Tag Archive for: Landscape

BALI to Sponsor The Landscape Zone at GroundsFest

BALI to Sponsor The Landscape Zone at GroundsFest: GroundsFest is proud to announce that the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) will be the exclusive sponsor of The Landscape Zone at GroundsFest 2025.

Taking place on 9 and 10 September at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, GroundsFest is an unmissable event for anyone working in landscaping and grounds management. With its mix of live demonstrations, interactive features, free education, and even a live music festival, the show is known for its dynamic and welcoming atmosphere. And now, with BALI stepping in to support the Landscape Zone, 2025’s event is set to be the biggest and most impactful yet for the landscaping sector.

BALI to Sponsor The Landscape Zone at GroundsFest

BALI to Sponsor The Landscape Zone at GroundsFest

The Landscape Zone is the ultimate destination for professionals involved in the design, planning, and construction of outdoor environments. This dedicated area will showcase cutting-edge technologies, sustainable practices, and the very latest innovations in landscaping. Whether you’re a garden designer, landscape architect, contractor, local authority professional, architectural technologist, or facilities manager – this is where ideas take shape, and lasting business connections are made.

BALI has had a presence at GroundsFest since its inception, but 2025 marks a significant expansion of its involvement.

Wayne Grills, Chief Executive of BALI, commented: “As the leading Trade Association for landscaping industries, we believe that events like GroundsFest are vital to enable the industry to grow and thrive. Not only is it fantastic that profits from GroundsFest are reinvested back into the industry to support education – which complements BALI’s own work in skills and education through our GoLandscape careers initiative – but through knowledge-sharing, collaboration and networking at the event, all attendees can improve their best practice, thereby strengthening the landscaping ecosystem as a whole. That’s why we’re proud to be supporting the Landscape Zone and would encourage businesses and people to come along and participate.

“With such a wide array of people from all walks of industry expected to attend, it will truly be an event to remember and, of course, an amazing networking opportunity for all.”

Chris Bassett, Event Director at GroundsFest, added: “We’re absolutely delighted to be working more closely with BALI for GroundsFest 2025. BALI is a fantastic organisation that shares our vision of supporting and celebrating the landscaping sector. Their exclusive sponsorship of the Landscape Zone is a huge endorsement of what we’re building with GroundsFest, and we look forward to welcoming BALI members – and the wider industry – to this vibrant space.”

Free registration is now open, don’t miss your chance to be part of the UK’s most inclusive and innovative event for the grounds management and landscaping industries.

Registration to GroundsFest 2025 is now open. Please visit www.groundsfest.com

You can also follow GroundsFest on X, Facebook and Instagram @GroundsFest for much more news, reviews and insightful views.

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Landscape reinvigoration at Beau Desert

Landscape reinvigoration at Beau Desert: In his 31 years at Beau Desert Golf Club in Cannock, Staffordshire, Course Manager Steve Mucklow has overseen a lot of changes.

But few have been on the scale of the landscape reinvigoration he and his team are working towards.

Landscape reinvigoration at Beau Desert

Landscape reinvigoration at Beau Desert

Sustainability – in every sense of the word – is the goal and Steve, along with Head Greenkeeper Luke Sheldon, are seeing the fruits of their labour.

The recent delivery of the first phase of new John Deere machinery marks the start of change in direction in the machinery fleet which will help meet efficiency and productivity targets the team has set itself.

“The course has changed more in the past five years because of all the work that we’ve put into heathland regeneration,” says Steve. “What we’re really about is sustainability and we’ve managed to get the resources to improve and redevelop the golf course. That includes the machinery and with John Deere on board that’s very much part of us moving forward.”

All around the course there is evidence of the work the team has put in to maintain a Top 100-level golf course while allowing the natural environment to flourish around it.

It was Steve who got the ball rolling on the sustainability mission, and the whole club is now driving towards making the 170-acre course as sustainable as possible.

“The one thing that we needed to do after the best part of 100 years was to start looking at redeveloping the course and bringing it into the modern era,” says Steve.

“But for us, it’s also important to keep the tradition of the course. The way in which we’ve redeveloped the holes is in a very traditional way – everything we’ve used materials wise has come from on-site to keep everything sustainable and natural.”

“Beau Desert is not written about in loads of magazines or advertised greatly,” Luke says. “It’s one of those courses where you’ve just got to come out and play it and experience it for yourself, and when people do come and play, they come back.”

Steve attributes the course’s traditional Fowler design and heathland appeal.

“Certainly from the mid 1970s, fuelled by tv, the trend was for green and stripes, fast, receptive greens, that Masters style set up – golf has gone full circle now, the traditional ‘running game’ is back in focus, in vogue, that suits us just fine here at Beau.”

So far, the Beau Desert team has completed the restoration of three holes, the first, fifth and 18th, and their aim is to have the course fully restored by 2030. The club not only has the redevelopment template in place, but also the Heathland and Woodland management plan and a Farming in Protective Landscapes funded scheme.

The club’s 650 members have all been openly communicated to with each step of the restoration, something which the members so far have been pleased with. In recent years, as the club’s member demographic has gotten younger and the club has gotten busier, the playing percentage is quite high, with around 40,000 rounds of golf played a year.

With the course becoming so busy, the greens team go out and prepare the course before play begins at 8am.

John Deere’s state of the art hybrid technology allows the Beau Desert team to work much more efficiently and sustainably. So far this year the team has received seven new additions to its fleet, including a 2750 E-Cut riding greens mower, 7500 E-Cut for fairways, two walk-behinds and an 8800A to cut surrounds. There are plans going forward for more machines to be ordered shortly.

“What attracted us about the machines was the ability to cut down on idle times, save fuel, and cut down on emissions, all of which you can track from the machines,” says Luke.

Using the carbon emission data from the mowers as well as using drones to count how many trees there are on the course, the team can calculate their journey towards carbon neutrality.

“So, for example, if the fairway mowers put out 20 hours’ worth of emissions, we can calculate the carbon offset to be around 12 mature trees – that’s how many trees it would take to cancel out the carbon emissions,” says Luke.

He says the grounds team knew they wanted to invest in John Deere machines right after demoing them.

“When we demoed the machines, we found that the transition from our old machines to Deere was easy as they were so simple to understand and use,” says Luke. “Plus, it wasn’t just the case of the machines being dumped on the team and left to figure it out, there was always background information (from John Deere dealer Farol), and we were given time to get used to the machines as well.

“Before we’d even made the change properly, the lads had a real good idea of what they were using, and achieving a really good performance didn’t take much input.”

As they preach sustainability, Luke and Steve felt that their machinery had to match up to their philosophy. The electric drive on the cutting reels eliminate the risk hydraulic leaks while delivering consistency of cut.

Steve believes that putting the time and effort into making the course sustainable is the most important part of it all.

“It’s a long process,” says Steve. “We started to invest around 10 years ago but with improved budgets really upped the ante over the past five to six years.

“I’ve been able to learn a lot about sustainability on the job, but I’ve also been quite lucky as I’ve met some good people who understand about ecology and the heathland environment.

“We’ve learnt a lot ourselves, improving agronomics whilst maintaining standards has been key.”

Looking to the future, and continuing the redevelopment of the course, Steve is working on trying to get the next grant through for the development of the heathland.

“We also have the redevelopment plan for the seventh hole in place for October, all being well, and that’s the next two stages,” says Steve.

The grant will take care of the woodland and regeneration work and redevelopment will continue into the future.

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Landscape services level up with Toro Grandstand

Landscape services level up with Toro Grandstand: Last year Landscape Services, providers of commercial grounds maintenance services across Kent and the Southeast of England, added the Toro GrandStand mower to its Toro fleet to deliver speedy operations in even the most awkward areas.

The USP of the GrandStand is in its name, literally. It’s a stand-on mower meaning it’s smaller and more compact, allowing greater access to smaller areas than a ride-on.

Landscape services level up with Toro Grandstand

Landscape services level up with Toro Grandstand

And it’s this that was the selling point for Mike Harris, head of operations at Landscape Services. He says: “With the addition of the Toro Grandstand we were able to quickly service larger areas regardless of whether they had small points of access. This meant more efficient mowing and better use of staff time, which has proven the machine popular with both management and our operational teams.”

In addition, this mower combines the speed and comfort of a zero-turn rider with the on-and-off ease of a wide area walk-behind creating a fast, manoeuvrable and more productive alternative.

All this complemented Landscape Services’ existing fleet of Toro TM7490 gang units and CT triple cylinder mowers, which have long delivered the high level of customer satisfaction the company has strived for over its 80-plus years in business.

“It’s good to have a combination of mowers to cover all surface requirements. The cylinder mowers give a finer cut, which works well for cricket outfields and customers who prefer the more aesthetic appeal,” says Mike. “The additional access benefits of the GrandStand means quicker work and less disruption to the customer, resulting in improved overall customer satisfaction.”

