Our London rooftop springs into May

An update on our London office rooftop garden and bee colonies

With spring here and summer nearly upon us, our London colleagues have been busy preparing the One Wood Street rooftop space for the warmer months. Our rooftop garden allows us to make great strides in improving biodiversity in the local area, in line with the Environment strand of our Responsible Business strategy. From lime trees to flourishing bees, here's the latest on our ever-blooming rooftop space!

Garden in bloom – London Open Gardens 2024

Our London rooftop garden will be part of Open Gardens weekend for yet another year, on June 8 and 9. The London Open Gardens is an annual event in support of London Parks & Gardens, granting access to over 100 hidden green spaces in the City not normally open to the public. Our rooftop has been involved for many years and allows the public to see our rooftop garden, wildflower garden and bees in action! Tickets to attend the London Open Gardens are available online now.

Ahead of the event, we are pleased to reveal that our garden is thriving! With our wildflowers in bloom, there is a distinct meadow-like appearance, with tall wispy grass mixed in with more colorful wildflowers. Our flower garden is also maturing nicely following the re-planting with Grounded Ecotherapy back in October 2022.

Our lime trees are currently blossoming, meaning the garden smells citrusy and fresh. In addition, many cherry buds have appeared, starting their journey to maturity. Our artichokes have also grown dramatically, towering above their neighboring plants.

The success of our garden can be attributed to our dutiful volunteers, Neil Kissick, Facilities Manager, Joanna Pohorski, Senior Transformation Manager, and Marta Gradek, AV Administrator. Both Joanna and Marta spend their lunch breaks up to three times a week tending to the garden and keeping it beautiful. A big thank you to both of them!

The team are also looking to introduce a new, simple irrigation system to the flower garden to assist with watering, which can become time consuming in the summertime.

If you would like to learn more about our garden, please contact our Facilities Manager Neil Kissick.

Busy bees

This year, we have two full-size bee colonies inhabiting our beehives. Our first colony overwintered very well from last year when it was in a nucleus (half-size) hive. This spring, that colony's queen has been laying so prolifically that the colony was practically bursting with new bees, so our beekeeping team upgraded them to a bigger hive last week. The second colony is a new colony which has replaced a colony we sadly lost over the winter.

Both of our colonies are doing well and bringing in lots of pollen and nectar. Now that we are moving into a much sunnier spell this year, after quite a long cold and wet period in spring, there are high hopes for their continued success!

If you would like to learn more about our bees, please contact Hugh Wilkinson, Senior Associate.

Thank you to everyone who helps our London office rooftop to thrive!