Local Gardener NEWSPAPER September edition

Cover your ugly Pots! page 18

New Cobra hedgecutter page 3

Peckish push for sales page 11

Local

Gardener The UK’s only newspaper for Gardeners

Award winning butcher comes to Dobbies!

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Ultimate guide to real Christmas trees!

John Deere turf dealership The Double A Trading Company Ltd, which has its head office in Cupar, Fife and a second outlet at Kintore in Aberdeenshire, has agreed to acquire Nairn

Brown (Glasgow) Ltd of Busby.

The purchase, which has been agreed by Double A owners Sandy and Aileen Armit and by Nairn Brown, will see all the existing staff and assets of the latter

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business transferred to Double A as of 30th September 2020.

Nairn Brown Ltd was founded in 1964 and became the first John Deere golf & turf dealership to be established in the west of

Scotland in September 1996.

The company has a long and successful track record of supplying machinery to golf courses, local authorities, contractors and private customers across a large area extending from Argyll to Dumfries & Galloway,

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containing well over 200 golf courses.

Double A dealer principal Sandy Armit and his wife Aileen started their business working from home in 1996 before joining the John Deere dealer network in

October 1999. The business initially sold to customers in Fife, Tayside and Clackmannanshire before being appointed to take over the Aberdeenshire area in October 2011.

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September 2020

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FRONT PAGE Double A currently employs 25 people across its two outlets and was awarded the title of UK Professional Turfcare Dealer of the Year in 2011 by the AEA and Service Dealer magazine, as well as the runner-up spot in 2019. In addition to the full John Deere range of professional turf equipment, it supplies a number of other market leading golf course and turf machinery brands including Timberwolf, Campey, Tru-Turf, Gianni Ferrari, Reform and Lastec.

“We are delighted to be given this opportunity to extend our sales territory into western Scotland, and look forward to continuing to build on the very successful business established by Nairn Brown, his family and experienced staff,” said Sandy Armit.

P TUCKWELL TO ACQUIRE BURDEN BROS AGRI

DEALERS John Deere is pleased to announce that the owners of P Tuckwell Ltd have reached an agreement to acquire the Burden Bros Agri Ltd John Deere dealership business, which covers Kent, East Sussex and parts of Surrey for both agricultural and turf equipment. This will bring

the total number of Tuckwell outlets to 10, including the existing dealerships covering Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.

Both parties are working towards a completion date of

the end of October 2020, when the Burden Bros Agri business will join the Tuckwell group and be fully owned and managed by the Tuckwell family. The intention is that all employees will transfer as part of the sale and the three existing Burden Bros dealership branch locations at Stockbury and Ivychurch in Kent and Framfield in East Sussex will be retained.

over 13 years ago,” said John Deere Limited division sales manager Joedy Ibbotson.

“I would like to express our gratitude to Dale and the Burden family for the outstanding job they have done in supporting and growing the John Deere brand in south east England since becoming a dealer just

Dealer principal James Tuckwell added: “The acquisition shows our total commitment to both the ag and turf industries, and consolidates our standing as one of the UK’s leading machinery dealerships. It also

“We are delighted that they have reached this agreement with Tuckwells, which ensures the continuity of the Burden Bros team and dealership outlets within the John Deere network. This is a great fit, combining two businesses with closely aligned values based on outstanding customer service with a focus on precision technology and connected support.”

“Most of all, I am extremely proud of all the staff that have helped to make Nairn Brown (Glasgow) the dealership it is today, and wish everyone continued success in the Double A team!”

“The combined dealership will be in a strong position to make the future investments required in facilities and technologies, proactively support our customers, develop our teams and continue growing in a responsible and sustainable manner.

Such growth gives a strong platform that will enable our business to continue building on the great legacy that my grandfather started 66 years ago, while keeping our core value of looking after people at the forefront of our planning.”

VANMAC LTD BECOME UK DISTRIBUTORS FOR BROUWER KESMAC areas such as golf fairways and parks.

Another popular machine from the Kesmac collection is the Pedestrian Turf Roller, which can be filled with water to provide a smooth, clean surface, particularly suited to landscapers and contractors.

“Double A is a highly professional operation that has developed over the last 20-plus years to become one of the largest John Deere turf dealerships in the UK, providing outstanding customer service and total commitment to after-sales support,” said John Deere Limited golf & turf division sales manager Brian D’Arcy. “We are very pleased that Sandy, Aileen and their team have agreed to this expansion into the west of Scotland, and look forward to their continued business growth.”

Nairn Brown added: “Although sad for me to be leaving the industry, I have to say how lucky we have been to have held the John Deere turf dealership in the west of Scotland for 25 years. I would like to thank John Deere for their staunch support and help over this time – it has been a pleasure dealing with them.

enables us to build on BBA’s hard work and support our customers, new and old, by delivering exceptional customer experience.

DEALERS Vanmac Ltd have announced they are now an authorised full line distributor for the Brouwer Kesmac portfolio of turf and groundcare machinery.

With a long-standing, established reputation in the turf grower sector, the Brouwer Kesmac range of

harvesters and pedestrian rollers, together with trailed verti-cutters, aerators and cylinder mowers are now available to local authorities, landscapers and grounds managers via Vanmac in the UK. Founded by Gerry Brouwer and his son Eric in Ontario, Canada, Brouwer Kesmac is now established worldwide, built on a reputation of

developing innovative equipment solutions that deliver quality and reliability. Vanmac Ltd, known throughout the UK for the distribution of the Trilo range of blowers & vacs, will offer sales and service support across the full range of Brouwer Kesmac products, along with supplying a vast selection of spare parts – which will be

available to order through Vanmac Ltd’s website.

Of particular note from the range is the five-gang Kesmac verti-cutter, based on the proven design of the Kesmac cylinder mowers.

Each of the five gang reels features 21 high-quality steel blades at 31mm spacings, to cut and remove thatch build ups – and at over 3m in width, it is ideal for use on larger

The appointment of Vanmac Ltd in the UK extends the distribution agreement between Brouwer Kesmac and Vanmac bv across Europe.

For Vanmac Ltd, Area Sales Manager Jeremy Vincent, said, “We’ve been working hard to extend our portfolio here in the UK and are delighted to have added the Brouwer Kesmac collection to our offering.

The range compliments everything that we currently offer to customers in the turf grower market and extends our offering to those managing professional turf surfaces.

Over the next few weeks, we will begin supporting all of the existing Brouwer Kesmac customers and are excited to hit the road and begin introducing the quality range to new facilities around the country.”

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FORST 8D SERIES RAISES THE BAR AGAIN MACHINERY The introduction of the new Forst 8D Series brings Stage V compliant diesel engine technology to the woodchipper industry with more power and performance than ever before.

Hosting a 55hp Doosan Diesel engine the 8D is 10hp up on the previous model and raises the bar again in the 8” woodchipper category. The original Forst 8 Series quickly became the industry favourite for its fast, aggressive performance, robust build quality and exceptional simplicity. It has become the

best-selling 8” woodchipper in the UK and Europe.

timber and brash up to 8” in diameter.

oversized throughout.

The 8D Series builds on that heritage and signals the way into the future offering greater power and productivity. An 8” x 10” capacity woodchipper, it comes with the standard Forst performance features you would expect including ‘ForstGrip’ feed rollers, offering unmatched crushing power, the ‘Open Flywheel’ system and ‘AutoIntelligence’ stress control. Boasting 55hp there is a huge amount of torque and phenomenal power delivering more chipping speed and efficiency to make light work of any type of

With wheeled and tracked models, this is the machine for the contractor and even with this amount of power and several new design features it still weighs in at 1450kg for the ST8D, 1600kg for the TR8D and 2250kg for the XR8D. The road-going version is easily towed with heavy-duty running gear, fully braked chassis and handbrake.

There is no doubting the robust construction of the 8D Series, featuring strengthening supports and gussets in the areas that take the most abuse, with all-steel panels large ‘C’ section and

Designed and built in the UK, Forst can now claim to be Europe’s largest woodchipper manufacturer and is available to buy direct from Forst headquartered in Andover, Hampshire.

bearings

Först provides a service network of its own people and approved service partners across the UK, which means service support for your Först chipper is never far away. For more information visit www.forstwoodchippers.com or call +44 1264 721790

COBRA INTRODUCES ITS FIRST ELECTRIC HEDGETRIMMER

MACHINERY Cobra has once again expanded its range with the introduction of its new HT550E 600W electric hedgetrimmer. The garden machinery manufacturer is committed to expanding its range of green powered tools, allowing gardeners to do their bit for the environment while taking care of their outdoor space.

Cobra’s range of hedgecutters is designed specifically for homeowners who prefer lightweight, powerful, easy to use garden power tools and the versatile HT550E model is no exception.

The HT550E features a 55cm double sided blade, so it cuts on both the downward and upward stroke, getting the job done faster and reducing the need for the user to move around. The rotating handle helps to tackle the most demanding jobs, and the 20mm tooth spacing will make light work of most domestic hedges and bushes. With a 10-metre cable length and weighing just 3.4kg, this hedgetrimmer is practical, manageable and a pleasure to use.

Cobra has a broad range of hedgetrimmers to suit any garden.

The H5024V cordless hedgetrimmer, weighing just 2.6kg and with ergonomically positioned controls, gives excellent comfort and manoeuvrability. With a run time of over 50 minutes, this battery powered machine is great for small and medium sized gardens.

OWN AN ETESIA HYDRO 80 FOR JUST £35 PER WEEK MACHINERY Etesia UK has announced a 0% interest finance option to allow customers greater flexibility when purchasing a new Hydro 80 MKHP5 ride-on mower.

Customers looking to purchase a new Etesia Hydro 80 MKHP5 can benefit from three years’ interest-free finance, twoyear commercial warranty, with payments as low as £35.25+VAT per week before the 30th November 2020.

Etesia UK’s Managing Director Les Malin commented: “We have looked at the best way to help our customers. In these uncertain times, finances are under pressure more now than ever, but that doesn’t change how vital it is to

have the correct grass cutting machinery which is built to do the job and last. We are confident that this new finance option will allow customers greater flexibility with their finances, while still able to purchase new equipment.”

The Hydro 80 MKHP5 can cut and collect in all conditions with the added benefit of a differential lock.

The new model joins the popular Hydro 80 range and will give operators extra traction and stability on difficult, uneven and undulating terrain by reducing wheel spin, reducing damage to the grass and aid in cutting presentation.

The versatile mower also benefits from a mulching insert included as standard.

The 80cm cutting width, 240 litre collecting box and impressive Kawasaki

FS481H 11.7 kW engine give it the cutting performance and raw power to impress while operating.

Thanks to a range of additional accessories including a snow plough,users are able to extend the versatility of the machine so that it is ready for any scenario 365-days-ayear. The Hydro 80 MKHP5 cuts and collects both long and short grass – without clogging.

As with all Etesia machines, the Hydro 80 MKHP5 rideon mower comes standard with a comprehensive twoyear commercial and threeyear domestic warranty.

Finance is for business users only, subject to acceptance

by Etesia UK’s finance partner Golf Finance Limited and only available in the UK. For further information, please contact Etesia UK on 01295 680120 or visit www.etesia.co.uk.

For gardeners who need something more heavy duty, the powerful H5540VZ cordless hedgetrimmer is the ideal solution. With its 55cm double sided blade, tooth spacing of 28mm and 40v Li-ion Samsung battery, it will make light work of hedges. With a run time of up to 85 minutes, this tool is great for larger gardens.

For gardeners who prefer a traditional petrol-powered tool, the HT62C hedgetrimmer features a long 62cm blade and is designed for use on all types of hedges. Powered by Cobra’s own robust 22cc 2-stroke engine, it incorporates a twist grip handle to help tackle even the most awkward jobs with ease.

Cobra products are available to buy online at www.cobragarden.co.uk or via a network of expert dealers across the UK. HT550E RRP: £59.99

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ICL’S RIPTIDE MAKES AN IMPACT programme and offering a more sustainable approach; less fertilizer, fungicide, scarification and verticutting.

SPORTS NEWS

ICL’s Riptide, the no1 ranked creeping bentgrass, has made an impact at Trentham Golf Club, according to Course Manager, Ed Stant.

Exclusive to ICL, Riptide is the no1 ranked creeping bentgrass variety on the STRI lists. It is ideal for seeding new areas or when used for interseeding as part of a course renovation programme. This fineleaved, densely-shooting, creeping bentgrass establishes quickly, especially in spring, growing upright but low to the ground with high tiller shoot density and keeping its bright mid-green colour right through autumn and winter.

In fact, Riptide, has gained a wide following throughout Europe and has been adopted by several UK courses due to its

“Over the past 3 months Riptide has filled in beautifully and is really starting to come into its own,” continued Ed. “During early morning dew you can see the creeping bent beginning to outcompete the Poa dominated cores and establishing well.”

adaptability in a wide range of growing conditions.

When Ed Stant, Course Manager at Trentham Golf Club in Stoke-on-Trent, was looking to incorporate a new seed for a new project, he found that Riptide was highly recommended.

green in March we sought advice from our STRI Agronomist Paul Woodham,” said Ed. “Rather than turfing or seeding, we took cores from the 18 course greens during greens maintenance before deciding to over-seed with ICL’s creeping bent Riptide.

“Having taken the decision to rebuild the short game

“We are really pleased with the result; the cores have

meant the green was in play quickly and matches the course greens. Riptide has established nicely into the sward and is improving daily.”

Riptide responds very well to lower nutritional inputs and less frequent watering, potentially significantly reducing costs involved in a higher maintenance

Creeping bent as a species for golf greens fell out of favour with many course managers due to varieties proving difficult to manage or the results from overseeding were just disappointing. New varieties such as Riptide have sparked new interest. The ability to establish quickly and aggressively colonise greens is creating outstanding results, bringing greens back into play quickly. The real beauty of Riptide is its lighter green colour aspect,

enabling excellent integration into UK and Ireland greens.

Riptide certainly provides the opportunity to create excellent greens surface with lower inputs of fertilization and disease management.

High tolerance against Michrodochium patch and Dollar spot reduces the frequency for fungicide applications.

“Good advice, good product and competitively priced – I would have no hesitation in recommending Riptide,” concluded Ed. For more information on Riptide and other products in ICL’s ProSelect grass seed range please contact ICL on 01473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie if you are in Ireland. For more news and insightful views, you can follow ICL on Twitter @ICL_Turf

SPRAYED IN 60 MINUTES! effective way of making applications rainfast to maximise results” comments Ed. On this occasion, it was tank-mixed with Dedicate turf fungicide as a protectant against Fusarium Patch and Leaf Spot.

SPORTS NEWS

A weather forecast of significant rainfall combined with warm, humid temperatures means only one thing for grounds managers – high disease pressure. For Leicester Tigers Rugby Club Head Groundsman Ed Mowe, the question was how to maximise the efficacy of a fungicide application given the approaching conditions.

