Founded in 1963 following Chris Newman’s success in the Civic Trust’s “Plant More Trees” campaign, the company got bigger & bigger each year, bringing the first ever tree spade into Europe in 1968. Reaching milestone after milestone, Civic Trees planted the first ever English Oak for over 300 years in the City of London in 1972, in 1998 they planted the tallest trees in London and in 2006 they became part of one of the leading grounds maintenance providers, yours truly, Glendale! A very dependable company with a massive portfolio, we’re very proud to have Civic Trees part of the Glendale group of companies.
With a team of specialists and a fantastic work ethic, Civic Trees can supply you with the trees you need for a beautiful outdoor space. Their ability to source from the widest possible variety of trees makes sure that you have a massive range of options to choose from – as stated on the website, ‘finding the trees you want, not selling you what trees we have’.
Whether you want deciduous, coniferous, or evergreen. Standard, feathered or multistem. Civic Trees have got the perfect trees to suit your requirements. They also have rootball options when semi-mature trees come with their roots contained. These can be field grown, wire rootballed specimens or containerised specimens. You can arrange a nursery visit to get a better understanding of what they have available and see the trees up close so it’s easier to decide what you want. Invest in their tree supply services today.
At Civic Trees, they’re experts in tree planting and understand the importance of ground preparation, secure fixing, and aftercare to ensure each tree is as healthy as possible.
Their tree planting capabilities are ideal for:
Private gardens – providing an extra layer of privacy, shade, and aesthetic benefits to your private garden
Equestrian – providing shade to horses and stables. Many horse-owners look for a stable with these benefits, trees also look great and add more vibrant greenery to your space.
Architects, designers & specifiers – trees are crucial in the exterior design of a building, residence, or commercial space, we’ve helped many architects and designers bring their vision to life by planting the perfect trees.
Public sector – in shopping centres, parks, streets and more, Civic Trees work closely with the public sector to use trees to enhance their spaces.
Whether relocating large or small trees, Civic Trees is the company to call if you’re moving house, need the space where the tree is planted to build a new site, the tree is blocking a lot of light, or simply want to shake things up a bit to improve the look of your exteriors. They have two methods of tree relocation:
Tree spades – the most common method, Civic Trees brought the first Vermeer tree spade into Europe in 1968. Tree spades are machines that dig into the ground and lift the entire tree, including the roots and soil. Usually used for smaller trees.
Newman® Frame – an invention by Civic Trees themselves. For when the tree spade is not appropriate. The most effective way of lifting large trees, it allows a root ball of between 2.5 and 4.5 metres to be lifted. The team inspects the roots, severs them around the tree to a depth of 300mm to 750mm and places a barrier to prevent root regrowth. The rootball is then wrapped in hessian attached to the frame, it’s never undercut and the whole thing gets lifted from the leftover roots. A new hole where the tree is going to be relocated is prepared before lifting. When the tree is ready to be lifted, the experts at Civic Trees will drill a two-inch hole through the trunk and insert a bar that’s attached to the frame, this means that the weight of the tree is transferred to the bar. The tree is transferred into the new hole and guyed with wires to stop it moving whilst the new roots are established.
As well as tree supply, planting and relocation, Civic Trees also specialise in commercial landscaping. This includes both hard landscaping and soft landscaping – so both the greenery and all the ‘hard’ elements e.g. walling, fencing, paving.
A fantastic case study from the Civic Trees is when they were given the opportunity to landscape the new Kingsbrook estate in Aylesbury, Bucks in 2019. They provided landscaping services to the whole of the estate and had a focus on emphasising ecology and enhancing the wildlife. The project included:
Their work helped create a natural-looking environment around the new dwellings and minimise the visual impact of the new buildings. View the pictures of the project: