LANDSCAPING Origins
Collection® Modal X
Origins Collection® Atlas
THE CONCRETE JUNGLE Origins
Collection® Atlas Priora
Landscaping isn’t just about domestic garden flowers and flagstones. What we see in our built environment shapes how we live in it.
T
he conversations builders’ merchants are having with customers have changed significantly over the past five to ten years. Durability, availability and price remain fundamental considerations, but they’re increasingly being discussed alongside aesthetics, embodied carbon, programme certainty and long-term project value.
For merchants, understanding those changing priorities is just as important as understanding the products themselves. It’s a trend Marshalls Landscaping is seeing reflected in conversations with customers across the commercial landscaping sector, according to Nicole Bennett, product portfolio lead. “It’s easy to think of innovation as the arrival of entirely new materials. In practice, some of the industry’s most significant progress has come from continually improving materials that have been trusted for generations,” she says. “Advances in manufacturing, surface technology and production processes have steadily expanded what modern concrete paving can deliver. Durability, strength and reliability remain fundamental, but specification requirements have evolved. Today’s products are expected to deliver beautifully crafted surfaces alongside consistent quality, reliable supply and strong environmental credentials.”
Bennett adds that the evolution of concrete paving has been gradual rather than dramatic. As commercial landscape projects have
become more demanding, manufacturers have continually refined every aspect of concrete production, from finishes and colour variation to quality control, manufacturing precision and environmental performance. Many of these improvements are incremental, but together they’ve significantly expanded what modern concrete paving can offer specifiers, contractors and merchants. Performance remains fundamental, but it now sits alongside a much broader set of specification priorities.
She says: “Where projects may once have been judged primarily on cost and performance, today’s developments are expected to satisfy a much broader range of requirements. Appearance is one part of that picture, but so too are embodied carbon, programme certainty and long-term project value. Product selection is rarely driven by a single factor. Products that help reduce programme risk for contractors also give merchants greater confidence in the solutions they recommend.”
Understanding these shifting priorities allows merchants to move beyond conversations centred purely on price and availability. Customers increasingly look to their merchant for advice on products that satisfy a broader range of technical, environmental and commercial requirements, creating opportunities to add value through informed recommendations rather than product supply alone.
September 2026
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net
“At Marshalls Landscaping we developed Origins Collection® in response to these changing specification requirements. The range reflects growing demand for products that combine authentic stone aesthetics with the engineered certainty, consistency and performance required across commercial projects It demonstrates how advances in concrete manufacturing are enabling products to combine those qualities while maintaining the consistency and reliability expected of modern concrete,” Bennett explains. Marshalls’ Origins Collection®
combines
authentic stone character with the manufacturing precision, reliable supply - it’s made in the UK - and long-term durability of modern concrete.
She adds: “For builders’ merchants, understanding these developments creates opportunities to have more valuable conversations with commercial customers. Whether these centre on embodied carbon, design, or long-term value, a stronger grasp of how modern concrete has evolved enables merchants to provide more informed advice and strengthen relationships with customers. “As commercial landscape projects continue to evolve, so too will the materials used to deliver them. Recognising those changes isn’t simply about keeping pace with new product launches. It’s about understanding where commercial landscape specification is heading and helping customers make better-informed decisions.” BMJ
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