Tag Archive for: builds

Greenfingers Charity builds on a year of completed gardens

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Greenfingers Charity builds on a year of completed gardens: The Greenfingers Charity is preparing for a significant year ahead, announcing further details of its hospice garden programme for 2026, following the completion of five new therapeutic gardens across the UK in 2025.

Gardens completed in 2025

During 2025, Greenfingers opened five new bespoke hospice gardens, each carefully designed to support children with life-limiting conditions, their families and the professionals who care for them. New gardens were completed at The Nook (East Anglia), Chestnut Tree House (Arundel), Hope House (Shropshire), Acorns (Walsall) and Bluebell Wood (Sheffield).

Greenfingers Charity builds on a year of completed gardens

Greenfingers Charity builds on a year of completed gardens

These gardens are already being used as vital outdoor environments where children can experience nature safely, feeling fresh air, colour, texture and seasonal change, often for those whose medical needs limit their access to the outdoors. For families, the gardens provide rare opportunities to be together away from clinical spaces, while hospice staff benefit from restorative areas that support wellbeing.

New Greenfingers gardens planned for 2026

Building on this momentum, Greenfingers is now progressing three new garden projects for 2026. Each will be delivered as a bespoke, highly specialist space, shaped around the specific needs of its hospice community.

Naomi House and Jack’s Place, Winchester

The new garden planned for Naomi House and Jack’s Place will be Greenfingers’ 75th garden, marking an important milestone in the charity’s work across the UK. Designed by Helen Elks Smith, with early design stages already underway, the project will transform existing lawned areas into a welcoming, inclusive outdoor space for children, siblings, parents and hospice staff alike. Carefully shaped to support both play and quiet reflection, the garden will give families a place to step outside together, to breathe, connect and create precious memories away from the pressures of indoor care.

This garden will also be the focus of Greenfingers’ 2026 Kilimanjaro fundraising challenge, with trekkers taking on the climb to help fund the creation of this very space. Their efforts will play a direct role in bringing this garden to life, turning extraordinary personal challenges into a lasting legacy for the children and families who will use it for years to come.

Little Havens, Essex

The 2026 project at Little Havens will see Greenfingers return to the hospice to deliver a major refresh and redevelopment of the existing Grow Your Own garden. The new design will focus on improving accessibility and sensory engagement, enabling children with complex needs to interact safely with planting, textures and the natural environment. Designed to support everyday hospice life, the garden will provide space for play, therapy and rest, while offering families precious opportunities to spend time outdoors together in a setting that feels calm, supportive and human.

Haven House, Woodford Green

At Haven House, Greenfingers will deliver a thoughtfully designed memorial and reflection garden within the hospice grounds. The project will be delivered by Baylis Landscapes, with the space carefully shaped to provide families with a calm, dignified outdoor environment where they can pause, reflect and remember. A central feature of the garden will be a Corten steel memorial tree, supplied by Caltef Designs, alongside screened seating, connected pathways and sensitive planting. Together, these elements will create a space that offers privacy, comfort and a sense of peace, supporting families through some of the most emotionally challenging moments of their lives.

Neil Sewell, Operations Director at Greenfingers, said: “Every unique Greenfingers garden starts with listening to the hospice teams, to families, and to what children need most in that moment. These are not decorative spaces; they are places where children can experience fresh air, colour and a sense of freedom, sometimes for the only time. As we move into 2026, we’re incredibly proud of what we’ve delivered so far, and deeply aware of how vital continued support is to help us create more of these life-changing gardens.”

Looking ahead – creating gardens that change lives

As Greenfingers looks towards 2026, its focus is firmly on turning ambition into action – creating highly specialist hospice gardens that meet complex needs and change daily life for children and families. These spaces take months of careful design, sensitive construction and long-term commitment to deliver, and they simply cannot happen without continued fundraising and support. Every penny raised plays a vital role, helping to transform bare or underused spaces into safe, welcoming gardens where children can experience the outdoors, families can spend precious time together, and memories can be made when they matter most.

To find out more about the Greenfingers Charity, discover how to support its work, or get involved through fundraising, partnerships or volunteering, visit www.greenfingerscharity.org.uk.

