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Why a horticultural approach to grounds maintenance will bear fruit
Time for a dirty secret. Years ago, when I was coming into the grounds maintenance business, I was told, “you make your money doing the work you don’t do”. You price the work into your contract and then work your hardest to avoid delivering it. From an ethical perspective, this never sat well with me or for many of us in the profession that work hard every day to deliver on our promises. But that cynical view is sadly still out there – particularly when contractors are racing to the bottom on pricing grounds maintenance as a commodity rather than…
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Wildlife Trusts “bitterly disappointed” as Defra sets 2030 peat-free ban
The Wildlife Trusts said it was “bitterly disappointed” after the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs set out plans to ban all peat products by 2030. Defra confirmed that while some peat products will be banned in 2027, others will be exempt for a further three years. Last year, the government pledged to ban the sale of bagged peat compost in England by the end of 2024, and the Trusts had hoped that this would lead to a ban on all peat products “shortly” after. Ailis Watt, peat policy officer at The Wildlife Trusts said, “The destruction of irreplaceable…
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London Stone goes carbon-neutral
Carbon Footprint has accredited London Stone as a carbon-neutral company. Back in 2021, the business, which claims it is the first UK hard landscaping supplier to achieve carbon-neutral status, began working with Carbon Footprint to “identify areas for improvement, which were then rectified, and resulted in the company running as sustainably as possible”. London Stone managing director Steven Walley said, “The thought of leaving the planet in a worse shape than when we inherited it, with fewer sanctuaries and less habitat for wildlife, is unthinkable. We have a duty to slow and ultimately reverse the environmental destruction that humans have…
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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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