Landscape trade guide for Ireland & the EU

Tenders aligned with the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan and the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 increasingly require pollinator-friendly perennials in council, school and corporate-campus landscape schemes. The reliable specifying base for Irish and EU temperate climates:

• Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote' and 'Munstead' — bee forage, drought tolerance, formal-edge suitability
• Geranium macrorrhizum 'Czakor' — pollinator-friendly groundcover, dry-shade tolerance, deer/rabbit resistance
• Cotoneaster dammeri — white spring flowers (bee forage), autumn berries (bird food), embankment-ready

All available as 60-pack trade trays via PlantGift's bulk plants collection.

Council and public-procurement tenders accept clean specifications of the form: Latin name + cultivar + pot size + supplier reference. Recommended trade-pack format for tendered schemes:

See the landscaping bulk-buying guide for tender-format examples and pot-size mappings.

The two viable Buxus substitutes at scale:

• Euonymus 'Green Spire' — fastest establishment, tolerant of coastal conditions, scales to 1.5 m if grown out
• Ilex crenata 'Jenny' — closest visual fidelity to traditional Buxus; preferred where listed-heritage planting records are concerned

Full specification detail in the Buxus replacement guide.

Schools, GAA grounds, rugby clubs and sports facilities increasingly specify dense evergreen perimeter hedging. Practical trade specifications:

• Tall screening. Fargesia rufa — non-invasive clumping bamboo, 2-3 m mature height, 1 m spacing, ~30-50 plants per 30 m run
• Mid-height evergreen. Euonymus 'Green Spire' — tightly clipped to 90-120 cm, dense year-round screen
• Low boundary edging. Lavandula 'Hidcote' or Cotoneaster dammeri — pollinator surface near play areas

For motorway / car-park / corporate-campus banks, the established commercial pattern is dense groundcover at 4-7 plants per m²:

• Vinca minor at 6 / m² — fastest establishment, sun or partial shade
• Pachysandra terminalis 'Green Sheen' at 7 / m² — shaded banks and tree understorey
• Hedera hibernica at 5 / m² — Irish ivy, vigorous on large banks
• Cotoneaster dammeri at 4 / m² — coarser texture, autumn berry interest

Trade pricing applies on orders of 50+ plants; the coverage calculator converts m² into trade quantities at the recommended density.