The answer was a tank mix of Dedicate and Tangent SDR from Headland Amenity – applied in a window of just 60 minutes with phenomenal results!

Assisting Ed with the maintenance at the Welford Road Stadium and Oval Park Training Ground is a team of two grounds-staff and an apprentice; with Headland’s Sports Turf Specialist Alex Hawkes on hand to provide advice on all

“We have also been using Tangent SDR with a plant

things nutritional. “While we wouldn’t ordinarily gamble on spraying in a weather window as tight as literally one hour, we trusted Alex’s recommendation and it was a decision that paid off. We sprayed the Dedicate and Tangent SDR

mix, it ‘stuck’ to the plant and we emerged from the extremely high-pressure period with a stadium pitch clear of disease. I have no doubt that without the inclusion of Tangent SDR, we would not have seen such impeccable protection.”

Applied in June, Tangent SDR is a natural spray additive that utilises the sticking effect of Terpineol to enhance spray retention on the grass leaf and improve uptake of the applied spray.

“It has fantastic low dilution rates making it a cost-

growth regulator at our training ground which is frequently subject to strong winds. The ‘sticking’ effect has undoubtably helped us to save on chemical, and therefore money, there as well.”

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OXYSHOT® HELPS AIR2ROOT REACH NEW DEPTHS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST COMPACTION delivery of our own unit earlier in the year.”

SPORTS NEWS

Air2Root Turfcare Limited pride themselves on using market leading machinery to bring a ‘breath of fresh air’ to compacted sports surfaces in and around the West Midlands. The latest weapon in their armoury is an OxyShot® from Charterhouse Turf Machinery which, with enhanced manoeuvrability and air-injection down to 500mm (20”), is helping them to shatter compaction easier and deeper in the profile than ever before.

“We first saw the OxyShot® at a demonstration event with Charlies Groundcare

The OxyShot® uses a single 25mm probe to inject air into the soil in four directions, at a pressure of up to 110psi and to a maximum depth of 500mm (20”). It can also be fitted with an optional 14mm probe, to reduce the working depth to 250mm. “The OxyShot® penetrates much deeper than any of our other air-injection machinery and gives us a more user-friendly, and less labour-intensive, tool to deliver spot treatments in restricted access locations.” last year and it impressed us straight away” explains Air2Root Director Kevin Moult. “Aeration continues to be recognised as one of, if

not the most, important operation we can do which not only enhances growth but improves all elements of turf management – this

combined with the increasingly unpredictable wet weather patterns means that we are seeing demand that warranted us to take

Together with use on cricket outfields, football and rugby pitches, Kevin also notes the demand for the OxyShot® to

deliver targeted air-injection around trees on golf courses and estates. “Our goal is to help things grow better – whether that’s turf or woodland. An established tree may need some extra help getting air down to the roots so with a 30m air-line between the tractor and the OxyShot®, we can access tight spaces and inject the air exactly where it is needed with minimal effort and maximum results.”

“Complimenting other forms of aeration, we are looking forward to putting the OxyShot® through its paces as we head into the autumn and winter months” Kevin concludes.

MM60 TURNS ON THE STYLE AT THE KASSAM MM60 is a 100% ryegrass formula which is renowned for producing an excellent playing surface – particularly on winter pitches. It is perfect for renovation and divot repair, has a high disease resistance, fantastic aesthetic qualities and offers extremely fast germination – which is boosted by the inclusion of Headstart GOLD®.

SPORTS NEWS Mark Walker, owner of Grasstek, has been widely praised for improving the pitch at Oxford United FC’s Kassam Stadium – with the club’s manager, Karl Robinson, even claiming that it has played a huge part in helping to improve the team’s style of play.

Mark took on the maintenance of the pitch at the Kassam Stadium in December 2018 and immediately knew that it was a project which would require his undivided attention.

“I think it is fair to say that the pitch needed a lot of work when we took it over,” he said. “Upon closer inspection, the hybrid pitch had clearly been over topdressed so none of the artificial fibres were showing and these fibres were also laid flat creating a barrier against healthy rooting.”

Rather than shy away at the thought of the colossal project, Mark was

determined to embark on the challenge.

“My background is predominantly in greenkeeping, so I got the best groundsman I know involved. His encyclopaedic knowledge, experience and connections have been invaluable. We’ve now got a great team and we are growing and starting to expand into other areas.”

With an expert team in place, Grasstek got straight to work.

The previous summer’s renovations had not been highly successful so Mark knew that they would have to delve deeper.

“We had no other option but to re-expose it all,” he said.

“Unfortunately, we could not

use traditional pitch renovation machinery due to complications with the carpet.

After much experimentation, Bury Turfcare came up with the idea of using a mini digger to remove all of the upper rootzone which had very high percentages of organic material in it. They delicately carried out the necessary repairs and then overseeded with Limagrain’s MM60 grass seed.

“I had used Limagrain seed previously in which I overseeded driving range outdoor teeing areas and target greens with MM50 so I already knew that it would be a good seed. MM60 was recommended to me by an agronomist friend and I’m pleased I took his advice.”

“We saw fantastic results straight away – the germination was very quick and even and I think we carried out our first cut after just ten days,” he said.

As the season progressed, Mark still had concerns over a problematic area on the pitch, but he quickly found that MM60 had combatted the issues.

“The stadium has a huge south stand and there are no translucent panels in the roof, so from September through to May no sunlight gets on the south side of the pitch. Prior to using MM60, the grass was basically nonexistent on that south side – it was like a beach.

“However, since we overseeded with MM60, we now have so much more coverage on that side. I think this shows that the seed has great shade tolerance and we now have a very dense sward with no disease.”

While the Oxford United team will continue to play their attractive football on the pitch and push for promotion, Mark and the Grasstek team are committed to playing their part too.

Mark’s refurbishment work on the pitch has certainly not gone un-noticed. The club’s manager Karl Robinson recently went out of his way to claim that the pitch has helped the club to play the fast-flowing, attacking football he desires.

“We’ve used MM60 ever since that first application and we are going to continue to do so,” said Mark. “We’re not even going to look at any other seed because we are so happy with what we’ve got.”

“The pitch at the Kassam is one of the best I’ve seen for a long time,” he said publicly. “You have to give credit where it’s due and the pitch is magnificent. It’s little things that can add to us being a better club moving forward.”

For further information, please contact Limagrain UK on 01472 371471 or visit the company’s website www.lgseeds.co.uk/mm.

You can also follow the company on Twitter: @MM_Seed

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GREAT FIELD PROJECT FOR TERRAIN AERATION

AMENITY Poundbury, the urban extension on the outskirts of Dorchester is wellknown for reflecting the design principles of HRH The Prince of Wales, on whose land, the Duchy of Cornwall, it is built.

The Great Field, at some 12 ha, is the largest area of green space in Poundbury and work began on it in 2014, with the building of sports pitches, outdoor gym equipment and a multi-use games area.

One area which is developing especially well was sown around five years ago and is now a sea of Common Knapweed, with plentiful Ladies’ and Hedge Bedstraw, Quaking Grass, Bird’s-foot Trefoil and other meadow wildflowers.

During 2020, further significant work has been undertaken with the planting of over 400 trees and 26,000 shrubs and hedging plants.

The charity People Need Nature has worked with the Duchy of Cornwall and local seed supplier, Heritage

Seeds, to sow another wildflower meadow on the Great Field. Exceptionally wet conditions followed by unusually dry periods, led to compaction and waterlogging, resulting in a slow start for the meadow.

Improving the ground conditions to assist establishment of the trees, shrubs and hedging was identified as particularly important.

The services of specialists Terrain Aeration were called upon to relieve the compaction and panning on

the top half of the field. They brought in their Terralift machines, which work on the principle of hammering a hollow probe one metre deep into the soil, using a JCB road breaker gun; the soil is compact at depth and requires the hammer to break through. At one metre depth, a hydraulic blast of compressed air is released at up to 20Bar (280psi). This fractures the soil, creating fissures. The process is repeated at two-metre intervals on a grid pattern with the fissures interlinking

to create a system of aeration and drainage. The Terralift is the only machine which uses such high pressure to enable the process to work.

On the tail end of the blast, dried seaweed is injected and this sticks to the walls of the fissures, expanding and contracting with the moisture content in the soil. The probe holes are backfilled with aggregate to maintain the aeration process.

The new Great Field meadow sown with wildflower seed collected from existing

meadows in Purbeck, should be flourishing within the next two years.

The local sourcing helping to protect local populations of native wildflowers. As part of the usable green space area for the local community, the meadow will be cut in July, with the low-growing flowers, such as Red Clover and Bird’sfoot Trefoil, continuing to flower and provide nectar and pollen for insects.

Terrain Aeration 01449 6 7 3 7 8 3 www.terrainaeration.co.uk

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COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO SUPPORTING WOMEN’S GOLF National Women’s Amateur Championship. With live scoring, news and video feeds being more important than ever, the greenkeepers at West Lancashire will not only play an important part, but also look the part with their new workwear.

AMENITY

THREE leading names within the amenity turf care sector have joined forces to show a commitment to supporting women’s golf, by sponsoring the club that is hosting this year’s Women’s Amateur Championship.

Agrovista Amenity, ICL and Syngenta have provided the greenkeeping team at West Lancashire Golf Club with new Helly Hansen workwear for use during the championship, which is taking place this week (August 25-29).

Although being played behind closed doors this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, the tournament attracts an impressive line-up

of talent. The winner will then gain entry to the AIG Women’s Open, US Women’s Open, The Evian Championship and Augusta

Head of Commercial for Agrovista Amenity, Dan Hughes, said: “Course Manager, Stuart Hogg has been a committed user of Syngenta and ICL technologies, building an excellent relationship with ICL’s Phil Collinson and our Amenity Specialist, Gary Potter.”

“As an organisation, Agrovista is keen to support customers where possible, and in a challenging year it was great to work with three keen partners to support women’s golf and provide the greenkeeping team with first class workwear, something they have appreciated given the week’s weather.”

Stuart attributes a programme which includes Syngenta’s Qualibra and ICL’s H2Pro TriSmart wetting agent for helping to maintain excellent water management of greens, fairways and surrounds.

Prior to the tournament, the club used a combination of Greenmaster Pro-Lite and Sierraform GT granular fertilisers as inputs into the greens to maximise t o u r n a m e n t presentation.“The technical support from Gary Potter and Phil Collinson has been extremely helpful with the tournament preparation,” said Stuart.

“I and all the team are very grateful for the gesture of workwear which befits hosting such a high-profile tournament at The West Lancashire Golf Club.”

KILL CORONAVIRUS IN UNDER 10 SECONDS AMENITY

Award-winning British technology used by local authorities around the world to kill weeds and algae without chemicals could prove a vital tool in the fight against coronavirus, research has shown.

The Foamstream technology, designed by Weedingtech, was originally invented as a herbicide-free way to control weeds, moss and algae in public spaces, including parks and city streets; but independent lab tests confirm it can quickly kill Covid-19 particles in under 10 seconds.

The Foamstream ‘wand’ emits near-boiling hot water, blended with natural plant oils and sugars including wheat, maize, potatoes, rapeseed and coconut oil on surfaces.

Independent laboratory research by BluTest, one of the United Kingdom’s leading laboratories and an internationally recognised expert in virus testing, showed that Foamstream killed 99.99% of all

coronavirus particles within seconds and without recourse to chemicals that might harm the environment or the public. This makes it one of the fastest-acting treatments for killing Covid-19 particles.

Leo de Montaignac, CEO at Weedingtech, said: “We began exploring other uses for the technology beyond weed control last year, including the elimination of viruses – something which is now more crucial than ever.

As lockdown restrictions relax and children return to school and people enjoy public outdoor places again, it is vital they are safe.

Foamstream can help by destroying coronavirus particles, preventing their transmission, and giving peace of mind to millions across the UK and many more around the world.”

He added: “The applications of this are enormous. It can be used in sports stadiums, bus shelters, school playgrounds and parks. It can help make children’s play areas safe, as well as park seating, outdoor gyms, theme parks, beach front seating,

station platforms and bus and tram stations.”

Until now, no other outdoor sanitisation technology has met all necessary criteria to be considered a viable solution in eliminating coronavirus. Foamstream is significantly faster and easier to use than most current manual sanitisation practices, like disinfectants.

Furthermore, it’s approved for organic use and nontoxic, meaning it can be used in the majority of outdoor settings.

Given these breakthrough lab results, Foamstream will work with local municipalities and other landowners to help decontaminate public places so they are safer for people to use and enjoy.

Dr. Sandy Primrose MBE, UK renowned microbiologist, said: “To date, deep-cleaning processes have typically involved various chemicals and presented several logistical challenges, particularly with larger spaces such as train stations, but Foamstream scales up the

process and offers an infinitely more effective and safe solution.”

How does it work?

Coronavirus particles begin to break down when subjected to heat upwards of 56°C / 133°F and the higher the temperature the faster the kill rate. Foamstream flows from the lance at 98°C / 208°F. The heat in the hot water is trapped on the virus by a biodegradable foam blanket, stopping the heat from escaping to the atmosphere. The wet heat destroys the lipid envelope

that surrounds the virus making it non-infectious.

Given that Foamstream is chemical-free, there’s no need to cordon off treatment areas prior to, during, or after treatment, as the product is safe for people, animals and delicate ecosystems. In addition, it can be used on flat and vertical surfaces too, making it highly effective, versatile, and user-friendly.

Foamstream systems are already in use for controlling vegetation across the world in cities including New

York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Miami, Munich, Barcelona, Budapest, Manchester, Dublin, London, Auckland, Hong Kong and Montevideo.

Global distribution is already established (typically through Toro and John Deere distributors) on five continents, making Foamstream technology easily accessible to all.

For further detail on Weedingtech and Foamstream, Please visit: https://www.weedingtech. com/why-foamstream/

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September 2020 Add your business to our member’s directory

We have a member’s directory where you can advertise your business. This is a free b2b directory with forums similar to twitter. You can even have your own shop with the products linked to your website. Go to WWW.LOCALGARDENER.ORG and add your business today.

BESPOKE DLF WILDFLOWER MIX BRIGHTENS THE LANDSCAPE FOR HFN LANDSCAPE

A wildflower meadow at the heart of a brand-new retirement village in Alcester has been praised for its outstanding, longlasting visual impact. For the contractors, HFN Landscapes, the project was fraught with challenges – difficult ground conditions and high magnesium soil required a bespoke mixture, created by DLF Seeds.

When Contracts Manager David Smith commenced work on the Great Alne Park project in February, he was greeted by what could only be described as a 20,000 square metre mud bath!

“Phase one, the construction of the homes was complete, when we then came in to carry out the soft landscaping – this included allotments, a croquet lawn, the individual apartment gardens as well as a large wildflower area which was the centrepiece of the whole complex” explains David, who has been in charge of HFN’s soft-landscaping projects for two years.

