Blog

It’s become somewhat of a tradition here at Wildflower Turf HQ to dedicate our December blog to the year that was. So grab a mince pie (or three) and settle down with a cup of something warm (and preferably mulled) as we take a whistle-stop tour back over the events that shaped our 2019.

 January

The year began with a final delivery of SuDS Turf to our Berkshire-based Accredited Partners, Scofell Landscapes. The team at Scofell are responsible for landscaping the Edenbrook project in Fleet, a development by Berkeley Homes offering a selection of distinctive, high specification homes bordering an 82-acre country park.

Wildflower Turf Ltd had supplied Scofell Landscapes with a combination of both SuDS Turf and Landscape 34 Turf over many months and these deliveries concluded for us in January. However, Edenbrook is an ongoing project for Scofell Landscapes, and remedial work (after other services have left the site) will continue for some time to come.

Look out for a blog post on this project in the New Year!

We also provided 180m² via our Accredited Partner Green Tech to Seton Sands Holiday Village in Scotland. Along with the many activities on offer for children at this pretty holiday park our favourite by…

With the help of Sally Marshall Garden Design and Wildflower Turf Ltd, Devour Restaurant in Yorkshire has transformed a riverside location into an oasis of wildflowers.

Devour at The Dyehouse is nestled in the picturesque and historic Holme Valley in Yorkshire and prides itself on providing the very best of old school Italian fare. The family run restaurant offers an evolving menu and, although newly opened, is already receiving accolades. Wishing to maximise the location of Devour, owner Olivia Robinson contacted Sally Marshall Garden Design and a beautiful wildflower environment came into being.

Sally very kindly agreed to speak to us about the project – here is what she had to say:

Tell us about Sally Marshall Garden Design?

I have been a keen gardener all my adult life. After my children arrived, I needed a change so decided to re-train in horticulture at Askham Bryan college, York.

In 2017 I established @SallyLandscapes and since then I have been designing residential and commercial outside spaces in West Yorkshire.

It is a privilege to…

It’s always so rewarding to view the positive changes that our Wildflower Turf brings to landscapes up and down the country and we’re delighted when our Accredited Partners share their installation successes with us.

This month’s blog features a project by Little Fones Landscapes. Based in Dorset, Joe and the Little Fones team have been Wildflower Turf Ltd Accredited Partners since October 2014.

Little Fones Landscapes specialises in providing bespoke landscaping solutions to both private and commercial clients. As well as landscape design, Little Fones offer landscape construction, garden restoration and maintenance, as well as arboricultural and conservation services.

The inception of their featured project begins with the owner of a private property in South West Dorset attempting to use seed to establish a wildflower meadow at the rear of their residence. The seeding attempt was unsuccessful and so Joe and the team were called in to assess viability and provide expert assistance!

The area in question is situated between a tennis court and a copse at the rear of the residence. A large Beech tree filled much of the space but had died and so required felling as a first step.

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We have recently started a series of webinars looking at all things wild flower. Our most recent webinar was on the subject of using wild flowers on green roofs and we hope it is helpful to follow this up with a blog on the subject.

I will follow the running order of the webinar and keep the blog brief. To get more detail follow the link at the end of the blog and listen to the webinar.  If there are any questions please do not hesitate to call us for more information.

There are now many customers using wild flowers on green roofs as an alternative to sedum matting.

From castles to bike sheds!

The key to any green or living roof is to first make sure it does what it is supposed to do i.e. be a waterproof roof that is insulated where necessary.

To do this well the important considerations are:

Meadowscape Pro™ proves its worth when the going gets tough.

Here at Wildflower Turf we love a success story, especially when it involves our products going head-to-head with the somewhat inclement British weather and coming up trumps against all odds.

This month’s blog post focuses on our newly launched product, Meadowscape Pro™, and looks at how it successfully transformed an area of derelict land, despite challenging weather conditions.

Several years in the making, Meadowscape Pro™ is an enhanced growing medium for effective wild flower establishment and has also been used and approved by The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Extensively tested and enriched with Hydropor™, this specially developed formula supports good water percolation and retention, stabilising the growing medium for much better seed germination compared to more conventional seeding methods.

Meadowscape Pro™ is suitable for a number of different sites and the product delivers optimal seed germination leading to quick, healthy seedling growth, as evidenced first-hand by a client in Buckinghamshire.

