The communal gardens of a Ballsbridge apartment block took the overall prize at last Friday's National Landscape Awards sponsored by the Association of Landscape Contractors of Ireland (ALCI).

The awards were founded in 1983 to reward high standards of design, construction and maintenance in completed landscape schemes.

John Suttle and Gerry Conneely of Clontarf Landscapes were presented the award - a Michael Casey bog oak sculpture - by Michael Maloney, chief executive of Bord Glas.

Clontarf Landscapes took the prize for its work on the communal gardens at 31 to 33 Merrion Road, Ballsbridge, an exclusive apartment development of about 50 units. The address is that of the former British Embassy. Twenty-two apartments have been carved out of the old embassy - a pair of semi-detached, Victorian, red-brick and granite houses. The remaining units are in newly constructed buildings at the rear. The apartments, which were retained by the developers, are let out to well-heeled clients at high rents.

The site has the advantage of possessing a number of mature trees, which were spared during the building operations, and these add a welcome leafiness to the place. Among the older trees is a fine specimen of weeping ash, which probably dates from the 19th century.

And mercifully, the extensive car-park is hidden away underground, so prettifying that was not an issue for the landscapers. Nonetheless, the project could be seen as a challenge: to create grounds that work with both the Victorian and the contemporary elements of the scheme.

The new buildings echo the old houses in their red-brick exteriors, but their architecture is of the bland, non-confrontational style that is almost universal in large apartment schemes here. It is designed to offend nobody - and, as a consequence, excites no-one either.

Clontarf Landscapes took the safe route in its well-constructed and carefully-executed design, sticking to a formal, quasi-Victorian layout for the various enclosed gardens, and for the elongated areas linking them.

Neatly clipped hedges of box, laurel and griselinia delineate the spaces, while cobble edgings and warm-toned gravel are used for most of the paths. Metal arches clad in honeysuckle and other climbers span some of the walkways, and sitting areas for residents are abundant. At least two of the gardens are laid out in a cruciform design with a central water feature.

There are no less than five fountains dotted about the property, which give it a grandiose atmosphere. Such conspicuously expensive landscaping may reflect the developers' vision for their upmarket apartment scheme, but to some it may appear as overkill.

All the fountains take their inspiration from a classical period, and this sits uneasily with the newer buildings. To this writer, it seems that an opportunity was lost here: a more daring, contemporary approach to design, features and planting might have lifted the mundane appearance of the recently fabricated buildings.

In parts of the scheme there is an over-dependence on certain low-maintenance, evergreen shrubs such as hebe, photinia and pittosporum. Their use lends a slightly municipal feel to the planting. A rose garden, however, is quite delightful, with hybrid tea and floribunda bushes permeating the air with a heady scent.

Rugosa roses are laden with red hips, giving seasonal interest to this little enclosure. Elsewhere, ferns planted around one of the fountains are a nice touch, as are the elegant Japanese maples in one of the gardens.

The ALCI encourages high standards of quality and workmanship, and requires that members follow a code of conduct in their business practice. This is to be commended, especially as the landscape construction and maintenance industry is open to abuse from cowboy operators.

The next step, perhaps, for this hard-working and well-meaning organisation, should be to nudge its members' garden design and landscape architecture into the 21st century.

Association of Landscape Contractors in Ireland, c/o Evert Verveen, Glenealy Landscape Centre, Glenealy, Co Wicklow. Tel: 0404 44789. E-mail: everveen@eircom.net