare Lepus europaeus is the fastest land mammal in the UK, and can reach speeds of up to 45mph!

Another bronze sculpture by Theodore Gillick is this elegant Reed Warbler, which is an unusual piece, and displays equally well indoors as it does outdoors…  Indeed many clients mention that their Warbler migrates each spring to the garden, returning to the fireside for the colder months.

The Warbler would make a wonderful feature in any garden

Project: Winchester, Oliver’s Battery.

On this site there was an area of garden which had become a virtual wilderness, owing to the density of suckers and roots emanating from several lilac bushes. Additionally a couple of old trees (some of which were diseased), along with a few other unwanted shrubs made it very difficult for the owners to manage.

A dense area, proved difficult to manage

The proposed work… The owners felt that to try to work with what they had, was impossible, and wanted something ‘low maintenance’. Dean Rural Services were approached to tackle this project and David Plunton, who has a background in wildlife conservation, and pond restoration/installation decided how the site could be improved.

The outcome was that a radical overhaul seemed to be the only solution. The sensible option seemed to be, to grub out everything growing on the bank and replant it with semi-mature specimen trees. To provide ground cover, Wildflower Turf fitted the requirements perfectly. It is easily managed, and will provide a natural feature to the garden.

Cutting and removing begins

Work achieved…Over a period of approximately 10 days Dean Rural Services cleared the bank area, re-shaped it and prepared the ground for planting some trees as well as for installation of the Wildflower Turf. The images below show the work in progressive stages.

The old shrubs and trees have been removed...

...now removal of stumps

Site now prepared for planting the trees

Hawthorn and Whitebeam, are two members of the Rosaceae family, and were the chosen tree species.

Hawthorn and Whitebeam ready for planting...

It is important to mention that while the original shrubs and trees would have provided a valuable habitat for many species, by replacing them with Hawthorn and Whitebeam (which are both native), as well as the wildflower meadow, it is still just as valuable a habitat, if not more so…

Whitebeam is a small deciduous hedging tree, and Hawthorn is a traditional hedge species, and can support up to 150 species of invertebrate, and these insects provide food for birds, mammals and amphibians.

...planted and secured

This illustrates the importance of hedges: they can link habitats of value, allowing species to move around during the year to breed. Although in this case the site is not linked to any adjacent habitats, and the trees will need to be kept relatively small, it will still provide a valuable environment for many species of invertebrates, mammals, and birds. Why? Because it will additionally provide food and shelter, in the manner of shade, shelter, warmth, and suitable food plants.

There is a golf course not too far away, and you would expect some wildlife to find its way over to the meadow, especially butterflies and bees, in search of nectar sources.

Finished project…The clients John and Liliane Brooks along with Dean Rural Services are really pleased with the outcome, and mentioned that they look forward, in due course, to seeing it in flower.

Turf installed...

This will be a haven for wildlife

Testimonials …
“The photo’s bear testimony to the great success of this project!” John and Liliane Brooks.

“We were surprised at how much greener and better it looks than shown on your video.”  David Plunton, Dean Rural Services.

“Many thanks for your help it is much appreciated.” John and Liliane Brooks.

“The bank area looked so natural – as though it had been that way for ever.” John and Liliane Brooks.

‘Transition Towns have been set up around the country to address the twin issues of peak oil and climate change.’

In response to these challenges the movement has a clear goal: to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels. A few examples of this would be: by adapting our life styles to reduce energy use, growing our own food, and by adopting the concept of permaculture.

Not an easy goal: however by taking small steps towards making these changes as well as by working together, this should ensure that we are on the right road to address these issues, which makes these challenges not only seem less daunting, but also achievable.

If you are interested in finding out more follow this link  Transition Network which will help to explain how your local community can get involved.

Transition Town Romsey believe ‘there are positive ways to make their local community resilient to the changes ahead – and the result will be an even nicer place to live!’ With this in mind we were approached by Suella Long from Friends of Whitenap Community Orchard, for the supply of 180m² of our Wildflower Turf which they installed within the orchard. By the looks of things, they have done a fabulous job.

Laying the turf is easier than you may think!

The remaining rolls of turf are patiently waiting!

Many hands make light work...

Suella Long conveyed her thanks to the volunteers who turned up to lay the Wildflower Turf, saying, ‘it should look really lovely next year!’

