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There are not enough parks in Great Britain, says Fields in Trust
Fields in Trust’s annual Green Space Index on Great Britain’s parks and green spaces has found that nearly 10% of people in the UK do not have either of these within local walking distance. The study conducted by the charity shows that 6.1 million people living in the UK are without access to a green space within a 10-minute walk, which it says highlights a disparity in green space to household ratio. Studies have suggested that access to green spaces holds a great many number of wellbeing benefits, highlighting their importance in communities. Research conducted by the charity in 2022…
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Wales considers banning artificial lawns
The Welsh Government is considering a country-wide ban on artificial grass following “worrying reports” of the toxicity levels emitted. Climate change minister Julie James confirms she “wants to explore proactively” the possibility of a ban across Wales. Plaid Cymru MS Sioned Williams raised a concern regarding the use of artificial grass by the Swansea Council as part of the city’s regeneration. Swansea confirmed it “would not be used by the council in the public realm, even on a temporary basis going forward,” leading Williams to ask whether the Welsh government would commit in banning artificial grass in government schemes, excluding…
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HTA urges Defra to reconsider peat timeline due to plant shortage fears
The horticultural industry warns UK gardeners of a potential plant shortage by 2027, if the ban on peat is brought forward with no sustainable transition employed. The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) says Defra’s plans to bring forward the ban on peat in commercial horticulture by four years could have a devastating impact on the industry. Moving the ban on peat in commercial plant, tree, fruit, and vegetable production from 2030 to 2026 reduces the number of seasons commercial growers have to complete extensive trialling in their crop production techniques by over half. A new HTA members survey highlights a projected…
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New Environmental Horticulture Group launching
The Environmental Horticulture Group (EHG) will be launching today at the House of Lords, Westminster. The UK’s gardening, landscaping, arboriculture and environmental horticulture sectors will be coming together to relaunch the industry group, formerly known as the Ornamental Horticulture Roundtable Group, with the intention to champion sectoral affairs within government. The parliamentary reception will be hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Gardening & Horticulture Group, a cross-party group of MPs and Peers who support the environmental horticulture industry. The group says it will be applying substantial pressure to the government to do more in the way of support for the sector,…
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Tivoli Group acquires Greenfingers Landscape
Tivoli Group Ltd has acquired Greenfingers Landscape Ltd as part of the company’s growth targets for this year and beyond. This marks the grounds maintenance provider’s second acquisition in two years following the purchase of Sodexo Horticultural Services in February of 2021. Based in the North West of England, Greenfingers was established in 1996 and has around 120 staff, bringing an annual turnover of over £4m to Tivoli’s existing £65m. It provides services for a variety of private and public landowners, including multiple housing associations. The acquisition will increase the scale of Tivoli’s service portfolio, grounds maintenance, landscaping, arboriculture, winter…
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Author Jenny Bailey on bringing green roofs to children
In celebration of World Green Roof Day (6 June), The Green Roof Organisation (GRO) has partnered with children’s author and nature enthusiast Jenny Bailey to release ‘Journey to the Green Roof’, an interactive children’s book, to inspire nature engagement from an early age. With continued urban expansion, green roofs provide a great many environmental and ecological benefits, offering a sustainable solution to the decline of biodiversity in an otherwise commonly surplus space. Bailey, who co-founded storybook series Tales from Mother Earth, has penned ‘Journey to the Green Roof’ which follows the story of Freya the Bee and Sarah the Ladybird,…
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Taking on BBC Gardeners’ World Live for the first time
Katerina Kantalis is set to make her show garden debut this month. The Australian designer is creating a garden for the APL Avenue at this year’s BBC Gardeners’ World Live in Birmingham alongside contractor New Look Landscapes, which will also be making its debut. “New Look have done quite a lot in the commercial space and want to transfer their skills to the domestic area, whereas I’m more domestic. So, we’re bringing in skillsets from both sides,” says Kantalis. ‘The Chic Garden Getaway’ will aim to show visitors how much can be achieved within a small space. At just…
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Mitie awarded £4m Yorkshire Water contract
Facilities management giant Mitie has been awarded a new three-year £4m contract to deliver landscaping services for Yorkshire Water. Mitie has been granted a new contract with Yorkshire Water to deliver on-site grounds maintenance services for three years. The £4m contract include adverse weather services, tree and weed management, and sustainable drainage systems management. Yorkshire Water is a major provider of essential water and wastewater services, with over five million households and 140,000 businesses across Yorkshire and the Humber. The new contract will see Mitie undertake grounds and landscape maintenance of approximately 2,000 operational, recreational, and corporate sites across Yorkshire…
