Car park beds that take the wind on Greens Road
At a trade business on Greens Road the lawns are cut before eight in the morning, so the car park is clear when the day shift arrives, and the garden beds get a longer visit about once a month, first thing, before the cars are in. The beds along the Smeaton Avenue side take the full brunt of the wind that comes across the estate, and the fine mulch that was put down years ago had blown off the surface and left bare soil.
When the client asked for something that lasts longer, costs less and stays put, the answer was not more of the same. Coarse hardwood chip in the 25 to 50 mm range knits together and holds in wind, and it lasts three to five years at depth where fines last one to two, with crushed rock over fabric as the permanent option for the most exposed beds only. The comparison was priced through a blower-truck supplier so the client could choose on numbers rather than on a hunch, and the delivery is timed so the truck is clear of the main entrance before opening.
