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The man who transforms grey urban spaces into green oases
The last year has taught us the importance of outdoor spaces, little oases of green amid the grey expanse of the city where we can safely meet even during a pandemic. But what exactly goes into creating such a space? We caught up with someone who knows: Nigel Dunnett, professor of Planting Design, Urban Horticulture and Vegetation Technology at the University of Sheffield.
His credentials speak for themselves: he installed Buckingham Palace’s Diamond Garden to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s accession to the throne; he was responsible for the Barbican planting after 2013; he’s a gold-winning Chelsea Flower Show entry; and he planted London’s Olympic Park, the UK’s largest urban green space and the first created for 150 years, alongside Prof James Hitchmough.