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LI urges members to not attend ‘unofficial’ EGM
An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) called earlier this week to discuss the Landscape Institute’s presidency dispute will not be “official”, says the organisation. A statement issued by the Landscape Institute (LI) is urging members not to attend the EGM at the end of June and has asked “the requisitioners to reconsider their actions.” The EGM was called by Brodie McAllister, who was removed from his position as president-elect last year following multiple allegations. McAllister says 145 members signed the requisition and the three requirements in the LI’s bylaws to proceed with the EGM had been met. However, the LI says…
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The Wildlife Trusts’ 30 Days Wild backed by NHS
The Wildlife Trusts and the Greener NHS programme at NHS England are inviting people to engage with nature and wildlife for the betterment of their wellbeing throughout June by participating in the “UK’s largest nature challenge”, 30 Days Wild. The month-long initiative encourages people to connect with nature and local wildlife every day for the month of June in an “easy and accessible way.” Evidence shows that prolonged engagement with nature has great benefits for both a person’s physical and mental wellbeing but also for nature conservation, says The Wildlife Trusts. As part of the NHS’s 75th birthday celebrations, the…
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Just 6% of landscape companies launched by women last year
Last year saw nearly a 20% increase in landscaping companies being launched, but only 6% were founded by women. This is according to Companies House data analysed by Instant Offices. A total of 2,610 companies were registered under ‘landscape service activities’ in 2022, with just 162 of these being launched by women. In the previous year, 190 were women led out of 2,190 companies registered. Despite a 19.18% increase of registration between 2021 and 2022, the percentage of women led companies decreased by 2%. The ‘Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship’ highlights that up to £250bn of new value could…
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EGM called over Landscape Institute presidency dispute
An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) appears to have been called by more than 100 members of the Landscape Institute to address the ongoing dispute over the removal of the president-elect last year. Brodie McAllister was elected to be the next president in 2021 and was due to take over the position from July 2022 until multiple allegations led to his removal as a trustee and as president-elect. Over the last year, McAllister has been fighting the allegations and demanding an EGM be held. It will now seemingly take place on Tuesday 27 June in London and via Zoom after 145…
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RHS launches new app for gardeners
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has launched a new app that it says will bring 200 years of gardening experience and horticultural expertise to users’ fingertips. The RHS Grow App is designed for both beginners and professionals and includes insights from RHS botanists and scientists. The app provides plant recognition software, a personalised plant collection for users to log plants of interest or existing plants on which to receive advice, and plant care reminders. Martin Parnell, RHS director of members, marketing & digital, says: “Growing plants helps to support biodiversity and makes people happier and healthier. 26 million people come…
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Just Stop Oil protestors target Chelsea
Protestors from environmental campaign group Just Stop Oil have been arrested after throwing orange paint across the RBC Brewin Dolphin Garden this morning. The garden, designed by Paul Hervey-Brookes, was targeted by three protestors around 9am. Hervey-Brookes has called the garden “permanently destroyed”, while contractor Gareth Wilson – who built the garden – wrote on social media that “fuming is an understatement.” Wilson added that “stupidity knows no boundaries, especially as the RHS is pushing sustainability at the very top of its agenda. Gardens that aren’t sustainable simply don’t get accepted by the RHS.” This year is the first year…
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Making the most of the world famous show
We feel that Chelsea is the annual opportunity to learn from our incredible horticulturists on a number of levels; about how plants benefit not only plants and soil but our bodies too. Surely this is as relevant as finding out the latest on cultivating a stunning rose, and there is a place for both. Weeds are taking centre stage at Chelsea this year – and with good reason. Weeds are our pioneer plants and are all healers, in one way or another. They are natural, wild plants. They form the basis of all our human medicines, and now is a…
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Chelsea medal winner talks the importance of food education and healthy eating in schools
Food education charity, School Food Matters is celebrating its 15th year anniversary with an edible show garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, designed by Harry Holding Studios, to promote the importance of having access to nature and outdoor learning for children. Over those 15 years, the charity has benefited hundreds of schools and 200,000 children across the UK with fully funded food education programmes, backing the message that every child in every school should have access to a garden whereby they can experience the advantages both nature and healthy eating has on one’s mental and physical health. School Food…
