Dr Nigel Dunnett 

Reader in Urban Horticulture, Department of Landscape,

University of Sheffield 

Director, The Green Roof Centre, Sheffield

This site describes the research, practice and teaching activities of Dr Nigel Dunnett in the Department of Landscape, University of Sheffield.

Plants, vegetation and biodiversity lie at the heart of my work . The promotion of urban environments that are rich in vegetation and nature is central to my teaching and research. This work combines and integrates my background and experience in both horticulture and ecology. While ecological ideas in landscape architecture have usually been applied at the larger scale, my focus is generally at the smaller scale: in gardens, urban parks, and on and around buildings and in high-density built development.

All aspects of my work revolve around exciting and novel uses of plants, planting design and application of ecological ideas to achieve low-input, diverse and colourful urban landscape. Applications of the work generally involve aspects of urban ecology or urban horticulture and the design, management and functioning of naturalistic herbaceous vegetation for urban green space and gardens, with particular interests in green roofs:  colourful 'Pictorial Meadows' using both annual and perennial plants: and Rain Gardens and other landscape bioinfiltration features.