“We used ProMaster 25 in a lot of the transition areas on the site, then when it came to the Wildflower meadow, we provided the architects’ specification alongside the soil analysis to Paul Hadley at DLF”. DLF produce a range of native wild flower

mixtures to suit different soil types, however high magnesium was identified, which can contribute to deterioration of clay soil structures, reducing infiltration rates and causing an environment not conducive for effective germination. With this in mind, Paul formulated a bespoke wildflower mixture including species that can

tolerate a mixture of environmental conditions such as Knapweeds and Buttercups, together with a number of indicator species including Wild Marjoram, more akin to alkali soils. To deliver an initial boost of colour in the meadow’s nursery year, a selection of Cornfield Annuals were also incorporated.

“There is no doubt that Paul’s knowledge gave us a mixture that not only met the architects vision, but exceeded what we hoped to achieve in its impact and longevity; especially given the fluctuating hot and wet weather conditions and the added complications that COVID restrictions have had on our work.”

The outstanding floral display has since attracted much attention, including on Central News where residents complimented the space as a haven during the lockdown period. “Six months since we seeded the area and it’s still a sea of colour, which couldn’t be further away from where we started!”. David concludes, “As a business, HFN are

very proud of what we have achieved, but that wouldn’t have been possible without Paul’s advice and the quality wildflower mixture DLF delivered. As we increasingly get asked about recreating wildflower and meadow style areas, we know we have the support and product to deliver.”

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GROW YOUR GARDENING BUSINESS – OFFLINE MARKETING see your branding and business name.

LANDSCAPE The fifth instalment of our tips for growing your gardening business focuses on offline, traditional marketing and how even in our increasingly digital world, it should still have a valuable place in your business plan.

As the owner of Jackson Garden Services, a Plymouth-based gardening and landscaping company,

I have successfully grown my gardening business and gained a strong client base in the process using a combination of direct and indirect marketing (both online and offline). Since I started the company in

2018, we’ve gone from being a small, fledgeling business to a successful and popular company with a small team and strong client base, due to a combined approach of working hard, being great at what we do and having a successful and useful approach to marketing the business.

Traditional, offline marketing methods may be overlooked by many businesses in favour of digital avenues, like social

media marketing and even paid advertising; though, in my experience, a truly successful marketing plan has a balance of the two techniques.

Whilst a large majority of the marketing work I have done is digital, I’ve also done a considerable amount of offline marketing and strongly believe it’s a really important component of growing your gardening business.

Offline marketing encompasses any promotional activity that is done outside of the internet and includes activities such as flyer dropping, networking, attending trade shows and speaking at industry or local business events. You can even consider things like driving a van with your company branding on it as offline marketing, as when you’re in traffic or parked up at a job, motorists and passers-by will

When you think of ways to market your business, the chances are you think about things like advertising on TV, radio or in your local paper or industry-related magazines. Whilst these are undeniably great marketing techniques, they’re not always the most suitable avenue for a sole trader or small business. By using advertising methods that target a wide audience, you won’t be investing your cash in targeting consumers who are actually interested in your services. Plus, if you’re targeting huge audiences, you may generate an untenable number of leads that you don’t have the personnel, resources or time to follow up on. Thus far, I’ve largely avoided employing these mass marketing techniques; instead focusing on digital marketing and targeted offline efforts to increase brand awareness and generate leads. Not only has this been a cost-effective

decision, but it’s given me a ready-made advertising plan to pursue in the future when the company is larger, and I’ve got a bigger team in place to handle an increased volume of work that this kind of advertising can generate.

One of the most rewarding offline marketing techniques I’ve used is networking. As people buy from people, you can never underestimate the importance and value of meeting other local businesses in a face-to-face environment, such as your local chamber of commerce or at events. When people can put a face to a business name, it helps to build confidence and trust in your brand and services that simply cannot be replicated through other advertising methods.

A SPOTLIGHT ON CHRIS TURPIE at the company he worked on some fantastic projects.

LANDSCAPE

Chris Turpie, amenity specialist for Agrovista Amenity, provides an insight into his career to date, his varied client base, and his pride at building up an impressive customer portfolio.

Chris has been working for Agrovista since 2010 and credits the challenge of working on a completely new project as the only motivation needed to accept the job. At that time, the nation was suffering from a recession hangover and Agrovista did not have a local authority and industrial division. Never one to shy away, Chris got straight to work.

“It was a huge challenge and arguably the biggest highlight of my career,” said Chris. “I didn’t have a ledger when I joined but I’ve built one over the last

“I constructed four grass tennis courts at the Bank of England during that period and was also involved in the construction of Pennyhill Park – the England rugby team’s training ground. We built a version of the Twickenham pitch at Pennyhill and the team trained on it for six weeks twice a day in the lead-up to their 2003 World Cup glory.

It was a great project to be a part of and we completed it within six weeks.” ten years and that was no mean feat especially during a recession. This was at a time when local authorities weren’t spending money, so yes, it’s an achievement and I’m proud to have played a part in building up this side of the business.”

Chris originates from Scotland but moved south

when he accepted an assistant greenkeeper position at the prestigious London Golf Club in Kent.

Four years later, and following a two year spell at Boughton Loam, he embarked on a new role in construction working for Championship Sports Surfacing. In his two years

Chris then spent six years as an area sales manager for Fleet Line Markers before he joined Agrovista Amenity. A decade later and he hasn’t looked back.

“It’s no secret that this is the longest I’ve ever been with a company and every picture tells a story,” he said. “I have absolutely no desire to leave – Agrovista is an

exceptionally good business and they really support their staff. They invest in their people and there are plenty of opportunities for progression.”

Chris continues to work closely with his portfolio of customers which he has worked hard to establish over the last ten years. In fact, not many people know that Chris is closely involved in helping to keep some of London’s most iconic open spaces maintained and well groomed.

“I look after some of London’s Royal Parks including Hyde Park and Regent’s Park. I work closely with the contractors and take soil samples, provide advice, recommend products, and write reports.

It’s a pleasure working on these sites.

“The diversity of my portfolio is incredible, and the variety is probably the

best part of my job,” he continued. “There are no two days that are ever the same, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.” From Royal Parks managers to airfield operations managers, from contracts managers to greenkeepers, Chris’ working days are indeed varied. He admits to relishing the opportunity of learning everything he can about his customers and the sectors they represent.

However, he has also found that each of them has their own challenges to overcome.

“Everyone has their own obstacles but in particular, contracts managers trying to run a council contract have not got an easy task,” he said. “They are always under huge demands to save as much money as they can and quite often it can seem impossible. There’s also quite a high turnover in council contracts which presents challenges for me.”

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September 2020 How to contact us at the editorial office:

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Phone 07984 11 2537 email info@localgardener.org

Phone 07984 11 2537 email localgardenernewspaper@gmail.com

Write to Local Gardener Newspaper, Kemp House, 152-160 City Rd, London EC1V 2NX

Write to Local Gardener Newspaper, Kemp House, 152-160 City Rd, London EC1V 2NX

SIPCAM HOME & GARDEN INTRODUCES SPOT-ON SUPPLIER NEWS

THE NEXT GENERATION TOMATO FOOD:

SUPPLIER NEWS As a leading supplier of organic and veganic plant and lawn feeds, Hygeia is leading the way once again with the introduction of its all new Biogold Vigor Tomato & Veg Food.

Launched ahead of the 2021 gardening season, this next generation liquid fertiliser incorporates Alltech Crop Science, developed by the worldwide leaders in plant performance through nutrition and scientific innovation.

Through the harnessing of advanced scientific research, Hygeia’s Biogold Vigor encourages a more efficient energy and nutrient uptake, as well as a higher crop yield and quality.

Optimising the top end of the tomato and plant feed market, Biogold Vigor is backed by significant research and development having been formulated with Alltech Crop Science; a level of formulation innovation that very few other brands can boast. Tom Stolworthy, Hygeia’s UK Country Manager explains: “The liquid plant food market is currently saturated, however there has been very little deviation in recent years, meaning retail shelves are full of ‘me too’ products. With Biogold Vigor we are able to offer something different; something that has been developed to fill a gap at the higher end of the product category and offer some truly advanced product innovation. Backed by significant science, and inclusive of Alltech’s thirdparty expertise, Biogold Vigor has been formulated to deliver incredible results throughout the growing process without compromising on the use of natural ingredients. For us, it’s a real game changer and one we believe will help retailers to expand sales of plant feed in the year ahead.”

Sipcam Home & Garden is bringing to market a brand new range of powerful, simple-to-use cleaning and weed control products. SPOT-ON will help retailers to ignite sales via innovation, with the economical, performance-led portfolio delivering clear messages to consumers that products in the line-up will get the job done.

performance. When you factor in that SPOT-ON is backed by the same fastgrowing supplier of leading brands such as ecofective®, it’s a win-win situation for retailers and we look forward to working with stockists to help them to grow sales during autumn and throughout 2021.”

Driving sales of sanitisation products during Covid-19

The launch of the SPOTON range from Sipcam Home & Garden, the company behind the pioneering ecofective® brand and RHS Garden Care range, maximises the potential to help retailers generate additional revenue from weed control and garden/home cleaning categories, with the arrival of a fresh, new brand.

In July, Sipcam Home and Garden, part of the £500m+ turnover family-owned Sipcam Oxon Group, signed a deal with Blumen International Ltd that secured its appointment as the exclusive distributor of Blumen’s portfolio – which includes the Fito plant fertiliser brand and Get Off range of animal repellents, insecticides and natural detergents – across the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Now, the birth of SPOT-ON will serve to reinforce Sipcam’s commitment to the UK garden and DIY retail markets, delivering an expanded portfolio of innovative brands from a single supplier.

Nigel Thompson, Head of Sales at Sipcam Home & Garden, said: “SPOT-ON ticks all the right boxes for retailers. Not only is it a fresh, cutting-edge new brand offering potential to drive footfall and generate additional sales, but it has been engineered to deliver strong messaging at the point of purchase. Timepressed consumers will immediately identify the USPs of British-made SPOT-ON products: they get the job done with minimal effort, are economical to purchase and offer exceptional, rapid

sanitisation.

SPOT-ON Natural Antiviral and Antibacterial Surface Cleaner is available in three sizes: a 5-litre RTU, 750ml RTU and a 200ml concentrate that’s capable of refilling a 750ml container.

In the weed control category, growth in the number of consumers seeking alternatives to glyphosate is driving footfall in sales areas stocked with alternative weed controls, offering prime conditions for market growth. In response, new glyphosate-free SPOT-ON Weed Killer is ideally positioned to help retail managers target shoppers who are seeking weed killers that deliver fast results, backed by the promise of remaining harmless to children, pets and wildlife once dry.

SPOT-ON Weed Killer wipes out annual and perennial weeds and can be used all year-round –

helping to extend the weedkiller sales season, as growth of unwanted vegetation is often continuing far later into the year due to milder, wetter winters that are being widely attributed to climate change. Delivering visible results within hours, SPOT-ON Weed Killer is based on the active ingredient acetic acid, which provides efficient control upon contact.

Effortless cleaning of patios

The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in the market for hygiene and sanitisation products growing exponentially during 2020, as consumers step-up cleaning routines in a bid to keep their properties free from the coronavirus. To meet soaring demand for powerful, trustworthy cleaners, SPOT-ON Natural Antiviral and Antibacterial Surface Cleaner – a new and efficient surface cleaner that kills up to 99.99% of bacteria, will help in the fight against coronavirus. It has the added bonus of being formulated from natural ingredients, widening its sales appeal to eco-conscious consumers – a known growth area in UK retail.

This pioneering multipurpose cleaner is both an antiviral and antibacterial sanitiser that cleans and disinfects a plethora of surfaces around the home – including kitchen areas, hard surfaces and regularly touched features in high traffic areas such as door handles that require frequent

With convenience combined with rapid results established as key drivers of sales of garden cleaning products, new 5-litre ready-to-use SPOT-ON Black Spot Remover and Patio Restorer transforms grubby hard standings without any scrubbing required, enhancing its appeal to timepressed consumers.

As well as eradicating unsightly, slippery green growth such as algae and lichen spores, patios are transformed back to their natural colour, with the restoration taking place rapidly, in as little as two to four hours. The product offers consumers a powerful alternative to the time consuming and messy chore of pressure washing patios, while delivering outstanding performance for minimal effort.

Find out more To find out more about the new SPOT-ON range from Sipcam Home & Garden, visit sipcamhg.co.uk

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WOODLODGE’S ROOT INDOOR PORTFOLIO TO GROW FOR 2021 SUPPLIER NEWS With the pandemic prompting consumers to transform their properties into stylish sanctuaries as they spend increasing amounts of time living and working from home, Woodlodge is announcing a perfectly timed expansion of its Root Indoor range of pots, pot covers and design-led accessories ahead of the 2021 season.

Root is Woodlodge’s flagship interiors range, a line-up with an enviable track record of driving retail sales by inspiring consumers to extend their passion for gardening into the home by enjoying the benefits of greenery all yearround. Encompassing floral, classic and contemporary designs, Root takes pride in its ability to offer a style that matches any home interior – providing retailers with cutting-edge designs that have been tailored to cater for a broad customer demographic.

Michael Wooldridge, Managing Director at Woodlodge, said: “From wow-factor houseplant stands that display specimen indoor plants at their very best, to pot covers influenced by cultures and traditions from around the globe, Woodlodge has been at the forefront of tapping into the latest fashions to emerge from the world of interior design, fusing trendled influences with modern lifestyles to create musthave products with the potential to fly off retailers’ shelves. The pandemic has prompted the nation to take a closer look at its surroundings and we believe the movement for sprucingup interiors will only go from strength to strength in the new season, creating an ideal environment for retailers to grow sales by unleashing the potential of an expanded line-up of Root Indoor products in 2021.”

Highlights of additions to Woodlodge’s leading Root indoor range for 2021 Pot covers personalities!

with

big

Root Indoor will feature a range of quirky pot covers for the new season that allow shoppers to express their personalities and explore the creative side of gardening indoors – all retailing at competitive price points.

Designed to be key drivers of impulse sales by injecting a sense of fun, and aimed at households with a passion for houseplants, the mother and father pot covers retail at £12.99 while the child design is priced at £9.99. The covers won the New Product Award in Glee’s Garden, Home, Giftware and Clothing category.

Woodlodge’s new Pot Stands in black or gold metal will capture the imagination of this emerging generation of garden centre shoppers – their sleek, slender, straight lines have been engineered to complement minimalist design; allowing foliage and pot covers to make a bold statement by elevating the entire display above ground level.

Send sales skywards with Hanging Pot Covers

Britain’s homes are getting smaller. According to a BBC report, the average UK home provides 85 square metres of living space but new builds commonly offer just 76 square metres. Compare that with new homes in the Netherlands (115 square metres) and Denmark (137 square metres) and the punishing extent of space constraints in the UK hits home.

Pot stands elevate sales to new heights The houseplant category is the golden boy of garden retail. Not only did sales of houseplants soar by more than 17.5% last year, according to the Garden Centre Association, but the nation’s love for interior greenery shows no sign of slowing, with post-lockdown sales at garden centres in July reported to be double that of 2019. The fashion for foliage is being driven by millennials who crave outdoor space but are more likely to live in flats and apartments, demanding ontrend houseplant accessories for the perfect Instagramworthy picture.

houseplant accessories, while helping a younger generation of consumers to create breathtaking images that set social media ablaze.

At the forefront of this interior decoration movement is Woodlodge’s new Jaipur Decorative Jugs, inspired by traditional patterns and rich earthy tones from the Indian subcontinent that are increasingly influencing western interiors, complementing the green foliage tones of indoor plant displays. Karachi Pot Covers introduce stand-out design inspired by patterns and tones that define Pakistan’s most cosmopolitan city, while bold orange tones and contrasting white floral and leaf patterns that adorn Florin Pot Covers hold timeless appeal for consumers who are seeking to create a dramatic backdrop to indoor plant displays Shine a light on LED novelties

With floorspace at a premium while appetite for houseplants is at an all-time high, the only way to go is up. To help retailers cater for consumers who are restricted by compact living, as well as those who are keen to elevate their indoor jungles to new heights, Woodlodge is introducing its new Hanging Pot Covers. These woven, suspended planters, featuring natural tones that blend into any interior décor, offer maximum potential to boost linked sales, especially when sited close to displays of trailing foliage houseplants .Global cultures inspire western interiors Fashions inspired from cultures around the globe hold the key to driving sales of indoor decoration and

HEAVYWEIGHT MULTIMEDIA CAMPAIGN TAKES PECKISH BIRD BRAND TO NEW HEIGHTS

LED technology has transformed the garden lighting category; now this attractive, easy-to-use and energy efficient means of introducing warm tones of light is to be extended into the home – ideal for adding an extra dimension to houseplant displays or creating a magical atmosphere in conservatories after dusk. New Glass LED Jar Lights come in a variety of warm pastel tones that instantly create a party atmosphere – and with an RRP of just £3.99 each, these jars of sparkling light hold the key to increasing basket spend with their novelty appeal.

To find out more about Woodlodge’s expanded Root Indoor offering for 2021, visit www.woodlodge.co.uk

Westland is making its biggest ever media investment into the Peckish bird care brand for Autumn / Winter 2020, as it soars onto the airwaves with a TV campaign that celebrates the joy of inviting birds into the garden.

Supported by targeted press and digital media activity, the £1.1m Peckish campaign will take flight across the UK and Ireland throughout October and November.

The popular Peckish TV ad, set to reach over 25m people, has been updated for 2020 and brings to life the enjoyment of encouraging more birds into the garden. The lighthearted ad shows a queue of hungry birds waiting in line, hoping to secure a table in their local neighbourhood eatery, renowned for its delicious food.

As Autumn approaches, the Peckish campaign will highlight Peckish Complete Seed & Nut Mix as the perfect ‘go to’ for bird feeding. Packed with 12 varieties of high energy seeds and nuts, Peckish Complete gives every bird a reason to visit and every garden the chance of welcoming a wide variety of colourful visitors.

From feeders to feed, suets to seed, Peckish has everything needed to entice birds into the garden all year round. To further drive sales and brand loyalty, a selection of added value product lines will also feature in the range throughout the period of the media campaign, including a Peckish Complete 12.75kg pack with 20% extra free; Peckish Extra Goodness Energy Balls 6-pack with 100% extra free and Peckish Extra Goodness Energy Balls 50-tub with 20% extra free.

As the UK’s fastest growing and second largest bird care brand*, Peckish is committed to driving footfall into stores, supporting retailers and encouraging customer awareness, trial and trust, through this heavyweight category investment. *Source – GfK; Jan-Jun 2020

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September 2020 Add your business to our member’s directory

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HOW RETAILERS CAN MAXIMISE SALES OF POINSETTIA THIS CHRISTMAS As the 2020 Christmas season sneaks ever closer, the leading European poinsettia marketing initiative, Stars for Europe, is reaching out to UK garden retailers to remind them of just how expansive its 2020 poinsettia offering is and to help them drive sales of this festive bloom more than ever before.

splash of colour within their homes. Make sure you optimise your customer communication channels to drive interest ahead of the day and consider special offers and promotional deals to increase the average basket spend in the lead up to, and during the day.

Signage throughout the store will work as a silent salesperson, whilst staff can be adorned with cutpoinsettia corsages and rosettes to catch the eye.

A rainbow of poinsettia colour

4) Update potential

Utilising the skills and expertise of some of Europe’s leading poinsettia breeders – Dümmen Orange, Selecta One, Beekenkamp and Syngenta, supported by MNP Flowers – this year the poinsettia is set to enjoy a resurgence as blooms come in more of a rainbow of colours than ever before.

Tapping into influences that are shaping interior trends, as well as fashion and beauty, the complete Stars for Europe poinsettia offering will see blush pinks, rich creams, pale greens, crisp whites, salmon pinks and the classic bright pillarbox red (plus so many more!) all taking centre stage. Never before has there been so many colour ways available; colour ways which will appeal to a broad consumer demographic and cater to both traditional and contemporary tastes.

Season after season, poinsettias have proven their worth as a great gift product.

This year, retailers can optimise this even further by upping the ante and build more buzz around this gifting opportunity. Adding a wrapping service so that poinsettia can be packaged and wrapped makes it even easier for customers to ‘grab and go’. Poinsettia bouquets, made from cut blooms, not only make for a great impulse purchase but also help to demonstrate the breadth of colours on offer, potentially enticing the recipient of the bouquet instore to find out more.

Finally, display the poinsettia plants in complementary planters to enable customers to ‘buy the

GARDEN RETAIL

What’s more, Stars for Europe has also invested in significant PR and marketing support, helping to drive awareness and inspirational content direct to the consumer through print and online media, influencer outreach, product placement and social media, with the aim of converting this into sales for retailers as the festive season approaches.

Maximising potential

in-store

After the turbulence of 2020 there is no question that the UK consumer will be looking to this Christmas as an opportunity to regroup, relax and forget about the outside world. This means potentially big business for

garden retailers, and perhaps bigger business than ever before. Garden retail not only opened earlier than traditional high street stores following the loosening of lockdown restrictions, but they have since provided a sanctuary for consumers who have embraced this different style of shopping.

Garden retailers therefore have a significant opportunity to offer a onestop-shop for all things Christmas, with poinsettia sitting at the heart of this.

However, the success of poinsettia sales lies solely with how retailers merchandise and drive customers to make a purchase. Here the Stars for Europe experts share their top tips to success poinsettia retail.

rainbow-esque colour display, or group colours together to showcase how different colour poinsettias suit different interior trends, as you would different festive décor themes.

1) Create displays that stand-out

3) International Poinsettia Day

Whether retailers are looking to capture existing customers or to attract new ones, a dedicated poinsettia display is the ideal way of demonstrating the breadth and variety on offer. Use height and accessories to showcase the different colours available, either as a singular display that packs a punch with an impactful

On December 12th, 2020 lovers of poinsettia come together to celebrate these stunning bracts. Drawing attention to this annual day of celebration within the retail environment is a great way of driving impulse sales; sales that may lead to repeat custom once consumers have started to enjoy the bright

Why not also let your merchandising teams go wild and create stunning presentations that showcase ways to incorporate poinsettia into inspirational designs? From a mock-up of the Christmas dinner table, to wreaths, handmade advent calendars, hanging décor and elegant touches that adorn Christmas trees and around the home, the options are endless.

2) Co-locate poinsettias around the store Creating a Christmassy feel around the store relies on decorating every corner.

With poinsettia so widely recognised as a festive bloom, they make a great addition to any décor scheme. Why not add poinsettia to your decoration displays, your café tables or even on the tills to entice last minute purchases?

the

gifting

look’ and increase the average spend once again.

5) Workshops Homemade means made with love, which is why so many people are looking for inspiration for creating unique gift and décor projects. Stars for Europe has created an unrivalled portfolio of inspiration, with poinsettias at the heart of all these projects. Whether it is creating a one-off advent calendar, envy-inducing table centres or incorporating new colours into your festive scheme, the ideas are endless. Retailers are invited to utilise this content, either as the basis for an in-store (or virtual!) workshop, or as valuable content for social media feeds in the lead up to Christmas 2020.

6) Aftercare

A retailer is only as good as the service it provides, and in the case of poinsettias aftercare advice is a vital component in enjoying sales success. Ensure that staff within the indoor plant area are well versed in poinsettia aftercare advice, but support with additional storage at the point of purchase. A simple sign boasting ‘Five Steps to Thriving Poinsettias’ will catch the eye and illustrate the ease of care. Keep the advice simple yet informative and have a little fun with it!

Keep poinsettias out of drafts – they don’t appreciate chills!

Position your poinsettia in a warm and bright space (don’t worry about direct sunlight causing damage, this is winter in the UK – we don’t get enough sunlight to damage the plant!)

Watering your poinsettia will be dependent on its size, location and temperature. A general rule of thumb is a standard 13cm pot will need a small glass of water (around 0.2l) whilst a mini plant needs just a shot glass of water.

TOP TIP: if water is still present after 10 minutes remove it to avoid overwatering.

If in doubt, keep your poinsettia dry rather than overly wet. TOP TIP – to see if your poinsettia needs watering, simply lift it up.

If it feels light, then it’s time to give it a drink.

A little plant food or fertiliser can go a long way.

Treat your poinsettia to a little boost once a week to keep it thriving long after Santa has been to visit!

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IVYLINE LAUNCHES NEW ONLINE PORTAL FOR RETAIL CUSTOMERS live-stock availability information, the ability to pre-book orders for the new season, and image-based order confirmation. Ivyline’s sales representatives will also have access to the order book, meaning they will be able to support accordingly throughout the season.

GARDEN RETAIL Ivyline, the UK’s leading supplier of inspired collections for the garden and home, including indoor and outdoor pots, terrariums, firepits and water features, has made it even easier for its retail customers to access its bestselling ranges with the launch of a new online portal.

Powered by online sales experts, Blue Alligator, this new portal will offer Ivyline customers never before seen access to the company’s complete product portfolio.

For the first time, retailers can take absolute control of their order book and future product planning via the user-friendly interface.

Key benefits of this new online system include complete visibility of all previous orders and stock due dates, easy access to Ivyline’s current price lists,

Scott Thomas, Managing Director of Ivyline said: “The current climate has called for great flexibility, with retailers having to adapt quickly to fluctuating consumer demand andrapidly changing product popularity.Our new portal has been specifically created to provide our customers with easier access than ever

before, backed by a system that has been curated to maximise efficiencies and cut delivery lead times, whilst providing easy access to the information that matters most for successful retail.

“The system won’t replace our sales team but will complement their ongoing activities. This is all about offering our customers enhanced sales support that meets the needs of modern retailing. We’re excited to roll it out, and for our retailers to start benefiting from access to this portal.”

To gain access to Ivyline’s new online portal please

contact your sales representative for more information or contact them team on 0844 800 2214.

Find out more To find out more about Ivyline please visit www.ivylinegb.co.uk where you will see the company’s full product offering including indoor and outdoor planters, plant and planter combos, water features, firepits and trendsetting cacti pots and terrariums, or email sales@ivylinegb.co.uk

DOBBIES REOPEN SOFT PLAYS WITH SAFETY MEASURES IN PLACE GARDEN RETAIL

not required for children under 11.

Following updated guidance from the UK Government that soft plays may reopen in England, the UK’s leading garden centre retailer, Dobbies Garden Centre, is reopening 31 soft plays across the estate throughout September.

Graeme Jenkins, CEO of Dobbies, said: “We have successfully reopened garden centres and restaurants across the UK, and are well-place to welcome customers into our soft plays. Thank you to all team members who have worked hard to ensure our soft plays are ready and we look forward to welcoming visitors for a fun and safe day out.”

The safety of team members and customers remains the number one priority, and a number of social distancing measures have been put in place.

Dobbies’ soft plays are cleaned and sanitised before

opening, mid-way through the day and after closing, to make play time safe. Atalian Servest have been employed to apply Zoono antibacterial cleaning product fortnightly.

There will be reduced capacity in all soft plays, with customers requested to book in advance to manage numbers. This will also enable team members to collect data for NHS Test

and Trace. There are extra hand cleaning stations, and adults will be required to wear face coverings until seated at a table within the soft play. Face coverings are

For a video for our measures: https://youtu.be/9uiYjSxM 94Y

The dates for opening are outlined below, but may be subject to change.

Open now: Altrincham, Ashford, Atherstone, Bury St Edmonds, Chesterfield, Derby, Leicester, Liverpool, Shenstone, Shrewsbury, Southport, Stapleton, Stockton, Telford, Woodbridge, Harleston Heath, Marple, Moreton Park, Royston, Aylesbury, Galton, Gillingham, Hare Hatch, Thornbury, StratfordUpon-Avon.

From 21 September: Gloucester, Havant, Kings Lynn.

HOUSEPLANT SALES BLOOM IN JULY GARDEN RETAIL

giving them something to focus on and look after.”

SALES of houseplants at garden centres across the country bloomed in July (2020) according to the Garden Centre Association’s (GCA) Barometer of Trade report.

Hard landscaping sales were also up 63.03% and furniture and barbecue sales increased to 44.01% too.

Meanwhile, sales in garden sundries were also buoyant showing a 49.47% upturn and seed and bulb sales recorded an increase of 42.78%.

Compared with the same month in 2019, sales were up 81.82%.

Iain Wylie, GCA Chief Executive explained: “After the blistering heatwave in June, July was a much cooler month, with more rainfall, which goes some

way to explain the increase in sales of houseplants.

“It seems houseplants remain as popular as ever, helped greatly by the lockdown, when people who might not have outdoor spaces realised they can still fulfil their green-fingered needs with indoor foliage and potted flowers instead,

Sales in food halls and farm shops were up 38.04%, pets and aquatics sales were up 16.83%. However, clothing sales were down -14.83%.

Iain added: “Restaurants and cafés were allowed to re-

open in July, however catering sales were down 54.54% as not all centres opened their catering facilities straight away and, indeed some still remain closed, combined with new social distancing measures and a reduced number of covers in restaurants. It also took a short time for customers to build up their confidence to go out and eat again.

“We expect the figures to be much higher for August, as people became more confident about supporting their local eateries and the economy, and many of our members have also signed up

to take part in the Eat Out to Help Out Government scheme.”

The GCA represents nearly 200 garden centres nationwide.

Overall sales for the month were up 15.83% with a year to date change of -18.64%.

Through sharing information and its inspection programme the GCA helps members to achieve high standards in customer service, plant quality and reliability.

