Key considerations for urban landscaping projects

When living trees are planted in urban areas, they can improve environmental quality in a number of ways. This includes helping to moderate temperatures, reduce pollution, decrease flood risk and enhance people’s quality of life.

Chris George, Business Development Manager at Howe Green, highlights the main factors to consider when specifying tree pits and tree grilles for landscaping projects to ensure a safe and efficient installation, without compromising the overall aesthetic effect.

Over the next three years, almost 680,000 trees will be planted in towns, cities and rural areas in England as part of the government's initiative to triple tree planting rates to 30,000 hectares per year by 2025. The objective is to increase access to nature and boost health and wellbeing.

Whilst planting trees in urban areas can provide many benefits, any trees or saplings must be initially planted into a safe and secure setting to ensure their long-term growth and subsequent environmental advantages. Adequate root management, regular access to water and the maintenance of soil condition are all essential elements that must be considered when incorporating trees into hard landscaped areas.

So, how can specifiers ensure trees are planted in a safe and secure way?

External tree pits and tree grilles are particularly popular with landscaping professionals, as they effectively provide easy access to tree root balls, whilst also providing discreet access to electrics, valves, pumps and water features.

Material matters

When choosing a tree grille or tree pit, ensuring the right materials have been used throughout the product’s construction is critical for preserving the tree's life and ensuring a long-lasting and durable installation.

Specifiers should consider solutions manufactured from stainless steel, galvanised steel or aluminium. These will provide long-term rust and corrosion resistance to ensure the highest levels of performance and also accommodate a wide variety of hard floor finishes.

The addition of a top edge seal will prevent dirt, grout or grinding waste ingress to achieve increased longevity and resilience. The accurate manufacture to unique sizes and shapes eliminates the requirement for slither cuts of stone, which will often lead to recurrent and costly breakages.

Aesthetics vs performance

Custom made specifications will best meet the specific requirements of each individual project, rather than a standard ‘off the shelf’ offering. A bespoke specification will also ensure that the type of metal specified within the hard landscaping, seamlessly integrates into the tree grilles, providing the highest quality finish available.

With over 30 years’ experience in the design and manufacture of high performance access solutions, Howe Green's team of in-house design and engineering experts offer a wide range of custom and standard tree pits and tree grilles that can be tailored to meet the exact specification of every project.

This includes a variety of light and heavy duty tree pits and tree grilles that, depending on specification, can withstand varying levels of footfall and traffic up to 6,500kg pneumatic tyre wheel load, making them the ideal choice for a wide variety of hard landscaping projects.

For further information on Howe Green’s floor access solutions call 01920 463230.

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