This current spell of dry, warm weather has certainly made the grass and weeds grow - which will be keeping many gardeners busy.

I have been extremely busy, maintaining a number of customers’ gardens, while at the same time conducting more Green Flag judging plus visiting a couple of machinery dealers.

Having recently acquired an Eliet Scarifier on loan from  PSD / Gibson’s myself and fellow greenkeeper John Breeze, have been renovating a few lawns. We just need to ensure the customers water their lawns now,  to help the seed to germinate - especially during this hot spell.

I have also noticed some people undertaking a No Mow May strategy, leaving the grass to grow during the month, with the aim to encourage some wildlife into their gardens. 

No Mow May is Plantlife’s annual campaign calling all garden owners and green space managers not to cut the grass during May.

The organisation encourages people to take part by saying we’ve lost nearly 97% of flower rich meadows since the 1970’s and with them gone are vital food needed by pollinators, like bees and butterflies.

They point out that a healthy lawn with some long grass and wildflowers benefits wildlife, tackles pollution and can even lock away carbon below ground.

Personally, I’m not sure whether four weeks is long enough to attract and retain wildlife? 

This spell of nice weather has also encouraged an array of prolific spring flowering shrubs to come into full bloom with Photina Frasier Red Robin showing one of the grandest flowering displays for many a year, Also the lilac, golden chain Laburnum and ceanothus shrubs have also been majestic this year.  

With the Chelsea Flower Show taking place recently, it’s not surprising people are keen to buy some plants for their garden. However, as much as you may like specific plants featured on the BBC garden show, many may not be suitable for your own garden. You may not have the correct soil type, aspect, or size of garden to accommodate a given tree shrub and plant.

I’m kicking off a semi-regular feature in TurfPro today, featuring a specific tree, shrub or plant. It’s a briefing on all you need to know about a given species, that hopefully will give you the information to make the right choice of plant for your garden.

On the sporting front, congratulations to Manchester City for winning the Premiership for the third time in a row. With this final weekend of Premiership football having passed, it signals the start of the busy renovation period for clubs up and down the country. It is amazing to see the transformation in such a short window of time. These pitches can be completely turned around in less than 10 weeks.

The Koro Fraise mower has revolutionised the way we renovate football pitches. Coupled with other specialist machinery such as the Verti Drain, topdressers and disc seeders, it affords us the opportunity to renovate a pitch in a couple of days depending on the extent of work required. Using modern seed mixtures, and having adequate watering available, the new seed will have germinated within ten days and the pitch, if required, can be playable withing 8- 10 weeks from the start of the renovation. 

The rugby season has also come to end, with rugby clubs also undertaking pitch renovation works. A series of Honda Rugby Grounds Connected road shows are currently underway, with the next one at Peterborough RFC.

I will be attending one at Stafford RFC on the 14th June and look forward to seeing you there.

As for bowls, cricket and golf they are busy accommodating regular use from their members. With this current dry, sunny weather be mindful you will need to water regularly to the keep the sward in good condition.

GGM Groundscare have unveiled a new LANTRA accredited training academy as the latest offering to their portfolio of services, after “identifying a requirement in the industry.”

Trainer, Gary Taylor (in orange Hi-Vis) with delegates

They say the new courses provide delegates with the skills and knowledge required to safely operate and maintain relevant machinery through courses that deliver both practical skills and health & safety guidance. All training can be carried out either on customers' own premises, using the equipment that team members will be using on a day-to-day basis or at GGM’s own dedicated training centre in Colne, Lancashire.

The LANTRA accredited training courses ensure that operators are trained to a national standard whilst fulfilling the organisation’s legal obligations with regards to the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulation 1998 (PUWER). 

GGM managing director Chris Gibson explains, “After many conversations with our customers, as a business we identified that there was a requirement in the market for a one-stop shop that offers accredited operator training in addition to selling machinery.  

“GGM are committed to continuing to strive for excellence in customer service, and the new training academy is the next chapter in this.”

The training covers all makes and models of machinery. Upon successful completion of the courses, all delegates will receive a certificate of competence and for the LANTRA training an accredited certificate and skills card will be awarded (LANTRA registration fees apply).