When it comes to groundscare machinery, trusting in Toro and Reesink Turfcare’s South East Sheffield Park branch has proven to be a well-founded decision.

“At the time of purchase Toro offered the best value for money and the best backup service. On top of that, from our experience working with Reesink, the staff have always been helpful and knowledgeable, offering advice and guidance whenever needed, which is a big plus for us,” says Mike.

Choosing the GrandStand isn’t where investing in technology stops for the company either.  Mike says, “Over the next couple of years we will be looking to innovate via our fleet of machines, to reduce maintenance costs, support a positive carbon footprint and diversify our portfolio with mixed specialist technology.”

Discover how Toro technology and Reesink can help you to tackle every terrain, get in touch with Reesink Turfcare, call 01480 226800, email info@reesinkturfcare.co.uk or visit reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Toro Invests in Landscape Contractor Business

Toro Invests in Landscape Contractor Business: Following the launch of Toro’s Revolution Series Z Master and Grandstand  commercial mowers which feature the company’s proprietary Hypercell battery technology, Toro U.K. Limited is pleased to announce leadership changes to focus on growing its position in the Landscape Contractor Business.

Ben Kirkby, who joined the company in August 2021 as a Territory Manager for Northern England and Scotland to focus on the Toro and Hayter residential ranges, will be increasing his responsibilities to support growth of the Toro Landscape Contractor Business. He will also help support the Siteworks ranges of Forestry and Construction equipment.

Toro Invests in Landscape Contractor Business

Toro Invests in Landscape Contractor Business

Matt Coleman, UK Sales Manager for the Toro Landscape Contractor and Sitework ranges, will continue to oversee the portfolio and dealer network, and will utilise Ben to support demand from dealers and end users.

“I have spent the last 2 ½ years establishing and growing our professional dealer network and building awareness with customers so it will be great to have Ben helping support this important segment,” said Coleman, Sales Manager, Landscaper Contractor & Siteworks equipment – Toro U.K. Limited. “I look forward to utilising Ben’s sales and demo experience, from his time selling commercial machinery and building his knowledge of the Toro Landscape Contractor range.”

Ben who has recently taken delivery of a new Ford Ranger Wildtrak and will soon take delivery of a trailer, will be fully setup to support the Toro Dealer network in Northern England & Scotland and their customers.

“I am really excited to be taking on this new challenge,” said Kirkby. “It has been great to build relationships with the Toro dealers in my area and I look forward to supporting their needs with the Toro Landscape Contractor and Siteworks ranges, especially with the new industry-leading Revolution Series battery products.”

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GroundsFest Launches the Landscape Zone

GroundsFest Launches the Landscape Zone: Organisers of GroundsFest have launched a new zone at the event dedicated to all those involved in the planning, design, and construction of outdoor environments in the landscaping sector.

The Landscape Zone is set to spotlight the latest landscaping technologies, solutions, and innovations, and will be a must-attend feature for landscape architects, local authority landscaping professionals, garden designers, landscape contractors, interior designers, facility managers and many more.

GroundsFest Launches the Landscape Zone

GroundsFest Launches the Landscape Zone

The Landscape Zone will be headed by Jess McCabe, an award-winning event specialist who previously worked on the landscaping event FutureScape.

“GroundsFest is an exciting concept and I’m delighted to be involved,” said Jess.

“After working in the industry for many years, I know that this concept ticks so many boxes for the landscaping sector. For visitors, it will have everything a landscaping professional needs to help them in their designs and projects. Additionally, it enables them to see all the other leading groundscare brands on display and products in action; and then there is the festival element which will be a great networking opportunity.

“From an exhibitor point of view, stand prices at landscaping events are becoming more expensive every year and as a result, are pricing many companies out of exhibiting. The competitive pricing for The Landscape Zone at GroundsFest allows companies of all shapes and sizes to get involved. It will provide these companies with an ideal platform to showcase their products and services to a dedicated audience.”

Commenting on the new Landscape Zone, GroundsFest Event Director Christopher Bassett said: “Our intention has always been to bring together all corners of the groundscare industry and launching The Landscape Zone is another step towards this goal.

“This new initiative signals the huge support we have already received to date and accommodates the strong demand for exhibitor space. To open an entirely new hall at GroundsFest after launching just twelve weeks ago shows how far we have come.

“We would like to extend a warm welcome to Jess,” continued Christopher. “She has an abundance of experience, knows the landscaping sector inside out and she shares our passion for delivering an extraordinary event for both visitors and exhibitors.”

Jess can be contacted on 07830 488 812 or jess.mccabe@groundsfest.com

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