Case studies
THE SOPHOS LANDSCAPE GETS THE MULBERRY TREATMENT
Landscape maintenance is both an art and a science. An effective landscaping company needs to have a real empathy with the environment. It must also have the resources, skills, tools and experience required to keep an area attractive all year long. So when Sophos plc needed someone to take on the maintenance of its extensive grounds, it looked for a company with all of these abilities. It subsequently selected Oxfordshire-based Mulberry.
Sophos specialises in providing powerful security and control solutions for corporate IT systems. The company has some 100 million users worldwide. Founded in 1985, it has headquarters in the UK and USA, with subsidiary head offices in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Singapore.
A prestigious new site
For the past four years, Sophos’ UK and global headquarters have been based at The Pentagon, located in Abingdon Science Park near Oxford. The site covers an area of 145,000 square feet and the extensive landscape was designed by Land Use Consultants (LUC).
The company wanted to provide pleasant and well-cared for surroundings. The area needed a considerable amount of physical security and a lake was incorporated into the new design to form part of this system. It also supplies the site’s irrigation system and helps to provide a calm and natural environment that can be enjoyed by the company’s staff.
The original landscapers maintained the site for three years, but by the end of this time the company was failing to meet Sophos’ requirements. Simon Pedrazzini, Sophos’ Facilities Manager, explains: “We are proud of our company and our site – indeed, the local authority has given us several awards as they believe that the landscape design is an asset to the local environment.
“However, it was sad to see the site deteriorating. Despite repeated discussions and staff change, the landscaping company – which was by now part of a large Facilities Management group – was unable to achieve the high levels of care we sought. For instance, the irrigation system was used much too infrequently and as a result, several of the young trees died.
The search for a suitable landscaper
“I therefore invited the designers, LUC, to assess its condition and to produce a report. We then agreed that we needed to find a new company who would share our enthusiasm for the site and really care for it.” One of the companies that submitted a proposal for the work was Mulberry, which specialises in landscape care and maintenance and is a Member of the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI).
Simon continues: “Anthony Ussher, the Managing Director of Mulberry - rather than some junior sales subordinate - made the pitch to us. He seemed genuinely saddened to see the state of parts of our landscape. I liked the fact that Mulberry was a local company, which would maximise the time they could spend with us each day. They were also smaller, and with The Pentagon being a flagship site, we felt they would try harder than a larger company.”
Anthony Ussher visited the site in October 2006, prior to the proposal in January 2007. He says: “The site appeared to be below par and lacked the sharpness that is essential to schemes where simple, semi-natural habitats are in close proximity to buildings and areas with a high level of traffic. There were numerous areas of conspicuous weed and other evidence of neglect.”
The Mulberry Treatment
The overall standard that Sophos was seeking for the site was a very high one. Anthony based his proposal on the ‘Mulberry Treatment’ – a comprehensive, one-stop care and maintenance programme. This is based on a philosophy of sustainability: working in harmony with the changing natural world rather than against it.
Simon was impressed with Mulberry’s commitment and decided to award the contract to them. Anthony now meets him monthly to review progress and they walk around the site together. Mulberry has already tackled the key issues and the site is looking much healthier
“The lake had been getting choked with weeds,” says Simon. “The previous contractor insisted that we needed an expensive sonic system, instead of using the straw bales that had been specified. However, Mulberry installed barley straw bales which have already worked. They are also making a systematic attempt to eradicate weeds rather than half-heartedly tugging at the tops or leaving them.
“They have also tackled our willow wall, which we had been told needed special skills – so no-one had touched it. They’ve helped us to install an extension to our irrigation system so that it will reach the roof garden. In addition, they’ve used their interior landscaping skills to help us with some dividers needed as part of a health and safety issue.
“In summary, the site now looks good despite three years of poor husbandry and is now back in line with the original design. We can feel genuinely proud of its condition once more. I like Mulberry’s approach because they listen to us: they respect both the site and our views. They weren’t too frightened or arrogant to change the site foreman until we had the right combination of man and environment.”
He concludes: “Mulberry’s team works hard and they are very flexible, making visits to suit the needs. I see no reason why we shouldn’t continue to use their services in the future.”