The training is aimed at any employee either employed in, or who is looking to be employed in agriculture, horticulture, landscaping or grounds maintenance, who is or will be required to operate machinery. It will be run by Gary Taylor, who has over 20 years of experience.

Chris Gibson continued, “After sales and service has always been a key part of our offering and so the launch of the GGM Training Academy was a natural step for the business.

“It’s our aim to ensure organisations have adequate and appropriate training to operate and use work equipment, to fulfil their health and safety requirements and to help to prevent unnecessary accidents. We’re extremely excited to take this forward.” 

Each year Reesink UK highlights its dealers who go above and beyond in providing exceptional standards of customer service, goals and considerations with its Aftermarket Dealer Awards. 

Overall Dealer of the Year for Excellence in Customer Support went to Reesink Turfcare South East 

The awards recognise an overall Dealer of the Year for Excellence in Customer Service, alongside outstanding performance in three key areas: Service, Parts and Skills. For the first time this year, Reesink also recognised its dealers that showed the greatest improvement across all key areas in a brand new award.

Dealers are scored across all three key categories in keeping with Reesink’s Service Level Agreement. The dealer that achieves the highest combined score across categories is awarded the overall Dealer of the Year for Excellence in Customer Support. This year that award went to Reesink Turfcare South East who also won the gold award for Excellence in Skills. 

Tom Clark, branch manager of Reesink South East said, “Receiving these awards is a proud achievement and recognises our staff members doing a good job. It shows customers we’re a trusted brand as an award winner in what we do to be recognised as one of the best in the field.”

The runners up in these respective categories were Lloyd Limited and Oliver Landpower, who both took home silver awards. 

When it came to Excellence in Parts, Revill Mowers took the gold award, with Gammies Groundcare taking silver. Stan Grewar, parts manager at Gammies Groundcare, says: “We’ve got a young team and this award reflects their hard work. I’m very proud of them, I know that the company and the parts department are in safe hands with them.” 

Excellence in Service saw Cheshire Turf Machinery win gold while Redtech Machinery took silver. 

Mark Woodward, service director at Cheshire Turf Machinery said: “We are continually investing in our customer service and the excellence in service award is our eighth award since 2017. All of our staff have been brilliant in maintaining and improving standards since the Reesink service level agreement was introduced.  

“I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate one of our service technicians, Chris Hester. He’s our first technician to successfully complete the prestigious Toro Master Tech course.”

The new award for the dealership that showed the biggest step up across all sections of its KPI scoring: service, parts and skills went to Devon Garden Machinery. Steve Dommet from the company said: “This award recognises the efforts our after sales team has put into raising standards and improving the service we provide our commercial customers. As this is a new award it was a pleasant surprise when we found out we’d won.”

Lee Rowbotham, service and training manager at Reesink UK, added, “The relationship between distributor and dealer is vital to the success of both businesses. In many cases Reesink’s dealers have that all-important customer facing contact. We appreciate how vital that role is and feel strongly about strengthening our relationship with our dealers wherever possible. That’s one of the reasons why the Aftermarket Dealer Awards came to fruition.”

Lee continued, “Reesink has always prided itself on delivering fantastic after sales service and the Aftermarket Dealer Awards recognise those dealers who do an exceptional job at upholding this customer service standard. We’d like to thank them all for their continued hard work and incredible work ethic, it’s a real pleasure working with them year in and year out.”

Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) is continuing to grow its Can-Am off-road dealer network in the UK with the appointment of Bedford-based MKM Agriculture. 

MKM md, Anthony Deacon

The manufacturer says this new addition is part of their ongoing expansion plans to increase its share of the utility market in UK.

A family-run business with over 30 years’ experience in the agriculture and ground care sectors, MKM Agriculture will be adding the Can-Am off-road line-up as part of the business’ ongoing strategy to continually strengthen its product offering through the provision of vehicles its customers are requesting. 

Mike Loach, BRP commercial manager UK & Ireland, said, “We’re delighted to be adding such a knowledgeable and experienced dealer to our growing network in the UK. We believe the company will hit the ground running and we look forward to supporting the business as it helps us expand our share of the market in the utility sector.”

Anthony Deacon, managing director, MKM Agriculture Ltd, said, “Adding the Can-Am off-road line-up aligns with our ethos of investing in quality products that will benefit our customer base. The combination of the Can-Am offering and our team’s knowledge and experience will enable us to become the ‘go to’ business in the area for anyone looking to purchase an ATV or SSV and we look forward to working with Mike to achieve this.”

The Corvus Off-Road Vehicles dealer network has grown again with UK distributor Boss ORV announcing both agricultural and groundcare machinery dealers as new additions to the team.

L-R: Boss ORV md Phil Everett with Redlynch group sales manager, Paul Cooke

Corvus coverage in Dorset will now be provided by Redlynch Agricultural Engineering Limited, the business founded from humble roots by Nicholas Heal in 1980. Building on a passion and success in buying and selling secondhand machinery, Redlynch has grown to span three counties in the southwest.

“At Redlynch, we’ve carefully chosen the franchises we represent,” said a spokesperson for the company, “and our mission is to provide customers with the right machine for them.”

ORV md Phil Everett welcomed Nick Heal, Paul Cooke and all the team at Redlynch, adding that it is a major step forward for the Corvus Terrain range of 4x4 utility vehicles to gain such highly regarded sales and service in the area. 

L-R: Solly Mansfield, Phil Everett, and Oliver Mansfield

“Corvus UTV presence in the groundcare sector is growing from strength to strength as well,” added Phil. “The Boss ORV team is joined by Baggleys Machinery and we welcome Solly Mansfield, Oliver Mansfield, Toby Mansfield and all the team in distributing the Corvus Off-Road Vehicles range in East Anglia.”

Based in the heart of Norfolk, the dealership has been providing a service to the Norfolk community for many years, regarding offering a service to maintain machinery as being just as important as sales. They operate a fully equipped workshop which includes staff who have gained their MST Master Service Technicians award.

Menai Tractors, based in North-West Wales, has been appointed as a new Etesia dealer and will be distributing the manufacturer's complete product range.

Founded by Robert Wyn Jones and his wife Gillian in 2007, Menai Tractors specialises in groundcare and agricultural machinery. Since its creation it has gained a reputation for delivering a first-class service to its customers. 

Robert believes that the Etesia brand is a strong addition to its extensive portfolio.

“Whenever I speak to someone who has previous experience of using Etesia machinery, they do not have one bad word to say about them,” he said.

“We’ve already sold a few of the ride-on mowers,” continued Rob. “I think the next 12-24 months are going to be very interesting. I have no doubt that the Etesia brand will be very popular with our customers, especially the local authorities. We deal with several caravan parks too and I think it will strike a chord with them too.”

A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT
by guest editor Angus Macleod

TURF HARVEST FESTIVAL

FEEDING TIME

TIME TO GET TOUGH

STAY CURIOUS!
by guest editor, Alex Vickers

A TRANSISTIONAL MONTH

SPRING IS UPON US

HEDGE YOUR BETS

PEOPLE'S PARKS, PUBLIC PARKS - IN PERIL?

by guest editor, Paul Rabbits

TESTING TIMES AHEAD

ROBOTIC POTENTIAL

CHANGEOVER TIME

WE MUST DEVELOP OUR OWN STAFF

by guest editor, Karl McDermott

DOUBLE CENTURY CELEBRATED

OUR PARKS IN CRISIS

AN OUTSTANDING SUCCESS

OPTIMISM RETURNING
By Guest Editor, Roy Rigby

WATERLOGGING ISSUES

NEW YEAR, NEW FEATURES

View all of 2022's blogs here

View all of 2021's blogs here

View all of 2020's blogs here

View all of 2019's blogs here

View all of 2018's blogs here

VALUING THE GRASSROOTS
We must not overlook those who maintain these grounds

MANAGING WEEDS SUSTAINABLY
In amenity spaces

DETECTING NUTRIENT DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS
In turf plants

SPRING RENOVATIONS UNDERWAY
A crucial period

SUSTAINABILITY IN SUPPLY
A focus on those who supply essential inputs to our sector

CHANGING CLIMATE
Is a borehole the key for clubs?

SUSTAINABILITY AT THE SHARP END
How to put into practice when budgets are tight?

