Roof garden wins top award

SAP Landscapes Ltd. took the top award at the Association of Landscape Contractors of Ireland (ALCI) Awards for their roof-top garden project at the SAS Radisson Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin.

SAP Landscapes won the Annual Bog Oak Trophy 2007 for Outstanding Achievements in Landscaping & Design 2007.

Each year, the ALCI presents awards recognising the excellent standard of landscaping and garden design achieved by its members. The awards are presented at the annual awards ceremony to the contractors who are deemed to have completed projects - both large and small - to an extremely high standard.

The judgement is based on a number of criteria such as -

* Original concept and design
* Standard of work in both hard and soft landscaping
* Integration and suitability
* Efficiency - and
* Overall presentation.

Dublin City Council's decision, 5 years ago, to replace the 100-year-old London Plane trees in the city's main thoroughfare, was endorsed when O'Connell Street's landscaping won a merit award for outstanding tree planting.

The panel of judges, noted the 27 boxed lime trees bordered a new plaza, while eight weeping birch trees gave a 'sense of movement even in the gentlest breeze'.

The ALCI Bog Oak Trophy is a highly prestigious award presented for Landscaping projects which are judged to be exceptional in design and completion.

The panel of judges visits each and every project submitted - and, as this year's entries were of a particularly high standard - noted that some very tough decisions had to be made.