Companies that invest in greenery on their own site soon realise it is not just a matter of choice. Which trees suit the location? What are the soil conditions? And how do you make sure the planting still performs well in twenty years’ time? For CM.com’s headquarters in Breda, we worked through those questions together.

The site called for planting that fits a contemporary office environment: enough greenery for shade and cooling in summer, but without creating a heavy maintenance burden for the site team. Our advisers proposed a planting palette with a mix of avenue trees and specimen trees that match the growing conditions on site.

In spring, Prunus 'Accolade' turns the site pink, with full, semi-double flowers on bare branches, before the leaves emerge. Amelanchier lamarckii flowers at the same time in white and turns orange-red in autumn. Acer griseum stands out for its thin, peeling cinnamon-brown bark and bright red autumn colour. Zelkova carpinifolia 'Verschaffeltii' develops into a broad vase shape with finely serrated foliage, robust and undemanding. And Pinus sylvestris gives the whole scheme structure in winter, when the rest of the palette is bare.

Our adviser chose trees that suit the growing conditions of a business park: drought-tolerant, low-maintenance, and recognisable all year round.