Top tips for maintaining green spaces in Spring

As the days get longer and the sun starts to peek through the clouds, it’s time to cast a keen eye over your commercial grounds. The winter months may have taken their toll, leaving overgrown grass, weeds, and untamed hedges. With a little TLC and some planning, your outdoor spaces can soon be transformed into vibrant, inviting landscapes that impress both visitors and customers alike.

1. Trim the grass

Let’s start with the basics – a well-manicured lawn. Neglected over the colder months, your grass might be looking a bit wild. Regular mowing not only tidies up the place but also encourages healthy growth as the temperature rises. Commercial grass cutting can easily get your green space back to its former glory and is perfect for commercial spaces that have a large area of grounds to maintain. As the weather warms up, your grass will begin to grow at a much more rapid rate, therefore keeping on top of it with regular grass cutting is the best way to keep it looking tidy through the warmer months.

2. Battle the weeds

Weeds are the enemy of a pristine landscape. Take the time to identify and remove them, ensuring they don’t encroach on your pathways or choke out other plants. A weed-free space is not only more visually appealing but also allows other vegetation to thrive.

3. Tree TLC

Trees are the backbone of any green space. Ensure they're in top condition with professional tree surgery or surveys. From pruning to removals, certified arborists can help maintain the health and appearance of your trees, ensuring they remain assets to your property.

4. Tidy those hedges

Don’t forget about your hedges – they need love too! Regular trimming not only keeps them looking neat but also promotes uniform growth. Consider getting creative with hedge designs to add a touch of flair to your space.

5. Schedule regular maintenance

With spring comes rapid growth and it’s when nature begins to thrive. Don’t let your grounds become unruly – schedule regular maintenance to stay ahead of the game and avoid last-minute panic.

6. Stay prepared

Just because it’s spring doesn’t mean winter hazards are behind us as we know too well in Britain. Keep gritting materials on standby to tackle any unexpected snow or ice, ensuring your property remains accessible and safe.

7. Clear the land

Take the opportunity to declutter your grounds. Clear out any unwanted vegetation, debris or hedges to create space for new growth or activities.

8. Embrace planting

Spring is the perfect time to introduce new plants to your landscape. Whether it’s flowers, fruits, or vegetables, adding pops of colour and life can elevate the overall aesthetic of your commercial space.

9. Pathway perfection

Ensure pathways are clear and safe for navigation. Whether it’s removing obstructions or giving stone paths a thorough clean, keeping pathways well-maintained enhances both accessibility and visual appeal.

10. Implement a watering routine

Lastly, don’t forget about hydration. Establishing a watering routine ensures that your plants stay healthy and vibrant, even during dry spells. Supplement natural rainfall with regular watering to keep your green spaces flourishing throughout the spring and summer.

With these top tips in your toolkit, you’re well-equipped to tackle springtime and ensure your commercial grounds are a sight to behold. Talk to us if you’d like to set up regular grounds maintenance.

What was Adam Palmer’s favourite project of 2023?

To start the new year off, we asked our Director, Adam to talk about his favourite project last year. Here’s what he had to say!

Q: What was your favourite project we worked on last year?

A: It’s a hard question as we worked on so many amazing projects last year, but I would have to say my favourite project of 2023 was definitely our Leeds regeneration scheme for Equans. Not only is it my favourite but it is the most rewarding of the projects we have worked on as it sees us maintain large parts of inner city Leeds.

Q: What are the key landscaping aspects to this project?

Since winning this contract we have delivered an unrivalled service providing grass cutting, shrub bed management, tree works and even repairing void gardens for new tenants!

Q: What are you most proud of?

This has to be the ‘Kitchen Gardens’. This has brought the community together to grow their own vegetables.

Q: Why are you an advocate for green spaces?

Green spaces are really important to the people in these areas. It creates a place for the community but more importantly, allows children to have a space to play as many that live in that area live in houses with little or no gardens.  

Why is grounds maintenance essential?

Commercial landscapes are designed to increase the marketability and profitability for businesses, and soft landscaping is often the first chance to create a professional impression with both clients and the public. However, a lot of businesses underestimate the importance of grounds maintenance, but it’s an important service that ensures that your landscape is always in the best condition.

Grounds maintenance covers all services, from grass cutting, hedge cutting/pruning and routine weed management to flower bed maintenance and tree pruning and is often classified under general maintenance or remedial works.

In this blog, we highlight why regular grounds maintenance is so important for all businesses.

Increase curb appeal

First impressions really do count and the first thing potential clients, customers and employees will notice is your grounds so if your site is looking unkempt, this will no doubt leave a lasting imprint.  

With regular grounds maintenance, you can ensure your external areas are in tip top condition. So, if your lawns are looking overgrown or your carpark needs a clean, it may be time to consider your curb appeal.

Keep your site safe

Although regular grounds maintenance is a great way to keep your grounds looking neat and tidy, it is a lot more than just appearance. By implementing a grounds maintenance plan, you’ll be creating a safer environment for everyone.

