All Aboard the Wildflower Train

The Wildflower Turf Ltd team are very proud to see our Hampshire-grown wildflowers playing their part in the regeneration of Canning Town as part of London’s ambitious Crossrail project.
Set to open in December 2018, Crossrail will deliver a high frequency, high capacity service to make travelling in the capital quicker and easier while also easing congestion and reducing crowding on London’s transport network.
Working with one of our landscaping partners, Turney Landscapes Ltd, our very own Wildflower Turf is now capping the emergency exit shaft of the Crossrail site in the Limmo Peninsula.

Wildflower Roof Turf being laid in March 2018

Turney Landscapes Ltd laying Wildflower Roof Turf .

As Crossrail’s primary worksite for their eastbound tunnel boring machines, the Limmo Peninsula area adjoins Canning Town underground and Docklands Light Railway station and is next to the River Lee.
Overlooked by high-rise developments, a key consideration in planning for the Limmo Peninsula area has focussed on ensuring biodiverse solutions that provide commuters, local workers and Canning Town residents alike with a landscape that is as aesthetically pleasing as possible as well as providing a suitable habitat for wildlife.
Ragged Robin on the Limmo Peninsula site taken in mid May – picture supplied by Turney Landscapes Ltd

Wildflower Roof Turf in flower early June – Picture supplied by Turney Landscapes Ltd

Turney Landscapes have been a Tier 2 contractor with engineering joint-venture contractors Skanska-Costain JV since 2015, where their initial brief was to create a green space on the Headhouse shaft of the Mile End Crossrail site. (The Mile End project involved creating a large bund to hide the concrete Headhouse and then creating a green space with tree and shrub planting, attenuation and footpaths, and a wildflower meadow supplied by Wildflower Turf Ltd.)
Following the successful completion of Mile End, Turney Landscapes were then briefed to carry out works on the Limmo Peninsula site. This large scale project included gabion basket walls with large areas of Grasscrete for parking, a tarmac path (escape route), site entrance , an access road and biodiverse soft landscaping over the shaft head itself. Wildflower Turf Ltd were once again delighted to assist with the enhancement of the area and worked closely with the Turney’s team to ensure that strict site requirements were met.
Turney Landscapes installed 2,600m² of Wildflower Turf Ltd’s Roof Turf  – http://bit.ly/2uLN0WK in March and April of this year, across and down the sloping 8-metre-high exit shaft. At the time of writing, the wildflower meadow is at waist height in full flower, and already providing a haven for wildlife.
Ox Eye daisy taken in early June – Picture supplied by Turney Landscapes Ltd

“Wildflower Turf Ltd. were instrumental in providing us with the product we required in a timely and professional manner. Despite a challenging sloping site and strict on site Health & Safety rules, the installation of the Wildflower Turf was very straightforward, and our task was made easier with the support of the Wildflower Turf team and the high quality of the product supplied.”
“Working on such a large-scale and time-critical site as the Limmo Peninsula, it is crucial that our suppliers are able to adapt to many and varied requirements. The team at Wildflower Turf Ltd. assisted us to ensure that this project was delivered on time and in budget, and the resulting wildflower meadow is already providing a spectacular display of colour and habitat for wildlife.”
Steve Turney, Director, Turney Landscapes Ltd