Landscape Juice

Aura Landscapes win three awards at the Marshalls Register regional awards 2011

Southampton based Aura Landscapes have scooped three awards in the Marshalls Register regional awards.

(image: Mike Warman picking up his awards from Marshalls)

The honour was won for best engineering achievement, best driveway transformation over seventy square metres and best patio transformation over thirty-five square metres.

Marshalls Regional Road Shows, not just about the awards

Writing on his Landscape Juice blog afterwards, owner of the business Mike Warman said:

Having attended our first Marshalls Register Roadshow last night and receiving our awards we were pretty impressed to find that it wasn't all about the awards but about helping the register members build a better business and adding value to what we as landscapers offer.

The whole evening was full of interesting and inspiring presentations that left us motivated, inspired and feeling supported as a business by the company. To those who couldn't make it you missed out on some great new ideas that we will certainly be implementing within the company from:

LANTRA hold National Occupational Standards review consultation

Professionals with a keen involvement in the horticulture industry are being asked to complete an online survey as part of the industry’s job skills National Occupational Standards (NOS) review.

From 30 January to 24 February 2012, Lantra will run a UK-wide online consultation to find out more details about the activities carried out by workers in the industry.

NOS are a collection of job roles and tasks that describe what someone needs to do, know and understand to do a specific job competently.

David Winn, Lantra’s Horticulture Manager said: “The Standards form the foundation of future horticulture qualifications, so by sharing your expertise today you will be improving the workforce of tomorrow. They are also helpful to businesses as they help employers identify the skills their employees’ need, highlight best practice, develop training plans and assist in the construction of job descriptions.”

Crystalclear succeed in Marshalls Register regional awards 2011

Crystalclear were awarded best driveway transformation under seventy square metres and best patio transformation under thirty-five square metres at last night's Marshalls Register regional awards.

Writing on his Landscape Juice Network blog, last night after receiving his award, owner of Crytalclear Mick Gammage, said:

"Once again we feel proud and very honoured to receive these prestigious awards from David Jessop the Marshall's Register operations manager, Glen Grundy the Marshall's north west regional assessor and Justin Handby the Marshall's register north west installer development manager".

Marshalls says its domestic landscaping market remains subdued

Marshalls have released a trading update with revenues for the year ended 2011 up by 8%.

Interestingly, domestic sales rose 7%.

Marshalls don't however separate international domestic sales from the UK market but reading between the lines, reading this:

"In the domestic end market volumes remain subdued against a background of low consumer confidence."

Suggests that the UK domestic market's outlook hasn't improved significantly.

Do you do hard landscaping? What's your view on the hard landscaping market and what's your view on the prospects for 2012?

Marshalls unveil new products for 2012

Marshalls has today launched a host of new additions to its domestic product range for 2012.

Each year, Marshalls develops its new product range through extensive customer research and in field testing – and 2012 is no different. Marshalls’ new products for 2012 are designed to help customers produce the most beautiful and complementing domestic landscape projects while creating an environment that enhances their ability to live, play and grow.

Marshalls’ Senior Product Manager Claire Blake commented:

“I’m delighted with the new additions to our range as I think there’s something in there for everybody. We were keen to explore new sizes, textures and colours, so I’m particularly pleased with our new Drivesett Tegula size and the textured surface of Driveline Elise, which is an entirely new product. We were also keen to extend our popular ethically sourced Fairstone range for 2012.

Are BALI playing by their own rules?

"Our members' contracts are as keen as they can be and they get increasingly frustrated when they find the work they hoped to get has been taken by people who are not VAT registered and not fully aware of the legislative position. The world has changed so much - with Work at Height Regulations, for instance, that are not just affecting tree work. You have to adapt work practices to conform to legislation.

The above is a quote by the then BALI CEO, Sandra Loton-Jones, in an interview given to Hort Week - I wrote about it here.

Fast forward two years and it seems as though it's its own members who might not be playing it fair either.

I spoke yesterday with a landscaper who has designed a garden and then provided a quotation to carry out the work.

After submitting the price, he learned they'd not been successful only to find that a BALI company won the work by being 30% cheaper.

The person I spoke to conceded that they weren't the cheapest company around and if they'd been beaten by 5-10% then it would not have been a big deal but at 30% less he felt the contractor was 'buying the job' and couldn't possibly be making a profit.

The landscaping associations have been urging members not to devalue themselves by reducing prices. This case - and I'm sure it's not isolated - is evidence that members might not have a choice.

Have you lost work due to unreasonably lower quotes recently?

Join online chat about hard landscaping in the media

Want to take part in an online chat about whether hard landscaping gets the media exposure it deserves? Well you are in luck.

The Landscape Juice Network will be hosting a live chat session where members can take part and pass thoughts and comments.

If you want to take part then drop in on the site this Wednesday, 13 July starting from 8pm BST.

What does a designer, landscaper and gardener have in common?

The answer: a garden.

It seems, however, thereafter any similarities and connections might end.

In all of my thirty years working in the garden world I've noted a tendency to maintain a distinction and never the twain shall meet.

My interpretation is possibly best described in this adaptation of the famous John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett 'the men on class' sketch (watch it here).

Garden designer: (flowery shirt and perfect fingernails) I look down on him (Indicates landscaper) because I am designer.

Marshalls' revenue rises 10% in the four months ending 30th April

Marshalls, the landscape paving manufacturer, has posted a ten percent rise in revenues to £113 million for the the four months ended 30th April 2011.

Sales to the public sector and commercial end market, which represents approximately 60 per cent of Marshalls' sales, were up 12 per cent and sales to the domestic end market were up by 7 per cent compared to the prior year.

The survey of domestic installers at the end of April 2011 revealed order books of 7.1 weeks (2010: 8.4 weeks; 2009: 7.1 weeks) similar to the 7.2 weeks at the end of February 2011 following the excellent installation conditions this year.

In its outlook, Marshalls say that sales in the first four months of 2011 have continued the positive trend of 2010 but the market remains uncertain.

Public sector and commercial markets are mildly positive with some resilience in the domestic market.

Plans just a click away with the Paving Generator

Let the web do the work when it comes to working out paving plans with Stonemarket's updated Paving Generator.

The Paving Generator is a tool for planning the hard landscaping elements of a domestic project.

Following a step by step process, it is possible to quickly and easily produce an installation plan - including layout, laying patterns and the quantity of paving required.