Van den Berk Nurseries, one of the largest nurseries in Europe, has supplied over 100 trees for the Thames City residential and workspace development in London.
Thames City is a standout project in the extensive redevelopment of the landscape in London which has taken place over the last few years. This development created a new area of housing and workspaces in central London and demonstrates how urban transformation can include vital green spaces, enhancing sustainability and quality of life.
Van den Berk Nurseries provided over 100 mature trees, which meant that the new park quickly felt established. Amongst the delivery was one of the biggest trees that the nursery had ever supplied in London, an enormous Metasequoia glyptostroboides. This tree, a dawn redwood, measures an astonishing 2m – 2.5m around its trunk.
The firm also supplied a large number of Betula pendula cultivars (common silver birch, European birch) ranging between 50cm and 60cm, Pinus nigra var. Austriaca (Austrian pine) measuring 35cm – 40cm around the trunk, Liquidambar styraciflua (American red gum, sweet gum) measuring from 1.2m – 1.4m, and a large quantity of multi-stemmed magnolia cultivars ranging between 5.5m and 6m in size. The trees were chosen with care according to their type, form, size, and position.
Innovative landscape architecture
There are 12 buildings across Thames City, including a 53-floor tower that will be the tallest residential building in Western Europe. The development includes about 1400 apartments, a hotel, stores, restaurants, and workplaces.
The Linear Park is at the heart of Thames City. This long park cuts through the development and connects its numerous uses. It has a unique design that makes use of cutting-edge landscape architecture and water management techniques.
The park acts as the city’s green lung, improving air quality, encouraging biodiversity, and providing a pleasant location for residents and visitors to relax, exercise, and play. The park also has an innovative solution for rainwater runoff, which is collected, filtered, and reused for a wide range of purposes (such as irrigation) via an underground system.
Van den Berk Nurseries recently revealed its green project at Rotterdam Zoo in the Netherlands. The zoo needed to remove and replace two diseased trees near its giraffe enclosure. Van den Berk Nurseries supplied Gleditsia, a tree species native to North America and Asia, with a minimum height of 5m which would keep the crown out of reach of peckish giraffes.
All images courtesy of Elite Landscapes Ltd
