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New charter announced for diversity, equality and inclusivity
Representatives from a number of associations have agreed to sign a charter, with the intention of putting together guidance notes for implementing best practice or policies that can be aligned. The Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Charter for the Horticulture, Arboriculture, Landscaping & Garden Media profession came about after BALI’s Access All Areas webinar last December. Associations and organisations including the LI, RHS, SGD and APL have all pledged their allegiance to the charter, which can be amended and added to over time. Other member organisations are also welcome to sign, though businesses and individuals are currently not being asked to…
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Green-tech release their 2023 Product Catalogue
The latest Green-tech product catalogue has landed and is now available in print version or for download from their website www.green-tech.co.uk. The 2023 issue is packed full of product solutions for landscape & forestry contractors, architects, and garden designers across the UK. This Green-tech catalogue contains over 10,000 products for tree planting in rural and urban environments, green roof construction, grounds maintenance and erosion control: in addition to soils, barks, grass seed, wildflower seed and conservation products. Green-tech’s Managing Director, Kris Nellist commented, “The latest product catalogue is our most comprehensive yet, crammed with thousands of tried and tested forestry…
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Public urged to defend nature as new policies threaten nature, climate and food security
The Wildlife Trusts are asking their members, supporters and the wider public to defend nature by contacting MPs and local councillors – both online and in person – to voice concerns over new Government proposals. The Wildlife Trusts, alongside other nature charities, are extremely worried about announcements made by the Government that pose serious threats to nature, climate and food security. Over the last few days, the Government has: Announced the Retained EU Law Bill – threatening to revoke hundreds of laws that protect wild places and ensure standards for water quality, pollution and the use of pesticides Announced a…
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Submission of planning application for Brookfield riverside
A major mixed use new town centre, retail, leisure and housing development for the Borough of Broxbourne. Borough of Broxbourne and Hertfordshire County Council, together with their development partner Sovereign Peveril, a joint venture between Sovereign Centros and Peveril Securities, have submitted planning for the £500m Brookfield Riverside development, part of the wider Brookfield masterplan, at Cheshunt, Hertfordshire. Seen as a significant future economic generator for the region, the new town centre and garden village will deliver the 1 million sq ft mixed use town centre development and 1,500 residential dwellings within a comprehensive and green Brookfield masterplan. Brookfield…
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UK’s highest roof garden launches at Landmark Pinnacle with breathtaking views of London
In early October 2022 the UK’s highest roof garden has launched at Landmark Pinnacle, spanning the 75th floor of the UK’s tallest residential tower developed by Chalegrove Properties. The Sky Terrace is the highest private amenity space ever created in London, offering uninterrupted 360° views that one would typically only be treated to when airborne. Residents will have views of iconic London landmarks including The Shard, Tower Bridge, The 02 Arena, Big Ben, the Royal Observatory and the London Eye. Chalegrove Properties, the developer of Landmark Pinnacle, working with Squire and Partners architects and Farrer Huxley Landscape Architects had a…
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A new public artwork for Brent’s Gladstone Park breaks new ground in the conversation over public space with links to the transatlantic slave trade
On 14 October 2022 Brent Council and Lin Kam Art will present The Anchor, The Drum, The Ship (2022), a groundbreaking public artwork for Gladstone Park designed by the London-based artist Harun Morrison and horticulturalist Antonia Couling. This is the first time in the UK’s history that a public artwork of this kind has been used to acknowledge the contested history of a green space. The permanent artwork will be unveiled on 14 October to coincide with Black History Month in October. Titled The Anchor, The Drum, The Ship (2022), this horticultural installation brings together a variety of plant species,…
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Balfour Beatty appointed as sole contractor to Scape Civil Engineering frameworks worth up to a combined value of £4 billion
Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, today announces that it has been appointed as the sole contractor to both the SCAPE Civil Engineering framework, covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the SCAPE Scotland Civil Engineering framework, covering the entirety of Scotland. The frameworks are worth up to £3.25 billion and £750 million, respectively. Both frameworks – which enable local authorities and other public sector bodies to commission works through a procurement process that provides a quick route to market – cover a period of four years, with an option for a two year extension. Balfour Beatty will continue to…
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Scottish rewilding network grows to 50 sites in 18 months
A network of Scottish landholdings committed to rewilding has grown to 50 partners in its first 18 months, far outpacing expectations and revealing a strong appetite for nature restoration across the country. The Northwoods Rewilding Network was launched in April 2021 by rewilding charity SCOTLAND: The Big Picture, with an initial goal of signing up 20 landholdings in the first two years. But the network expanded rapidly and has recently welcomed its 50th partner: Glassie Farm in Aberfeldy, Perthshire. Landholdings in the network range from farms and crofts to community woodlands and private estates, and the network’s partners are the…