ANOTHER NAIL IN THE COFFIN OF GRASSROOTS RUGBY
Clubs are struggling

SUSTAINABILITY IN PRACTICE
Seeking transparent and robust supply chains is essential

TIME FOR ACTION
To reverse recruitment crisis

CONTROLLING COSTS
Planning is crucial

THE SEARCH FOR SUSTAINABILITY
What exactly does the term mean?

CARING FOR THE GRASSROOTS
From volunteers to contractors

DEFRA IS LETTING DOWN THE COUNTRY
Complete failure to address the plastic grass debate

WE CAN ALL DO MORE
To aid biodiversity

MY LIFE IN GREENKEEPING
With Bruce Cruickshank

LEVELLING UP, GETTING SMARTER & GETTING AHEAD
Parks require so much more funding

SWITCHED ON FOR HARD WORK
Putting trimmers through their paces

MACHINERY HIGHLIGHTS
At this year's show

MY SALTEX
Daniel Lewis​, Manchester City Football Club

AWASH WITH LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Two months till showtime

LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD
Priorities for the amenity sector

THE DECLINE OF ‘PARKITECTURE’
A symptom of the state of parks in 2022

DEVELOPERS SHIRKING GREEN SPACE RESPONSIBILITIES
Lack of financial commitment

TIME TO COME TOGETHER
For the good of the industry

THE DEATH OF GRASS ROOTS CRICKET
Gathering apace?

ROUTES INTO THE INDUSTRY MUST BE ENSURED
Q&A with David Fisher, Lantra’s head of industry partnerships

STRONG VIEWS ON CRICKET PITCH PERFORMANCE MARKING
A bone of contention

A PREMIUM PRODUCT
Delivered at Naas Golf Club

THE GREEN REVOLUTION
And Esker Hills

MAKING A CHANGE
Laytown and Bettystown Golf Links

A DAY AT THE RACES
Naas Race Course

WORKING TOGETHER AS ONE VOICE
How the industry needs to proceed

OVER 175 YEARS OF EDUCATION
Wesley College

ELECTRIC EXCITEMENT
Dennis's Ian Howard talks electrification

THE HOME OF CORK GAA
Páirc Uí Chaoimh

LONG POLE BATTERY HEDGE TRIMMERS TESTED
STIHL HLA 66 and HLA 86

OVER 800 YEARS OF HISTORY
Johnstown Castle and Gardens

A CLUB GONE WILD
Kilkenny Golf Club

A GOLF COURSE IN THE GARDEN OF IRELAND
Woodenbridge GC

80 YEARS YOUNG
Charleville Golf Club

AN UPLIFTING EXPERIENCE
Bunclody Golf & Fishing Club

GETTING BACK TOGETHER
Albeit gradually . .

GO WEST
Inishturk GAA pitch – one of the most westerly sportspitches in Europe

WORKING ON A TIGHT BUDGET
Nenagh Golf Club

ON A MISSION
Wrekin Golf Club aiming to enrich wildlife and fauna

WILD AND WONDERFUL
Design By Nature

LEARNING HOW TO SURVIVE
Abbey Par 3

TACKLING OBESITY
Vital that schools can provide sport

A LIFETIME OF LEARNING
Vital for turf professionals

CELEBRATING 125 YEARS
Tullamore Golf Club

UNIVERSITY CHALLENGES
At Trinity College Dublin

BLENDING THE OLD WITH THE NEW
Bray Golf Club

A WELL POLISHED COURSE!
Ierne Social And Sports Club

IDENTIFYING THE TRUE VALUES
Of grounds maintenance

THE INDUSTRY WILL CHANGE & ADAPT
But it will survive

WIRRAL GOLF COURSES SAVED
Renewed hope and optimism for the future

GREEN SPACE CONTRIBUTION TO WELLBEING IS UNDERVALUED
Parks invisible on national agenda

A SHINING LIGHT IN IRELAND'S SUNNY SOUTHEAST
Wexford Golf Club

GREEN SPACES DO NOT LOOK AFTER THEMSELVES!
Keith Kent says we must invest in people

WE SHOULD TELL THE WORLD ABOUT THE UK INDUSTRY
Right time for all sides to come together

SOIL LIFE IS PRECIOUS
Good-quality soil can help save the planet

MORE THAN JUST CUTTING GRASS
Encouraging the next generation

A BUZZ FROM DOING THE JOB
Wide experience of the turf grass industry

PAYING THEIR WAY
Low wages is the bane of the industry

AMENITY MANAGEMENT IMPACTS US ALL
Professor John Moverley

CARING FOR PARKS OF ALL TYPES
Mary Worrall

TOP FIVE FRUSTRATIONS FOR CRICKET GROUNDSMEN
What causes you the most frustration in your role?