The GCA BoT reports are compiled using actual sales figures and provide an up-todate trading position statement. They are made available mid-month following the end of the prior month after all member garden centres have submitted their results.

The BoT reports allow members to compare their trading positions with other centres.

For further information, please call 01244 952170.

Alternatively, please visit www.gca.org.uk, log on to www.facebook.com/pages /GardenCentreAssociation or follow the organisation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GC_Ass ociation.

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September 2020 How to contact us at the editorial office:

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Phone 07984 11 2537 email info@localgardener.org

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Write to Local Gardener Newspaper, Kemp House, 152-160 City Rd, London EC1V 2NX

DOBBIES WELCOMES AWARD-WINNING BUTCHER TO EDINBURGH STORE GARDEN RETAIL

The UK’s leading garden centre retailer, Dobbies Garden Centres, today (11 September) welcomes award-winning butchers, Walter Smith Fine Foods, to the flagship Edinburgh store.

The butchers will feature in Dobbies’ foodhall, offering customers a variety of locally-sourced meat, including family favourites such as sausages and burgers. There will also be a wide selection of highquality cuts of beef, lamb and pork available.

The butchery and delicatessen will offer customers a range of classics, including handmade sausage rolls, award-winning pork pies, and popular kitchen-ready recipes like cottage pie and lasagne, which can be put straight into the oven. There will also be a variety of vegetarian options

available, including vegetable samosas and onion bhajis, perfect for a quick lunch or to serve when entertaining.

The news comes as Dobbies announced a recent partnership with Sainsbury’s, bolstering its convenience food offering for customers in Edinburgh.

Graeme Jenkins, CEO of Dobbies, said: “Walter Smith Fine Foods is a brilliant addition to our Edinburgh store and we’re sure that the butchers will be popular with our customers.

At Dobbies, we pride ourselves on offering customers a wide range of quality produce, freshlybaked goods and general grocery items all under one roof.”

Robert Jones, Retail Director at Walter Smith Fine Foods, said: “We’re delighted to be launching our butchery and deli counter at Dobbies’ Edinburgh store, and look

forward to customers trying our award-winning products.

We’ve been in business for 135 years and we are proud to deliver quality service and, of course, the best quality meats and produce.”

There will be a 10% discount for Dobbies Club members from Friday 11 to Saturday

26 September Edinburgh store.

at

the

Walter Smith Fine Foods can also be found in Dobbies stores located in Livingston, Cirencester, Huntingdon, Stapleton, Stratford upon Avon and Aylesbury.

For more information visit dobbies.com

JOHNSONS RECORD YEAR! One of the UK’s leading commercial nurseries, Johnsons of Whixley is celebrating a record-breaking year within its Garden Centre Sales Division.The firm’s Garden Centre Sales Division, which is run by Retail Sales Manager, Mark Reynard has had a turbulent year to say the least when garden centres were forced to shut leading to postponed and cancelled orders of thousands of perishable plants. The division which relied heavily on online plant retailers during lockdown has surpassed its original budget figure to achieve a record-breaking year despite all of the challenges faced. The company had to think outside of the box during the lockdown period and come up with initiatives to save what would otherwise be wasted stock by donating hundreds of plants to local villages as well as creating ‘Garden Rescue Packs’ which were sold by online plant suppliers, Hedges Direct. Over 300 ‘Garden Rescue Packs’ were shipped from April – May including one to the investor, Deborah Meaden. The packs included a selection of x50 2L or x25 5L mixed shrubs. Once the Garden Centres could re-open Johnsons experienced unprecedented demand for their plants. Over 700,000 plants have made it down their plant preparation line from April – now. The division’s successes are due to the publics newfound love of gardening and home improvements with companies such as Notonthehighstreet seeing a 230% increase in garden-related searches in August alone. Johnsons staff did a fantastic job of fulfilling the high demand, working overtime, including weekends and evenings to produce and collate all of the orders. Retail Sales Manager, Mark Reynard, said: “A notable year in my 40-year career at Johnsons. It’s astonishing to have come out of the ‘other end’ in what we initially thought was going to be the most challenging year the division had ever faced. We are so grateful for all our staff’s hard work and all of the orders and support from our customers new and old.”

THE GREENER GARDENING COMPANY UNVEILS ITS 2021 MULTIBUY OFFERING GARDEN RETAIL With the growing media category confirmed as one of this year’s star performers, The Greener Gardening Company has unveiled its new multibuy offering for 2021 – tailored to helping retailers leverage the potential of v o l u m e - d r i v e n promotions.

Multibuy promotions will run across selected products in two of The Greener Gardening Company’s highprofile brands: Richmoor – a garden professional range of compost that comprises recycled green materials and forestry constituents, and its Growise Multipurpose compost, an established, top-performing brand of traditional growing media.

The Greener Gardening Company’s National Sales Manager, Jason Pike, said: “Pent-up demand for gardening post-lockdown generated extraordinary

demand for compost, while a new generation of consumers who discovered gardening during the pandemic are now entering the market. When you factorin that the UK economy is now in recession – prompting consumers to turn to value-for-money activities such as gardening to fill their time while traditional trips away are deemed too expensive – conditions are ripe for yet another year of unprecedented demand for compost.”

Jason added: “This combination of rising demand for growing media, consumers in a bargainhunting mindset and gardeners tackling projects that were set back during lockdown when access to compost was limited, creates

the perfect opportunity for retailers to drive sales growth with multibuy offers.

Our volume-driven promotions on selected Richmoor and Growise brands have been customdesigned with promotional flashed packaging to appeal to consumers who demand the best value for money but will not compromise on quality. It is this mix of exceptional value and assured performance that will power growing media sales instore next season – especially now that we have excellent stock availability and significantly reduced lead times.”

The Greener Gardening Company’s 2021 volumedrivers include three products within the Richmoor range, all of which

display the ‘4 for £12’ multibuy flash prominently on the front of packaging: Organic Garden Compost (40-litre), recommended for planting out, mulching and improving soil composition; Mulch (40-litre), which naturally suppresses weeds, retains moisture and protects roots during winter, and Garden Soil (25-litre) – the established choice for filling raised beds, replacing old soil in garden borders and for use in landscaping and for creating new lawns.

In addition, 50-litre bags of Growise Multipurpose Compost will be emblazoned with a ‘3 for £12’ flash, helping to ignite sales of this top-selling, versatile blend that caters for a host of garden activities, including sowing seeds and taking cuttings; filling hanging baskets and containers, as well as for use in beds and borders.

To further enhance the company’s volume-driven offering and help retailers to

maximise sales opportunities, The Greener Gardening Company offers a host of innovative and dynamic point of sale materials, custom-made to focus attention on brand offerings throughout the consumer journey – from raising brand awareness in high traffic exterior locations outside stockists’ premises to securing sales at the point of purchase.

Roadside banners displaying powerful brand identity – including a banner for the Growise Multipurpose Compost ‘Buy 3 for £12’ multibuy promotion, will generate interest among both passing and returning consumers, while instore Correx boards for Growise and Richmoor brands will drive footfall by throwing the spotlight on value-driven promotions in growing media sales

areas. To maximise merchandising potential, The Greener Gardening Company can supply Wooden Stands to display its branded ranges at their best.

Following phenomenal summer performance, with growing media sales in June up by 41% compared to the same month in 2019, The Greener Gardening Company is pulling out all the stops to replenish retailers’ stock by carrying on with 24-hour production, which has been in place over summer to meet demand, and has now been extended into autumn. In anticipation of any potential future challenges that may arise as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the company plans to have all its garden centre stock on the ground ahead of Christmas, ensuring that plentiful supplies are available ahead of the 2021 season with short lead times for delivery.

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PET WELLNESS: WHY NATURE IS THE NEW WAY TO NURTURE from soaps for grubby farming hands and paws to moisturising balms for callouses – all using nothing but what they could find in the hedgerows or from nature’s harvest. It’s these recipes and remedies that we have reimagined to give our four-legged friends the boost from mother nature they deserve.”

GARDEN RETAIL

TRIAL PALLETS HELP RETAILERS DELIVER INCREDIBLE SALES

GARDEN RETAIL With Christmas tree styles and trends changing in line with consumer demand, the need to offer more choice is becoming ever more a reality for garden centres.

Whether it is offering trees which have a clear and distinct environmental message, or meet the needs of smaller contemporary living spaces, discerning shoppers want a tree that ticks a lot of boxes. Before retailers had to juggle lots of stock and stockists, but that is now a thing of the past. Premium Christmas Trees’ trial pallets enable retailers to take in smaller stock quantities, allowing them to see which varieties and sizes work best for their own customer demographic, all backed by low prices, high quality and low-commitment orders.

For the 2020 season, Premium Christmas Trees has introduced four new trial pallet offers for garden centres – Premium Nordmann, Traditional Nordmann, Fraser Fir and the innovative Premium Nordmann Slimline.

They also have some great trials on a new wreath range, and pallets of 25 pot grown trees.

Premium Christmas Trees’ Sophie Holt said: “Our trial pallets are a great way of testing the success of new lines amongst customers, without having to commit to large stock quantities.

We have previously run trial pallets with customers and have found that over 95% of them return the following year with increased orders. It is this level of success that we want to roll out to our wider customer network as we are so confident in the functionality of these trial pallets.”

Natural ingredients, hand-made products, no plastics – many of today’s fastest-growing ‘human’ lifestyle choices are now shaping how we care for our pets. Here, awardwinning Podium Pet Products – the company which has brough to market Dog Rocks and the all-new, all-natural Be:Loved pet care range – digs deeper into how animal lovers are putting the ‘nature’ back into pet nurture.

Whisper it quietly, but pet ‘ownership’ is a thing of the past… because a new era of true pet parenting is here.

Just as we’ve been making more mindful, natural and sustainable shopping decisions for ourselves in recent years, we’re now doing the same for our beloved animals.

By sharing our health and wellness preferences with our pets we feel they will be well cared for, comfortable and at their best. In short we’re not only treating them as part of the family, but also, effectively, human.

This ‘humanisation’ trend has been highlighted by major market studies for several years. But that doesn’t mean the surge in canine fashions that emerged in the early 2000s.

Today, pet anthropomorphism has matured into a responsible, environmentally aware reflection of our modern consumer values.

A report into the UK pet care market by Mintel last July* shed some light on this growing trend. Of the 12.6 million pet-owning households in the UK (around 45% of all homes) 87% bought healthcare and pet accessories for their dogs, cats or other small animals in the past year, beyond their basic food, veterinary and insurance needs. Mintel also say we’re continuing to spend more money on our pets, fuelled both by our view of them as family members and by a forecast 15% growth in pet ownership by 2024 (not to mention the anecdotal number of extra

paws welcomed by families during the 2020 lockdown).

Jane Westgarth, a senior retail analyst at Mintel, explained: “Pets are ‘people’ too, in the eyes of most pet owners. And, just like treasured members of the family, pets are indulged with toys, stylish accessories and good quality pet care products.

This ‘humanisation’ trend even stretches to pets being given their own Christmas and birthday gifts. People are also buying into technical products, such as fitness and activity monitors, again mirroring trends in the human marketplace.”

Research by Euromonitor International in May this year* agrees, reporting that pet humanisation has both strengthened the bond between owners and pets, and made their animals’ health, wellbeing and happiness a major consideration.

Another Mintel study last September*also revealed that a third of UK dog food buyers now believe it’s good for their four-legged friends to regularly have plant-based meals; reflecting our own increasingly vegetarian or veganpreferences.

For pet care items too, we are attracted tonaturally formulated toiletries that pamper and clean, condition and soothe very similar to our own.One company that knows exactly what today’s pet parents are looking for in this regard is Berkshirebased Podium Pet Products.

Specialisingin developing entirely natural, eco-friendly pet care ranges for furry friends around the world, the company was recognised with The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade in 2016.CEO Carina

Evans – who comes from a farming background and is anall-round animal lover – says it’s all about including our pets in the healthy lifestyle we aspire to ourselves.

“Where human priorities go, pet trends tend to follow,” she confirms. “If we feel that a product could be good for us, it will also be good for our much-loved animals.

That’s why pet careranges i n c o r p o r a t i n g wholesome,countryside ingredients such as such as honey, lavender, goat’s milk and chamomile are more popular than ever, along with healthfulextras like green tea, essential plant-based oils and selected vitamins.”

The packaging and the provenance of what we buy today is as important as the contents, she adds; with well designed, British-made ranges – in sustainable packaging – especially catching the eye of pet parents. “Whether for us or our animals, people want things in their homes that look lovely and smell delicious. British, artisan items also speak of traditional values and extra care taken to prepare them.

We’re all trying to avoid unnecessary chemicals and plastics too, and that’s increasingly reflected in what we choose for our pets.”

To meet this growing demand, Podium Pet Products recently developed a 100% natural pet care range inspired by an oldanimal husbandry book discovered in Carina’s husband’s family. “My mother- and father-in-law were Dorset farmers. When money was scarce, they developed an amazing treasure trove of recipes –

The result, Be:Loved, is an effective, luxurious range of all-natural soaps, balms, oils and scents handmade in the UK to keep animals in top condition and lovingly deal with those minor bumps and scrapes. Every product is free from synthetic preservatives, tested first on the company’s human team and is packed plastic-free.

“We developed Be:Loved to delight both pets and their parents,” explains Carina.

“There are four, gorgeous, goodness-filled shampoo bars for example, including antibacterial Be:Clean infused with growthboosting green tea for the messiest coats; Be:Bugfree which includes insectrepelling citronella; Be:Vegan made with vegan hemp and chamomile that’s perfect for skin issues such as dandruff and eczema; and Be-Calm incorporating lavender and goat’s milk to help pets unwind after an adventurous day.”

Two, enriching nose and paw balms featuring shea butter and Vitamin E have also been formulated for on-the-go fixes: Be:Safe first aid cream with essential oils and moisturising beeswax to soothe minor grazes and stings; and Be:Loved which incorporates avocado oil and manuka honey to treat cracked paws, callouses or dry noses. To refresh a pet’s coat between washes there is also Be:Silky, a conditioning and relaxing pet massage rub featuring enriching botanical oils.

And the home-owner’s comfort hasn’t been forgotten either: Be:Fresh probiotic sanitizing spray is on hand to clean, scent and protect homes and kennels; while the Be:Calm candle, crafted with sweet-smelling lavender and chamomile, uses enzymes to eliminate

odours anywhere in the home. nnovative Podium Pet Products has even created Dog Rocks, a clever solution to the unsightly yellow lawn burns caused by dog urine. These 100% natural, unique igneous rocks, found only in Australian mines, are placed in a dog’s water bowl where they effectively absorb the nitrates, ammonia and trace elements in tap water that usually cause burn patches.

Carina explains: “We created Dog Rocks with the health and wellbeing of dogs and other family pets in mind. Unlike other products they are totally natural and don’t change urine pH – they simply mean the animal has purer, cleaner water to drink, plus the garden stays lovely.”