We can't wait to see how the turf will look in the Spring either!

The finished site - a job well done

The orchard will be buzzing with bees in the spring!

Thank you to Suella and Bernie for sending through the photos, they look great!

Back in September we decided to film a short video of our Wildflower Turf to see how much insect activity we could find. We certainly found plenty of invertebrate life.

This little beetle was spotted quite easily, and as you can see from the first picture, is very tiny, no more than about 5mm in length. It was not very active and quite happy to just stay put whilst being filmed!

We were wondering if anyone out there knew what family and genus it belongs to, or even better what species of beetle it actually is?

Here are a few pictures to help identify it…

We look forward to someone shedding some light on this…

James, Director at Wildflower Turf Limited enjoyed presenting his seminar last Tuesday 25th October, on establishing a wildflower meadow, specifically focusing on comparing  the use of seed against turf.  The seminar attracted a large audience and James discussed the pro’s and con’s of Wildflower Turf versus seed for establishing a meadow. The cost analysis of the two options was of great interest, and prompted many questions. James presented a table showing the differences of how to cost the two, and the conclusion showed a significant long term saving with the use of Wildflower Turf. If you would like this pdf please call the office: 01256 771222.

The seminar generated many interesting questions!

The stand enjoyed plenty of interest over the two days and the flowering samples were the envy of many garden designers! At the end of the show the various samples were donated to the head gardener at Capel Manor, Julie Phipps, who will use them for two areas within the grounds of the college.

Our samples of Wildflower Turf received a lot of attention!

The stars of the show, were undoubtably the little colony of bees which were housed in a special glass bee box, provided by ‘Operation Pollinator.’  Here are a few photos showing the bees collecting nectar.

The bee box

The clover proved a popular choice for the bees

The visitors to the show found that getting close up to the industrious bumblebees was a captivating experience! Have a look at our video below… .

Garden Designer Fiona Stephenson has kindly supplied us with these fabulous photos taken at Hampton Court 2011. Her WWF Chalk Stream garden earned her a silver gilt. Congratulations it looks stunning!

You can see how our Wildflower Turf has been used to soften the edges of the path. It also complements the planting scheme by adding a natural edge to the borders, whilst creating a ‘wild’ feel to the garden.

WWF Show Garden

Fiona commented that, “it is so much harder to do a ‘piece of wild/natural landscape’ than a garden.”  She also said, “the turf was a godsend for filling in around the plants.”

Fiona’s design illustrates the diversity of application that our Wildflower Turf can provide in any garden setting.  In other words, you don’t have to use the turf just to create large areas of meadow, but alternatively, you can successfully incorporate smaller sections of the meadow turf with other plants and shrubs, producing a more natural feel to a
planting scheme.

Show Garden at the end of the 3rd week

Fiona also said that, “Everyone that visited said how amazing it looked, being in place for only a few days.”

Previously Fiona used our turf in her garden as part of an experimental stream – acting as a pre-show experiment. As you can see it works really well and anyone would be proud to have a garden looking this amazing!

A colourful planting scheme; our Wildflower Turf woven in-between an array of plant species

Less than one week to go… James is hoping that the weather will be kind to everyone who is attending the Creating Landscapes Show, which is taking place at Capel Manor College, Enfield on the 25th  & 26th October 2011.

Don’t forget to catch his seminar at 12pm, Tuesday 25th entitled,  “Establishing wildflower meadows – turf or seed?” He looks forward to seeing you there.

You can find us at stand 302…where there will be various samples of our turf on display, as well as something a bit different…

In addition to the seminar with support from Operation Pollinator, we will be sharing our stand with 50 Buff-tailed Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris audax). They will be carefully housed in a see-through bee box, and will have access to a small patch of Wildflower Turf in bloom. The idea is to give people an up close and personal opportunity, to witness the bees gathering nectar, and going about their daily routine.

Garden designer Clare Fullerton of New Leaf Garden Design, has kindly sent us some photos of a project she completed in an urban London garden. Artichoke Landscapes installed 25m² of Wildflower Turf, which has made a substantial difference to what was a sparse and monoculture environment.