You can also follow the charity’s latest updates on Instagram and LinkedIn @GreenfingersCharity, Facebook facebook.com/Greenfingerscharity, and X @GreenfingersCha.

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SALTEX 2025 builds momentum

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SALTEX 2025 builds momentum: SALTEX 2025 has officially wrapped with a confirmed attendance of 7,463, marking an increase on 2024 visitor numbers and reinforcing its position as the cutting-edge event for the grounds management industry.

With visitors from across Europe, Asia, the Americas and New Zealand to name a few, the show’s international reach continues to grow – and so does its impact.

SALTEX 2025 builds momentum

SALTEX 2025 builds momentum

This year’s SALTEX wasn’t just busy and vibrant on the show floor, but incredibly purposeful, too. Exhibitors reported a high volume of meaningful conversations with influential buyers and decision-makers, many of which may progress into commercial opportunities. From elite sports venues, such as 14 Premier League football clubs and over 75 golf clubs, to local authorities, private estates and educational institutions, the calibre of attendees mirrored a sector ready to invest.

Josh Keay, Greenkeeper at Blackwell Golf Club, said: “It’s been great, the education you get through Learning LIVE and the extracurricular activities you can do, all on top of networking – it’s a great place to catch up with people. It’s also a great opportunity to see how the industry is moving forward and how things can be useful to you.”

Over 50% of visitors said they attended SALTEX to source new machinery and technological advancements – and they weren’t disappointed. The show floor was alive with innovation, as a number of exhibitors used the event as a strategic launchpad for their latest products. Among them were AriensCo with the AS 920 ESherpa 2WD, SMG Machines introducing the TurfBoy TB1 Eco DC, Allett Ltd unveiling the LEDMASTER UVC 100, ISEKI showcasing its Raymo remote-controlled range, Rhenac presenting the RML 400 lighting product and Trimax launching its latest innovation, OptiAdjust. These are just a handful of the many new technologies revealed at SALTEX 2025, highlighting the show’s role as the go-to platform for product debuts and industry advancement.

Alan Prickett, Sales Director at ISEKI UK & Ireland, said: “We had a really good time celebrating our 100-year anniversary at the show, and very pleased with the visitor numbers. We like it here at the NEC – it’s a good atmosphere and it gives us the chance to put a proper stand up without having to worry about everything getting wet all the time.

“We like to support the GMA, they do very good work, and SALTEX is an important get together for the industry. It’s a great place to launch new products and we do always come away with actionable enquiries, and they lead to sales. We’ll keep coming back.”

The Learning LIVE programme attracted 1,038 attendees, making it one of the most visited features of the show. With sessions spanning seven key themes including Technical Insights, Sustainable Grounds Management, Careers and Skills Development, Innovation in Grounds, Case Studies and Best Practices, Funding and Resources and Hands-on Learning, the programme once again delivered practical, forward-thinking content for professionals and volunteers at every level.

Keynote speaker James Haskell drew a packed audience with his talk on elite mindset and performance, setting the tone for an unforgettable programme. Alongside him, a host of respected industry figures shared expertise and sparked discussion on the future of the profession.

“I love SALTEX and especially given the opportunity to speak about what I’m passion about, which is resilience and elite level mindset – It’s something I use in all areas of my life,” said James Haskell. “All the visitors here are so important to sport, and my Learning LIVE session seemed to resonate with them, which is great. Grounds management work has a lot of traditions to it, but innovation for me, is about looking at the best solutions and the best ways of working.”

SALTEX is unique in its mission: every penny of surplus is reinvested back into the grounds management industry. That means every exhibitor and visitor is directly contributing to the development of the profession including grassroots initiatives, workforce training, GMA membership and sector-wide advocacy.

Geoff Webb, Grounds Management Association CEO, said: “SALTEX is a cornerstone of our industry. Every year it brings together the right people and the latest innovations that drive grounds management forward. What makes SALTEX truly unique is that at its core is an exhibition built by the few to serve the many. It’s had challenges such as COVID, new entrants, and defied decades of change built by grounds staff, providing a high quality and professional shop window for our sector and those that supply into it, those that work in it and those that elevate others – be that through education or agronomic advice it is a show truly by the industry, for the industry.