PROFESSIONALS AT THE CUTTING EDGE
Vic Demain and Phil Sharples

BOWLS CLUBS IN PERIL
A sad decline

A VERY SPECIAL INDUSTRY
Loz looks back

SNEAK PEAK AT A ROBOTIC "GAME CHANGER"
Commercial model capable of covering 50,000 m2 teased

HALESOWEN PICK A BIG ROBOT UP FRONT
Invest in mowers

COMPRESSED AERATION
The new way

PARKS MATTER MORE THAN EVER
Recent sector developments

ON TEST
STIHL blowers

THREE CORE VALUES TO SHAPE OUR INDUSTRY
Real concerns for the future

ENGLAND'S GREEN SPACE GAP
A split along racial lines

ON TEST
EGO STX3800 strimmer with RTX2300 Rotocut head

A SECTOR FACING IMPORTANT TIMES
Review of the National Action Plan

PARKS MATTER
The role of public parks in the recovery: a discussion paper

A UNIQUE SPORTING VENUE
Wormsley private estate

A BTME OUTDOORS?
A good bet for the industry

PARKS NEED APPROPRIATE POLITICAL REPRESENTATION
Q&A with Philippa Reece, Parks and Foreshore Manager at Adur and Worthing Council

CRICKET LOAM
What does it mean?

A HERCULEAN EFFORT TO GET PARKS BACK TO NORMAL
Q&A with Chris Worman, Rugby Borough Council’s parks and ground manager

ON TEST
STIHL battery products

TURFGRASS STRESS MANAGEMENT
Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and antioxidants during biotic and abiotic stress in turfgrass plants

AUTUMN DISEASE MANAGEMENT
The coming months are going to prove very difficult

THE ABUSE OF PARKS . .
Is the abuse of society

WHY PARKS MATTER?
A statement from the Parks Management Forum to the Prime Minister

THE 21st CENTURY PARKS MANAGER
Innovative, creative and entrepreneurial

EAT, SLEEP, CUT, REPEAT!
Cricket under covid

TIME FOR A SINGLE SHOW?
Debate brought back into focus

A CHALLENGING TWO MONTHS
Running golf design projects from home

PRESSURE SITUATION
Cementing the reputation

A CLUB TO BE PROUD OF
10 years at the helm of Olton GC

GAME CHANGERS IN TURFCARE
The day the Lord's outfield reconstruction proved its worth

THE ESSENCE OF ESSENTIAL
Finding a sensible way forward on defining "essential maintenance"

THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS
2001

HOW TO LOOK AFTER A GOLF COURSE WITH NO GOLFERS
Fundamental to the survival of almost all courses, if not of the game itself

RAIN STOPPED PLAY WOULD BE WELCOME
. . along with ‘lunch is being taken early’

PHYSICAL CONTROL OF TURFGRASS PESTS
An urgent problem

A DIVERSE & ENTERTAINING WEEK
Successful BTME 2020

INTEGRATED PEST CONTROL
Opportunity to embrace new methods

ENVILLE ON THE UP
Major investments taking place

GREEN FLAG AWARDS 2019
A great success

U.S PROFESSIONAL EQUIPMENT SHOW EXCELS
Buoyant GIE+EXPO

LEGACY OF THE SOLHEIM CUP
At Gleneagles

A DAY OUT WITH THE LADIES
Behind the scenes at the Solheim Cup

COVENTRY UNIVERSITY'S EDIBLE GARDEN SUCCESS
2006 - present

HAIL THE GRASS MASTERS!
Boorish media comments about pitch quality are wide of the mark

CONTRACTOR SEES MULTI-DISCIPLINE SUCCESS
360 Ground Care serving professional facilities

BUSY TIMES
Judging the Green Flag Awards

TAKING AN INTEGRATED APPROACH
What does it all mean in managing turf surfaces?

