Has this Cold Weather finally gone?

We have all been trying to keep on top of one what seems like the longest cold snap we have had for many years.  We have had many nights of working through trying to keep our clients sites clear of snow and ice this winter and like most of the councils we have applied record amounts of road salt through our truck and hand operated salt spreaders.

Well done to all our team for battling through these conditions.  Our new compact front loader worked
brilliantly at clearing paths and the top of the multi-storey  roof at Peterborough City Hospital when other car parks were still closed 2 days later.   At times we called in the reinforcements and had JCB's working through the day and night.


We are hopeful now that it is getting milder and we are getting all our mowing equipment serviced up and ready for the start of the new grass cutting season   I wont be putting the gritters away yet as looking two weeks ahead we are forecast wind chills of -10 and more snow in two weeks!

‘He is to be congratulated for his honesty, for saving me from untold anxiety had it not been found and handed in, and for making my day’

We are very proud to publish the above as these were comments made by lady who took the time to email us and advise just how grateful she was as to the honesty of our employees. It appears the lady lost her purse in the car park on her way into work  but was unaware of this until it was swiftly returned by one of our employees working on routine ground maintenance of the site. The lady took the time to email and convey the following:

‘I would like to commend Dan and his actions to you - without his honesty and immediate action I would not have known my purse was missing until I next needed it, and then would not have known if it had been lost or stolen, and when.

I went and spoke to Daniel (and his colleague) to thank him personally - he is a fine young man and was very modest, but I wanted your Company to know about this - Daniel is to be congratulated for his honesty, for saving me from untold anxiety had it not been found and handed in, and for making my day.’

Dan and Michael have both been thanked for their honest actions and it is reassuring to know that our employees are (as expected) honest and it is nice to see such kind actions acknowledged.

Well done Dan and Michael you are credit to N J Pacey Landscaping and so we felt it right we acknowledge that for all to read! 

Wildflower Meadow

The annual cut of the wildflower meadows we maintain is currently happening.

Here Paul is cutting down the meadow ready for it to be raked off and carted away.  This is on the relatively new site at Spalding for Broadgate Homes.  The wildflower area was planted by our team three years ago and has been maintained by us since.  This has been the best year so far on this site with the best array of wildflowers.

Wildflower meadows need cutting and the debris removing once all the flowers have had chance to seed ready for next year!

We are now Safe Contractor Approved!!!

We have been away from the blog working hard in the office to become Safe Contractor approved and have finally received accreditation.



To those who haven't gone through this process it is a painstaking yet good way to ensure all health and safety is in line with current legislation and says to anyone looking to work with us that all N J Pacey Landscaping staff take all these issues seriously and we now have a nice little logo we can use to prove it!

Hopefully now this time consuming paperwork has been completed we can keep you update more regularly on what the guys are up to. Just thought we would get in the most exciting news we are likely to have here in the office for a while. 

Wennington Pond Completed

Our job from last week is now all completed despite the weather trying to hold us back!  We got the gravel spread yesterday and made good all our tracks on the way out!

See the earlier post for work in progress!

 Good job done team!

Breathing Life Into Block Paving

Our client has lived with his block paving ever since they purchased the property and it really did get him down.  We have come in and redesigned the rear garden to make it less utilitarian with a new patio which comes of his conservatory some raised planters to keep his dog of the border and giving him a new area of lawn.  The base from the blocks was all dug out and new topsoil imported and leveled before the are was turfed.  This client one the award for most cups of coffee so far this year so a big thank you from the team!

Filling in a Pond at Wennington

The owner has decided that after years of trying to maintain this pond in his garden that it would be better to fill it in.  We have undertaken he challenge of getting over 100 tons of Hardcore into his garden causing minimal disruption to his established and well maintained gardens.  Utilizing a the grab on the lorry we have been able to cleanly offload the hardcore from the road directly into a two tonne dumper which has been tipping the stone into the bottom of the pond for the digger to distribute.  It is a slow process but the team is getting there slowly!

Finding that Leaking Lead Pipe!

One of our clients contacted us after they had given in with other experts who had tried to find there leaking lead water pipe.  The pipe had been leaking for years filling there cellar with water which had to be constantly pumped out.  They knew the pipe ran beneath the block paving, gravel drive and probably a tarmac road before it got to the water main at the road.  We took on the challenge of tracing it back and locating it so we could put a stop to all the water leaking.  With the aid of a cat scan and a trusty JCB we carefully dug our way back to locate it and then follow it finding electricity various sewer mains and a gas pipe along the way.

We located the lead pipe hammered it shut temporarily before Anglia water are going to dig up the road to do it permanently!

All the block paving is going back down so we can leave everything as we found it just a bit dryer!!

Preparing for the Mowing Season

We are looking to have the most grass areas to cut this year so we have invested in a new mower to ensure we can get every where done reliably and efficiently.  We have selected a new zero turn John Deere Mower which should increase our efficiency and mean we can get the job done quickly but to the high standards are clients require.  As you can see in the picture Norman was soon in the driving seat to see what the new machine would achieve compared to the old model!

We got the machine from Simon at Peterborough Grass Machinery, www.pgmltd.com, who helped us out getting it just in time for our first cut which we are planning next week!

Snow Clearing Peterborough Hospital

The snow came down again and we were out there shoveling the white stuff again keeping the main Hospitals in Peterborough clear so the patients and staff could get to work safely.

This year as well as man power we had the a John Deere Telescopic Handler with specialist snow blade, a JCB digger working on the roads and car parks.  We then used a John Deere compact tractor with front loader to keep the paths clear.

