Overview

We were delighted to supply plants for the development of a brand new 71-bedroom care home in Havant. The home was constructed by Dalton Homes, with expert landscaping provided by our long-standing client Redfields. It was designed with Luxury in mind, with features such as a cinema room, on-site barbers, a Bistro, amongst others. It’s a space designed to make life and care as comfortable as possible for its elderly residents.

Client: Redfields Landscaping & Design

Project: Portsdown View Care Home

Location: Havant, Hampshire 

Our Approach

For this project we supplied over 3,000 shrubs, 1200 bulbs, and 20 trees. The plan for the site called for a lot of different hedging options, for various different areas of the site. For these hedges, a variety of different plants, including Euonymous fortunei ‘Emerald Gaiety’ were used. This bushy, evergreen shrub provides brightness all year round thanks to its dense, variegated foliage. It’s also a relatively low-maintenance, hardy plant making it perfect for planting in urban, residential areas.

Cistus × argenteus ‘Silver Pink’ was also chosen for use on hedging and borders. This shrub is native to the Mediterranean and the canary islands, meaning it has evolved to deal with dry heat, and periods of drought, making it a low maintenance option. It provides seasonal interest, with frequent flowering occuring throughout June and July.

In addition to the Cistus x argenteus and Euonymous fortunei for the hedges, Viburnum opulus was also chosen for this purpose. This deciduous shrub has dense foliage, with flowers that bloom in late spring and early summer, helping to provide some year-round interest.

Adding some height to the planting plans, and striking foliage, we have Phormium ‘Pink stripe’. This evergreen perennial has long, arching foliage, that tapers toward the end, and is adorned with unique pink stripes along the length. In summer, it blooms with long, upright stems through the middle of the plant, topped with small tubular, dark-red flowers.

To provide flowering interest, a variety of herbaceous perennial bulbs were planted throughout the project, including a number of varieties of Narcissus, such as Narcissus cyclamineus, Narcissus pseudonarcissus, and Narcissus ‘Tete a Tete’. In order to provide some year-round interest to the gardens, the winter flowering Galanthus nivalis was used, which thrives in partial shade, and is relatively hard to the winter elements.

Trees were planted around the border of the development in order to help reduce noise pollution from the surrounding roads, as well as to help encourage bird species into the care home grounds, giving wildlife shelter and food. Acer campestre ‘Streetwise’ was most frequently used, thanks to its ability to grow in limited space, as well as a hardiness to the weather and pollution. These trees can grow up to 10m in height, and its leaves turn yellow in autumn for some colourful interest later in the year.

The Result

We were absolutely delighted with the result of the project, and the incredible work of our long-standing client and expert landscapers, Redfields. The initial planting was concluded in April of 2023, with additional planting to be untertaken later in year.

Lee Baxter, Head of Operations for Redfields said:

“Greenwood have always been easy to work with, we have a process in place where we share as much information as possible to help the guys on the ground. They would always let us know if there were to be any potential challenges with sourcing or delivering.”

The project has not been without its challenges, as the hot, dry early spring made it a struggle for some bare root plantings and other areas of the project to germinate and fully take. Thankfully, Redfields were on hand to offer expert consultation at site handover in order to ensure the plants were given the best chance to thrive over the rest of the summer.

Hopefully, the new care home will provide residents with comfort and tranquillity for years to come, with plants, hedges and trees providing visual interest, pleasant aromas, and encouraging all different species of wildlife into the area.

For your next soft landscaping project, get in touch with the G Team today.