When Limerick City and County Council became a partner in the All Ireland Pollinator Plan in 2019 and were awarded the 2020 European green leaf City, the ball was rolling for a new focus on planting schemes within the city and county. So in 2020 LCCC put out the design of 8no. roundabouts for redesign, a tender we competed for and won.
The key design objectives were biodiversity, pollinator friendly and ease of maintenance.
Tipperary roundabout is full to the brim with of perennial planting in swathes, with complimentary colours of blues and purples on one side and yellows and oranges on the other. Plants were selected with pollinators in mind and the scheme designed to provide interest for at least 10 months of the year. Two sweeps of hawthorn hedging through the middle to be maintained in a dwarf size will also become a strong design element once they become established.
The process is ongoing implementing the various roundabouts around the city and to date they have drawn admiration and compliments from the public. The maintenance of the schemes has also been an interesting journey where the lower level of maintenance has generally been welcomed.