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SGD Awards 2022 announce their winner
The Society of Garden Designers has announced 20 winners in its tenth annual SGD Awards at an event in London that celebrated inspiring projects from a wide cross-section of Members. The Grand Award was presented to Tommaso del Buono MSGD for the gardens at the headquarters of Davines, a leading organic cosmetics company in Italy, which the judges described as an ‘ambitious and stylish project demonstrating exceptional design and implementation’. Matthew Childs won the coveted Judges’ Award for a stunning pool garden in Surrey (pictured below) and Sarah Eberle FSGD was presented with the annual SGD Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to taking the Grand Award for Davines Village,…
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HTA announces winners of Ornamental Grower of the Year Awards
The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) has announced the winners of its inaugural Ornamental Grower of the Year Awards. The Awards, in their first year, were announced at the HTA’s annual conference, Horticulture, The Conference, which took place at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham on Wednesday 14 September. The new Awards programme celebrates the UK’s best ornamental growers and recognises best practise in sustainable ornamental production. As well as proving their track records in high quality production, nominees were tasked with demonstrating their commitment to the environment and how they are working towards specific targets such as Co2 reduction, peat…
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Domestic tree seed production to be ramped up with new grant
Domestic tree seed production is to be ramped up with new Government funding announced today (Thursday 22 September). The £1.2m Seed Sourcing Grant will boost domestic tree seed production, create green jobs, help meet the increased demand for trees and achieve our ambitious net zero targets. The grant is designed to enhance the quantity, quality and diversity of tree seed sources in England. Most tree seed planted in the UK is of British origin, but evidence suggests that British seed sources may struggle to meet future demand across all species and there are known to be global shortages of tree seed. The…
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Homes England makes cornerstone investment in new development finance fund
Homes England, alongside Greater Manchester Pension Fund, clients of listed wealth manager Mattioli Woods and other private institutional investors, have committed £80m to the Initial Close of the Newstead SME Real Estate Lending Fund (RELF). The Fund is to be managed by specialist fund manager Newstead Capital and the intention is to grow the fund to £300m in subsequent capital raised and deliver £1bn of funding over the Fund’s lifetime. The Fund will help to meet Homes England’s mission to accelerate change in the housing market by bringing in new sources of institutional capital and diversifying lending channels to the…
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Green-tech become official distributor of NUE-TREE FERT
It has been announced today that landscape provide Green-tech have added NUE-TREE FERT to their range of forestry planting products. This move enables Green-tech to offer a complete nutritional range of fertilisers for the forestry industry. NUE-TREE FERT has been developed by Origin Fertilisers who have over 50 years technical experience of supplying woodland reforestation schemes. This is a tried and tested range that focuses on nutrient use efficiency. Green-tech will be adding five products to its range. NUE-TREE FERT CRF – A high quality, controlled release fertiliser developed specifically for planting hole application. NUE-TREE FERT GAFSA P – A…
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London Borough of Haringey park wins unique award in memory of HM Queen Elizabeth II
Oliver Tambo Recreation Ground in Haringey has been named at the UK’s Favourite Queen Elizabeth II Field as part of a summer-long campaign by green space charity Fields in Trust to find the UK’s Favourite Parks and celebrate the green spaces that have been so important to us all over the last two years. A total of 364 local green spaces were nominated by members of the public and over 30,000 people voted for their favourite park. Alongside the UK’s Favourite – Penrhos Coastal Park in Anglesey – home nation winners and local favourites were also selected. A special award,…
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Makita launches high performance 36V backpack blower
Expanding its range of grounds maintenance tools and machines, Makita has launched the UB002C 36V Battery Backpack Blower. Designed to meet the needs of professional contractors, the UB002C matches the performance of a 50cc petrol machine and delivers the long run-times required but with minimal noise and vibration. The powerful UB002C features a simple variable speed control and produces a blowing force of 22 newtons, a maximum air volume of up to 19.0 m3 /min and an air velocity of up to 76.0 m/sec. The 36V power is supplied by the Makita PDC1200 portable backpack battery, which can be used…
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National Trust’s Glendurgan maze ready for another 200 years after major restoration project completed
The historic maze at Grade II-listed Glendurgan Garden in Cornwall – once described as ‘a small piece of heaven on earth’ – is ready to delight many more generations of visitors after the completion of a four-year restoration project. The cherry laurel maze was originally planted in 1833 by Quakers Alfred and Sarah Fox to entertain their 12 children. Designed as ‘a series of irregular, winding walks that remind us of life, where we may go wrong in a multitude of ways, but right in only one’, it was inspired by the maze at Sydney Gardens in Bath, which…
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Nursery transforms Lake District hotel with Olympic Park landscape architect
