Community
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Land Studio working with schools to reduce flooding and boost biodiversity
Land Studio is working with three schools in Wales to help them combat climate change. The landscape architecture and civil engineering practice is helping schools to combat flooding while also “educating children about the value of nature-led design and biodiversity”. The Chester-based studio said it has designed a sustainable drainage system for Ysgol Cedewain SEN School, a new £22 million school currently being built in Powys, Wales. Rain gardens wrap around the play areas, catching surface water and leading it to designated planting beds. These will be filled with wildflowers and ornamental grasses, which adapt to drought or wet conditions…
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Normand appointed Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society president
The Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society has named horticulturist and garden designer Lewis Normand as its new president. The appointment was announced at the society’s 214th AGM and awards ceremony and comes following the retirement of Colin Ainsworth. Normand, who works as sales manager at Bernhard’s Nurseries, will lead the society into its 200th year of Royal Chartership in 2024. Normand said, “Taking over responsibility for anything with the history, reputation and significance of The Caley is always daunting. It is humbling and a huge honour to be trusted to deliver here. “I have been a council member for the charity…
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Tony Benger reshuffles leadership team
Tony Benger Landscaping (TBL) has formed a new leadership team. The company has appointed four directors to sit alongside founder Tony Benger “in order to safeguard our future” and to “maintain the brand and culture”. Existing senior managers Gabriele Pangonyte, Oliver Hemson, Mark Pritchard and Olivia Warren-Benger “have collaborated to take over the reins in the upcoming years”, said TBL. “With a strict handle on our current bearing, culture, dynamism, passion and shared values, this team will continue to shoulder responsibility for our course and our cause.” Posting on LinkedIn, TBL added: “All staff are pleased to remain a secure…
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Hillier expands BBC Gardener’s World Live sponsorship
Hillier is expanding its sponsorship of BBC Gardener’s World Live in 2023 after some “amazing responses” to its first show as a partner last year. The company will sponsor the Let’s Talk Plants Stage for the second year running while also supporting two show gardens by Paul Stone and Lucy Hutchings. Chris Francis, Hillier Garden Centre and Wholesale Nurseries director, said: “Last year’s show was our first time as a sponsor and we loved it – it was a fantastic show for us and we had some amazing responses from visitors. So much so that we wanted to return with…
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HTA’s growth strategy a “resounding success” in Scottish Parliament
The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) launched its Scottish Environmental Horticulture Growth Strategy at the beginning of March – and it was this plan that was the topic of conversation for the Gardening and Horticulture Cross Party Group (CPG) in Scotland’s Parliament last week. The CPG brings together members from across Scottish Horticulture, MSPs and government officials. There are over one million regular gardeners in Scotland and millions more utilising green spaces. Moreover, horticulture and landscaping supported contributions of £2.8 billion towards GDP and over 64,000 jobs in Scotland in 2019. The HTA’s Growth Strategy has seven key ambitions for Scotland:…
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Yorkshire School of Garden Design launches sketching course
The Yorkshire School of Garden Design is launching a new course to equip budding garden designers with drawing skills. The Freehand Sketching for Designers course will “explore and demystify the principles of perspective, teaching students how to capture the character and texture of planting on the page, while trying out a range of media for applying impactful colour and learning about how to use computer software to add those all-important finishing touches”. Taking place at the Yorkshire School of Garden Design’s studio at Harewood House, the course will apparently combine a series of “easy-to-follow steps and shortcuts” with exercises designed…
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HTA appoints new media relations lead
The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) has named Melissa Gerbaldi as its new media relations manager. Gerbaldi joins from the Royal Meteorological Society, where she served as communications manager. She has also previously worked for English Heritage. According to the HTA, her “wide range of experience and personal passion for plants” will “further boost the HTA team and “strengthen its commitment to increasing communications and cut-through of the voice of UK environmental horticulture”. Gerbaldi said, “I am excited to be joining the HTA at a critical time when there are so many stories to share from our members and industry as…
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Green-tech appoints business development manager
Green-tech has appointed Adam Topliss as its business development manager. In a newly-created role, he will be charged with supporting the Green-tech sales team and “help deliver the next phase of business growth”. Topliss arrives following a decade at Berry, most recently serving as key accounts manager across brands such as Tubex and Terram. Green-tech sales director Richard Gill said he was “thrilled” to have Topliss on board. “Having worked with him as our major supplier of tree shelters and Terram products over the last ten years. I know he will be a perfect fit for Green-tech,” said Gill. “This…
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RHS Chelsea: Women-led design teams dominate small space category
RHS Chelsea will host a third Balcony and Container Gardens category at its 2023 show in May, with all of the design teams headed up by women. The category, which “brings the beauty of gardens to unused spaces on train platforms, and the cosy feel of a pub to an inner city balcony”, aims to assist emerging designers raise their profiles. All of this year’s entrants have been mentored by RHS Chelsea designer Paul Hervey-Brookes. The RHS said, “[The entrants] have incorporated some of the biggest issues facing the nation into their designs, with a wealth of ideas for how…
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RHS People Awards winners announced