Any potential hazards, such as loose paving or slippery surfaces can be resolved before they cause accidents and put visitors to your site at risk. Any potential hazards can be added to your risk assessment and suitable preventative measures can be introduced to minimise risks and ensure compliance with health and safety.

Through simply implementing regular and effective grounds maintenance services, this can give you peace of mind and ensure you’re in line with health and safety guidelines. 

Reduce costs and issues in the long run

Often businesses take a more reactive approach to grounds maintenance and enlist professional help when they have an issue and need help to resolve it. A good example of this is drainage and guttering, and when left unmaintained they can become blocked, which can result in flooding and water damage.

The best solution is to tackle these issues is with a planned preventive maintenance plan. Spotting potential problems early on is the best way to limit the amount of extra work and additional expenses you’ll need to keep your site operational.

Protect your investment

Your grounds are an essential part of your business; it’s where your staff come to work, your clients and prospects come to visit you and is the centre of your business, so maintaining it both structurally and aesthetically is crucial. 

By taking the best possible care of your building and your grounds, you’re giving your business the best chance to flourish. Any work you have done on your site to improve how it looks and functions is an investment. Regular grounds maintenance helps to protect this investment, keeping these new features clean and well maintained and preventing any potential damage.

If you’d like to discuss grounds maintenance for your business, get in touch today!

Concrete, mortar and screed: On-site mixing, delivery or drive-thru?

Traditionally, landscapers, builders, groundworkers and other contractors who need small to medium loads of concrete, mortar or screed on-site receive it in one of three ways:

1. They mix it themselves on site

2. They collect from the local ready-mix plant

3. It’s delivered to their site by volumetric trucks

All three methods have their advantages, but they also come with drawbacks. Here we highlight the challenges of each and introduce the advantages the innovative click and collect concrete, mortar and screed station, fibo Collect presents.

On-site mixing

Whilst mixing concrete, mortar or screed on-site can be cost-effective as you don’t need to pay for delivery or unused materials, there are a few challenges:

• Equipment needed – On-site mixing requires a suitable mixer, relevant to the size of job and amount of material needed, not to mention the related cement, aggregate and sand etc. And if the mixer breaks that only adds to the challenge.

• Labour – Skilled workers with knowledge of mixing the appropriate material quantities are needed and the mixing process is often labour-intensive and time-consuming, along with the related labour costs this brings.

• Quality and accuracy – Achieving the right mix proportions due to the manual nature of the mixing process and maintaining consistent quality throughout the construction project can be challenging, especially when working with various suppliers and batches of material.

• Messy – Every batch of concrete, mortar or screed will leave remnants in any mixer. Time and temperatures will dry these in the mixer and potentially contaminate different design mixes or even impede the production ability of the mixer.

• The British weather – The UK weather can be unpredictable, with frequent rain and variations in temperature which can affect the quality and curing of onsite concrete mix.

• Supply chain delays – Supply chain issues can delay construction projects, which can lead to increased costs and knock on effects of future jobs.

Ready-mix collection or delivery

Using ready-mix concrete, mortar or screed is a proven method used by many tradespeople due to its quality and reliability, however it does have its downfalls:

• Waiting times – Whether you are collecting your ready-mix concrete, mortar or screed from your local plant or it’s being delivered on a volumetric truck, there will no doubt be time constraints. Whether that be waiting in a queue for your mix to be loaded up or waiting for your chosen delivery date and timeslot.

• Minimum quantity restrictions – Typically, there is a minimum order requirement of at least 1m3 when sourcing concrete, mortar or screed which can result in wastage and then challenges disposing of this waste.

• Environmental challenges – fuel consumption, whether that be collecting or taking delivery of your material and any wastage from unused material all impacts the environment.

• Short-lasting – concrete, mortar and screed often has a limited time to use it (often within 120 minutes) so any delays can impact this.

Introducing click and collect concrete, mortar and screed

An innovative, new automated and self-service batching plant, fibo Collect has launched which takes the provision of concrete, mortar and screed to the next level:

• It saves time – the automated mixing technology means that the mixing and pouring cycle takes typically under five minutes.

• It’s flexible – you can order from as little as 0.25m3 or as much as you like – there is no minimum 1m3 order charge which means there is no wastage

• There’s less mess – there’s no more setting up and cleaning mixes on-site and the pouring process is seamless so it doesn’t make a mess of your vehicle

• It’s hassle-free – you simply turn up and park up when you need to, select your mix using the touchscreen terminal and the mix is then poured and dispensed from a conveyor belt onto the back of a truck, trailer or pick up or directly into a 0.25m3 tub in less than 5 minutes.

• It’s eco-friendly – the solution is less wasteful than traditional methods and reduces the transport miles in concrete.

• It’s long-lasting – you can choose from 1, 2 or 3 day mortar.

If you’d like a demo or to try out our new click and collect concrete, mortar and screed station, get in touch today!