“That means when someone chooses to exhibit or attend SALTEX, they’re directly contributing to the future of the profession. This year’s event was a powerful reminder of what we can achieve when we come together with purpose. The energy, the quality of conversations and the appetite for progress were clear across the show floor. Great business was done with numerous comments about the high quality of leads and connections. We changed it up and we have had a great response as a result. A great team effort all round.

“As we look ahead to our 80th edition in 2026, we can feel that we’re building momentum. SALTEX continues to be the beating heart of the grounds management community, and we’re proud to champion its growth both nationally and internationally. We are back at the NEC November 11-12th 2026 so put it in your diary and, if you missed out this year, sign up to exhibit or pay us a visit.”
Next year’s edition will be a landmark celebration, marking the 80th SALTEX. Taking place on 11-12 November 2026 at NEC Birmingham, it will honour eight decades of progress within the grounds management industry.

For updates and registration details, visit www.saltex.org.uk.

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Reesink East Anglia builds on success

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Reesink East Anglia builds on success: The East Anglia and Midlands branch of Reesink UK is celebrating two years of successful operation and attributing a significant proportion of its achievements to its machinery servicing and parts departments.

Trevor Chard, Branch Manager of Reesink East Anglia, says: “We set out with a firm focus on sales, servicing, training and parts, and what we’ve noticed since opening is just how highly the servicing and parts departments are valued and in particular how popular the ReeAssure maintenance plans are.”

Reesink East Anglia builds on success

Reesink East Anglia builds on success

The reason for this is multifaceted says Trevor: “We’ve noticed customers are holding on to their machinery for longer. The cost of living crisis does affect businesses and the post-COVID spend is long behind us, but this is where buying Toro in the first instance pays dividends.

“It’s longevity and reliability is such that with regular maintenance and servicing by our team of experienced and trained technicians they can easily get upwards of a decade of solid work performance in.”

In fact, such is the demand for Reesink’s servicing maintenance support that the Burwell branch now has three technicians full-time on the road and two at the branch, with recruitment currently active to further bolster the team.

The reason for this is that from a choice of three service plans for customers, Burwell branch customers favour Gold. “They want to know everything is covered, scheduled and every eventuality taken care of. That’s unlimited visits, breakdown and call out costs, and all manufacturer’s routine maintenance and scheduled servicing. With most customers choosing this plan, it’s easy to see why the team is expanding.

“The growth of the maintenance and support we provide has been organic and demonstrates just how important it is to have a local branch to respond to customer demand and react to specific requirements of our local customers. That’s what sees us gaining new customers and welcoming returning ones.”

Trevor has noticed that most machinery enquiries focus on hybrid and electric options and he puts the branch’s point of difference down to that fact that they may act as an independent, but they have access to all the advantages being part of an international distributor brings.

“We’re trained as the distributor but we act as the retail outlet,” he says. “We can respond instantly to local market changes and design our business to offer the right products for the local industry but also pull on the power of being part of Reesink’s impressive network of market-leading brands, latest technology, guaranteed delivery times, and more.”

To speak to Reesink Burwell about what brands, services and expertise it can offer, call 01638 594340.

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LX builds on Kubota legacy

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LX builds on Kubota legacy: An ongoing programme of improvements is reaping rewards for Old Fold Manor Golf Club in Hertfordshire, with Kubota’s latest LX compact tractor tasked with helping to manage the impressive workload.

Established 110 years ago, the club has 400 members and a burgeoning academy and junior section.

LX builds on Kubota legacy

LX builds on Kubota legacy

The Par 71 parkland course is mainly on clay which receives plenty of care and attention from course manager Mark Burniston and his team to maintain standards and keep up with a busy programme of in house and outside competitions, with a round of the Clutch Pro Tour and a PGA event among this year’s highlights.

“We’ve had Kubota tractors for many years,” explains Mark, “and some seven years ago added an STV-40 compact. We found it offered much more power for its weight compared to our old L5740, which is still doing good service, and was ideal to use on the greens.”

This year, a new LX-401, which has replaced the ST series in Kubota’s range, joined the armoury and is deployed for eight hours a day, on at least five days a week.

“We use compact tractors for blowing on roughs and fairways, plus we’re spraying once or twice a week,” explains Mark. “Then we have three ‘maintenance weeks’ a year when we can be spreading up to 60 tonnes of sand spreading on greens, approaches and tees, and using a Pro Core, along with monthly sand spreading and coring.”

