ISSUE 34

URBAN update

WWW.URBAN planters .COM

Urban Planters Directors Thomas Palfreyman and Alan Page are delighted to have been selected by industry body eFIG to take on the role of ambassadors for Interior Landscaping.

Over the next year, they will be working hard to inspire potential new interior landscapers by promoting the many great aspects of the industry.

Tom and I are both very active in reaching out to the next generation of interior landscapers to inspire them to join our industry,” Alan explained. “I have already given a course at Bicton College in Devon, and Tom often visits local schools to talk about the benefits of plants and gardening.”

“Instilling a love of plants and nature at a young age can only be a good thing, whether or not the kids take up a career in horticulture,” Tom added. “We hope that this will also inspire young people to join our industry and keep the message going.

RACING RED IS THE PERFECT FORMULA AT SILVERSTONEWhen choosing a colour scheme for the VIP area of the British Formula 1 Grand Prix, what else could it be but racing red?

To create bold bursts of red throughout the exclusive area, Urban Planters Northamptonshire & Peterborough planted Anthurium in bright crimson and contrasting crisp white Spathiphyllum in troughs around the indoor lounge and outside terrace.

With matching colours and plants featuring in the florist’s table displays, the overall effect is bold, bright and perfect for this high-octane racing event.

for a greener world

PAGE 2Capri Restaurant

Carluccio’s

PAGE 1Sowing Seeds for the Future

Silverstone

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INDUSTRY AMBASSADORS

SOW SEEDS FOR THE FUTURE

PAGE 3Sadler & Magdalen BuildingsWhite Hart Royal Hotel

PAGE 4-5Sytner BMWCapital OneAstraZeneca

PAGE 6Amicus Therapeutics

The Scottish Salmon Company

PAGE 7MacArthur Glen Swindon

Mercure St. Paul’s Hotel

PAGE 8The Body Shop

Recycled Pots

A fresh look at

RESTAURANT PLANTINGCapri is an Italian restaurant based in Wakefield which has expanded, transforming an old pub into a smart new restaurant.

When Urban Planters Leeds Bradford spoke to the designer, he was keen to come up with something beyond “bog standard” Italian restaurant planting, such as an olive tree in the corner, and instead to create something more interesting.

The resulting planting scheme features a rich mixture of exotic, unusual planting in elegant containers to create a unique look and feel for each of the three main areas of the restaurant: the wine bar, the restaurant and the roof-top terrace.

PLANTS DRAW A HUNGRY CROWD

for a greener world2

We know that first impressions count, and this could not be more important for a restaurant in London, where competition is fierce.

Take Carluccio’s Spitalfields branch, where Urban Planters has transformed the pavement terrace, creating a green oasis in a busy commercial district to draw in passing customers.

The planting also showcases the restaurant and deli chain’s Italian identity, with herbs such as sage, thyme, and rosemary framing the seating area, while olive trees stand in uniform rows through long tables.

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Urban Planters Oxfordshire’s Christmas scheme for the Sadler and Magdalen buildings in the Oxford Science park show that you don’t have to be traditional to summon Christmas spirit.

Bespoke garlands, wreaths and hanging bauble displays used bold colours and original designs in the common areas of both buildings to stunning effect.

In the Magdalen Centre, decorations in lime green and contrasting cerise brought an original take on Christmas, with plenty of cheer.

Bronzes and orange brought a festive glow to the Sadler Centre, with lengths of strung baubles dripping from the ceiling, and bespoke wreaths garnishing balconies and the bar.

BESPOKE CHRISTMAS ESCHEWS TRADITION

THE ENDURING APPEAL OF A Traditional Christmas The White Hart Royal Hotel at Moreton-in-Marsh is an old 17th century coaching inn steeped in history – King Charles I stayed there – so Urban Planters Oxford was asked to create a Christmas scheme with a traditional style, but also elevated above the norm.

Softly glistening wreaths and trees using decorations in champagne, silver and gold brought a sense of festive cheer and rich quality to the hotel, which is a popular destination for festive breaks.

All of the displays were replica planting so they could go in in November and last until January. We included fragrance sticks to make the displays smell of pine to a very convincing effect.

HIGH-PERFORMANCE PLANTS FOR BMWA new scheme for Sytner BMW in Nottingham proves that planting can be functional, flexible and robust while at the same time punching its weight in the design stakes among high-end cars and smart décor.

The BMW showroom had undergone a high-spec refurbishment and required planting to suit the décor while also helping to showcase the cars on display.

The scheme also featured practical design details such as being robust enough to withstand knocks and regular movement around the showroom as the displays change.

