Transforming the ‘Hanging Gardens’ of Basingstoke

 

Basingstoke, a town in Hampshire, England, boasts more than just its historical charm and convenient location. Nestled within its boundaries lies a unique architectural gem – Mountbatten House, also known as the “Hanging Gardens of Basingstoke”.

Originally named Gateway House, this six-story building was constructed in the 1970s for paper manufacturer, Wiggins Teape. What truly sets Mountbatten House apart are its cascading roof terraces, designed by renowned horticulturist James Russell. These lush green spaces not only add a touch of nature to the urban landscape but also contribute to the building’s environmental sustainability.

Currently undergoing renovations, Mountbatten House is poised for an exciting future. The project aims to create a green workspace, incorporating modern amenities while preserving the building’s heritage and unique character. It is set to become one of the greenest workspaces in the southeast of England, attracting businesses seeking a sustainable and inspiring work environment.

 

 

We are tasked with supporting this big venture. With work due to begin in just a few weeks, we are busy making provisions. During our time on site, we will:

  • plant 88 trees across a variety of levels including terraces.
  • install a variety of gardens to add versatility and personality to the open spaces (these gardens will allow us to plant a wide variety of species of trees, shrubs, and plants).
    • a garden designed for the winter
    • a Japanese-themed garden
    • a vine-covered garden

This is an exciting project for us. We will post again during the work and again once the project is complete. Please be sure to follow us on LinkedIn if you are not already to be on top of the latest updates in the industry and with Panoramic Landscapes.

 

Supplying and Supporting the Stay Safe, Stay Warm Campaign

 

With the cost-of-living crisis and increased energy bills, the choice to turn on the heating when the temperature drops have simply not been an option for some people. Thankfully, there is support out there – including from The North Star Pub. A local business to our Hastings office. They are providing free hot drinks for elderly and vulnerable people who are struggling to heat their homes.

The campaign has been named ‘Stay Safe, Stay Warm’ and has been set up by the landlord of the pub Grant Hayes. It is for individuals and families struggling with the increasing heating and energy bills primarily but also for anyone who needs to keep warm. The idea is to provide a safe space for people and families to sit, have a warm drink, and not feel obliged to buy anything. It takes the pressure off rising costs and prevents people from sitting at home alone in the cold.

 

 

Initially, the invitation was for anyone who needed to keep warm to just bring their own teabags, etc and the pub would happily provide hot water and a warm place to sit. However, since then, a whole host of kind and generous people have donated teabags, coffee, and biscuits allowing people to pop in without bringing anything and can stay for a while, stay warm, play some games, and enjoy a hot drink – completely free of charge.

We heard about this great campaign and wanted to assist. We happily donated coffee, tea, hot chocolate, sugar, and some biscuits. Here’s Tamzin and Grant outside the North Star on Bohemia Road, Hastings.

Hopefully, our donations will help the pub on its mission to continue supporting the residents of Hastings to Stay Safe and Stay Warm.

 

STIHL Working Wonders

 

Planting and Turfing at the new GB HQ for STIHL in Camberley, Surrey.

We were absolutely delighted to work on this soft landscaping project for Glencar. STIHL is a well-known name in the landscaping industry and due to their product’s popularity and continued growth, they had outgrown their previous premises.

Their new state-of-the-art headquarters is a behemoth with an area of more than 11,500m². The building is to be home to over 100 employees, where they will get to enjoy both the new building and the beautiful surroundings.

As per the STIHL website, they announced that “extensive planting will take place on site, so the building will be surrounded by landscaped gardens including native shrubs and trees and a wildflower meadow”. This is where we came in.

 

 

We planted an abundance of trees, shrubs, whips, and seeding throughout the site. In addition, we laid turfing in certain sections to segregate and introduce multiple zones to the area. Notable mentions from this project include the stunning inclusion of Tillia Tormentosa (Brabant) trees, as well as using Aber Sustain seed – a new product from Germinal Seeds.

Our team as always worked diligently and achieved a great finish. The Contracts Manager Alfie Winter worked closely with our Project Manager, Joel Bridger. A great team effort.

Panoramic is still the number one choice.  To discuss similar and other soft landscaping projects with our team, or to obtain a quotation, please contact us.

 

Our Event Recap for 2023

 

Last week we shared a post highlighting some of our favourite projects over the past twelve months. Today, we are turning the focus to the various events and other activities that took place in 2023. ⬇️

 

 

Jan 2023 – Annual Conference

At the start of the year, we had our annual conference. It was the perfect chance for us to all come together and discuss the next steps for the company as we continue to grow. It marked the start of our fourth year in business.

 

June 2023 – Panoramic Promotion

As a growing company we are committed to continued improvement to ensure we sustain the high quality of service we currently deliver. Part of this is achieved by expanding the team and promoting from within. For this reason, we were delighted to appoint Alfie Winter to the management team, having previously worked in the company as an operative, foreman, and supervisor.