An environment which once had a very low diversity, has now benefited from a wildflower meadow. The meadow has created a naturally bio-diverse habitat, and as you can see from the pictures, the Wildflower Turf  has been successfully incorporated with other plant species, as well as a lawn, to create a natural and tranquil planting scheme.

Thanks to Clare for providing us with these images.

Tim Morris Building Consultancy and Design have successfully installed our Wildflower Roof Turf at Black Pasture Cottage. Matthew Timms, director of Tim Morris, has kindly sent us some images of this project for our records.

As the images below show, the green roof seamlessly merges into the raised area, providing one continuing landscape of wildflowers.

Matthew Timms commented, “the building works are not entirely complete but it shows the new turf you supplied which has taken extremely well.”

We are grateful to Tim for the positive feedback and have asked for more pictures next summer!

With outdoor space being a premium and in some cases a luxury, it is no surprise that we feel compelled to pack extra value from every square metre of land by erecting sheds for extra storage, laying patios for outdoor dining and block paving our driveways, and in many cases at the expense of the planting.

An example of totally paved front gardens taken from the RHS sustainable gardening pdf

With garden centres, DIY chains and supermarkets pushing hard landscaping, because quite simply, that’s where the money is, it is easy to overlook the soft landscaping option. The thought of having mixed borders in the front garden, showing an array of colour, gently spilling onto the path or driveway is very alluring to most people, but it also spells high maintenance, which doesn’t necessarily fit in with everyone’s busy lifestyle.

What is interesting is that hard surfaces can have a surprising impact on the wider environment. Predominantly, it is the role hard surfaces play in causing environmental problems that are the concern, with some of these problems being cumulative, therefore becoming more noticeable in the future. Some of these are listed below:

• Flooding -  this is the most significant problem. Potentially this can lead to flooding of homes, because hard landscaping can increase the amount of rainwater that runs off by as much as 50%.  Street drains can’t always cope with the extra demand during a storm and can lead to damage and high repair costs.
• Pollution – most UK cities rainwater run-off, gets contaminated and polluted as it is channelled into storm drains and ultimately rivers. In some situations the excess rain water goes directly into the sewerage system. If the system gets overwhelmed with the volume of water, it gets disposed of into rivers. An example of this resulted in 100,000 fish being killed in the River Thames back
  in 2004.
• Dust particles – Grass verges and trees absorb dust particles. Without them dust absorption is greatly reduced. Additionally there is nowhere for birds to nest or for insects to feed.
• Aesthetical impact – endless block paving does not have the interest that soft green landscaping provides.
• Biodiversity - hard landscaping reduces biodiversity within the area.

• Local temperatures – hard surfaces absorb heat in the day and release it at night, referred to as the ‘heat island effect.’ It can also be responsible for poorer air quality and localised weather conditions, such as thunderstorms.
• House prices – if a large proportion of home owners pave their front gardens, then the average house price can drop.
• Structural damage – hard landscaping can potentially reduce or even stop rainfall getting into the ground, which can cause the soil to shrink. Clay soils are particularly vulnerable, which has consequences for structures built on it. As a result garden walls, paths and houses may develop severe cracks or develop severe subsidence.
  Reference: RHS ‘Front gardens Campaign.’

How to make a difference?
It is perfectly understandable for anyone to wish to convert their front garden into a practical, useable space, however it need not be one hundred percent hard landscaping.  A low maintenance approach to the planting is an option.

Installing a wildflower meadow on your roof will greatly enhance biodiversity

Try and maximise the potential for creating green space to encourage wildlife. For example smother walls and fences with climbers to make suitable habitats for nesting birds,  install green roofs on sheds and garages, plus, you could also consider incorporating a wildflower meadow around the perimeter of the paved areas. If it’s a large area, how about breaking it up with strips of wildflower meadow as well? If you are hoping for an instant effect, with minimal effort, then the wildflower option would definitely be worth considering.

A wildflower meadow will add colour and interest to a hard landscaped area, as well as help to absorb rainwater

If you are thinking of employing a garden designer, request in your brief that you want to keep as much green space as possible, with the design being practical enough to allow cars to park within the area. Have a look at this link for further information and some inspiration for front gardens, rhssustainable-gardening. The pdf link is on the top right hand side of the page titled ‘Front gardens Campaign.’

With just a little bit of imagination you could create a really striking and unusual front garden…with emphasis on the word garden!