Roof garden at Waverley Gate, Edinburgh

A combination of warm weather, cloudless skies and increased visitor numbers have led to office workers in central Edinburgh experiencing some difficulty finding space for the popular habit of lunchtime sunbathing in Princes Street Gardens.

This summer, however, one fortunate group of office staff will be able to avoid the hassle of competing for each diminishing spot of greenery thanks to Rentokil Tropical Plants.

The plant specialist has just completed installing a two-section roof garden at Castlemore's Waverly Gate, Edinburgh's latest - and largest – office development which was completed in March this year. Covering an area of 30,000 sq. ft the garden provides its occupants with a breathtaking 360-degree view of the city.

John Hamilton, Project Manager, Rentokil Tropical Plants, said: "We started work on the tender approximately a year before it was awarded to us. Our brief was to provide an aesthetically pleasing environment for the eventual occupiers to work in.

"We spent a considerable amount of time liasing with both the architect and main contractor to find ways to meet their budget. Through our vast experience of roof gardens we managed to save the developer several thousand pounds by suggesting different ways of undertaking the project."

Tommy Small, Branch Manager, Rentokil Tropical Plants, added: "The project would have been easy, if not for the fact that it was some five stories up. All materials had to be craned onto the roof and this presented a major challenge."

"In total 1600 slabs, over 270 tonnes of topsoil and 30 tonnes of decorative gravel - all in 1 tonne bags - along with all the plants, planters and benches were lifted up to the site. Because of several instances of high winds we had to be very flexible with our schedules."

He continued "Both the client and the main contractor have heaped praise on how we overcame the problems on site and were very pleased with the finished article. I hope the eventual occupiers enjoy it just as much."

Joint letting agents for the Waverly Gate development are Roxburgh and Co and Montague Evans.

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