“The LX is perfect for this as it has lots of power and will help us to keep up; I haven’t seen anything else on the market to compare.”

The 40hp LX-401 has a three-range hydrostatic transmission for easy operation which has proved popular with the club.

“It’s so convenient to drive around the course, and the cruise control is ideal to set a speed for work such as verti-draining and spraying. New features on the LX such as an A/B switch to preselect engine revs also save fuel and wear on the engine when moving between greens,” comments Mark.

He adds that the simplicity of operation makes it ideal for any of the six-man greenkeeping team to get on the tractor and carry out any task required.

“We like the ROPS platform too, it’s much easier to get on and off to refill the top dresser or remove and replace a flag when you are spraying.”

Mark comments that the ST has proved to be highly reliable and will be retained for other work.

“We have our own fitter, but George Browns carry out annual servicing; their salesman David Fisher has provided excellent back up and was able to source the LX very promptly when the committee agreed the purchase.”

Ongoing drainage work is being undertaken to help the course deal with the increasingly unpredictable weather, while it has also benefited from a new irrigation system. Developments are also catering for a new generation of golfer, Mark explains.

“We have a three-hole academy course that has been built on former wasteland, the junior section is being developed by one of the pro team, and we’ve rebuilt the driving range, so there’s plenty of opportunity for new golfers to develop their confidence and skills ready to go out on course. It’s an exciting time for the club, and it’s great to be well equipped to meet the demand.”

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Oakmont builds championship legacy

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Oakmont builds championship legacy: Oakmont Country Club regularly plays host to the best in golf, and to give them the greens they deserve, the famous Pennsylvania club uses the Jacobsen PGM 22” walking greens mower.

Aside from the Augusta National, no other course has hosted more major championships than Oakmont. The course is widely regarded as being tournament ready all year round, and the exceptional quality provided by the club and their greenkeeping team, led by Superintendent David Delsandro, has been rewarded by the USGA.

Oakmont builds championship legacy

Oakmont builds championship legacy

Oakmont has been named as the second anchor site for future USGA championships, including the U.S. Open in 2025, 2034, 2042, and 2049, as well as the U.S. Women’s Open in 2028 and 2038, the Walker Cup in 2033, and the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2046.

Preparing the course for these events is a 365 day a year task, and when tournament time rolls around, it is about more than just the machines on the ground. David knows the quality of cut he’ll get with the Jacobsen PGM greens mowers, but when the world’s greatest golfers take to the stage, reliability, and support are what he needs.

“Jacobsen plays a large role in our maintenance today, helping us maintain the history that is Oakmont Country Club,” David explains. “Being founded in 1903, Oakmont is known for holding major championships, U.S. Opens, U.S. Amateurs, National Championships: it’s the home of championship golf in the United States.

“We pride ourselves on producing premium playability, seven days a week throughout the golf season, with firm, fast greens. Therefore the greens mower, as fundamental as it is, is the backbone of the success and the playability that we try to put forth every day.

“Currently, we are mowing greens with the Jacobsen PGM greens mowers. We’ve tried other mowers over the years, demoed different technologies, different manufacturers, we always come back to Jacobsen. Proven cut quality, ease of operation, reliability, customer support. The bottom line is performance, results.

“The club is prepping to host the 2021 U.S. Amateur Championship. It’s a big undertaking for the grounds department and the country club to support the volunteers, the staff, meet the specifications of the USGA, and Jacobsen’s been a great partner with us, with the loan of equipment, their customer support, getting parts, training, working with our equipment technicians, they are always there to support us when we need them the most.

“Jacobsen have been a great partner with us, and the championship support they provided for us, not only for this U.S. Amateur but also championships in the past and future championships, plays an integral role in us being able to host these events and build upon the championship legacy of Oakmont Country Club.”

The 121st U.S. Amateur is the latest in a long line of tournaments hosted by the club. In the past, the seven-day tournament, which features stroke play and match play, has been the springboard for some of the greatest names in golf, including Jack Nicklaus, who won the championship twice, and Tiger Woods, who is the only person to have won three consecutive titles.

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