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Garden of the Year award

April 1, 2022/in News, Press Release/by External Source

Garden of the Year award: The Historic Houses Garden of the Year Award 2022 kicks off this Friday (1 April 2022) with eight extraordinary gardens competing to be named the Garden of the Year in a public vote. The award, launching in 1984, and run in conjunction with Christie’s auction house, has gone from strength […]

Littlestone GC strikes gold

March 31, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Sofia Martins

Littlestone GC strikes gold: In 2021, Littlestone Golf Club in Kent became a Toro Total Solutions customer by upgrading its fleet with Toro machinery and investing in a Toro Lynx Central Control irrigation system. Now it has safeguarded its machinery investment by signing up to Reesink’s ReeAssure Gold maintenance scheme for the all-round perfect deal. […]

Garden of the Year award

April 1, 2022/in News, Press Release/by External Source

Littlestone GC strikes gold

March 31, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Sofia Martins

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Garden of the Year award

April 1, 2022/in News, Press Release/by External Source

Garden of the Year award: The Historic Houses Garden of the Year Award 2022 kicks off this Friday (1 April 2022) with eight extraordinary gardens competing to be named the Garden of the Year in a public vote. The award, launching in 1984, and run in conjunction with Christie’s auction house, has gone from strength to strength since then with over ten thousand votes cast in the 2021 competition.

Shortlisted entries are chosen from among the hundreds of gardens, parks, and grounds that offer free entry to members of Historic Houses, the association that represents and supports the UK’s independent historic homes, castles, and gardens. Details of this year’s eight finalist gardens are detailed below. Voting opens at 10am on Friday 1 April 2022, with the voting page located on the Historic Houses website.

Garden of the Year award

Ben Cowell, Director General of Historic Houses:

“Once again, our Garden of the Year Award celebrates the very best gardens from across the UK – and now, beyond. That’s because for the first time our shortlist features a garden from the Channel Islands too. We are very excited to launch this public vote, at the start of what we hope will be a very successful year for open gardens. The award shines a welcome spotlight on our national passion for horticulture – so we encourage everyone to take a look at the shortlist and cast their vote.”

Ursula Cholmeley, Chair of the Historic Houses Gardens Committee:

“The Garden of the Year Award recognises the beauty and quality of independent historic gardens – often still those of family-owned homes. The contemporary spirit of our great country houses is reflected in gardens in which each generation of inhabitants makes their mark and leaves a legacy for the future. These evolving gardens are amongst the finest in the country and we hope that you will get great pleasure from visiting some of these gardens and voting for your favourite.”

Orlando Rock, Chairman, Christie’s UK:

“If a garden is a reflection of a person’s soul (as The Prince of Wales said) the shortlist for the Historic Houses Garden of the Year sponsored by Christie’s exemplifies some truly wonderful individuals. In addition to being horticultural wonders, the gardens selected from the rich variety across the UK and beyond reveal the changing fashions and tastes which have shaped our outside spaces and lives. I urge you, the public, to vote, and more importantly to get out there, visit and enjoy.”

About the eight competing gardens

The garden at Abbotsford, in Melrose, Roxburghshire, is distinct in character; taken together, the layout forms three outdoor ‘rooms’ designed to offer picturesque settings for the main house. The gardens we see today are still fundamentally Sir Walter Scott’s work, though with certain alterations carried out by his descendants to adapt the space for the changing needs of the family.

The gardens at Bressingham Hall, in Suffolk, range from the colourful island borders encircling the front of the house, laid out by founder Alan Bloom, to Foggy Bottom gardens developed by Alan’s son Adrian. Here you will find wide curving walks and great drifts or ‘rivers’ of perennials and grasses.

At Grimsthorpe Castle Gardens, in Lincolnshire, there is a long history of gardening, which continues to this day with fresh planting ideas that provide something to enjoy whenever you visit. Intricate parterres marked with box hedges lie close to the Castle, and a dramatic herbaceous border frames views across the lake.

Mount Ephraim Gardens, in Kent, are most well-known for their spectacular ten-acre Edwardian gardens featuring a topiary garden, rock and water garden, arboretum and rose garden. They also have a fabulous grass maze, planted with ornamental grasses and herbaceous perennials, and are home to an extensive collection of spring bulbs, trees and shrubs including Rhododendrons, many types of Camelias and Magnolias.

