Landscaping in the first half of 2020

Summer’s here and what an amazing year it’s been so far for Arbour Landscape Solutions. Our website has received record numbers of visitors, there are now over 2,000 landscapers registered as trade users on our website. And almost 1400 different landscaping materials available to order online. Our online quoting system is in constant use and we’re continuing to look for other ways to make our visitors’ lives easier.

Nobody could have predicted the arrival of COVID-19 or how the Country would have responded to it. It’s been joyful to see that landscapers and garden designers have been overwhelmed with enquiries from folks who FINALLY realise the value of well-designed outdoor spaces.

So far this year we’ve been honoured to supply products to some amazing projects – large and small and we’re proud to have been here to support the landscape industry through some very strange times.
Here are some of the highlights of the year so far.

January

Despite foul weather and some unusual on site challenges, Unique Projects Devon, in conjunction with Adam Knibb architects and the Leckford Estate Nursery completed the stunning John Lewis roof garden in just three weeks. It was a joy to see that teamwork really does make the dream work.
 

John Lewis Roof Garden in Southampton. Click here to read the full case study

Also in January I was lucky enough to attend the SGD awards. What a brilliant evening! Not least because the event was held in the Landmark Hotel – the very place that Gaby and I chose for our marriage celebrations 17 years ago.

February

Storm Ciara payed us a visit closely followed by Storm Dennis. Everybody in the ALS team escaped injury but friends and customers in other parts of the country were severely disrupted by the weather.

The list of products on our website kept on growing. February saw the addition of table saws and attachments. This have proven to be very popular with our customers. Click here to check them out. 

I couldn’t resist participating in Love Your Pets day on Feb 20. My 2 boys are an important part of my life and judging by the responses to my Facebook post – there are lots of dogs, cats and even snakes out there enriching the lives of landscapers and garden designers.
 

March

Oh my goodness to think that at the beginning of March we had no idea of the chaos about to hit the UK. It seems such a distant memory. But what I do remember from March was a fabulous day spent with Ben and Sam from Stone Tree Landscapes. We travelled to Yorkshire to visit the quarry where a bespoke order of natural stone was being quarried for a prestigious project the boys were working on in Leicestershire. As much as I enjoy promoting landscaping materials via my website, nothing beats the job satisfaction I feel when sourcing tailor made products. Especially if the supplier is UK based!
 

March the 13^th and as the threat of COVID-19 loomed ever closer, I was off to Central London for the APL Awards Ceremony. What a brilliant afternoon. I do love celebrating the talent within our amazing industry.

April

What a strange month April 2020 turned out to be. The whole of the UK seemed to re-assess their priorities in life.

Delivering hot meals to NHS staff certainly made me appreciate how important it is to have somebody who’s got your back should times get tough. We never know what’s around the corner and I will be forever thankful that my family have stayed well through this pandemic. All of the ALS profit generated in the 2^nd week of April was donated to the NHS as a token of my appreciation.

Elsewhere in the Landscape Industry, sales of Natural Turf were at an all-time high as people in lockdown started refurbishing their gardens. Of course the DIY stores and garden centres were still closed and so they turned to their local landscapers for help.
New to the ALS website in April were XTech Surface Tops. Beautiful! And very popular with landscapers building outdoor kitchens.  

May

Despite the country being in Lockdown the ALS website continued to be busy. Sales of cedar battens reached a record high and my team were kept busy adding content to the website.

I was honoured that my living walls article made it into Alan Sargeant’s Landscape Library. Alan has been an enormous source of help and inspiration to me throughout my landscaping career. His online resource is a genius idea and I thoroughly recommend it. Every single aspect of running a landscaping or garden design business is covered. From hands on work techniques to the complexities of contracts. Please take a look 

June

Time to take a look at another fabulous project completed this year. This time from Gavin Ellison and the team from Lifestyle Gardens Ltd. A big thankyou to Gavin for sending photos of his project which involved a warm sand porcelain patio edged with granite setts. During the build, Gavin was commuting from his home on the South Coast to West London and didn’t have the time to phone a whole host of different suppliers – that’s where Arbour Landscape Solutions comes into its own – one phone call gets it all done.
 

July

On 2^nd July, our ecommerce website celebrated its first birthday – I had always imagined it as being the one stop shop for landscapers and even though there are still a few more product ranges to add – I’m very happy with the way it’s working for my landscape industry colleagues. This month we’ve added a wide variety of plants and shrubs for you to order online. And are currently working on a huge range of competitively priced pots and planters.

Away from the website (for the Landscape Industry Specialist is not just a virtual phenomenon) I’m busy sourcing bespoke products and saving landscapers money wherever I can.

Here's a roundup of the newest products on the Arbour Landscape Supplies website.
 

Extensive range of plants and seeds - contact us for details

Even more aggregates including these stunning paddlestones

Survey equipment for you to order online

BETTER PRICE The Andres Corten Steel Planter