Too often, planting arrives after the roads, footpaths, parking and other decisions about a place have already been made, a few trees or containers added if there is anything left in the budget. That leaves little room to consider what plants could actually achieve.
It also leaves planting vulnerable when budgets tighten, because something approved mainly for its appearance is easily treated as an optional extra. The wider contribution, to shade, water management, wildlife and the experience of spending time in a place, can be overlooked.
Cork’s Patrick Street is a useful place to consider that argument, with planting being introduced into one of the city’s busiest streets.
Patrick Street: a city street reimagined
Cork City Council’s greening pilot brings trees, shrubs and seating into areas previously dominated by paving, transport uses and street furniture. The council describes its purpose as creating a greener, more welcoming space, improving movement and giving people more reasons to stop and spend time in the city centre.
The planting makes an immediate visual difference, while the young trees need time, rooting space and care before they can provide substantial shade. Its longer-term contribution will depend on how the plants establish, how the space is used and what is learned during the trial.
We should distinguish those opportunities from measured results. Trees and planted areas can contribute to rainwater management, for example, but the drainage performance of a particular planter depends on its construction and connections, and needs to be established for that scheme.
Read the full Patrick Street case study →
After the WHO Summit: What Does Cork Do Now?
Following Cork’s WHO Summit of Mayors on Climate and Health, I set out a proposal for demonstrator projects with clear purposes, the right expertise and monitoring from the beginning, so that individual schemes could inform wider decisions.
Read the piece →The Horticulture Multiplier Effect applied to place
A greened street or square may be approved mainly because it will look better, while its potential benefits extend across several areas. I describe this as the Horticulture Multiplier Effect, one intervention contributing to more than one purpose.
Depending on the site, design and care, planting could contribute to:
- Shade and relief from summer heat, as suitable trees develop their canopy.
- Slowing and retaining rainfall where planting is designed into the drainage system.
- Food and habitat for pollinators and other wildlife.
- More welcoming places to walk, sit and spend time.
- Opportunities for social contact and a stronger sense of connection with a place.
- The attractiveness of shopping streets, business locations and residential neighbourhoods.
These are potential contributions to consider in a brief, with relevant specialists helping establish which are realistic and how they could be assessed. They are not a set of guaranteed results from adding plants.
Who Pays for Nature When Everyone Benefits?
The benefits of a green space can cross health, climate, biodiversity, community life and local business, while its cost is left with one department. I explore how investment could reflect that wider value, and who needs to be involved in turning good intentions into funded action.
Read the piece →What does the evidence say?
Much of the research on trees, greening and commercial value comes from outside Ireland, particularly the United States. It gives us useful evidence to consider, but the findings should not be presented as Irish outcomes already measured, or forecasts for a particular street.
Trees and retail behaviour
US survey research found that shoppers rated tree-lined retail areas more highly, indicated a willingness to travel further and stay longer, and reported willingness to pay 9–12% more in districts with high-quality tree canopy.
These are reported preferences, rather than a guaranteed increase in sales.
Street trees and house values
Research from Portland, Oregon, linked street trees with higher house sale prices, illustrating how planting can have value beyond the boundary of the planted space.
The relationship depends on the local market and tree characteristics.
Landscaping and rents
A study summarised by the University of Washington found commercial office rents around 7% higher where landscapes were of high quality, an association that should be interpreted within the study’s setting.
Green space and social cohesion
A 2021 review examined relationships between public green spaces and social cohesion, highlighting the importance of physical characteristics, people’s perceptions and how the spaces are used.
The presence of greenery alone does not explain the whole relationship.
Right Plant, Right Place, Right Purpose: Why Ireland Needs Its Own Evidence
International research helps us understand what planting could contribute, while Irish sites need decisions grounded in their own conditions and intended outcomes. I explore why plant choice, purpose and place-specific evidence need to be considered together.
Read the piece →Designing nature into new communities
Patrick Street shows planting being added to an established street, where space and existing uses already constrain the choices. The opportunity in new development is to consider those needs before the roads, drainage, parking and shared spaces are fixed.
Tree canopy needs room above ground and rooting space below it, planted drainage features need to be part of the water strategy, and shared green spaces need to suit the people who will use them. These decisions belong alongside the other essentials of a new neighbourhood.
Designing planting in from the beginning gives it a better chance of succeeding, although benefits develop at different rates. A young tree cannot provide the shade of a mature canopy on the day residents move in, which makes protection and long-term care part of the original decision.
The scale of the opportunity
The CSO’s January 2026 release recorded 36,284 new dwelling completions in 2025, including 18,308 scheme dwellings, just over half the annual total. Read the CSO release .
That scale matters because decisions about planting and shared space can be made once at design stage and influence an entire development. Each proposal is an opportunity to consider how horticulture could contribute to the place people will live in.
The question is whether planting is treated as something to add later, or as part of what makes a place work from the outset.
Beyond Gardens: From Why to How
How can institutions identify realistic outcomes, bring in the expertise needed, commission suitable work and plan its care? This is the approach I am developing through Beyond Gardens, connecting horticultural knowledge with decisions about delivery, measurement and communication.
Explore the approach →The planting needs a plan for its care
A scheme can look promising in its first summer and still struggle later if the establishment period, maintenance work and responsibilities have not been agreed. The people caring for it need to understand the planting, with the time and resources to do the work.
Communication matters too, particularly where seasonal change means a space looks different from the bedding displays people are used to. Explaining the purpose can help people understand those choices, while listening to concerns helps identify where the scheme needs attention.
What public planting needs to succeed beyond its first summer
In my Irish Examiner gardening column in November 2020, I admired the colour, texture and thoughtful planting on Cork’s Well Road roundabout. That observation provides a starting point for considering establishment, maintenance and communication, and what needs to be agreed before planting begins.
Read the piece →Irish policy and practical examples
Town Centre First
Launched in 2022, Town Centre First brings a national focus to vacancy, dereliction and town-centre renewal. For horticulture, the opportunity is to be considered within that wider discussion of how towns function, rather than arriving as a separate decorative exercise.
Cork’s Patrick Street pilot
The council’s published description places greening alongside seating, public transport changes and the removal of redundant street furniture. It is a useful example of planting being considered with other changes to the public realm, with use of the space and public feedback forming part of the trial.
Four ways horticulture supports placemaking
Making streets work better
Suitable planting can provide shade, habitat and seasonal interest, with water management included where the drainage design supports it.
Considering wider value
Research on retail preferences, property and green space gives decision-makers reasons to look beyond the immediate cost of planting and maintenance.
Supporting everyday use
Planting, seating, access and thoughtful maintenance can help make public spaces more inviting, with the needs of the people using them shaping the brief.
Designing it in early
New development offers the chance to agree space, growing conditions, intended outcomes and long-term care before important choices are fixed.
Looking ahead
Placemaking is one part of the Beyond Gardens story, connecting with climate resilience, biodiversity, mental health and wellbeing and physical health. A proposal should identify which contributions are realistic for that particular place.
The wider challenge is not simply understanding what horticulture is, it is understanding what horticulture can help us achieve, then giving the planting the conditions, responsibilities and resources it needs to do that work.
Related perspective: Are We Getting It Yet? Planting as Infrastructure →