100-year-old commercial nursery Johnsons of Whixley has won a contract to supply Lake District hotel, Another Place, situated right on the shores of Ullswater. Over 60 varieties of hedging, trees, herbaceous plants and shrubs will help shape ‘Outside’, a new selection of rooms and spaces at the hotel to bring guests closer to the wild, while enjoying the inspired design and interior comforts the 47-bed hotel is known for. The project was designed by landscape architect, Laurel Truscott, who has worked on major landscape projects including the Olympic Park. Included in the supply, which totalled a whopping 4,063 pieces, was…
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BASIS Classroom launches first lesson for amenity sector
Sustainable Turf Disease Management is the first learning module to be offered in the BASIS Classroom for those involved in the amenity sector. BASIS Classroom, launched in 2021, enables members of the BASIS Professional Register to gain continuing professional development (CPD) points via online training. Over the past 11 months, it has proved a success. Over 17,000 courses have been taken and more than 35,000 CPD points awarded. Now, the first course for those in the amenity sector is available, with more to come. This first course has been developed in conjunction with SGL which provides advice and products on…
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Colegrave Seabrook Foundation launch new scholarship season
The Colegrave Seabrook Foundation, who support students studying Horticulture at UK colleges and universities announces the opening of the application season for scholarships. As a student, whether you need some financial support to help with costs of living, purchase of course materials, fees, travel costs or something as specific as the purchase of a new laptop, there is probably a scholarship that applies to your situation. To be eligible for consideration and successful in being granted a scholarship, students need to demonstrate their passion for horticulture and their commitment to making a career within the industry through their application. In…
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RHS Malvern Spring Festival 2023 returns with a focus on ‘Gardening for Everyone’
The 4 day festival is brim-full with beautiful gardens, fascinating, spectacular horticulture, crafters, food and drink artisans, family activities and so much more. With three judged garden categories set for 2023 there will be plenty to admire: Show Gardens Show Gardens are a real treat for any visitor and are located at the heart of the Festival. RHS Malvern Spring Festival gives free rein to designers and encourages creative freedom in garden design by giving an open brief. Therefore, the gardens can be any shape or form, and any theme – classical, contemporary or conceptual. Outdoor Living Spaces Incorporating…
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Deadline approaching for charity garden funding at RHS Chelsea 2024
Project Giving Back is currently open to expressions of interest from garden designers and good causes interested in applying for garden funding at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2024. Project Giving Back (PGB) was established in 2021 to fund a series of show gardens at RHS Chelsea over three years to help raise the profile of a wide range of charitable organisations. It is calling on charities and garden designers to register their interest by 23 September 2022 to be considered for its final wave of garden funding in 2024. As the world’s most famous horticultural event, RHS Chelsea…
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RHS student’s winning design creates new community wellbeing space in Guildford
A new wellbeing garden at Kings College Guilford is now open to the public following a design competition won by RHS diploma student Emma Leaper. Students completing the RHS Diploma in Horticultural Practice course at RHS Garden Wisley were tasked with designing a garden that prioritised wellbeing, helped build community connections and inspired users to take time taking time away from busy lives and transform an existing disused space for the College. Emma Leaper’s ‘Lifecycle garden’ was chosen by staff and the Eco Group at Kings College as the winning design. Her design incorporates soft, sensory planting with trees to…
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SGD launch Manifesto for Sustainable Gardens & Landscapes
The Society of Garden Designers (SGD) has published a Manifesto for Sustainable Gardens & Landscapes to present its declaration of intent and to establish principles and methodologies that encourage its Members and Affiliated Business Partners to create gardens and landscapes where sustainability comes first. The SGD Manifesto follows on from the Society’s hugely successful Symposium earlier this year, where members and experts gathered to consider how to design and specify gardens with a lighter footprint, that sequester carbon, provide healthy ecosystems and offer diverse habitats to help to reverse the decline of biodiversity which has accelerated over the last 50 years. It will be accompanied by…
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Green-tech welcomes over 150 customers to it’s Open Day
Green-tech opened its doors for an Open Day on 8th September 2022 to a mix of customers, suppliers, industry colleagues and friends of the company. Over 150 people attended the event at Rabbit Hill Business Park where Green-tech’s offices, production warehousing and distribution facility are based. Visitors were given the opportunity to join a site tour around the office and the extensive warehouse facilities, as well as attend several informative seminars on a range of topics including urban tree planting and a guide to wildflower sowing. Business development director, Mark Wood, also conducted a tour of the soil sites at…
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Plants@work Award winners receive their Awards
We were scheduled to celebrate this year’s Award winning members on the 15 September with a virtual ceremony but in respect of our late Queen and all the arrangements to honour her, we have cancelled the planned event. However our members do deserve recognition for their achievements over the last year, so Awards have still been made to deserving entries. As always, our team of judges, Nicola Bristow, Greg Redwood, Bill Peebles and Rob Stirling visited the sites of entries throughout the summer to see for themselves and award accordingly. This included two awards that collected special nominations. Best Project…
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