NEW PLANTING SCHEME IS A

WALK IN THE PARK

for a greener world

Capital One’s Nottingham offices are situated in a vast modern building in the heart of the city and they wanted to create the feel of a park right in the middle of the workplace where employees could take a break or hold informal meetings.

To create the “park”, Urban Planters Nottinghamshire designed a simple scheme using large Ficus binnendijkii ‘Alii’ in planters with incorporated seating, bark-like containers housing leafy plants and finished it off with Victorian-style wrought iron furniture.

Urban Planters used additional lighting and specialised watering systems to ensure this unusual and highly effective break out space continued to look good.

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SEE THE LIGHT WITH BEAUTIFUL PLANTSOur client AstraZeneca truly appreciates the value of a great office planting scheme where plants can thrive and, in turn, boost the well-being of its workforce.

So, when it came to refurbishing their Macclesfield offices, the pharmaceuticals company ensured we worked closely with the designers to create a productive office environment, even when it meant installing new lighting to meet the needs of the plants.

The resulting scheme features lush green troughs stretching along the main thoroughfares, integrated planting in desks and a preserved moss wall with a backlit company sign.

PLANTS ARE THE CURE FOR A

TIDY OFFICE Biotechnics company Amicus Therapeutics wanted to create a relaxed and welcoming environment for its many visitors, softening the look of the vast white walls in its offices and deterring employees from cluttering the tops of cabinets.

A good planting scheme can achieve all of these objectives and more, so Urban Planters Oxfordshire selected a range of black Nature’s Green planters in different shapes and sizes to fit the various pieces of furniture and other spaces around the offices.

HOOKED ON NEW PLANTING IDEAS

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A fine demonstration of how interior planting ideas continue to stay fresh can be seen in the planted panels which Urban Planters Edinburgh created for The Scottish Salmon Company.

The client was looking for planting for their newly-refurbished meeting room and boardroom, which would sit happily among the Scottish themes and colours of the new decor.

Selecting wall panels with a ‘naturally-aged’ lead appearance, we planted them with replica heather and ferns, to create an earthy, Scottish feel.

The planted panels are alternated with panels with a circular pattern, which represent the ripple effect of fish breaking the surface of the water.

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BRIGHT PLANTING FOR HISTORIC OUTLET BUILDING

STEEL MEETS LEAF AT

SHEFFIELD HOTEL Interior landscaping is all about bringing nature to man-made environments, so we were in our element when Mercure St Paul’s Hotel in Sheffield asked Urban Planters South Yorkshire to create a planting scheme which would pay homage to both the city’s steel industry heritage and its reputation as the greenest city in Britain.

Working with highly-polished metal planters, and a variety of lush greenery, we designed a planting scheme which celebrated the historic and contemporary Sheffield and referenced its proximity to the Winter Gardens.

The Swindon Outlet Centre is situated in the historic Great Western railway works, and the fresh planting scheme by Urban Planters West Country needed to be sensitive to the listed structure but at the same time form bright, live displays to welcome shoppers.

With vast ceilings, the building is prone to fluctuations of temperature, while high footfall of shoppers could leave the foliage vulnerable to damage, so the planting also needed to be robust and temperate to cope.

Brightly-coloured Guzmania in a variety of bold shades fit the bill perfectly and the displays change colour throughout the year, echoing the shifting fashion seasons.

You can really get creative with living walls, and one of our most recent walls shows how great design can be used both to create a talking point, and reflect a business’s ethos.

The Body Shop’s global headquarters in Croydon needed just such a wall, and the MD was clear in his brief: the living wall needed to depict a map of the world, and the planting used in the map needed to be from the part of the world it was depicting.

The idea took a lot of planning, but we have created something which really ties in with the Body Shop’s focus on nature, as well as its global reach,” said Urban Planters Director, Alan Page, who was closely involved in the wall’s design and installation.

“The wall creates a great visual impact in its prominent position in the building and will only look better as the plants become more established.

A WORLD OF PLANTS FOR THE BODY SHOP

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Dutch Company Nature’s Green’s range of plant pots made entirely of recycled post-consumer materials is a fine example of upcycling. High-quality, sharp design and ingenuitive features all come together in the Phoenix Rise range to create a thing of beauty.

By taking old office equipment and turning it into bright, sleek plant containers, with hidden castors and an in-built irrigation system, Nature’s Green has truly created something greater than the sum of its original parts.

We are always looking for new ways be sustainable in our industry, and one of our favourite ways to reduce our impact on the planet is through upcycled products.