Leaves of green

The most important aspect of all landscape design is plants. Trees create a sense of place and beauty that is mysterious and timeless: an old straight track from the heart of the Earth!

We help you to plan and design the right planting scheme for your patch, and we have the right experience in how to get your new plants to grow and grow quickly.

See some examples of our plantings below, and read more about planting trees in school grounds here...

We also create ornamental bomb proof planting schemes which look good too!

Click on the images above to enlarge

Leaves of Green
1997 - 2009 See how they grow….before, during and after: 12 years of tree planting in schools.

Harvington First School 2000-2009

In 2000, the school was given a new plot of ground and we built a garden of exploration on the old football field.

The photos on the left were taken during a Saturday volunteer day in 2001 when many of the paths around the grounds were laid out. Note the apex archway in the background: this log edged path was planted to form a hazel tunnel .The photos below were taken in 2007-2009 and show the hazel tunnel maturing.

Harvington CE First School

Built by children, parents past and present, governors, local gardeners and staff. Funded by friends, the local horticultural society, businesses and government. Designed by Guy Redmond, using ideas from us all. Created by community co-operation.

hazel tunnel 2002

2007

2009

Putting back the play into playtime. Giving our children safe and secure freedom. "Our Adventure Area is the best we ever had"- Bianca

path to mound 02

path to mound 07

The path to the mound 2002

the path in 2007...

...and 2010 (photo coming soon)

Storytelling area 2002...

....2007

....2010 (coming soon)

planting 2002

the same view in 2007

maturing in 2010 (coming soon)

The school grounds have been zoned into 3 areas. If the children do not behave sensibly in zone 3 (wild zone), then they are restricted to zone 1 and 2 for a certain amount of time. None of the children want to be barred from playing on the mounds, in the trees and bushes, or in the orchards...so behaviour is goodand lessons of responsibility are learned from an early age.

Lyppard Grange Primary 1998-2009

Lyppard Grange Primary

green planted all of the windbreak and shelterbelt trees here in 1998 and these now provide the framework for active forest schools, as well as providing great natural swings and climbing frames for the children. We made a creative play area for the school in 2003 and this project gave us the chance to tweak certain things that did not work.

In this latest phase of work, we divided some more of the large spaces again, separated the football activities and planted many more feature trees. We also made a gazebo and a Forest schools shelter, which you can see here with a fire pit under construction. We have been delighted to have formed a such a great relationship with Headteacher Sian Williams to develop these grounds over the last 12 years.

Blakedown Primary School

A reative play area, a cedar avenued path and gazebo, stepping logs and balance trunks, a sailing boat, lots of trees etc.

Planted in 1999,

willow arch 1999 and . . .

2005

paths laid out with string and bamboo canes and planted by Year 5 in 1999….the same view in autumn 2007

This site is now used extensively for Forest schools activites

1999, a small planting,

through 2003

to 2005



All our high profile trees and avenues are protected from mowers and strimmers by shelters. Oak trees here being plated in 2000…	…maturing well in 2004…

…and really growing well in 2007. All our plantings are inoculated with mycorrhizae for best healthy establishment, drought resistance and strong growth.

Don’t forget to plant evergreens and conifers! These photo’s above were taken on the coldest day of the year 2005 – minus 6 degrees – and these plantings still offer welcome and shelter.

All trees and plants now providing seclusion and creating places to locate musical instruments….and the whole landscape beginning to provide a framework for learning, play, adventure and contact with the natural world

2001

2007

Typical school site in 2001

Simple low maintenance planting added in 2003...

..maturing in 2007. The conifers were planted by us in 1999. More photos of this site coming soon, where we completed our 10th year of work in the winter of 2008.

BLAKEDOWN PRIMARY We first worked with this school in 2005 and returned two years later to create a garden of natural adventure and exploration. The small structures, dens, sandpit and play equipment are mixed in with some extensive planting...the planting is the key to physical and creative freedom as some of these pictures demonstrate


A new pathway…	…extensive evergreen and deciduous planting…

	…providing a rich habitat for wildlife and the beginnings of a distinctive school landscape. The photos below were taken one year after this project and show that a landscape which has a sense of place also encourages role play and group activity.


Some other recent projects...

The site above and the two photos above it are examples of very recent projects….

…much of our work features trees and other plants…these will provide the framework for the hard landscaping for years to come. The plantings create a sense of place and a unique identity within the local landscape.

Revisit this page to see how these, and other sites we are working with, are evolving.