Pleached Tree Avenue

The project

An avenue of pleached plane trees over stone paving and resin bound gravel, with seating set at intervals to make a formal route feel usable.

The effort behind it

Twenty-four semi-mature trees were craned in over two days, each into an engineered pit with an irrigation sock, aeration pipe and root barrier to protect the adjacent paving. The trees were matched at the nursery in person for girth and head shape, and two were rejected on delivery for asymmetry.

Challenges faced

Ground conditions at London set the terms for everything on Pleached Tree Avenue. Levels had to be remodelled, drainage designed in rather than added on, and heavy materials moved through restricted access without disturbing the parts of the garden that were staying. Weather windows governed the finishing trades, and the schedule was rebuilt week by week around them.

Team & involvement

A core landscaping crew stayed with the project from first excavation to the final sweep, supported by our in-house stone masons, electricians and planting specialists. Because the same team set out, built and finished the work, the detailing stayed consistent across every square metre — and the client dealt with one foreman and one phone number throughout.

A successful outcome

One season after completion, the garden at Pleached Tree Avenue has settled exactly as designed: drainage performing through the wettest months, paving uncracked and planting establishing ahead of schedule. The client's own verdict, at the twelve-month aftercare visit, was that it looks as though it has always been there — the highest compliment a landscape can earn.