As well as looking at the many successful client projects we have supplied to, we thought you might like to see some of the goings on within the office and on the farm. Here are a few of our personal highlights this year at Wildflower Turf Ltd.
1. New Offices and Training Facilities
In April we moved into our brand new offices along with a brilliant new barn, purpose built for accreditation training, open days and the Christmas party! We have hosted a number of events including a day specifically for those responsible for green infrastructure around the country and we hope to see more councils join us next year to enhance their knowledge on the development of wildflower areas in urban landscapes.
2. Research and Development
We continue to work hard on trialling new products and mixes. This camomile lawn provided lots of interest to our visitors and is an exciting prospect.
We have been looking into the longevity of non-natives, the pictorial trials were still looking great into September. Our summer bulb trials gave us brilliant results and we are delighted to have them within our bulb range on offer for under-planting wildflower areas to add structure and height. We have done a huge amount of work on maintenance regimes and we are now able to offer our clients a considerable amount of help in determining appropriate methods of maintenance according to meadow site and conditions.
3. Exhibitions, Seminars and CPD
We continue to spread the word up and down the country about the benefits and ease of creating wildflower areas. We were delighted to exhibit beyond the confines of the South East and make the journey up North on a number of occasions to meet with new and existing clients as well as speak at the Landscape Live exhibition in Leeds. The CPD programme began this year, providing specialist training for Landscape Architects. It has been incredibly well received, with Helen venturing all over the country to Wales, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Southampton and even Northern Ireland. Glasgow and Teeside beckon in the new year.
4. Fundraising
This year the boys in the team chose to support Prostrate Cancer. We were very proud of their beards in November and delighted to have raised a fantastic £648.
5. Turf Manager becomes a Male Model
Trevor has so far had a wonderful career within horticultural but his CV certainly took a brave new turn this year. He now boasts feet, hand and action modelling within a long list of skills and his stomping boots, muddy hands and smiley face will be gracing many a book shelf soon!
6. Revisiting our First Big Meadow Projects
In a busy year it is difficult to find the time to get out of the office to see old clients where meadows have been laid years before, but on a very sunny evening in June it was an absolute pleasure to be able to stroll amongst the wildflowers of meadows we have previously created. Fortunately we took the wonderful Guy Collier with us to capture their beauty with his camera.
7. Wildlife Spotting at Lunch Times
One of the glorious benefits of working at Wildflower Turf is to take lunch amongst the wildflowers. This particular meadow by the lake is now 13 years old, created with the first turf that we ever produced on the farm. It provides the backdrop for many a lunch hour where we sit and quietly watch butterflies, dragonflies and birds of prey circling above. This year, it became the new home for a family of 6 hares and provided us with the opportunity to practice fast moving camera skills.
8. New Additions
It was definitely a year of change for us here on the farm with a few new additions as well. We were delighted to welcome David to the production team and Sandrine to the office. And then there were the pups, Phoebe and Waffle joined the team too and whilst their wildflower identification skills still need to be honed, their social media presence has boosted our ratings with the most likes ever for a post!
It really has been a brilliant year for us at Wildflower Turf Ltd and we would like to thank everyone that we have worked with for making it such a successful and happy year. Have a wonderful Christmas and look forward to an exciting year ahead in 2016.