Carina concludes: “With even more of us at home for longer in these Covid times, it’s important to make the best of what we have while treating ourselves and our animals to different things.

With Be:Loved and Dog Rocks we’re proud to please both pets and their parents with affordable, versatile, responsible care products that they can all enjoy!

Find out more The Be:Loved range and Dog Rocks are available from a range of retailers and leading pet stores, as well as from www.wearebeloved.co and www.dogrocks.com. You can also join the Be:Loved community on Instagram by following @belovedpetz

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Gardener

September 2020 How to contact us at the editorial office:

How to take out an advertisement

Phone 07984 11 2537 email info@localgardener.org

Phone 07984 11 2537 email localgardenernewspaper@gmail.com

Write to Local Gardener Newspaper, Kemp House, 152-160 City Rd, London EC1V 2NX

Write to Local Gardener Newspaper, Kemp House, 152-160 City Rd, London EC1V 2NX

ADD SOME EXTRA SPARKLE TO PLANTS THIS CHRISTMAS HOME GARDEN THAT YELLOW PATCH ON YOUR LAWN COULD MEAN CHAFER GRUBS!

HOME GARDEN Unexpected yellow patches on garden lawns, magpies, crows and other corvids regularly pecking at the same spot and the grass being rotovated at night is an almost certain sign of chafer grubs or leatherjackets. And the time to treat them is now.

The creamy coloured garden chafer grubs are about 15mm or 0.6” long and have clearly visible legs (unlike Vine Weevils). The Garden Chafer Beetles lay their eggs in small clusters a few centimetres below the surface of the lawn between April and June. They hatch during the summer into chafer grubs that feed voraciously on the roots of the grass. They stay near the surface of the lawn until the weather turns colder when they bury themselves deeper in the soil and become dormant, to emerge in spring as chafer beetles.

Autumn before the frosts is the critical time for damage.

The grubs are near the surface making them ideal targets for the birds, foxes and badgers. This is when the grass turns yellow and there are obvious signs of night-time excavations by badgers and foxes. The damaged grass is easily lifted as it has virtually no roots. It is also the perfect time to treat them with nature’s very own chafer grub exterminators – nematodes.

These microscopic worm-like creatures are mixed with water and applied to the grass via a watering can with a coarse rose or a hoseend feeder. The treated area should be aerated with a garden fork and watered before the treatment and kept moist for two to three weeks after. In that time the grubs will be killed, breaking the cycle of destruction.

At Christmas time, we transform our homes, creating cosy, festive havens of sparkling decorations and twinkling lights. As we decorate, the tree of course takes centre stage, but what about other plants? Decorating needn’t stop at the tree, there’s a variety of ways to bring the outdoors in to celebrate the season.

Plants make for great Christmas decorations, adding a touch of extra class to any indoor scheme, particularly when complemented by a stylish pot. Leading plant pot manufacturer, elho, recognises the importance of pairing plants with a stylish pot to give a flawless finish to any room.

With its striking red and green foliage, the Poinsettia is one of the most traditional Christmas plants.

However, there many of varieties with white, lemon, pink and purple all available – there’s a colour to flatter any interior, and an elho pot of many styles and colours to suit too!

one. For some extra sparkle, the elho pure smart LED range lights up to illuminate the tree and can be controlled from anywhere via the elho app.

Hyacinths and Amaryllis make the home even more Christmassy. The elho loft bowl with an integrated water reservoir will keep these plants happy throughout all the festivities.

Or how about adding some small shrubs with berries like the Skimmia and the Sideritis; or some stunning Hellebores known as the Christmas rose? For some extra variety, and something more unusual, there are plants like the Ardisia (Christmas Berry) or Gaultheria (Boxberry) that

add modern Christmas tones to decorations.

Choosing the plants is one thing, but choosing the right pot to house them in is another! elho pots provide the perfect home for Christmas plants, with a vast array of styles, sizes and colours.

The pure round pot provides a way to switch from the traditional, practical tree holder to a larger pot to make the tree an even bigger showpiece, and allow for a live tree as opposed to a cut

By adding some small twists, a plant can be transformed into a festive decoration. Why not add some simple solar powered fairy lights to house plants to create Christmas tabletop features in a brussels round mini? Or make the

Christmas scene complete with the atmospheric festive colours of gold, copper, green and red with a variety of matt, shimmer and gloss finishes from the brussels diamond round collection. elho products are created with nature in mind. 80% of the collection is produced with recycled plastic. In turn, all elho pots are 100% recyclable.

For more information please visit www.elho.com.

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SCATTER YOUR WILDFLOWER SEEDS THIS AUTUMN TO USHER IN A BRIGHTER 2021 HOME GARDEN

It is a common misconception that the best time to sow wildflower seeds is in the spring. Dr. Emily Attlee, co-founder of wildflower specialist, Seedball, explains why autumn is, in fact, a great time to get to work on your flower patch.

Spring is the time of year when people’s minds generally turn to new life and growth, with warmer days urging us outdoors to enjoy nature. Scattering wildflower seeds in autumn, however, means that your wildflower garden will get a head start, and will result in beautiful flowers to welcome in the spring.

Autumn sowing not only means that you will be treated to a colourful display of pollinatorfriendly plants come spring, but it’s a chance to enjoy your garden at a beautiful time of year, as the light is soft, the air is still warm, and a moment of reflection can be taken following a particularly long summer.

The advantages of scattering wildflower seeds in autumn are multiple. The soil will still be warm enough, having stored up all of that energy from the summer sun, and there is extra moisture in the air.

These two conditions work together to aid germination, giving the seeds the best possible start. Also, some seeds, such as poppies, actually require a cold period before germination, so an autumn sowing will get them prepped for putting on a display the following spring.

Sowing in autumn also means that nature will take

care of the watering for you.

With the weather changing and rainfall increasing at this time of year, very little intervention will be needed from you to keep your seeds happy. When using a product such as Seedball, too, you know that the seeds are protected until they are ready to look after themselves. The protective balls are made from a combination of British

wildflower seeds, clay to protect from predators such as birds and ants, peat-free compost to provide nutrition, and a little bit of chilli powder to deter slugs and snails.

It is also important to note that wildflowers prosper in poorer soils – there is no need to painstakingly prepare a seedbed for these beauties. If you notice that

your potential wildflower patch has been covered in fallen leaves, gather them up and save them to provide leaf mould for your vegetable patch. Leaves release nutrients into the soil as they break down, which is great for vegetables, but not for wildflowers.

You can keep scattering your seed balls all the way up until the first frosts arrive.

This will differ across the country, but if your nights are not icy, you will still be able to scatter.

Two great selections to get scattering now are our Hedgehog Mix and the Artist’s Meadow collection.

The hedgehog mix contains a mix of Yellow Rattle, Wild Carrot, Birdsfoot Trefoil, Tufted Vetch, Self Heal and Poppy, with proceeds going towards People’s Trust for Endangered Species, whist the Artist’s Meadow has proceeds to the Wildlife Trusts and boasts seeds of Common Poppy, Oxeye Daisy, Musk Mallow, Corn Marigold, Purple Field Scabious, Red Campion and White Cow Parsley.

A simple scattering of seed balls today will result in a brighter, wilder tomorrow!

To find out more about Seedball visit https://seedball.co.uk/ You can also find Seedball on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

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We have a member’s directory where you can advertise your business. This is a free b2b directory with forums similar to twitter. You can even have your own shop with the products linked to your website. Go to WWW.LOCALGARDENER.ORG and add your business today.

GARDENING DURING LOCKDOWN: AN EXTRAORDINARY SUMMER REVIEWED HOME GARDEN

During lockdown, seed sales may have soared, but what was our inner motivation for embracing the hearty thrill of the back yard?

Independent research by Forest Garden*, the UK’s largest supplier of wooden sheds and fencing, may have uncovered the truth behind the national lockdown obsession of Spring/Summer 2020. It seems many of those new gardeners were simply looking for peace.

Here’s what the survey discovered: ‘Gardening helps my mental health’ More people agreed with this phrase than any of the other choices offered in the survey.

43% of respondents agreed – with the highest percentage being young men aged 16-24 (46%).

Here’s a group you may not normally expect to see engaged in gardening, perhaps using this

engrossing activity as a way to combat the pressure of social isolation.

More people in the West Midlands (52%) and East Midlands (49%) agreed with this statement than in any other UK region. 51% of housewives/house husbands agreed, perhaps suggesting the need to escape from domesticity. 43% of those with under 16s in the home also agreed, reflecting the pressures of being holed up with one’s family life during lockdown.

Kathryn Rossiter, CEO of the gardening-for-health charity Thrive, said: “This survey shines a welcome spotlight on how gardening has been one of the heroes of the Covid-19 crisis.

“It shows that at a time of great uncertainty, many more people have discovered gardening as a positive activity for health and wellbeing, both physically and mentally.

“It backs up extensive research which shows the combination of physical exercise, meaningful activity and time in nature that gardening provides can

for fitness also said it helped their mental health.

‘Gardening is a family activity’

During lockdown, a quarter of men surveyed spent up to three hours more per day in their gardens than they normally would.

That equates to 300 hours over 100 days. In confectionary terms, those men would burned off more than 500 Mars Bars**.

22% agreed with this statement nationally.

Londoners (27%) and those in the East Midlands (also 27%) were the most family orientated. As you may expect, 43% with under 16s in the house used gardening as a family pastime – and (worth noting) an equal number of this group gardened for their mental health during lockdown, suggesting the need to escape from the pressures of family life.

‘Gardening provides fruit and vegetables for my table’

reduce stress, anxiety and depression by giving us a sense of control, purpose and achievement.

that all this gardening has given a sense of peace during such an extraordinary period in all our lives.”

“I hope that they will continue to enjoy these benefits as we ease back to more normal life.”

‘Gardening keeps me fit and healthy’

Lynsey Grinnell, head of marketing at Forest Garden Ltd, said: “It was fantastic to see UK gardeners using their extra home time in such a sustainable way. And it’s heart-warming to discover

36% overall agreed.

Amongst the over 65s, though, gardening becomes a very popular way to keep fit (with 47% agreeing). The fittest gardeners are in Northern Ireland (51%) and the West Midlands (47%).

63% of those who gardened

Whilst most British gardens have an abundance of shrubs and flowers placed there to look attractive (64% according to the HTA), more than a quarter (27%) of respondents interviewed specifically about their lockdown gardening behaviour had gardened to grow edibles.

The figure rose to 34% amongst the over 55s. And in the South West, 41% agreed with the statement.

Of the many hundreds of products offered for sale by Forest Garden, its most popular lines during lockdown were Grow Your Own products such as wooden raised beds, planters and greenhouses.

Lynsey Grinnell said: “This research re-confirms what we, and dozens of other companies in the garden sector, have noted during lockdown: a massive increase in interest in outside spaces.

Whilst our homes are our castles, for those lucky enough to have their own outdoor space – whether a tiny terrace or expansive plot – our gardens have been giving endless enjoyment and have been a focal point for family life.”

NEW GEOMETRIC PLANT POT COVER HOME GARDEN

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Small Plant Pot Cover – RRP £8.00 – 75 x 75 x 75mm Large Plant Pot Cover – RRP £10.00 – 105 x 105 x 105mm Available to buy at www.blockdesign.co.uk.

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ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN EXPERT’S TOP TIPS FOR A GREEN GARDEN HOME GARDEN Green-fingered gardening enthusiasts are being given expert tips on how to make their gardens bloom while keeping water usage low.

Herbaceous Supervisor at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) Kirsty Wilson, who is also a BBC Beechgrove presenter, is supporting a drive with Scottish Water to remind homeowners of ways to be more environmentally friendly when it comes to gardening.

Kirsty said that although her ‘garden’ at RBGE is 70 acres, there are plenty of methods that people can adopt in their domestic setting to ensure they are not being wasteful with water.

Ensuring water resources are protected and waste reduced is a vital part of how Scottish Water is supporting sustainability, which is being highlighted during Climate Week.

One of the best tips is to water in the morning, which will allow plants to draw from water throughout the day, avoiding anything draining away overnight.

Kirsty said: “We can train our plants to drink water slowly by giving them less water, which will actually encourage them to drink less. In essence, if you keep the glass half full, your plants will adapt and learn to drink more slowly.

“If we swap hoses for watering cans, we can save a lot of water – using a watering can slows the flow of water, meaning more water stays in your plant pot rather than running out of the base.”

People with gardens should avoid watering lawns and grass, as the average lawn will bounce back quickly after a burst of rainfall – which is still always likely in Scotland.

Kirsty, who has also worked at Highgrove House for HRH the Prince of Wales, RBGE’s royal patron, added: “You can make your garden more

environmentally friendly by installing a water butt – not only is rainwater better for your plans than mains tap water, it reduces pressure on drains during periods of heavy rain.

“If you don’t have space for a water butt, you can improve how well your soil holds water by adding organic materials like homemade compost, so when it does rain the soil retains more water.

“Water from your household is also ok to use, with care, on your outdoor plants – water from your kitchen, washing machine, baths or showers, is safe to use on most garden plants.”

RBGE is the latest to Join the Wave in supporting Scottish Water’s ‘Your Water Your Life’ campaign, which aims to encourage people to celebrate the country’s precious, natural resource – our Scottish tap water.

According to Kirsty and RBGE, gardens play an important role in preventing surface water from flooding

urban areas. Green spaces soak up rain, whereas tarmac and paving can increase the amount of rainwater that runs off into street drains.

RBGE is also pioneering an experimental ‘Raingarden’ which is already proving to be helpful in understanding and planning strategies for coping with unpredictable weather.

Kirsty added: “Longer dry periods followed by heavy downpours are particularly problematic in terms of maintaining plant health and avoiding localised flooding in gardens of all sizes.

“Lawns are simply not effective at soaking up or trapping excess water and the answer does not lie in resorting to concrete or paving. We need to develop different gardening practices. Replacing hard surfaces and grass areas with a mixed selection of herbaceous perennials and shrubs can capture water runoff and increase the wildlife and habitat value of the area. This is a model that can be picked up and adapted

to suit the needs of any plot, large or small.”

gardens green and beautiful while also being mindful of how much water we use.

impact of the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis.

Brian Lironi, Director of Corporate Affairs at Scottish Water, said: “‘Your Water Your Life’ aims to highlight the importance of water in all of our lives, encouraging us to think about our water usage in a different way.

“As we all strive to reduce the impact of all our activity on the environment and increase biodiversity, using water efficiently, saving it where we can and reducing waste, will really help.”

“Gardens and green spaces played a huge role in our lives during lockdown as a positive place and outlet for many of us to channel our energy. These tips show us how easy it is to keep our

As Herbaceous Supervisor at RBGE, Kirsty is part of a globally important plant research and conservation horticulture institute, working at home and around the world to combat the

Kirsty works with scientists and fellow horticulturists, outreach ranges from engaging with students and volunteers to her Beechgrove appearances, leading tours, writing articles, and inspiring citizens of Scotland to make changes for the better.