UNDER PRESSURE
Dry weather conditions continue to keep turf managers focused on moisture management

EDDIE SEAWARD
Death of Wimbledon’s influential grounds manager

MAJOR NEW IRRIGATION PROJECT
At Top 100 classic Berkhamsted Golf Club

NEW HORIZONS FOR THE HATTERS
Investment paying off at Kenilworth Road

ELIZABETHAN RESTORATION
At Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens

WHAT IS BIOPHILIA?
The vital impact of parks and green spaces on health and well-being

WORM CONTROL
Without carbendazim

THE TRUE COST OF PETROL
Battery-powered outdoor power tools are now turning the heads of professionals

SANDS OF TIME
Sand-based pitches are now the norm in professional sports

WHY DO WE DO THE RIGHT THING?
We must maintain industry standards

CHASING GRASS PERFECTION?
11 things you need to know . . .

MAINTAINING STANDARDS
Q&A with BASIS ceo, Stephen Jacobs

STRI RESEARCH DAY 2018
Hosted at research trial grounds in Bingley

THE MECHANIC
Leicester City FC invest in new role

LORD'S 'GRASS-GUVNOR' TO RETIRE
Mick Hunt bows out after 49 years

HOLLOW CORING & DEEP SCARIFICATION
Is it really necessary?

Over the course of this year, I will be including within TurfPro, a returning feature where I shall concentrate on a given plant, bulb, tree or shrub. 

The aim of the articles will be to inform regarding some popular garden plants that during a particular month have caught my eye and offer a fanfare of colour, form or shape.

During May there were several plants that caught my eye, ranging from lilacs, flag iris, and aubrietia - however for me it was the sensational flowering shrub Photina 'Red Robin' that this year stood above many others, mainly as it seems to have blossomed beyond belief.  

Photinia Red Robin is a popular evergreen shrub known for its vibrant red foliage. It is a hybrid plant derived from the crossbreeding of Photinia glabra and Photinia serrulata. 'Red Robin' is the most common cultivar of the Photinia genus and is widely cultivated for its ornamental value.

Consisting of around fifty species, Photinia have glossy evergreen foliage and brightly coloured new growth. One of the most popular and commonly used variety in gardens is Photinia × fraseri Red Robin, with its superb colour and texture all year round making it suited to being used as a feature tree or screening.
 
For front gardens, borders and patio pots, the smaller compact size of Photinia x fraseri Louise and Photinia serratifolia Crunchy make can them an ideal choice.

They are relatively easy to look after and tolerate most soil types, though some species grow better in acidic to neutral soil. They grow well in full sun to partial shade, but do prefer a sheltered position where young shoots will be protected from cold and drying winds.

Requiring only minimal pruning, they can be pruned more frequently to encourage the brightly coloured new growth and to keep hedge forms looking smart. Overgrown Photinia can cope with hard pruning in Spring to get them back in shape.

The name Photinia comes from the Greek word for shiny, in respect to their leaves. Their common name is Christmas Berry tree because of the small fruits that are sometimes present from autumn until Christmas. 

Here are some key characteristics of Photinia Red Robin.

Foliage: The most distinctive feature of 'Red Robin' is its brilliant red new foliage. As the leaves mature, they gradually turn dark green, providing an attractive contrast. The plant maintains its red colour throughout the growing season, making it a standout in the garden.

 
Size: Red Robin can reach a height of 10 to 15 feet (3 to 4.5 meters) and has a spread of 8 to 12 feet (2.4 to 3.6 meters). It grows in an upright, dense, and rounded form, making it suitable as a specimen shrub or for hedges and screens.

Flowers: In spring, Red Robin produces small white flowers in clusters called corymbs. Although the individual flowers are not particularly showy, they attract pollinators like bees and butterflies to the garden.

Berries: After the flowers fade, Red Robin may produce small red berries. These berries are not typically eaten by humans and are mainly ornamental. However, they can be a food source for birds.

Sun and Soil Requirements: Red Robin thrives in full sun to partial shade. It prefers well-drained soil that is slightly acidic to slightly alkaline. It is important to provide adequate moisture, especially during dry periods, to ensure healthy growth.