Landscape Juice

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". Read more →

Livestock industry recognises value of carbon stored in grasslands

Phase three of EBLEX’s Beef and Sheep Roadmap Down to Earth was published today. The report sets out how the livestock industry is responding to the challenge of reducing its greenhouse gas footprint. The Grasslands Trust, which has previously highlighted the important role that semi-natural grasslands play as a carbon sink, welcomed EBLEX’s recognition that carbon storage in grassland soils needs to be factored in to any calculations of the carbon footprint of the livestock sector. Miles King, director of conservation at The Grasslands Trust said “there is increasing evidence of the critical role that grassland soils play in storing... Read more →

Chelsea Flower Show judging crisis gets Andy Sturgeon in a flap

"Without high profile sponsors Chelsea is sunk and without a reliable judging process sponsors will lose interest and so will designers like myself" This is the warning from garden designer Andy Sturgeon after he revealed that judges at the world's most famous flower show gave out a gold gong to a garden that didn't deserve it. Apparently a suitably experienced judge wasn't on hand and, in Sturgeon's words, "the tried and tested judging process partially failed". Writing on his blog, Sturgeon says that Cancer Research UK have pulled out after nine years after it was revealed they would have won... Read more →

Sustainable wood supply from Esgair Timber Company

Peter Bottoms once earned his living in Ceredigion’s tourism industry, but now he’s embarking on another life after buying a forest in mid-Wales. The one-time owner of Aberaeron’s aquarium and commercial shell fisherman, also offering boat trips to see the dolphins, sold up five years ago and began looking for woodland with the potential to develop into a forestry business. The search ended 18 months later when he bought Esgair forest, a 245 hectare estate – 200 hectares being commercial woodland – nestled between two Welsh government woodlands near Pantperthog, three miles north of Machynlleth. “With fossil fuels becoming increasingly... Read more →

Richard Miers on route to a striking garden design

The out of season flowers we are seeing may give a lift to borders this winter, but their curiosity factor is seldom enough to attract us outside. What can do this, according to Richard Miers, garden designer, is added structure and water and enjoying the resulting interplay of light and the reflections and sounds from the water. "Structure is important because winter is a long period of time," Richard said. "So when the herbaceous flowers have died down, the earthworks, hedges, topiary, walls, avenues and ponds take over, meaning there is still something to look at." In other words a... Read more →

Avoiding isolation in business live network chat 01 February 2012 8pm

Anyone running a landscaping or gardening business knows it can be a lonely place when things get tough. There's often no one to talk to about the the financial and physical pressures of juggling money, weather, staff and clients. Even if you have staff to talk to or maybe a trusted manager, there's no way that you can always share the very private feelings and thoughts that may be eating away inside. Because Landscape Juice operates in the internet cloud, you don't have to leave work early to get in a car, spend money on fuel and sit next to... Read more →

Together for Short Lives is Marshalls' charity for 2012

Marshalls has chosen children’s charity Together for Short Lives as its official charity of the year for 2012. Together for Short Lives is the only charity working across the UK to help ensure that every child and young person unlikely to reach adulthood and their family has the best possible care and support whenever and wherever they need it. The charity was given a boost in 2011 when it was chosen as the beneficiary of The X Factor charity single, ‘Wishing on a Star’, which reached number one in the official UK top 40 chart. Neil Davidson, CSR Manager for... Read more →

Landscape Juice Network members hand over charity cheque to Thrive

A group of Landscape Juice Network members, who've worked their socks off raising money for the garden charity Thrive, were last week treated to a day touring the charity's Reading HQ. The organisers, John, Gary and Rowly, were joined by Sally, Tanya and Craig talking to staff members and trustees about their day-today work helping disabled people teaching them the techniques and practical applications so that they may take part and enjoy gardening. A research programme underpins Thrive’s work to provide evidence and improve understanding. Thrive's work has helped individuals accomplish many things. Thrive says: "Gardening can help rebuild a... Read more →

Trade associations should operate a blind trust

I am as uncomfortable today as I have been for the last six years of the privileged position our incumbent landscape trade associations have assumed, unchallenged, in a bid to determine hierarchy and policy for the UK's landscape and horticulture industry. It is essential to our industry that close scrutiny is kept on all who lay claim to shape our respective futures, if non-members don't stand up and be counted then there's a danger, not too far down the road and whether they like it or not, they will have to comply with legislation that doesn't suit them or their... Read more →

No Creating Landscapes Trade Show in 2012

First of all I'd like to thank everyone who supported Creating Landscapes in 2011. It was a tremendous effort by everyone involved to get the show to fruition. I still cannot quite believe that in three short years, the Landscape Juice Network has grown from a kitchen table to national trade show and launched in the middle of the worst recession any of us have ever known. I am extremely proud of this achievement. You don't need me to tell you that these are still extremely difficult trading times and 2012 is regarded by many financial analysts as potentially the... Read more →