Find out more at: https://www.yourwateryourl ife.co.uk/

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THE TOP 10 EMERGING GARDENING TRENDS ACCORDING TO INSTAGRAM HOME GARDEN

most of small spaces indoors, the tiny garden trend is blooming at number four in our list.

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1.#BALCONYGARDEN ING – 96,817 POSTS One in eight households in the UK, have no access to a private or shared garden. But what many living in urban areas do have is a little outdoor space high above the city. Balconies make the perfect space for a garden – you just have to know what to do with it. Balcony gardening is the top up and coming gardening trend right now.

How to get the look: You have plenty of choice to make this functional space really come alive, whether you opt to make the most of any wood on your balcony, go for minimalist design, or choose to go all out wildlife oasis.

Plants to use: The plants you’ll need will depend on your chosen look, but by opting for the likes of jasmine, lavender, foxglove, bamboo, eucalyptus, snake plants, and peace lilies, you can’t go wrong.

2. #WILDGARDEN 91,777 POSTS

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For many people this year, gone are the days of pruning, mowing and meticulous garden maintenance. The second biggest trend in our up and coming list is the wild garden. Looks like it really is time to go wild.

How to get the look: A wild garden that encourages life and wildlife will rely on a few key things. First are wildlife friendly plants, as well as plenty of water. To really get the look, aesthetically long wild grass is ideal as are plant vines that ramble over fences or walls – they can hide these human-made structures and create a wild and untamed look in just a single season.

Plants to use: Singleflowering varieties of plants

How to get the look: With a tiny garden, it’s all about making the space look bigger. Options include growing up to use your vertical space, laying borders, having clear pathways, and creating specific zones or outdoor rooms.

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– or those similar to their original species form – are the best to encourage wildlife and insects. Open flowers are ideal for bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects.

3. #INSIDEOUTSIDE – 83,731 POSTS This trend has been taking London by storm in recent years, meaning it’s no surprise to see it at number three on our list of up and coming garden trends.

How to get the look: The inside outside garden trend is all about creating flow from your inside space to your outdoor space, so one

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naturally flows into the other.

The garden should feel like an extension of the home.

Both your interior and exterior design must work in harmony.

Plants to use: Choose plants that work both indoors and out to create a transition between the living and outside space. Good options include geranium, boxwood and calla lily.

4. #TINYGARDEN 80,752 POSTS

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While plenty of people in the UK don’t have a private garden or outside area, many that do have to make use of a tiny space. But just like those innovators making the

Plants to use: Long flowering perennials like Geranium Rozanne, Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’, evergreens like Fatsia polycarpa, Sarcococca hookeriana var. digyna ‘Purple Stem’, and climbers will all do the job in your tiny garden space.

5 . #RAISEDBEDGARDEN – 78,910 POSTS This one is simple and straightforward. And it looks great too. It’s no surprise that the raised bed garden is a real up-and-comer on Instagram.

How to get the look: By building a raised wooded garden bed, not only do you create a fantastic feature in your outside space, it’s an ideal option if you don’t have a lot of room in your garden. You can also gain better control over the soil, reduce soil compaction and care for your plants much easier. The choice of wood is up to you – for a real rustic look, old railway sleepers work well.

Plants to use: This really depends on you. You can use your raised flower beds to grow whatever plants or fruit and veg that you desire. The key point to remember about raised flower beds, as with any flower beds, is to choose plants that will work in the spot of your garden you opt for. It’s key to understand how the conditions will

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impact their potential to grow and thrive.

What the Instagrammers say: “The obvious benefit of raised bed gardening is the height, preventing aches and pains from bending down and tending to a traditional garden bed. Additionally, keeping your crops up and away from pests like slugs, cats and foxes, prevent your crops from being attacked by any predators. A Vegepod is one example of a raised vegetable garden bed on the market which also comes with a commercial grade canopy to further keep your harvest protected.” – Alex @vegepod.

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6 . #PERMACULTUREGA RDEN – 76,576 POSTS Now this really is a holistic approach to gardening.

Permaculture gardening means “permanent agriculture” and it’s defined as working with natural forces – wind, sun, and water – to provide food, shelter, water, and whatever else your garden needs.

How to get the look: The key principle behind a permaculture garden is that you are replicating patterns of growth and harvest that occur naturally. Before you start re-imagining and

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Before planting, it’s key to design based on how you want to use the natural elements in your garden. Key design features also include stacking (just like in the forest), succession planting and companion planting. Remember, with permaculture gardening nothing is wasted.

Farm Hybrid’, Cytisus x praecox ‘Albus’, Silene alpestris ‘Flore Pleno’, and Convolvulus cneorum (shrubby bindweed) are all great options to choose for your white garden.

Plants to use: Opt for annual vegetables like beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers and squash, while adding in plenty of flowers and greens to create a permaculture look. We also love sunflowers – they’re great to make use of the space.

Now this really is for those of us who don’t have too much space. But with a lack of space comes real creativity. Just look at what some of these top Instagrammers have done to their windowsills.

7. #WHITEGARDEN – 51,750 POSTS The clue really is in the name with this one. And with just a quick scroll through Instagram you can see why this is such a popular up and coming trend. With a backdrop of dark green, the white flowers really catch the eye. There’s something so pure and classic about them.

How to get the look: Key steps to create a white garden, include choosing a dark backdrop, varying up the foliage and changing up shapes and sizes, repeating form, and finally adding some eye-catching white flowers to fill the space.

Plants to use: Orlaya grandiflora (white l a c e f l o w e r ) , R h o d o d e n d r o n ‘Cunningham’s White’, Delphinium ‘Guardia White’, Arrowwood ‘Park

8 . #WINDOWSILLGAR DEN – 48,432 POSTS

How to get the look: First off you need a windowsill that gets at least six hours of sun a day. You’ll need pots with plenty of drainage and some good potting mix to get things started.

Plants to use: A windowsill garden is ideal for growing plants that will add a little something extra to your cooking, including herbs, chilli, kale, baby beetroot, pea shoots, onion, spinach.

The list goes on.

After What the Instagrammers say: “With more time at home than usual, we’ve all started to realise the importance of home and the space around us. With outdoor space in cities being at a premium a windowsill garden is the perfect way to utilise your space and bring that much needed element of ‘green’ to our city lives. – Fannie @windowfleur.

9. #GREYGARDEN 45,124 POSTS

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Not satisfied with being one of the biggest interior design trends of the moment, grey is really beginning to make

an impact in garden design too. We’re really not surprised it’s made its way into our list of up-andcomers.

How to get the look: Bringing grey into your garden is all about those man-made touches that really let the space sing.

From your choice of patio paving, fence paint, gravel, or garden path, grey is the way to go. Plants to use: With a grey garden, you want to match your choice of plants with your grey

man-made touches to really complement and make the colour pop. Purple is a fantastic colour to match with grey. We just love a little lavender.

10. #COTTAGEGARDEN – 37,021 POSTS Who doesn’t dream of a quant country cottage? And you can really create the cottage vibe in your garden.

Judging by the number of posts on Instagram, plenty of people are doing just that

with this up and coming trend.

How to get the look: You can immediately pick out a cottage garden. It’s such a distinct style. Key design features are an informal style with use of traditional materials, and dense plantings with a mixture of ornamental and edible plants. Remember, it’s all about grace and charm.

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Phone 07984 11 2537 email info@localgardener.org

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HOW TO START A GARDENING BUSINESS BUSINESS

With the Covid 19 outbreak expected to lead to mass redundancies, it’s inevitable that many of those affected will look on this as an opportunity to start up on their own.

Here is a quick overview of how to start a gardening business.

For those with only limited gardening experience, garden maintenance would be the best field to get started in. It requires the smallest amount of finance to get started and has the fewest legal requirements of pretty much any type of business. There are some basics that any new business has to set in place before they can start trading and we’re going to run through a few of them to help newbies get off on the right footing.

First insurance. A basic public liability insurance is essential, and a legal requirement. If you are planning to just do garden maintenance then this is fairly cheap. Landscaping or tree work is a different matter and can run into the thousands but a basic gardening policy can be obtained for under £200.

Next waste. You must get a waste carriers licence. If you are just taking green waste then the licence is free but anything else and it’s over £150 for the upper tier licence. Both can be obtained online but make sure you have one because you’ll need it at the tip and it’s a massive fine if you are caught without one.

Register for Self Assessment and Class 2 National Insurance as soon as you start trading.

That’s the legal stuff of how to start a gardening business , now for the practical.

That’s transport, machines, and most of all, customers.

A van is ideal but it is possible out of an estate car.

Small vans are the usual starting point as they drive like a car and can be used as such in your spare time.

the chainsaw professionally without a licence. If you decide on petrol then you can’t beat the Chinese multi tools for power and economy. 52cc power, with strimmer head, chainsaw, hedgecutter and extension for £150.

I started with a small Bedford van, then an Escort van. It took several years to work up to a ‘transit’ sized vehicle. A trailer will normally suffice for rubbish etc if you get a small vehicle.

Next, machines. A big headache for even the hardened long time gardeners. Just look at the arguments on social media over which machine is best.

The problem for start ups is of course the price. Most pro mowers with a rear roller for stripes are over £1000. I’d suggest a small push mower with roller such as the Hayter Spirit 41. These are £415 new and are nice and simple to maintain. There’s no power drive for that price but they are easy to push and surprisingly easy to use.

If you start getting really big grass areas go for a cheap mulching mower. Look for one with a deep deck and not a multi purpose mower that also mulches. They are not as good as a designated

mulcher. You need a really deep deck for mulching to work and a shallow deck to get the vacuum for collection. No single mower can do both effectively. A collector with a mulching plug will leave unsightly clippings behind. The 22″ Titan is a good choice. It has a very deep deck and narrow blade for mulching. They say it will also collect but it’s pretty useless at that, leaving large clumps of grass in your wake. The mulching power, however, is superb and at under £500 it represents great value especially with that 7.5hp Kohler lump.

As for hand held machineryyour strimmer, hedgecutter, and blower, you first have to decide on petrol or battery power. If you decide on battery then unless you have a large redundancy payment, the top of the range pro ranges from Pellenc or Stihl is going to be financially out of reach. The batteries alone cost between £1000 and

£1500. EGO do a pro set up for a similar price but also do a multitool for £679. That’s hedgecutter, strimmer, edger and chainsaw for that price.

Remember that you can’t use

Blowers the same, about £150 will get you a 65cc monster backpack blower easily capable of taking care of your autumn leaf problems. Obviously these machines are not in the same league as the big brands, and anyone that has tried the top of the range machines from Stihl or Echo will find these machines lacking in ultimate power, but for normal use they are perfectly adequate.

We are talking about how to start a gardening business

and not your dream machinery set up here!

Now for the vital ingredient on how to start a gardening business, getting the work!

When I started my first business over 30 years ago, there was no internet so it was a case of fliers and knocking on doors.

Nowadays there are much easier options where you can simply ‘buy leads’.Bark, My builder and Rated people spring to mind as a starting point. Just sign up then you get job leads sent straight to your phone.

Your business will still have to compete with other gardeners. Recipients must reply quickly to new leads and be competitive when it comes to price. Gardeners also have to pay for the leads whether they get the job or not. The work is normally low profit but it’s a great way to quickly build up a round. Once you have a steady income you can then start to work on your customer’s neighbours or take your time getting better paying customers from your own advertising.

Remember, you are the business’ engine and full time gardening is hard work. If you’ve never done a full time manual job then you are in for a bit of a shock. It’s not the same as doing your own garden.

You have to work hard all day, everyday, and the effects are cumulative with shoulder, back, and arm problems common among the pros. Still, if that hasn’t put you off, roll up your sleeves and welcome to the club!

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PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN ROADVERT AND AMEY BENEFITS TRAFFORD GARDENING COMMUNITY ALLOTMENT

A successful partnership between specialist vehicle graphics company Roadvert and the One Trafford Partnership is benefiting gardeners in the Trafford community, in Greater Manchester.

Old Spedian graphics™ supplied to One Trafford by Roadvert has been shared out among local community groups in Trafford to create bedding for plants. The borough has a strong network of allotment users, In Bloom groups, Friends of Parks and local community groups working to continually improve the borough.

The One Trafford Partnership is a collaboration between Trafford Council and Amey – providing highways, environmental and facilities management services for the authority.

So far 12 vinyl sheets, which are fully recyclable for reuse as alternative products such as traffic cones, have been donated to help three allotments to create plant bedding and protect their plants and vegetables from weeds.

Allotments include Mossfield Allotments and Gorse Hill Allotments in Stretford, and Winstanley Allotments in Sale.

A total of 20 sheets supplied

by Roadvert have been donated. Demand is so high across the borough that One Trafford are planning to continue the scheme on an ongoing basis.

Roadvert enjoys a successful partnership with Amey, including the One Trafford contract. Its system allows organisations to refresh their messages or run new campaigns with minimal fuss or disruption.

The Spedian graphics panels can be removed within minutes and are simply rolled up and stored until

they are needed again.

Fitting a new graphics panel is equally quick.

One Trafford uses the livery to communicate informative recycling messages to residents. The messages are regularly displayed on 26 of its vehicles.

Each year One Trafford renews half of its fleet.

Instead of disposing of the redundant livery panels, it was decided to put them to better use following a suggestion from the One Trafford Partnership, who work closely with local community groups.

Lawrence Craig, CEO of Roadvert, said: “This is a great project which allows us all to give back to the community and to prevent the livery panels from going to waste.

“We are delighted to have played a part through our relationship with Amey and in particular One Trafford, with whom we have

undertaken some excellent, eye catching projects, including a ‘Thank You NHS’ livery on two of its vehicles earlier this year.”

Mike Vickers, a user of Mossfield Allotments, said: “The old livery sheets have been a brilliant addition to my plot where I’m now able to get rid unwanted weeds and create a healthy bed for

my crop. As a new allotment plot holder, I had been researching and looking for a solution to enable a better bedding until the opportunity came up to re-use old livery sheets. It’s given me and my

family more time to plan and plant on the plot together. We’re really looking forward to seeing our first big yield in the new season.”

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We have a member’s directory where you can advertise your business. This is a free b2b directory with forums similar to twitter. You can even have your own shop with the products linked to your website. Go to WWW.LOCALGARDENER.ORG and add your business today.

A GUIDE TO REAL CHRISTMAS TREES

into the garden after the festivities, to be enjoyed for many more years to come.

HOME GARDEN

The focal point of the festive season has to be the Christmas tree. A day out to choose the perfect tree has become a magical highlight of the countdown to Christmas and it quickly becomes the star of the show once home and decorated.

Once inside and decorated, this tree gives off a fresh and festive scent of natural pine, filling your home with the scent of Christmas.

They look equally as good outside your home, greeting guests at the door with a festive display or creating your very own winter scene in your garden. Wind battery operated outdoor fairy lights for the final finishing touch.