Parcevall Hall Gardens, in North Yorkshire, are a renowned historic plantsman’s garden laid out from 1927 onwards by the late Sir William Milner and set in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Comprising of 24 acres of formal and woodland gardens they rise up a hillside for 200 feet giving wonderful views in every direction.

At Pashley Manor Gardens, in East Sussex, you will discover eleven acres of beautiful borders and vistas – the culmination of a lifetime of passion for gardening and an admiration of the tradition of the English Country Garden. These award-winning gardens are family owned and maintained – visitors often express delight at the attention to detail displayed throughout and the intimate, peaceful atmosphere.

The Wild Subtropical Garden at Sausmarez Manor is an ancient woodland surrounding a couple of small lakes and is inter planted with exotic and subtropical plants, trees, ferns, and shrubs, which, because of Guernsey’s mild, equable climate can survive and flourish. Visitors can enjoy seeing around two hundred varieties of camellia, tree ferns from New Zealand, Australia, and Tasmania, and around forty different bamboos.

At Wentworth Woodhouse’s gardens, in South Yorkshire, you’ll discover a wildflower meadow, ancient trees, shaded woodland copses and 18th Century follies. Roam at your leisure or follow a trail which begins at the Stables and takes in the West Terrace, and don’t miss the sweeping views from the Ha-Ha and South Terrace.

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Littlestone GC strikes gold

March 31, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Sofia Martins

Littlestone GC strikes gold: In 2021, Littlestone Golf Club in Kent became a Toro Total Solutions customer by upgrading its fleet with Toro machinery and investing in a Toro Lynx Central Control irrigation system. Now it has safeguarded its machinery investment by signing up to Reesink’s ReeAssure Gold maintenance scheme for the all-round perfect deal.

Head greenkeeper Chris Barnard says: “There were plans to alter the courses by redesigning the bunkers with the help of architects and building new tees, and the timing of that fitted well with upgrading the irrigation system as well as requiring a sturdy, multi-functional fleet to make things as quick and efficient as possible.”

Littlestone GC strikes gold

With so much to do and a new 23 machine deal including cylinder mowers, rotary mowers, aerators, topdressers, sprayers and utility vehicles, the Club subsequently added the ReeAssure maintenance and servicing scheme to the deal to look after the entire fleet of new and old machines.

Chris says: “With all the maintenance the team was taking on that occupied a lot of their time, coupled with not having a specialised mechanic or indeed staff trained in specific areas meant we were only able to deal with basic things and not with repairs or replacements. That would require outside help and that’s where Reesink came in.”

The Gold plan includes unlimited visits, covers all breakdown and call-out costs, only uses Toro genuine parts and covers all electrical components. Reesink’s South East Sheffield Park branch is providing the support and Chris has nothing but praise for the service so far.

He says: “They’re very helpful, we just need to give them a call and they’ll be there. They know what they’re talking about, know the machines inside out, and can find the problem right away whereas it would take us much longer to do so. Since most of the Toro machines now have new technology, they also require a bit more knowledge to fix. The Reesink guys will have it figured out in 15 minutes or less just by using their laptops. It’s so much easier to delegate that to them so we can focus all our work on the courses.”

Littlestone Golf Club already had a very good long-standing relationship with Reesink having acquired most of its fleet from the distributor a few years previously. After the agreement came to an end, the club decided to continue with the distributor and renew again for two reasons: the trust that it would be a good partnership and the desire to continue with Toro.

Knowing the quality the brand offers in its machines, the club chose to invest in its irrigation products opting for the Lynx Central Control system for its upgrade. The irrigation system optimally manages water and resources through a convenient app and is currently being installed.

“It’s an exciting thing to be at the club, looking at it with a fresh pair of eyes and making a difference,” Chris concludes. “Hopefully, with the help of Reesink, we can now focus on all the planning we have going on and getting the work done faster knowing everything else is taken care of.”

Call 01480 226800 or go online at reesinkturfcare.co.uk to find out more about Reesink ReeAssure maintenance plans.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Garden of the Year award

Littlestone GC strikes gold

Garden of the Year award

Littlestone GC strikes gold

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Garden of the Year award

Littlestone GC strikes gold

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