The Royal Horticultural Society has announced the winners of its RHS People Awards 2023. The awards range from the Veitch Memorial Medal, which is awarded annually to persons of any nationality who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of the science and practice of horticulture, to the Harlow Carr Medal, awarded to those who have made a significant contribution to horticulture in the North of England, through length of service, commitment to projects or unique capabilities, combined with reliability and professionalism. A few awards that have been announced this year are: The 2023 Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH)…
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Marshall CEO named Supplier Influencer
Marshalls CEO Martyn Coffey has been named a Supplier Influencer by the Builders Merchant Federation (BMF). Coffey has led the hard landscaping, building and roofing products supplier for over nine years and is joined on the prestigious list by National Sales Manager Victoria Fiddies. It comes after Nick Sharpe, Managing Director of the Marshalls domestic business, was added to the list in January. “I’m very pleased to be nominated as a Supplier Influencer,” said Coffey. “I want to thank my exec team and all staff at Marshalls for their continued hard work, drive, and determination.” Fiddies added, “I’m delighted to…
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Chelsea Fringe back and seeking ideas for 12th festival year
The Chelsea Fringe – the alternative garden festival and established highlight of the horticultural calendar – will take place for a 12th year with nine days of festivities confirmed from 20 – 28 May 2023. After two years in which participants responded creatively to the restrictions of the pandemic, the festival returned to the real world with a bang in 2022. A programme brimming with stimulating and diverse events took place with contributions from Cranbrook to Perth, and from Naples to Seattle. Fringe organisers are now encouraging everyone to start thinking about the imaginative, quirky, and unusual ideas they might bring to the 2023 Fringe to help create another bumper celebration of horticulture and grassroots gardening. Fringe founder and…
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Colette Newby joins Eljays44
Colette Newby joins the Eljays44 family as the event and publishing sales director, leading the portfolio of events, awards and magazines into 2023. Colette takes her new role on from 18 January 2023. Colette will be responsible for Pro Landscaper amongst the other brands in the Eljays44 portfolio. Colette joins Eljays44 in a newly created position, with the aim of driving revenue in 2023 and beyond, targeting new international markets as well as strengthening the connections that the business has already created. Colette comes from a traditional business to business publishing and events background, with 18 years’ experience working in…
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Deadline fast approaching for Pro Landscaper Business Awards 2023 in association with Caribbean Blinds
The Pro Landscaper Business Awards are back for 2023 after a successful 2022 event and entries to the awards are still open until 10 February. This year our awards will have one big change; for the first time ever, the awards will be moving venues and taking place at Old Billingsgate London. The Pro Landscaper Business Awards will, once again, bring together the landscaping community for an afternoon to celebrate the excellent standards set within the landscaping industry. Pro Landscaper’s Jim Wilkinson says: “The Pro Landscaper Business Awards is my favourite day in the calendar, though of course there are…
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Angus Lindsay retires from idverde
Today marks Angus Lindsay’s last day as group head of asset and fleet management with green service provider idverde. For the last 13 years, Angus has been instrumental in the company. He first joined English Landscapes – which later became known as The Landscape Group – in 2005, being part of the team to build the company to become more efficient and profitable to the point where it was an attractive acquisition for European company idverde in 2015. An agricultural engineer by trade, Angus first joined the landscaping industry when he returned from working abroad in the Middle East and…
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FutureScape 2022 the most successful event yet
This year’s FutureScape, in association with TREX, was a huge success, with thousands of visitors attending the event at the ExCeL London on 15 and 16 November. FutureScape 2022 boasted a series of seminars and award ceremonies, as well as leading exhibitors in the industry. Three new seminar theatres were added to this year’s event – the Lighting Zone, the Urban Greening Zone in association with Maylim, and the Training, Education and Employment Village in association with GoLandscape. Pro Landscaper’s Most Influential awards took place in partnership with tigerup!, revealing the top 25 most influential people in the industry, as well…
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Applications open for new garden category at RHS Tatton Park 2023
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has announced that applications for the new Terrace Garden category are now open for the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park 2023, taking place from 19-23 July. “RHS Tatton Park is excited to announce that 2023 is the year of the Terrace Garden. The show is looking for new and experienced designers to showcase their big ideas and planting prowess in this brand new garden category,” says show manager Lex Falleyn. “This garden category seeks to explore how to maximise green space without compromising on practicality. We ask designers to propose beautiful planting options alongside clever…
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Caribbean Blinds wins Manufacturing Excellence Award
After a run of award success and recognition this year, Caribbean Blinds has now won The Manufacturing Excellence Award at the 2022 Scale Up Awards. The Scale-Up Awards, organised by Business Leader, are the first and only awards to focus on the scale-up sector, celebrating high-growth companies and the entrepreneurs that run them. Held at London’s acclaimed Tobacco Dock, the ceremony attracted more than 450 business leaders, entrepreneurs and VIPs from across the nation. Hosted by comedian Russell Kane, Caribbean Blinds – a UK manufacturer of outdoor shading systems – received its award in front of notable attendees including Theo…
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