The go-to destination for real Christmas trees, the experts at Dobbies Garden Centres, have put together their essential guide, including tips to help you choose the picture-perfect one, keep it looking its best, and finally what to do with it when the time comes to take it down.

Key credentials…

– Great for use in a kid’s bedroom, as generally the trees are smaller

In a change for 2020, the UK’s leading garden centre retailer is responding to demand and focusing on one type of real tree, the Nordmann Fir. Growing in popularity year-on-year, the traditional real tree has become a firm family favourite and here they explain why.

– Sustainable – Best dressed minimalist style

– Can be used indoors or out 2. Choosing your tree – quality Healthy trees will have a shiny, glossy green coating on the needles which feels slightly waxy to touch.

With everything you need to create the perfect Christmas, find your local store and browse the online range at Dobbies.com.

1. Choosing your tree – type First things first, decide what style to go for. At Dobbies, there are two main types, Nordmann Fir and Fraser Fir – both available as cut or pot grown. With demand high, make sure choosing your tree is one of the first things on your list this December as that way you will have the biggest choice of trees.

Each year, Christmas trees seem to go up earlier and earlier, but to keep your tree looking its best through to the 25th, the best time to buy is the first or second weekend of December. The busiest day for real Christmas trees, dubbed ‘Bring Your Christmas Tree Home Day’, falls on the second Saturday in December, which falls on the 12th this year.

for

Nordmann Fir

Key credentials…

– Symmetrical, triangle shape – Slow to drop needles – Strong branches – Glossy green – Soft, dense foliage – Easy to care for Fraser Fir

With its classic Christmas tree shape, glossy green foliage and fresh pine scent, it’s easy to see why this is by the far the most popular variety for the perfect festive centrepiece. British grown for Dobbies, the Nordmann Fir has good needle retention and the softer foliage makes it the ideal option for families with young children or pets.

This tree is slightly narrower in shape, making it a good alternative for smaller areas, but still with plenty of taller options to make the most of vertical space. Dobbies will be stocking the Fraser Fir in selected stores.

environmentally choice.

friendly

Take the tree by the trunk and give it a gentle tap on the ground. All evergreen trees lose needles all year round, but any more than a few fallen pine needles then you may want to reconsider your tree choice.

Key credentials…

– Slightly narrower shape – Great for smaller spaces – Dense foliage – Blue tint to the overall green colour – Citrus like scent Pot-Grown Not just a wonderful choice for Christmas, a pot-grown tree has extra green credentials given that it can planted outside afterwards, providing an

A quality tree should have good needle retention and sturdy branches. Avoid bare branches with a simple needle retention test before you make your final selection, it is much easier than it sounds!

Grown from hand raised seedlings and transplanted into growing pots plunged in the open field, each pot is dotted with tiny holes which allow the finer tree roots to find nutrients from the surrounding soils, whilst keeping the main root system protected and intact within.

It is this method of growing, with minimal impact on the root system, that can give trees an excellent chance of survival when transplanted

3. Bringing your tree home An important first task – make sure you have emptied the car and have enough space to fit your tree, either inside or on the roof. To get your tree home safely, there are some simple steps to follow.

Dobbies nets all of their real trees once you have chosen, which helps protect it for the journey home. Put a blanket down to protect

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your car’s interior. The same goes if you are putting it on the roof of your car.

Securely fasten your tree down with rope or cable ties and drive slowly and carefully home.

Once you get home, take the tree out of the car and take out of the net as soon as possible. Then, remove a few inches from the base and stand in water. The sawing off of the stump should be done outside.

Place it upright against an exterior wall or fence, out of direct sunlight if it is a warm winter’s day, as this will stop it drying out.

4. How to keep your real tree looking its best Treat your tree with TLC. Un-net your tree and leave it to stand for 24-hours before decorating so that the branches can settle. As exciting as it can be to get the tree instantly up and decorated, it will look much better if you give the branches a chance to drop into place after being unnetted, you’ll then be

able to see were best to place hanging decs, lights and baubles.

Choosing a suitable Christmas tree stand will be important to help keep your tree looking its best. Opt for a stand with a water reservoir to prevent your tree from drying out and cover it with a Christmas tree skirt. There are plenty of stylish solutions available and these can help to achieve your overall look.

Next thing to consider, making sure your real tree gets enough water. Sawing off a couple of centimetres from the stump when you first got it home will help the tree to take up more water and help it last longer.

Your tree will need approximately 1-2 litres a day, depending on the temperature of the room.

Try to avoid putting your tree next to a radiator. Keep the tree stand water reservoir topped up regularly and keep the room cool when it’s not in use.

Make sure you are not

placing it too close to any Christmas candles.

collection services from your doorstep.

If you are bringing a potgrown tree indoors, be mindful to keep the compost moist but not wet.

If you opted for a pot-grown Christmas tree, remember to plant it as soon as possible in January so you can enjoy the following year. Select a spot that has well drained soil, sun, and enough space for the tree to sit comfortably. Then all you need to do is keep the tree watered and protected.

If you find that your tree is too wide for the space you planned it for, you can clip some of the larger branches lower down to make it fit.

Save the cuttings, as these can make a lovely decorations, in vases or as part of a homemade wreath.

5. What to do with your real tree after Christmas When the festivities are over and we have welcomed the New Year, it is time to take down your real tree.

Traditionally, the 5th or 6th January is when trees should be taken down and decorations packed away for another year, known as ‘Twelfth Night’.

Dobbies encourage people to recycle their trees. Check with your local council for more information on

Water and feed your pot grown tree regularly in its first year when planted out in the garden. Remember when planting a pot grown tree out in the garden that they will grow to be very large, so check you are leaving enough space for it to grow!

Top tips to get your tree Insta-ready…

Rebecca Stanton, Stylist at Dobbies Garden Centres, shares her top five Christmas tree styling tips – 1. Light it up: No tree is complete without the twinkling of fairy lights and

to make your home really sparkle, you will always need more than you think.

Turn the lights on before moving to add baubles and decorations, to make sure you have good coverage all over.

2. Go big: The tree you decide on will impact the overall styling and final look.

For example, certain types of real tree will help bring to life a traditional scheme, whilst other types will lend themselves to a more contemporary Scandi style.

The height of the tree is also really important, as if you are going for an opulent look, a tall tree will set this up perfectly.

3. Level up: To make a real statement and take your tree a level up, think big. To create a more contemporary look, use extra-large baubles and clusters of smaller baubles together in your tree.

Carefully place your larger baubles first to ensure your tree feels balanced then work around those to add in smaller baubles and decorations.

4. Bauble packs: To instantly update your usual Christmas tree style pick up one of our mixed size bauble packs, we have a variety of shades to suit any colour palette. These baubles are great because not only do they instantly set the theme, they help to spread colour throughout your tree, think a base layer for you to build on top with your more special decorations. Top tip, if you wire three baubles together using silver floristry wire and attached them deeper on the branch it helps to fill out your tree and creates are more stylised look.

5. A layer of nature: Decorating your real tree doesn’t need to end at the baubles. Try adding some dried flowers to your tree to give that added layer of nature. You could use dried grasses, heather or eucalyptus to lay on the branches of your tree along with orange slices and cinnamon sticks to bring the smell of Christmas into your home.

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HORTICULTURAL SUPPLIERS Midlands Garden Furniture Up The Garden Bath Elite Ground Support Suppliers of recycled baths as garden planters

Agralan

Matting used for ground protection Ground stabilisation and reinforcement products

Natural pest control for the gardener

Suppliers of conservatories and outdoor cane furniture TEL: 0116 2796582

TEL: 01733900903

TEL: 0800 622 6838

TEL: 01285860015

www.midlands-cane-furniture.co.uk

http://www.upthegardenbath.co.uk

http://www.elite-gss.com

http://www.agralan.co.uk

Southwest Knotweed

Agrigrub

Dorset Seaweeds

Gorah Decking

Liquid Seaweed Concentrate/Biostimulant – LIQUISEA

Fighting the war on food waste while producing a fantastic natural fertiliser and pest bio-repellent

Japanese knotweed removal, control, identification, surveys & treatment in Cornwall, Devon & Somerset

TEL: 01872 500909

Supplier and Stockist of Ecodek composite decking to the trade and public

TEL: 07973307150

http://www.southwestknotwweed.co.uk

http://www.agrigrub.co.uk

Iseki

Johnsons Of Whixley

www.dorsetweaweeds.co.uk

Liquid Gold Leaf

Nam Grass

Liquid Gold Leaf is a revolutionary and innovative liquid fertiliser for all plants and crops

Professional nurserymen.

A leading commercial nursery, grower and wholesale supply expert

Distributor of ISEKI compact tractors and mowers across the UK via a local dealer network

http://www.gorahdeckingco.uk

Professionally installed by a team of Namgrass approved installers

TEL: 07976162562

TEL: 01484 599886

TEL: 01664 431439

TEL: 01425 627832

http://www.iseki.co.uk

http://www.nurserymen.co.uk

www.liquidgoldleaf.com

http://www.namgrass.co.uk

Lumena Lights

Agrigem

Outdoor & Garden Lighting suppliers

Bestco Surfacing

Pesticides, Agrochemicals, Biopesticides, Fertilisers, Grass Seeds, Spraying Equipment and Landscaping Suppliers

Liniar

Experienced tarmacadam and asphalt surfacing specialists in Hertfordshire, Essex, and London.

Liniar uPVC deck boards are 100% lead-free and made from 86% recycled materials

TEL: 01327 871161

TEL: 01522 246491

TEL: 01992 652477

TEL: 01332 883900

www.lumenalightscom

http://www.agrigem.co.uk

http://www.bestcosurfacing.co.uk

http://www.liniar.co.uk

Wonderlawn

igrass

Wonderlawn install premium artificial grass in domestic and commercial lawns the UK

TEL: 03337006000 http://www.wonderlawn.com

Reachitmoveitcrushit Compact equipment sales, hire and advice in Chesham

TEL: 07973175244

Environet Artificial grass suppliers dedicated to trade customers – landscapers and landscape gardeners

TEL: 01572 766910

http://www.igrass.co.uk

Rock Unique UK Supplier of Exterior Natural Stone Patio Paving Slabs Cobblestones , Porcelain & Interior Tiles

Organeco UK’s leading specialist in Japanese knotweed removal from residential and commercial property

TEL: 01932 868 700 www.environetuk.com

Berkshire Stump Removal Stump removal service and advice in Berkshire

TEL: 01959 565608

TEL: 07984957334

http://www.reachitmoveitcrushit.com

http://www.rock-unique.com

http://www.berkshirestumpremoval.com

Easy Garden Watering

CULTERRA NETHERLANDS

THE GARDEN RANGE

Irrigation and pond equipment

http://www.easeygardenwatering.co.uk

Producing organic fertilizers for the amenity, golf- and sport, retail and horticulture market

TEL:+31683047236

http://www.culterra.com

Ecological and sustainability consultants

TEL: 07984128239 www.organeco.ltd

NAP Brands Landscaping Tools and Machinery Distribution

http://www.napbrands.co.uk

sheds & hot tubs and other landscaping products.

TEL:01246589021

http://www.thegardenrange.co.uk

Did you know you can advertise your products for free when you sign up to become a Local Gardener supplier? Go to www.localgardener.org to get started

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September 2020 Become a member and start advertising your business

JOIN US

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Premier lawns We cover greater Belfast. We offer a professional, friendly and reliable lawn care service that is of high quality

PROFESSIONAL GARDENERS AND DESIGNERS Garden Care Services The Wooden Fence Post Garden Care Services Serving the Bromley area

Providing general garden maintenance and landscaping in the Maldon area

Lustre Gardens Garden maintenance services in the Bromley area

TEL: 07976267104

TEL: 02083130210

TEL: 07899667861

TEL: 07917151859

http://www.premierlawns.co.uk

http://www.gardencareservices.co.uk

facebook.com/thewoodenfencepost

http://www.lustregardens.co.uk

Simpson Garden Services

North Berwick Gardening

We cover North London, Hertfordshire, and Norfolk

TEL: 07578764209

So Green Lawncare

Garden Care and sportsfield maintenance serving North Berwick

EHCO Gardens Providing general garden maintenance in the Toddington area

TEL: 07575529882

TEL: 07870451382

www.northberwickgardening.co.uk

www.ehcogardens.com

http://www.burgessgardening.co.uk

Brinel Landscapes Grounds maintenance services serving the Manchester area

AJ Shearing Gardens Providing general garden maintenance and landscaping in the Trowbridge area

TEL: 07421452300

TEL: 07541947229

TEL: 07725919122

http://www.sogreenlawncare.co.uk

http://www.brinel-landscapes.co.uk

http://www.ajshearinggardenservices.co.uk

Trugreen

Idogardening4u Garden Care Services Serving the Bromley area

Cotswold Landscape Providing general garden maintenance and landscaping in Gloucestershire

TEL: 01684 778403

TEL: 02036433907

TEL: 07500652094

www.trugreen.co.uk/herefordworcester

http://www.idogardening4u.co.uk

www.cotswoldlandscapesolutions.co.uk

A.M.R. Landscaping

kingsbury Lawn Care

We cover the Thurrock area for general landscaping services

Garden maintenance services in the Keynsham area

TEL: 07892831404

We cover the Winchester area We offer a professional husband and wife team lawn care service

Lawncare and general garden maintenance in Worcester and Hereford

Burgess Gardening

Gardens Of The Future Providing landscaping in the Stratford area

Lawn Care Services Serving the Lichfield area

Burnham Landscaping Garden maintenance services in the Chertsey area

http://www.burnhamlandscaping.co.uk

Hampstead Garden Design Professional and friendly design service and will work with you to create a beautifully stylish garden space

TEL: 07500652094 www.hampsteadgardendesign.com

Tellus Landscaping Garden landscaping services in the Plymouth area

TEL: 07340793907

TEL: 07908643105

TEL: 07724316155

TEL: 07947154740

http://www.amrlandscaping.co.uk

http://www.kingsburylawncare.co.uk

www.gardensofthefuture.co.uk

http://www.telluslandscaping.co.uk

Wildground

Tree Hunters

Wild Ground specialise in moss and weed control, ground maintenance and general gardening

Ground maintenance and general gardening Serving Pontefract

TEL: 07885587852

TEL: 07812584703

http://www.wildground.co.uk

https://tree-hunters.business.site/

Landscape Brothers Landscaping specialists working in the Fife area

Greener Lawn

Garden Girl General gardening in Aylsham and Thanet and surrounding areas

TEL: 0757 9060629

Lawn care specialists working in the Dudley area

TEL: 07951 999870 http://www.greenerlawn.co.uk

Great British Lawns Lawncare specialists working in the Surrey and Hampshire area

TEL:01592 655567

TEL:07500823220

http://www.landscapebrothers.co.uk

http://www.greatbritishlawns.co.uk

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