Date: 16 March 2026
Time: 09:30 - 16:30
Title: Planting into Recycled Substrates
Speaker: Darryl Moore
Location: Robertson Trust, Robertson House 152 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 4TB
Darryl Moore is an award-winning garden and landscape designer, writer, and educator known for his ecological, sustainable approach to planting and urban landscapes. He has a strong focus on creative reuse of materials and climate-aware planting design.
- Director and co-founder of Cityscapes, an urban landscape design organisation that works on sustainable, ecologically driven projects in cities.
- Author of Gardening in a Changing World: Plants, People and the Climate Crisis, a book that explores how planting design and horticulture must adapt in a changing climate.
- Tutor and educator, including roles teaching at design schools such as the KLC School of Design and involvement in professional gardening and landscape design courses.
- Consultant and curator in sustainable planting and landscape practice, including work with Beth Chatto’s Plants & Gardens and thehub.earth, an online resource focused on sustainable garden and landscape design.
Darryl is an advocate for implementing planting in recycled materials, a practice that reduces environmental impact by reusing construction waste such as crushed concrete and sand as planting medium instead of traditional topsoil. This approach has been showcased in high-profile projects:
- At the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024, his RHS Chelsea Repurposed garden used crushed concrete and sand from demolition waste as the planting base for drought tolerant and diverse plant species, demonstrating how recycled aggregates can support healthy plant growth while promoting sustainability.
This CPD day is designed to help designers gain a deeper understanding of practical and technical issues in using recycled substrates in their work.
The day will cover issues such as:
- Sourcing, using and testing recycled substrates
- Understanding concrete-based substrates
- Planting into substrates and the factors to consider
- Understanding how plants access nutrients in recycled materials
- Ground preparation when planting with different recycled substrates
- Watering regimes and how they may need to be adjusted
- Bare-root planting vs. container-grown plants — and recommended sizes for perennials
- The role of mulches when using recycled substrates
- Aftercare of plants into recycled substrates
Target Audience: Anyone interested in improving their knowledge on recycled substrates in planting design.
Programme: Please arrive for 9.30 start, finish 4.30.
Please note: Lunch is not provided; there will be one tea/coffee refreshment break in the afternoon.