 

August 2023 – Supporting and Sponsoring a Local Team

With one of our offices being near Battle in East Sussex, we were happy to have the opportunity to sponsor the kit for the veteran players at Battle Town Football Club. We take pride in supporting local events and causes where possible and so jumped at the opportunity of sponsoring the kit for the next season. We would like to thank local kit providers and printers – Macron Sports Hub in Hastings. The kit looks great.

 

September 2023 – Nominated for Pro Landscaper AwardWe were delighted and honoured at the news of being nominated for the 2023 Pro Landscaper Sustainability & Diversity awards. We were nominated for the ‘Landscaping Company’ category alongside two other great names in the industry. We unfortunately did not win this year, but we had a great time at the ceremony.

 

November 2023 – Growing the Team We continue to grow as has been evident throughout 2023. In November, Chris Howey joined our team as a Commercial Manager. He is already busy overseeing the company processes and amending those in place to help increase profitability and reduce risk. We are delighted to have someone with so much experience join our team.

 

December 2023 – Christmas Party

The company celebrated Christmas earlier this month at the Powdermillshotel in Battle. It was a lovely opportunity to get together and embrace and celebrate the achievements made this year.

 

December 2023 – Christmas Jumper Day

As tradition now, we embraced Christmas Jumper Day and helped raise money for the Save the Children UK charity.

 

It has been a busy but thoroughly enjoyable year full of events and team-building activities. We look forward to seeing what we will be getting up to as a company in 2024.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We look forward to working with you all in 2024.

 

Our Project Recap for 2023

 

As we head towards the end of another successful year here at Panoramic Landscapes, we are taking this time to reflect on the twelve months just gone and some of the more significant projects we have completed.

Our team continued to grow, achieve great milestones, and secure several large and interesting soft landscaping projects. We’ve picked out some of our favourites that we have covered in posts.

 

 

Feb 2023 – Making the Connection in Swindon

Working with Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd, we lined the sides of a new connector road linking two area of Swindon. Throughout their time on site, our team planted over 800 trees, 40,000 shrubs and hedging, and more than 98,000 square metres of seeding.

 

Mar 2023 – Preparing Plots in Peacehaven

Worked with Boutique Modern Ltd. to help deliver a modern and landscaped housing area for Lewes Council. Works included more than 600 tons of topsoil, 1,000 tons of subsoil, 1,000 metres of turf and meadow mixture seed mix, and more than 4,000 shrubs and hedging plants.

 

May 2023 – Seeding New Life in Southwark

Rejuvenated an inner-city space with repeat client Guildmore Ltd. Implemented 40+ trees including multistems, 700+ hedging plants, 4000+ shrubs, and 500m² of turfing.

 

June 2023 – Making Movements at Mole Business Park

With the project headed by Collins Construction Ltd, we provided the soft landscaping works to support the expansion of an existing business centre. A sizeable project with more than 7,000 plants and 22 trees installed.

 

July 2023 – Memorable Memorial Gardens

Large project with main contractors WW Martin Ltd, transforming the Memoria Faversham & Mid Kent Memorial Park & Crematorium. The works consisted of 217 trees, 4,000 ornamental shrubs, 3,000 native hedgerows plants, 1,000 bulbs, 3,000m of turf and the addition of aquatic plants to the ponds.

 

September 2023 – Taking Trees to Braintree

Working with Horizon Construction Group, we provided turfing and trees for a multi-million-pound residential care home. This included 871 metres of turfing (70m of which was WFT34) and 36 trees. We have a partnership with Wildflower Turf Ltd and made use of their Landscape 34 product in this project.

 

October 2023 – Working Wonders at Winscombe Court

Working with Kentish Projects, we installed more than 60 trees, including a Quercus Robur, planted at this luxury housing development in Kingswood, Surrey.

 

Swanley High Street

Working with Guildmore Ltd., we supplied and installed trees, shrubs, hedges, turf, sowed amenity seed as well as providing ongoing maintenance.

 

Hemel Hempstead Crematorium

Working with Buxton Construction, we installed 33 trees, hedging, shrubs, turfing, sowing amenity, and wildflower seed as well as providing ongoing maintenance.

 

We have thoroughly enjoyed working on these projects. The hard work from our foremen, site supervisors, and office staff has allowed us to consistently deliver the high-quality workmanship our clients now expect of us. We look forward to seeing what projects 2024 has in store for us.

If you have a project in mind for us, please get in touch with our team to obtain a quotation. https://www.panoramiclandscapes.co.uk/

 

Growing the Panoramic Team

 

We are delighted to introduce Chris Howey, our new Commercial Manager here at Panoramic Landscapes. He will be overseeing the company processes and amending those in place to help increase profitability and reduce risk.

Chris started ‘on the tools’ as a labourer over twenty years ago and has built up an impressive work history since having moved up the ranks as a Team Leader, Supervisor, Company Owner, Contracts Manager, Site Manager, Senior Contracts Manager and Quantity Surveyor. This wide array of positions have all been in the landscaping industry and so have provided Chris with a wealth of knowledge that can be applied to this new and exciting role.

