Hortlands were contracted to plant a meadow with circa 50 beech, hornbeam, silver birch and other tree species. The ground is gravel and pebble just below the shallow surface soil, so is extremely free draining. To give the trees the best possible chance of becoming well established it was decided to provide individual watering to each tree. Micro drip-line circles were installed, with the number of emitters tailored to each individual trees watering requirement.
To soften a newly installed fence, a hedge consisting of various native species was planted. The client was willing for this to take a few years to fully establish, so whips were chosen. Drip-line irrigation was provided to give the hedge plants a good start and enable maximum height gain during the growing season.
The irrigation system consisted of an above ground tank (screened behind an existing structure), a submersible pump, commercial solenoid valves and a WIFI enabled irrigation controller.
Even though this installation was within a meadow, the area to be trenched was boarded out prior to trenching to minimise disruption. A neat, narrow strip of soil with a slight heave remains after back filling which is seeded with a meadow mix. Within the first season the trenching scars disappeared.
