the clear need for more sustainable planting designs in cities

With autumn approaching I wish our trained eye becomes kinder and gentler and stop associating fading plants with something messy and unacceptable.

I realise that this change in perception will take time. I strongly believe that with more workshops, talks and time spend engaging with the community we can make planting designs sustainable and
Hastate Design wants to be part of this much needed transition.

Feel free to contact us if you are looking for planting design services for your own project.

Often when walking around Edinburgh, I see many lush and colourful plantings outside hotels, offices, banks, shopping centres and in public parks.

Unfortunately, these plantings are changed frequently, almost every 2-3 weeks. Basically, when the blooms on the plants fade, they are discarded and replaced with new ones – plants that are in flower at that time.

This process of constant replacement and change may satisfy the human need for colour , but it is clearly a wasteful and not very sustainable approach, and it needs to be addressed if we want to tackle the increasing environmental challenges the world is facing every day.

Living in a culture of instant gratification we need to encourage more thoughtful approach in planting design, especially in city schemes.

When creating planting design for a garden or a planter it is possible to adopt more environmentally friendly approach using the vast library of interesting and highly attractive perennial plants that are available.

A key challenge to creating more sustainable planting designs in our urban environments is changing the perception of what we associate with beauty and how we look at plantings that experience seasonal change - plantings that have dried stems and flowers.

There are so many perennials that look very attractive when dried, with seed heads standing proudly above the long-gone foliage. They are like living sculptures in a garden. They not only add another dimension into the planting design but also bring food and shelter for the wildlife, scarce especially in urban environments.