 

 

When Chris is not hard at work, he is very much a family man. Married for six years (together for twenty-two) and a proud father to three children. Twin daughters and a son.

Congratulations Chris and welcome to the team. To join our growing and friendly team of landscape professionals, please take a look at the rest of our website.

 

Working Wonders at Winscombe Court

 

More than sixty trees including a Quercus Robur planted at the luxury housing development in Kingswood, Surrey.

Winscombe Court is a prestigious development of two-bedroom apartments in the heart of Surrey’s sought-after London commuter belt. The area boasts easy links to London and has the rolling hills of the North Downs on its doorstep. This prestigious development required a luxury landscaped surrounding to suit. Credit goes to our Business Development Manager Dan Trendall for securing this wonderful project.

Our teams have produced a fantastic finish with a scheme made up of sixty-one trees including four Liquidambar Grandifloras, and a 20-25 cm girth Quercus Robur (English Oak) which can be particularly hard to source. Our talented team headed by Alfie Winter delivered without issue. Alongside the trees, clean lines of hedging interjected with flowering shrubs and pollinating plants help elevate this project. This is married with a vast lawn allowing for a natural journey through the landscaping for the residents.

 

 

Working with Kentish Projects who understands the importance of the landscaped space and allowed us to show the knowledge and experience we are lucky to have within our site teams. It was a real pleasure to work with a management team that had a clear focus on providing an outstanding space and who took such enjoyment as the scheme took shape, so thank you to Kentish Projects for allowing Panoramic Landscape Contractors to be part of this exciting project.

Always nice to get to say thank you to a client for supporting and working with us to produce such an essential part of any project.

Kentish Projects specialise in creating high-quality homes that fit seamlessly into their surroundings and breathe new life into established communities. See their website for further information.

 

To discuss similar and other soft landscaping projects with our team, or to obtain a quotation, please contact us. Please be sure to follow us on LinkedIn if you are not already to be on top of the latest updates in the industry and with Panoramic Landscapes.

 

Panoramic Nominated for Pro Landscaper Sustainability & Biodiversity Award

 

We are delighted and honoured at the news of being nominated for the 2023 Pro Landscaper Sustainability & Diversity awards.

More than forty companies and projects have been shortlisted for the awards, across twelve categories, celebrating the environmental innovation showcased in the landscaping sector. These awards were launched to recognise and reward the landscaping industry’s most sustainable companies and projects to help demonstrate and showcase leadership within the industry.

Panoramic Landscapes has been nominated for the ‘Landscaping Company’ category and are in the running with two other leading and reputable companies. We would like to wish good luck to all the companies that have been nominated for these awards.

 

 

The 2023 Pro Landscaper Sustainability & Biodiversity awards will be hosted at FutureScape in the ExCel, London on Wednesday 22nd November 2023. We are all looking forward to the event and the opportunity to spend time celebrating with the wider landscaping community.

Please feel free to look at the Pro Landscaper website to see further details and the full range of categories and nominees.

 

Taking Trees to Braintree

 

Turfing and trees for a brand new multi-million-pound residential care home in Braintree, Essex.

The £8.4 million care home project that was awarded to Horizon Construction has been developed to provide quality accommodation for up to seventy-five residents. It will be Avery Healthcare’s first care home in the Essex area. The home is set within grounds that we had the pleasure of transforming.

 

 

Following the securing of the project by our contracts manager Michal Kurek, our teams worked diligently to complete all tasks within the agreed period.

 

Our team were on site for just four weeks and installed:

  • 871 metres of turfing (70m of which was WFT34)
  • 36 trees.

WFT34 is the shortened name for ‘Wildflower Turf’s Landscape 34’ product.

 

We have a partnership with Wildflower Turf having used their products on several projects. Their unique soil-less system is weed-suppressing, easy to handle, and delivers a guaranteed wildflower environment every time. The turf is laid differently to normal turf – a process that our foremen are trained in, with two members of the team also being accredited installers.

The success of the project and the day-to-day management reflects the hard work put in by our foreman Marcin Jankowski and the talented soft landscapers.

To discuss similar and other soft landscaping projects with our team, or to obtain a quotation, please contact us.

 

Supporting and Sponsoring a Local Team

 

We are proud to be sponsoring the kit for the veteran players at Battle Town Football Club.

Battle Town Football Club are based in the historic town of Battle. They manage a couple of teams including their Veteran’s Football group. Aimed for men aged 35 and over, it provides a space for players who may be out of the league of slightly younger players but still enjoy the game just as much. The team are part of the Hastings Veteran’s League and matches are played once a month on Sundays.

 

 

We take pride in supporting local events and causes where possible and so jumped at the opportunity of sponsoring the kit for the next season. We would like to thank local kit providers and printers – Macron Sports Hub in Hastings. The kit looks great.