Hamilton Drive - Challenge Met
Project Details
Logistics and Planning: Alaster Anderson
Client: Dwyer Property
Landscape architect: Bradley-Hole Schoenaich Landscape
Planting completed: June 2016
The PROJECT
This exciting project in Hamilton Drive, St John’s Wood, involved planting a magnificent avenue of trees and a private driveway for a very exclusive London property development. There were major logistical challenges to overcome and unless we were really well organised with a highly skilled team we could never have delivered it on such a busy site with so many limitations.
THE CHALLENGE
Our brief from the property developer was to create an avenue of trees to stand imperiously opposite a terrace of ten new classical-style homes selling for £10 million each. The trees would need to be tall enough to hide a brick building that dominated the site, and we were also tasked with planting elegant trees and hedging to line the private driveway.
For the avenue, evergreen trees were ruled out because of right-to-light regulations, so 13 deciduous Tilia tomentosa (lime) trees were specified instead. This presented our initial set of challenges:
each is 16 metres tall
has a 1-metre rootball
weighs 5 tonnes
costs €6,000
1 tree takes up a whole articulated lorry …
… and they had to be planted in May and June, which meant taking incredible care during shipping to protect their new leaves and stop them drying out.
“The team always deliver to the highest standards”
The site came with its own challenges: it was a long, narrow space where we were only one of many contractors. There were multiple tradespeople working inside and outside each home, coming and going along the avenue and drive where we needed to position our articulated lorries, Hiab crane (a very versatile method of craning large and heavy plants), two large excavators, a forklift and grab trucks to remove waste soil.
More obstacles included terrible soil: heavy London clay that had been further compacted during the construction process. What’s more, the nursery supplying the lime trees would only deliver them on a Thursday (to prevent them drying out over the weekend), giving us time to plant only two every week.
It was a feat that would surely have defeated anyone lacking Alaster Anderson’s decades of experience and superior skillset.
OUR EXPERTISE
Along the avenue we planted Tilia tomentosa trees, with Fagus sylvatica (common beech) hedging beneath them and Taxus baccata (yew) in blocks. The beech itself was no easy matter, composed of 4-metre tall plants, each weighing c. 300 kilos and set in place by machine. For the drive we planted Betula utilis (Himalayan birch) trees (our own suggestion) and yew formal hedging.
We needed to work really tightly to deliver on time to meet the developers’ demanding target of completion in July – even though the height of summer is the hardest time of the year to carry out successful planting. We needed to be super-focused, with a small team of highly competent specialists. And we needed the logistical expertise to bring in the right equipment to do the job.
Our pictures demonstrate what difficult logistics we had to work with, and how little room we had for error. They also showcase our skill at planning and executing fabulous planting in such tricky conditions!
Smooth operators
As there was no space to prepare the whole site in advance, we developed a sequenced approach to dig holes and plant trees one by one.
For the avenue, we would dig one hole on Wednesday, introduce drainage and sub-soil, receive one lime tree on an articulated lorry that backed into the site on Thursday morning, and spend that afternoon manoeuvring the tree into place before adding top soil. We would then dig a second hole and spend Friday positioning the second tree that had arrived in Thursday afternoon’s delivery … repeating the process over six weeks.
In the first half of the week we worked on the avenue, planting yew hedging in a geometric design. As the project neared completion we worked our way backwards up and out of the drive, planting as we went … as contractors followed us laying the paving … giving us an increasingly small space to work in.
Quality guaranteed
The planting at Hamilton Drive has seen an impressively low rate of plant failures (only the very occasional hedging plant) although we finished in very hot summer temperatures. Everything has flourished, and this is testament to our choice of working with the acclaimed Germany nursery Lorenz von Ehren (LVE). LVE delivers plants of the highest quality that are transplanted regularly to achieve tight, established rootballs. These are perfect for summer planting because they can withstand dry conditions and thrive where cheaper specimens often fail.
A rigorous approach
We have developed a rigorous method of moisture testing that allows us to regularly test the soil and rootballs after planting. We can then install the appropriate watering programme for optimum growth and maintenance. Read more about moisture monitoring here.
THE RESULT
A project that demonstrates the value of employing specialist gardeners with expertise in overcoming the logistical nightmare of moving large plants in tight spaces, along with the planting acumen to deliver a stunning look that enhances this luxury development.
“We trust Alaster’s vast knowledge of trees and planting”
ONGOING MAINTENANCE
The planting scheme at Hamilton Drive is relatively straightforward to maintain. Debris and leaf clearance is carried out by the estate team, and Alaster Anderson’s specialist clipping team goes in three times a year to clip the yew hedges to ensure precisely vertical sides and level tops. The trees are pruned every other year by a tree surgeon so they remain beautiful but unobtrusive: just what’s needed.
To find out more please contact us on 0207 305 7183 or via the website.
