Award-winning landscaping provider idverde has been re-awarded the ground maintenance contract for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the surrounding public realm, 11 years on from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The London Legacy Development...
Sustainable solutions provider RSK has acquired Crowders Nurseries, a seventh-generation family-run wholesale nursery business. Crowders has been cultivating plants for more than 200 years, operating out of two locations in Lincolnshire: Horncastle and Woodhall Spa....
It is widely accepted that only 6% of the British public hold a traditional 9 to 5 working hours role. Flexible working seems to be more important to the workforce in 2019 than ever before, but is ‘flexism’, the discrimination against people who work flexibly or want to work flexibly, holding businesses back in 2019? According to the Chartered...
Shared parental leave provides an opportunity for eligible parents to take advantage of additional flexibility in the way they choose to care for a new arrival to the family. It allows parents to share caring responsibilities evenly or have one parent taking the main caring role, depending on their preferences and circumstances. Unlike...
Staff retention can drastically improve business performance for numerous reasons. Pro Landscaper speaks with staffing experts to summarise the crucial reasons below: Consistency A moderate level of staff turnover is natural in any company and this can be a good thing. Fresh ideas and new approaches are good for development and morale. But a high...
As fabulously festive as Christmas time is, the holiday can wreak havoc with many industries that find their workload increasing through the winter months. Grounds maintenance is a prime example. Colder weather strikes up the need for additional services such as gritting and snow ploughing, making staff attendance essential. Pro Landscaper sits...
Andrew Wilson provides Pro Landscaper with an insight into the position of garden design graduates upon leaving the London College of Garden Design. He tackles the pressing issue of breaking into the market as a new designer and suggests what could assist them in such a competitive market. As I waved goodbye to our LCGD class of graduates in...
I’ve written many times about the career opportunities within the landscaping profession, and the difficulties that we face in attracting and retaining talented individuals. It’s a challenge that isn’t going away and is one that will continue to affect our business’, or us personally, over the next decade. There are already industry wide actions...
‘Flexism’. The term meant for allowing flexible working hours is now commonplace in most businesses. This is essential in the modern day, as working parents or those with a duty of care for one another need hours that can work around the other integral and immovable parts of their life. This week, Pro Landscaper speaks with Giles Heap, managing...
This notice sets out how businesses and individuals that trade in plants and plant products would feel the affect if the UK leaves the EU in March 2019 with a no deal Brexit. ‘Plant’ means a living plant or a living part of a plant, at any stage of growth. ‘Plant product’ means products of plant origin, unprocessed or having undergone simple...
Maintaining a positive online presence can go a long way to helping you build brand awareness for your business. The way your website conveys your company’s message speaks volumes about how you want to present the firm. When it comes to your website, staying up to date with current trends is imperative to staying ahead of the game. Creating a...
Adam Corrie of Synergy 3 Ltd advises on the importance of communication and how it can positively affect you and your business. Enhancing your communication skills is a key area in business development and problem solving. It can lead to achieving the right outcome in all situations. Whether negotiating a tender or settling a contractual...
Adam Corrie from Synergy 3 Ltd tells us how business presentation is most effective by building a quality company website. Presentation and quality are now more important than ever in the competitive landscaping market. One of the most crucial aspects of your company’s appearance is your website. It is now the first place many prospective...
When it comes to money, getting what you deserve isn’t always as easy as it should be in the garden industry. Janine Pattison offers some tips on persuading clients to pay up. Surviving as a garden designer can be difficult. Some clients will be unwilling to pay a fee for what they consider to be something that you enjoy and should be doing for...
Harriet Orme from personal protective equipment (PPE) experts Zoro talks to Pro Landscaper about the importance of PPE for landscaping professionals. For landscapers whose job involves a lot of manual labour, it’s crucial to protect workers from harm. The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations (1992) require precautionary measures in...
On 23 August the UK government published 25 technical guidance notes giving advice about preparing for a No Deal Brexit. The UK is set to leave the European Union on 29 March 2019. The below contains guidance from the HTA for if a No Deal Brexit should occur. A further 60 guidance notes are set for publishing in September. The full guidance...
Social media is a part of life for nearly every business which provides a service or sells something. Eventually, someone somewhere will make a mistake. If that mistake affects a customer who is very active on social media, then they are likely to make lots of noise about it. This is where you need to react quickly to try and turn negative into...
Summer is a great media show for landscaping and horticulture, Tim Howell says. "We should seize the opportunity to promote our industry as a career choice." I’m writing this in late June and feeling excited, as horticulture is firmly in the public eye. Aided by countless landscaping shows on television and lots of positive coverage throughout...
The Environmental Agency will consider flexing abstraction license conditions. This will help support people and businesses during this dry period. People must apply for a change to their conditions. 2018 saw the driest June on record since 1925 and with a very dry July. This has let to the Environment Agency receiving enquires from businesses...
Differentiate your business without driving down profits using marketing. Steve Clarke explains why it is essential to do something different to attract attention and how a mesmerising display could be just the thing to draw people in. What can you gain from swimming in the sea of sameness, doing the same as everyone else? If your aim is to...
We asked you, the readers of Pro Landscaper to send in your questions concerning all elements of the landscaping industry. This week, we speak with Sean Butler of Cube 1994, to help tackle some of the biggest questions in landscaping today. What is best to do if a client is unhappy with an installation that cannot be altered? This simply comes...
Perennial, the UK horticulture industry’s charity, has launched an online budgeting tool to help people understand their financial position and plan ahead. As the cost of living continues to rise beyond that of economic recovery, more and more people working across the UK horticulture sector are struggling to make ends meet, or are unable to...
Pro Landscaper speaks to Catherine MacDonald about handling budget expectations, and ask for Catherine’s top tips to reduce project costs without compromising a garden’s design “Due to my nature, I prefer to be completely honest with clients, telling them straight if their expectations are exceeding their budget – of course telling them in a...
As companies across the UK are scrutinised over consistency of pay between men and women, Pro Landscaper investigates to see whether the pay gap is a significant issue within the landscaping industry. Since Iceland has introduced legislation making it illegal to pay staff unequally for doing the same jobs, questions have been raised in parliament...
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