Meristem Design

Meristem Design We're

Meristem Design is an award-winning design company creating bespoke green solutions for business, public, and residential areas.

Meristem is a design-led greening company, creating bespoke green solutions for commercial, public and residential spaces. We are a team of designers and horticulturalists who are driven by a passion for plants. We are on a mission to bring more green into your world, whether at home, in the office or on your commute, we are committed to turning the grey, green. Meristem offers a 360 degree servic

e to cater for all stages and all sizes of projects. From design conception through to installation and maintenance visits.

London’s greenest residential estate🌿Lancaster West in Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has undergone a major gre...
20/08/2026

London’s greenest residential estate🌿

Lancaster West in Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has undergone a major green transformation over the past few years with the government aiming to turn the area into a “model social housing estate for the 21st century” with greenery, community and a better quality of life.

We have been working with the to deliver projects across the estate that prioritise:

🌱 Sustainable drainage through rain gardens and SuDS planters
🌱 Cleaner air through living walls and green screens
🌱 Community spaces through nature gardens and parklets
🌱 A more welcoming public realm through vibrant planting and street furniture

Swipe through to see some of our projects there ➡️

The Bramley House nature garden is fit with a pergola, gabion benches, large raised planters and climbing ivy planting

The Lancaster West Terraced rain garden captures runoff from a sloped walkway to reduce flooding outside residents’ doorsteps

The Kensington Leisure Centre parklet offers seating, solar panels, USB charging, lighting and a green roof

Oil drum planting creates a vibrant public real and boost the interest of local cafes and businesss

Large scale SuDs planters at Ballom and Arlow House capture roof runoff from a large apartment building and slow its release into the wider drainage system

How can you define and restrict car parking space with natural features? 🌿 🚗 We designed, fabricated and installed these...
18/08/2026

How can you define and restrict car parking space with natural features? 🌿 🚗

We designed, fabricated and installed these custom planters to improve safety in a residential car park in Hammersmith & Fulham Council . Fit with reflective strips and arranged in a formation to restrict parking and define the building entrance, we collaborated with Springbridge Group to install these planted measures.

Parking restrictions that are more subtle and natural are proven to yield a more positive human response, making people more inclined to adhere to a traffic intervention when it is formed out of greenery!

📍 Cromwell Avenue, Ravenscourt Park

What does flood-proofing for over 700 people look like? 💧 1160 plants, 9 beds, 155m2 of rain gardens, 7 habitat features...
17/08/2026

What does flood-proofing for over 700 people look like? 💧

1160 plants, 9 beds, 155m2 of rain gardens, 7 habitat features and 9 distinct planting Torriano Avenue in Camden is home to over 300 residents and two schools, making large people vulnerable to the conditions along the road.

These rain gardens are designed to manage the extremes - too much water and then not enough. With drought-tolerant planting, they are able to withstand dry spells and then capture and slow runoff during prolonged periods of heavy rain.

📍 Torriano Avenue, Camden

12/08/2026

Bringing green third spaces to London’s most urban areas 🌱

We’ve talked about the impact the of St. John Street transformation on the pollinator population but the space has proven to be just as valuable to humans too.

After carrying out a local questionnaire, we found:

🔹Respondents value the area as a ‘third space’ - somewhere they can sit and relax that isn’t a cafe or an office.

🔹 95% of people visiting say the space enhances their day/lunch hour

🔹86% say the transformation improves their wellbeing and sense of calm

By creating green spaces with integrated seating, accessible pathways and vibrant planting, we are also designing a public amenity. As local governments increasingly invest in green infrastructure, it’s important that these spaces are designed for the benefit of people, not just the environment.



📍 St. John Street, Clerkenwell
🤝

A seasonal rain garden transition 🍂 ➡️ 🍃 We planted this residential rain garden in September 2025 in Waltham Forest Cou...
11/08/2026

A seasonal rain garden transition 🍂 ➡️ 🍃

We planted this residential rain garden in September 2025 in Waltham Forest Council . Defined by gabion benches and a gravel pathway, the space provides a more efficient alternative route across the residential area. As the months have progressed, our maintenance team have been looking after the rain garden with regular visits and season-specific upkeep.

After nearly a year since installation, the rain garden at South Countess has developed significantly with vibrant lush planting that creates habitat for pollinators and other local wildlife. Check out it’s transformation captured through the eyes of our maintenance team.

📍 South Countess Road, Waltham Forest
🤝 Waltham Forest Council

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Are playgrounds becoming too hot for children? 🌡️A Greenpeace study found that the rubber floor of a playground in Islin...
10/08/2026

Are playgrounds becoming too hot for children? 🌡️

A Greenpeace study found that the rubber floor of a playground in Islington reached 53°C during a heatwave. Hot enough to cause burns on contact.

Rubber, plastic and metal absorb and retain heat rapidly under direct sunlight and dark surfaces make it worse.

Playground heatproofing does not require a complete redesign of playgrounds. These three interventions make the biggest difference:

🌳 Shade from trees and pergolas can reduce surface temperatures by up to 30°C

🪨 Natural ground surfaces like bark, sand, gravel and soil stay significantly cooler than rubber and tarmac

🌿 Planting actively cools the surrounding air through evapotranspiration, reducing temperatures at ground level

We have written a full guide on tips for heatproofing a play space using shade, materials and planting. Check it out on our website.

What is utility landscaping? 🛠️ 🌱 Utility landscaping involves the integration of green infrastructure, sustainable drai...
04/08/2026

What is utility landscaping? 🛠️ 🌱

Utility landscaping involves the integration of green infrastructure, sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) and biodiversity into utility projects from the beginning, rather than treating planting as the final stage.

Rain gardens, SuDS planters, Hybrid SuDS planters and nature gardens are just a few of the features that can be introduced alongside essential utility works. So how can they support utilities?:

🔸 They help to manage, slow and clean surface water
🔸 Plants are carefully selected to suit locations and weather conditions
🔸 They provide habitat for wildlife and pollinators
🔸 They brighten up public spaces

Take a look at some of the projects we have delivered alongside essential utility works.

How many different planting schemes can you fit into a rain garden?🌿 We designed this rain garden on the Brooke Road jun...
03/08/2026

How many different planting schemes can you fit into a rain garden?🌿

We designed this rain garden on the Brooke Road junction in Hackney Council with four completely different colour-coded planting schemes to help calm traffic and create a cleaner, safer and quieter residential street.

Each quadrant has its own character, with carefully selected shrubs, perennials and grasses creating distinct palettes of:
🟢 Green & white
🟡 Yellow & orange
🔴 Red & pink
🔵 Blue & purple.
As the planting establishes over the coming months, each area will develop its own seasonal display, bringing colour, texture and interest to the junction throughout the year.

The planting scheme includes over 730 plants of vibrant species such:
- Anemone ‘Honorine jobert’
- Kniphofia ‘Papaya’
- Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’
- Salvia ‘Amistad’

We also integrated naturalistic play features such as stepping logs, stepping stones, boulders and a balance beam into the rain gardens to make the residential roadside space more engaging, welcoming and open to the surrounding community.

📍 Brooke Road and Evering Road, Hackney
🤝 Hackney Council

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4th Floor, Holden House, 57 Rathbone Place
London
W1T1JU

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Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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