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Behind the Fauna & Flora Garden
The Fauna & Flora Garden at this year’s Chelsea has been four years in the making. Garden designer Jilyane Rickards was fresh from winning a Gold medal and the People’s Choice Award at the 2019 show when she started designing the next one – one which would have as much gravitas as the last. Whilst her show garden four years ago highlighted the work CAMFED does to support females in rural or poor communities in Africa to receive an education, Rickards’ latest garden – showcased this week at the Royal Hospital Chelsea – will raise awareness of a mountain gorilla…
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Transcendence Garden marks the end of an era for three Chelsea stalwarts
This year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show is set to be the last for those behind the Memoria & GreenAcres Transcendence Garden. Garden designers Andrew Wilson and Gavin McWilliam, and David Dodd – managing director of prolific contractor The Outdoor Room – have all said they will probably not be returning to the world-famous show as they look to welcome the next generation of designers and landscapers. Whilst The Outdoor Room will continue to build show gardens, Dodd says the Transcendence Garden is “a fantastic one for me to bow out on.” It is the third show garden he was worked…
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Going for gold at Chelsea
With a full slate of idyllic biodiverse show gardens on display, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023 is well underway, and the medals have finally been revealed. See here a full list of the Gold Medal winners lining Main Avenue: Horatio’s Garden Designed for the UK spinal rehabilitation charity, Horatio’s Garden puts the priority of all those with different mobility needs at its heart, with every element of the garden influenced by the experiences of patients with spinal injuries. The garden was designed by Harris Bugg Studio- the owners Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg have both previously won Gold medals…
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3 Essentials of Sustainable Site Design
This article was written by Carter Hartong, associate content marketing writer for Vectorworks. Read more from Hartong on the Vectorworks blog. Governments and lawmakers across the globe are increasingly introducing green initiatives to address the ever-growing importance of sustainable infrastructure. But not all change necessarily has to come from these higher institutions. Designers have the power to influence sustainable infrastructure as well. Consider Your Natural Surroundings As designers already know, before you begin any grading, planting, or hardscaping, you must first consider the project site’s existing conditions with an intent to make the least amount of adverse impacts possible. Aside…
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7 Highlights from Press Day at Chelsea
Chelsea had a renewed buzz today, and it wasn’t just from all the biodiverse gardens. Hundreds of visitors flocked to press day to immerse themselves in the variety of show gardens on display, and what a variety – designers this year have tackled everything from mental health and grief, from diversity to a colony in Korea, and from community gardens to insects. Sustainability was also an overriding focus this year, with some designers and contractors going above and beyond to make their garden as environmentally friendly as possible. This was the real return of Chelsea post-pandemic, and it’s seemingly stepping…
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The first looks at RHS Chelsea 2023
This year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show will soon be opening its door to the public, showcasing the pinnacle of horticultural excellence. The show will feature the latest in sustainable landscape solutions, from peat-free plantation to repurposed agricultural waste, with every garden on display designed to be relocated after the show closes. Here are the first looks at some of what 2023 Chelsea has to offer. Horatio’s Garden Designed by Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg Sponsored by Horatio’s Garden and Project Giving Back A place of sanctuary and hope, designed to be an immersive restorative haven for spinal injury patients, enabling…
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Kate Richards appointed new Chair of Landscape Institute Wales
Kate Richards, an associate landscape architect at Land Studio will officially take up her post with the organisation this month. Land Studio is an innovative architectural and environmental design company, delivering nature led design and engineering solutions. Based in Chester, the company specialises in historic landscape, masterplanning, public realm design and regeneration projects both in the UK and international. Last year the company brought the delivery of sustainable drainage designs and water management solutions in-house with the appointment of a civil engineering team. Assistant landscape architect, Sian Rossiter also of Land Studio will be joining Richards to run the organisations…
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A Good Samaritan
Over the last 70 years, the Samaritans has answered 134 million calls – that’s millions of people in need of its free services over the last seven decades. Last year, volunteers spent nearly one million hours responding to these calls, and so it’s thanks to these 23,000 volunteers that the support provided by the Samaritans is even possible. And one of these volunteers has designed a show garden for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year. Garden designer Darren Hawkes has lost friends to suicide and so he wanted to help the charity which could make a difference by offering…
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