by Aidan Williams | 05 Nov 24 | News
Boyd Douglas-Davies, has taken over as chairman after an AGM drew significant change at the held of the Greenfingers Charity.
Boyd takes over from Sue Allen, who stepped down from the role but who will continue to serve the charity as a dedicated trustee for another year.
Taking up the reins as the new chairman is Boyd is a longstanding supporter of the charity and the founder of the hugely successful Garden Re-Leaf Day annual fundraising event.
Boyd hopes that the charity can continue to create more beautiful and therapeutic gardens for children in hospices across the UK and provide essential on-going maintenance and makeovers for existing projects.
However, this mission will require continued financial support from the industry, the public, and partners, and Boyd will continue to be involved in the ongoing programme of fundraising events to support this.
Boyd emphasises: “Hospices are under enormous pressure to fund the essential care provided within their walls and that’s where Greenfingers steps in.
“We’re the only charity dedicated to creating therapeutic outdoor spaces for children’s hospices and, with the support of our partners and the public, we can continue to make a difference.
“We’ve achieved so much over the past 25 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters, but we need to keep going. We’re calling on everyone to continue backing Greenfingers, whether that’s by participating in Garden Re-Leaf Day, attending the Floral Ball, or partnering with us for a mutually beneficial experience.”
Greenfingers also bid a fond farewell to two long-standing members of its board as Colin Wetherley-Mein retired after a period of exceptional service to the charity, while Rob Jones stepped down after the completion of his tenure.
Rob’s contribution as a Trustee and Chair of Greenfingers’ Garden Committee has helped shape numerous garden projects, and his enthusiastic fundraising has made a lasting impact.
Greenfingers had a collaborative boost earlier this year, when Vitax agreed to sell a promotional pack of plant food to benefit the charity.
by Aidan Williams | 16 Sep 24 | News, Supplier News
Vitax will spend 12 months helping to raise money for children’s charity Greenfingers, via the sale of a special promotional pack of plant food.
The gardening product supplier will sell special 2.5kg Q4 packs from this month onwards, with information about the charity on them and 25p from every pack will go to Greenfingers.
The charity aims to provide all life-limited children, their families, and carers, emotional support through the power and pleasure of nature within their hospice.
It creates beautiful, well-designed outdoor spaces for children to enjoy with their family, through play and fun, or therapeutic rest and relaxation.
“We have supported Greenfingers for many years through a variety of its fundraising activities, but we wanted to do more, and the sale of special donation packs of Vitax Q4 is a great way to raise funds,” says Anja Gooding, Vitax’s chair.
“Greenfingers is a fantastic charity, and our partnership is as much about raising awareness of its work as it is about raising funds.
“The best way to do this is through the sale of one of our most popular products.”
Vitax supply a range of gardening products under numerous brands, and is a family-owned business which can be traced back to 1880.
To date, Greenfingers has created close to 70 gardens, including its latest sensory garden at Derian House Children’s Hospice.
by Bethany Vann | 26 Jun 23 | News
National charity Greenfingers has opened a new ‘festival of sensory colours’ garden at Jigsaw, Cumbria’s Children’s Hospice.
Created by chartered garden designer Bruce Walker and landscaping company Ian Howe Landscapes, the garden is set to provide a safe and accessible environment for children and their families, visitors, and staff.
Jigsaw provides day-to-day care, support and activities to children and young people living with life limiting conditions.
Walker’s design incorporates Jigsaw’s logo colours to create subdivisions in the garden, each offering colour cohesive activities, with a ‘Green Jungle Garden’, a ‘Yellow Wildlife Garden’ and an ‘Indigo Sensory Area’, built for relaxation.
The interactive garden also includes a bright blue art area, a sage green play area and an orange kitchen garden to facilitate grow-your-own projects and experimental seed gardening.
The garden was funded by Greenfingers’ supporters and contributions from organisations like the Postcode Neighbour Trust.
Julie Clayton, CEO of Jigsaw, says: “Our new garden looks incredible and we cannot thank Greenfingers and all the other contributors enough for helping to transform this space.
“Now we have a bright, colourful, and engaging garden which is being used regularly by the children and young people with complex health needs that we care for. It’s making a real difference and this safe and accessible space is another huge asset to what we can offer here at Jigsaw.”
This marks the second hospice garden opened by Greenfingers this year.
by Bethany Vann | 06 Jun 23 | News, Supplier News, Topics
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 maintenance, and interior plants and floristry. It will also enhance the company’s offering in the North West.
Nicola Keach, Tivoli’s chief executive officer, says: “Greenfingers’ teams share the same passion as we do for self-delivering a high-quality service and building long term relationships with clients, and we look forward to welcoming great people to our team. There is a natural harmony between our work, our clients and our values, and we are very proud to welcome the employees and customers of Greenfingers to the Tivoli family.”
The transaction remains subject to satisfaction of certain conditions precedent customary in a transaction of this nature.
by Nina Mason | 03 May 23 | Commercial Landscaping, Garden Design, News, Topics
National charity Greenfingers has opened a new ‘reflective garden’ at a hospice in Essex. Created by award-winning garden designer Thomas Hoblyn and landscaping company Stewart Landscapes, the new 300m2 garden at Haven House in Children’s Hospice replaces a disused woodland and will provide a secluded space for children, visitors and staff.
Hoblyn officiated the opening, alongside Aasam and Mariam Ali whose late child Aiza was diagnosed with a rare metabolic condition and was cared for by Haven House over 14 years. The parents were part of the initial conversations with Hoblyn regarding the space.
Aasam Ali said it now “offers a space to connect, emotionally, spiritually and be at one with yourself, your family and friends…Being involved in this project was not only an opportunity for personal growth and development, but also a chance to make a positive impact on the community, and I hope Haven House continues to work with this wonderful team to deliver more.”
Haven House is a nurse-led hospice that is home to babies, children and young people under 19, all of whom have life-threatening or life limiting conditions.
The Garden of Reflection was made possible thanks to various donations of funding, products and time. Linda Petrons, Greenfinger’s director of fundraising & communications, says: “Handing over any garden is always a really magical moment. Haven House’s Garden of Reflection is a truly stunning space, and you can see all the love and passion that has been poured into every element of the design. It is our honour to be able to officially hand over the garden, and we truly hope that it proves to be a long-lasting legacy for all those that spend time in it.”
