Free site visit
Surveyed on site, with the seasonal constraints explained.
Norfolk · Gardens, grounds and estates
We will not cut
We will not cut
that hedge in June.
Damaging an active bird's nest is a criminal offence, and the offence belongs to whoever does the cutting. So hedges get checked before work between March and August, and sometimes the honest answer is to wait until autumn.
- 2024trading since
- Norfolkbased in
- Nestschecked
- TPOverified
What we do
Four services, one seasonal rule
Hedges and trees are checked for nests and for protection before any cutting starts.
Hedges and trees
Hedge cutting, pruning and tree work, after nests and protection status are checked.
See the programGarden design and planting
Designing and planting gardens around the soil and conditions you actually have.
See the programHard landscaping
Paths, patios, walls and steps, built with drainage resolved before surfacing.
See the programGrounds maintenance
Regular maintenance of gardens and grounds, with waste removed through a registered carrier.
See the program
How it works
How we work
Inspect for active nests before cutting, check whether a tree is protected before touching it, carry waste under registration with the transfer documented, and report suspected knotweed rather than moving it.
Checks before cutting
Nests, and the tree's protection status.
Written quotation
Items, timing and what is excluded.
Done and cleared
Waste removed lawfully, with documentation.
Working together
Ways to work with us
Quoted per job or per contract after a site visit. Tree consent applications and specialist knotweed work are separate.
A single job
One piece of work, surveyed and quoted.
- Nests checked before cutting
- Tree status verified
- Exclusions written down
- Waste removed lawfully
- Site left tidy
Maintenance contract
Regular visits through the seasons.
- Seasonal schedule, not uniform
- Nesting season respected
- Registered waste carriage
- Problems reported in writing
- Reviewed each year
What we will not do
Said plainly, because these are offences.
- No cutting an active nest
- No work on a protected tree without consent
- No moving knotweed soil
- No burning or burying waste
- No guaranteed plant survival
Every engagement is quoted after a free consultation. No subscription.
How we work
A landscaper that works around the nesting season
Terra Botanica Landscapes Ltd is a private limited company registered in England and Wales under company number 15967280, based at Bittering Street in Gressenhall near Dereham, Norfolk, and trading since September 2024. Being that new, the company claims no track record it does not have. The work is garden design and planting, hedges and trees, hard landscaping and grounds maintenance.
The constraint that shapes the calendar is legal rather than horticultural. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is an offence to damage or destroy a wild bird's nest while it is in use or being built, and the offence is committed by whoever does the cutting — a client's instruction is not a defence. So hedges, shrubs and ivy are inspected before work in the nesting season, and sometimes the job waits. Separately, a tree under a Tree Preservation Order, or a qualifying tree in a conservation area, needs the council's consent before any work, with an unlimited fine for getting it wrong. And green waste taken off a site has to travel under waste carrier registration to an authorised site, with the transfer documented.
Frequently asked
The questions we get most
Why can you not just cut the hedge now?
Because if something is nesting in it, cutting it is a criminal offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, and the offence belongs to the person holding the tool. We inspect before cutting, particularly between March and August. Most of the time it is fine and we proceed. Occasionally it is not, and then the job waits until the birds have fledged.
I am the homeowner and I am telling you to do it. Does that not cover you?
No, and it would not cover you either. An instruction from a client is not a defence to a wildlife offence. This is one of the few things where we will decline a direct instruction, and we would rather explain why now than have the conversation afterwards.
How do I know if my tree is protected?
We check with the local planning authority before working on it. A Tree Preservation Order can apply to a single tree, a group or a whole woodland, and most trees of qualifying size in a conservation area are protected too. Pruning or felling one without consent can bring an unlimited fine, so it is not something to take a neighbour's word on.
Can you just take the green waste away in your trailer?
Yes, because we are registered to carry it and it goes to an authorised site with the transfer documented. The reason to care is that fly-tipped waste gets traced back to the property it came from, which is how homeowners end up answering for a contractor who dumped it in a lane.
I think we have Japanese knotweed. Can you dig it out?
Not as part of ordinary landscaping. Soil containing knotweed rhizome is controlled waste requiring a permitted facility, causing it to grow in the wild is an offence, and its presence can create civil liability towards neighbours. We will report it to you in writing and point you to a specialist with a management plan rather than spreading it around your garden.
Will the planting survive?
We prepare properly and we plant well, and we will not guarantee establishment. Survival depends mostly on watering and aftercare in the first two seasons, plus soil and weather. We write the aftercare down because it matters more than anything we do on planting day.
Got a garden or grounds to quote?
A free site visit and a written quotation, with the seasonal constraints explained.