Ashlea and Johnsons Nurseries Transform Aberdeen's Union Terrace Gardens

Aberdeen’s historic Union Terrace Gardens has been revitalized through a partnership between UK plant nursery Johnsons Nurseries and Ashlea Ltd, one of the UK’s leading commercial landscape providers.

This remarkable project recently won a Gold Award at the 2024 Scottish Design Awards for Public Building and another Gold Award for Lighting. Additionally, it secured the prestigious Project of the Year and Public Realm Project accolades at the ASA Design Awards 2024, following its 2023 CECA Scotland Place Making Award.

LDA Design led a project team comprising Balfour Beatty, Ashlea Ltd, Arup, Stallan Brand, Ryden, McLeod and Aitken. Balfour Beatty awarded Ashlea with the soft landscaping contract.

Johnsons Nurseries is a century-old commercial nursery located between Harrogate and York. Their supply included over £215k worth of plants for the gardens. This included a custom hand-grown city crest made from gold and green Ilex crenata, and 130 different varieties of plants. Their supply portfolio includes the Athletes Village for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the luxury hotel Grantley Hall, and various Royal Parks.

Originally opened in 1879 by architect James Matthews, Union Terrace Gardens has undergone a £28.3m rejuvenation. The gardens now feature new wheelchair-friendly routes, a children’s play area, and three new pavilions for cafes, restaurants, and cultural spaces.

The Gardens also feature extensive seating, new lighting elements, refurbished historic arches and Victorian toilets and specially commissioned artworks. Additionally, there is a new water feature, and the statues of William Wallace, Rabbie Burns, and Edward VII have been cleaned alongside, the ‘grand staircase’ leading down to the lower Gardens.

Over 20,000 plants were supplied to increase biodiversity within the Victorian park, including 1,252 Primula vulgaris, 1,853 Ophiopogon plan 'Nigrescens', 1,400 Brunnera, 1,270 Ajuga reptans 'Atropurpurea’, 1,008 Anemone Honorine Jobert 2L, and thousands of Ilex crenata gold and green which made up the city crest.

Johnsons Nurseries’ marketing manager, Eleanor Richardson, said:

“We were thrilled when the opportunity arose to work on such an iconic garden project, and it was great to work with the fantastic team at Ashlea once again."

“The project has breathed new life into the gardens, and we hope that our plants can be enjoyed for generations to come.”

Stuart Simpson, Director at Ashlea Ltd, said:

“We were delighted to work with the Johnsons team once again on this project, transforming Union Terrace Gardens into a fresh, revitalized space. Johnsons’ top-quality plants, trees, and shrubs really enhanced the gardens and made this a truly tranquil location.”

Johnsons Nurseries and Ashlea Ltd have collaborated on numerous projects before, including The NCL2 Fulfilment Centre, Stockton, Sighthill, Glasgow, Pennine 5 Campus, Sheffield and various Center Parcs locations across the UK.

Photo credit: Chris Swan Photography