Pictorial Meadows offers a simple and reliable way to create naturalistic landscapes in many different settings. Bringing together design, horticulture and ecological value, Pictorial Meadows solutions create landscapes with immediate visual appeal and long-term performance.
The case studies below show how different planting solutions can respond to different site conditions and project needs. Together, they highlight the flexibility, resilience and biodiversity benefits that Pictorial Meadows brings to contemporary landscape projects.
Flexible planting for changing site conditions
This large public scheme formed part of Lambeth Council's Soak Up Lambeth initiative, created to help reduce flood risk and improve climate resilience. The project used a range of mat mixes to respond to different site conditions, from damp rain garden edges to drier raised mounds. This made it possible to create one connected landscape that could perform well across different moisture levels and planting heights. As well as supporting the practical aims of the scheme, the mat also added biodiversity, seasonal interest and visual variety. It is a strong example of how different mixes can be used together in one project.
Attractive planting that supports water management projects
This project in Mansfield shows how Purple Haze Mats can add both visual value and biodiversity within a wider flood resilience scheme. Installed as part of the town's Sustainable Flood Resilience Project, the landscape forms part of a broader approach to managing surface water through nature-based solutions. Within this setting, Purple Haze Mats help create a greener and more attractive public space while supporting the wider aims of the project. It shows how mats can play both a practical and visual role in schemes designed to respond to climate and water management challenges.
Fast-establishing meadow planting for high-profile commercial spaces
For Sky UK's 5-hectare west London campus, Pictorial Meadows delivered a sustainable, low-maintenance meadow as part of a contemporary English garden-style landscape. Working with URBAN, Woodland Edge and Purple Haze Mats were selected to suit both shaded and sunny areas, while meeting the need for quick establishment ahead of the campus opening. More than 2,000 square metres of mats were installed, creating visually dynamic, pollinator-friendly planting that brings ecological value and everyday enjoyment to a major commercial environment.
Resilient colour for lower-input landscapes
This project demonstrates how Woodland Fringe Mats solved the challenge of creating a vibrant, biodiverse planting in semi-shaded areas where traditional meadow mixes often struggle to establish. Installed at the University of Warwick and Nottingham Trent University, the mix provides reliable colour and ecological value in challenging conditions. It also has a high tolerance for summer drought stress, making it a practical option for campuses and other landscapes that need to look good while remaining robust and easy to manage.
Species-rich planting that improves biodiversity and local amenity
Delivered from consultation through to installation, this project transformed an airport-owned green space into a more biodiverse and welcoming landscape for residents and nearby businesses. Working with the parish council, Patchwork Quilt Mats was selected for its suitability to the site's low-nutrient soils and laid alongside a central path and picnic area to create an immersive meadow setting. Despite a hot, dry spell, the mats established strongly and is now alive with insects, butterflies and moths, creating an attractive community space with lasting ecological value.
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Biodiverse planting for exposed rooftop spaces
This project at Angel Square, London shows how Botanical Skyline Mats can be used on green roofs to create a strong visual and environmental result. Installed by NAO Landscapes, the meadow mats wraps around the building as part of a large rooftop planting scheme. Botanical Skyline is specially designed for green roofs and includes hardy species that can tolerate exposed and demanding conditions. Once established, it creates a floriferous and biodiverse landscape that changes through the seasons. This project shows how Mats can support sustainability goals while also improving the look and quality of commercial spaces.
High-impact planting for a world-renowned setting
To celebrate Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee, over 20 million Pictorial Meadows seeds were sown into the moat of the Tower of London to create 'Superbloom' — a spectacular floral display that evolved through the summer into a haven for pollinators, with shifting colours and patterns flowering into September. Designed in collaboration with Nigel Dunnett, Professor of Planting Design and Urban Horticulture at the University of Sheffield, the scheme reflects Pictorial Meadows' ability to deliver at scale in iconic settings, combining scientific rigour, horticultural expertise and design flair to create memorable, ecologically valuable displays in the country's most prestigious landscapes.
Flower-rich meadows that boost wildlife while reducing maintenance visits
Working with North Lanarkshire Council, the 'Mega Flora' project has transformed urban green spaces into vibrant, biodiverse meadows. Sites range from amenity grassland and woodland edges to a redundant red ash football pitch, residential areas and school grounds. To date, 53 million perennial seeds have been sown across 130 plots, creating 70,000 square metres of flower-rich meadow. Bespoke Pictorial Meadows seed mixes deliver dual benefits: diverse green spaces that support wildlife and combat biodiversity loss, and more efficient management that reduces grass-cutting, cuts costs for the Council and lowers carbon emissions. The project forms part of the 2023 Scottish Government/UK Government Levelling Up Parks Programme to restore nature in urban settings and country parks.
High impact planting for cost-effective, biodiverse highways
Since 2013, Rotherham's 'River of Flowers' has transformed eight miles of highway verges and roundabouts into vibrant wildflower meadows. Commissioned by Rotherham Council's Streetpride Team, the scheme replaces intensively cut grass with Pictorial Meadows annual mixes, reducing cuts and bringing maintenance back in-house to save approximately £23,000 per two-year cycle. The result is a distinctive, biodiverse corridor of successive colour from spring through to November — praised by over 250 commuters, visitors and residents in its first year — that also lowers carbon emissions and won Rotherham Council a Green Apple award for Environmental Best Practice.
A striking seasonal display that solves a difficult soil problem
As part of the Rose Garden restoration at Nymans, the gardening team chose a Pictorial Meadows® Pastel seed mix to draw excess nutrients — particularly phosphorus — from the soil ahead of replanting. Sown in mid-April onto a clean, fine tilth, the meadow was never irrigated, even through very dry weather, yet performed outstandingly. As well as complementing the future planting scheme through its colour and self-seeding habit, the display became a highlight of the season, drawing overwhelmingly positive feedback from visitors and staff while quietly doing the work of restoring the soil.
Find a planting solution suited to your site, brief and long-term objectives. We work with landscape architects, developers, municipalities, infrastructure providers, contractors and other landscape professionals from initial concept and specification through to delivery.
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