We kept all the main service roads passable as the snow was coming down and managed to get all the main service roads clear by 8am the next morning!  

With heavy snow forecast again for tomorrow we are busy replenishing the salt stocks and keeping the machines and drivers ready to clear the white stuff should we get another good dollop!

Leyland Screening

Upon request of our client we have planted 25 leyland trees which are already approximately 6 feet high.  The purpose of these trees is to grow quickly and provide an evergreen screen of the busy major road and services.

Leyland are usually not our preferred choice, and we usually spend more of our time cutting them down, however in this situation they serve the purpose as they grow fast and tall.  The area planted was very much waste ground so we initially litter picked the area then cut the grass back to make the planting easier.  we planted 25 leyland grown in 10 litre pots sourced by us direct from the grower.   The plants where then planted and supported with a machine round stake and super soft tree tie.  These trees grow very quickly so good support is essential until they have established.  We then used a mulch mat to suppress weeds around the base of the trees and covered this with a layer of bark mulch to help retain water and suppress the weeds even further.  The trees were protected with rabbit guards to prevent the juvenile bark form being eaten by pesky rabbits.

We recommend that the competing vegetation is kept controlled with the use of a chemical herbicide in April and August and the plants are monitored to see if watering is required to ensure establishment.

Watering and weed control are all services we provide if our clients don't have there own team qualified to undertake spraying!

Salting and Gritting 2012

That time of year has come around again and we have been in full force out there with the teams keeping car parks, roads and paths clear of slippery ice.

The winter has not been as cold as forecasters first predicted but that does not mean we have not been out there keeping those surfaces safe.  We have been out on numerous occasions this winter as it is worth remembering the ground temperature does not have to be 0 degrees to get a frost on those expsoed surfaces.  If you have an air temperature of -3 and a ground temperature of 2 degrees there is the chance you can have ice forming on exposed surfaces.  Take a look at when your window screen freeze's and what the forecasters are predicting!

Making that call on when to grit can be a difficult one and we monitor the forecasts from several sources along with our experience before making that call on weather to send the teams!  Having us monitor the weather means our clients don't have to be up at 2am in the morning asking us to come!

We have kept our equipment up to date this year with a new salt spreader and compact tractor dedicated to one of our largest sites.  This also has the added advantage of being able to attach a front loader in 5 minutes to  help in the snow clearing should we get any in the coming months.  It may be mild but winter is by no means over yet!

If you need any help keeping your surfaces gritted please just give us a call!

Willow Tree Pollarding

Scott was complaining that there has not been anything recently on the Blog and I think secretly he wanted everyone to see what he had been up to! 

Yesterdays on a frosty December morning was a brilliant day to go and pollard this willow tree.  This is atleast the third time this willow tree has been pollarded, last done about 4 years ago.  Some of the regrowth measured over 6 inches in diameter!

After everything was cut back avoiding the slate roof and power cables we loaded everything onto our truck and took it down to the local recycling center where it will be chipped and turned into compost.

Willow trees come back extremely quickly and this one is no exception so within 4 years the regrowth will be back over the house again!

Tree Planting Container Grown Trees

The time of year has come to get those trees and shrubs planted and we have started this week by planting some large Sliver Birch Trees.  Sadly the lorry unloading the trees could not get as close to the planting site so our trusty wheel barrow came into action with Paul and Dan getting these trees to where they needed to be!

We are planting some large container grown trees with a 14-16cm girth. We will be preparing the soils planting the trees and making sure they are suitably staked.  We will then be coming back next year to ensure with good maintenance they establish and start growing to give some instant impact to the site.

If you could do with some big trees like these get in touch!

New Gates at Stamford !!!

This week the team spent a day putting up some new gates for Stamford Hospital.  The old gates had rotted away so they asked us if we could make some one of gates to replace them.  The pictures show Adam attaching the frame work of the gate to the existing concrete posts.  We then attached feather lap boards to the front of the frame to match the closeboard fence!  At least it will match when we finish it with a coat of preservative!

Adam Quant has joined our team

I am pleased to tell you all that Adam Quant has joined our team at N J Pacey Landscaping. He has been with us for two weeks now and is settling into the team well.

Adam is joining us from a company called Nicholsons over in Oxfordshire where he was there Arboricltural Contracts Manager and will be applying his skills and knowledge to his new role with us. He is bringing along his skills with trees so if we can be of any more assistance be sure to ask him about those pests and diseases!

Adam has been assisting the teams this week with everything from turf laying and fencing to salt spreading getting to grips with what it is we do so well!

I am sure you will see lots more of our projects form Adam and the team in the near future here on the BLOG!

Watering trees at the new Peterborough Hospital. As main LANDSCAPE maintenance contractors for this site we are responsible for the thousands of trees and shrubs that have been or will be planted over the coming months.

The very Dry March and April are causing many plants and trees to come under stress, here you can see Michael and Dan taking care to religiously water one of the Many Rootballed trees planted last winter.

They are using our new high power Honda pump which gives us a quick fill and turnaround time

so enabling us to be quicker and more accurate.

Spring Hedge Cutting

Spring hedge cutting has started. The frosts are hopefully past us so the team are out doing the first cut of the hedges making sure they all look formal and presentable for one of our commercial clients. Pictured is the site foreman Michael undertaking the cutting with a high powered and efficient petrol hedge cutter with Scott undertaking the clear up work, taking all the debris away for recycling.

The team put the same high standards on both there domestic clients as there commercial so if we can be of any help please don't hesitate in calling!

Finished driveway, another satisfied customer

Digging out drive, and hardlandscaping front garden for client at Long Sutton, this will take about two weeks.