The private client in question contacted Wildflower Turf Ltd with the requirement of transforming a piece of land on their estate…

As well as working with Landscape Contractors, Garden Designers, Landscape Architects, Green Roofing Contractors and Private Clients, we are also closely involved with a number of Councils across the UK. This month we are featuring a recent project courtesy of Hart District Council.
Wildflowers have such versatility, and this is the time of the year when we are reminded of the important role they play in the enhancement of public spaces, delivering aesthetic appeal while also bringing many other benefits, including the creation of nectar sources.
We recently worked with Hart District Council to bring about some welcome and important changes to a green space in Yateley. Specifically, the Hart District Council Countryside Services team collaborated with Yateley Town Council to create a beautiful wildflower meadow within Monteagle Park.

As the area is suburban in nature, Wildflower Turf Ltd’s Native Enriched Turf was selected as the best turf for the job. This turf is made up of approximately 33 UK native wildflowers plus approximately 20+ naturalised perennial and annual species. A total of 1,000m² Native Enriched Turf was taken by the Council and incorporated into existing grassland.

One of our Hampshire based customers inspires a love of nature in the young, old and everyone in between.

We were thrilled to learn that one of our local customers, Nadine Charlton from Wallgarden, celebrated a 5 Star Trade Stand Award at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Following a successful debut at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2018 (where Wallgarden was presented with their very first 5 Star Award) the Stockbridge-based business returned to Chelsea for 2019 in a prime location on Main Avenue in collaboration with a multi-award-winning designer.

Wallgarden are a unique business, designing bespoke playhouses with a specific point of difference. Nadine works with Chelsea Gold medallist and landscape architect Sarah Eberle to produce spectacular gardens that accompany each of Wallgarden’s amazing playhouses, with these interactive gardens serving to nurture creativity and imagination.

We have recently started a series of webinars looking at all things wild flower. Our second webinar was on the subject of wild flower maintenance and we thought it would be helpful to follow this up with a blog on the subject as June is the best time of the year to start thinking about a cutting regime for your wild flower areas.
Our recent webinar covered a number of ideas for maintaining wildflowers and included the latest results from our Research and Development site.
For brevity’s sake, this blog will follow the running order of the webinar. For more detail, follow the link supplied at the end of the blog and listen to the full webinar.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call us for more information.

The above was work done by Professor Steve Head of the Wildlife Gardening Forum. There are not many habitats in this country where low maintenance and high levels of biodiversity go hand in hand. Prairie, Veldt and Alpine meadows are low maintenance and high biodiversity, but we can’t…

We love seeing how our Wildflower Turf is used once it arrives with our customers and this month we’re thrilled to share some images and story behind a Wildflower Turf domestic garden makeover courtesy of Accredited Partners, Blue Daisy Garden Design.

Blue Daisy Garden Design create gardens in Kenilworth, Coventry and Warwickshire and the team are passionate about creating great garden design that is personalised to their clients.   (They also offer an innovative ‘design by post’ service too!)
This month’s feature garden was designed by the Blue Daisy Garden Design team, led by Nicki Jackson, and wraps around the client’s house on two sides.

The clients very much wanted to make the most of the beautiful, rural views they have and to make the most of the aspect, the rear of the garden was designed on a simple cross system. From the main patio outside the house Blue Daisy Garden Design created 4 beds anchored with a single hornbeam umbrella tree in each segment and planted these areas out with Alliums, Panicum and Verbena…

As part of our commitment to furthering wildflower education in the UK, Wildflower Turf Ltd offer a unique opportunity to landscape professionals.
 
Interested in upping your wildflower game? You’re in the right place!

Wildflower Turf Ltd support landscaping professionals with a unique Accredited Partner scheme that provides unrivalled insight and training in the delivery of a guaranteed wildflower environment.
Wildflower Turf Accredited Partners gain training in delivering successful wildflower landscapes and are entitled to exclusive discounts on the full range of Wildflower Turf products as well as receiving referrals from Wildflower Turf Ltd for landscaping jobs. Accredited Partners are also provided with access to a dedicated Accreditation Manager from Wildflower Turf Ltd and receive online and offline marketing support.
One of our Accredited Partners is Kent-based garden specialist and landscape designer, Sean McGeachy. A keen plantsman and horticulturalist, Sean has designed & worked with gardens for over 15 years. Sean graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with full honours, later choosing to focus on his love of horticulture. Having worked in all aspects of gardening, his path has finally taken him to garden design.
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