By: Kelly Holdaway On: May 25, 2012 In: Blog Comments: 0

A bright red Unic mini spider crane proved to have green fingers recently as it helped build the Silver Gilt medal winning Arthritis Research UK Garden at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Designed by Thomas Hoblyn and built by award winning garden and landscape designers Bowles & Wyer Contracts, the Arthritis Research UK Garden was inspired by the Italian Renaissance gardens of Villa Lante and Villa d’Este. A 2.9 tonne capacity Unic URW-376 mini spider crane helped achieve the designer’s vision for the garden by providing lifting power on this confined and restricted access site.

As featured on the BBC coverage of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the mini crane was used to help carefully plant five traditional Mediterranean Cupressus sempervirens Cypress trees in a row. The 8 metre tall trees needed to be lifted into the exact correct position and kept in perfect condition to get the desired sense of proportion and symmetry in the garden, and thanks to the crane’s precision controls the trees could be easily lifted and planted with accuracy using webbing slings.

The Unic spider crane was also used to lift stone panels into the garden’s impressive water feature, able to work safely on the uneven ground thanks to its flexible outriggers. This is the second time that the Unic URW-376 model  has assisted with the construction of a Bowles and Wyer garden, as for last year’s show this crane expertly lifted coping stones and nine 1000kg granite slabs to create a water rill for a Cornish coastline inspired garden.

Read more about how another compact crane, a Unic URW-706, helped plant trees in an extravagant garden at Withanhurst House in Highgate, London.

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